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you see "W H O" across the bottom... they could be from the band "O H M"



kidding. cool amps. welcome to the forum. good luck with whatever happens with them.

guitar_tod77 wrote:you see "W H O" across the bottom... they could be from the band "O H M"



kidding. cool amps. welcome to the forum. good luck with whatever happens with them.

Ah, so it really reads "111 ohm". That makes much more sense

It may well be that you'd have to sell them to someone in the USA to get top dollar for them. There's a whole lot of love for WHO gear over there & far more venues where unknown bands can use gear of that power. I know a guy who was looking for a 200w slave a couple of years ago, but I believe is now down-sizing due to back ache; but where there was one there'll be others.
IME you'd be better off having them over-hauled before selling to increase value, it shouldn't cost much. My Hiwatt 200 was 18 years in a damp store & was still good to go for quite a while when I first got it. The caps are the critical thing, if you can get good close-up pics of the ends where the connections are you'll get a good diagnosis off the guys on here. See my pics halfway down Pp1 of this thread for comparison viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1610
I've been quoted £80 to have them replaced.
On a forum I use NoizyBoyz PA Hire and Live Entertainment Services, of Christchurch, Dorset, have been highly recommended more than once but I've no personal knowledge. Though I can endorse the Dr's opinion expressed re the one you found on Ebay.

Thanks Stu, I understand what you're saying about the US/UK markets. In some respects I'd rather they stayed in the country, and certainly the hassle and expense of shipping them to the States doesn't appeal, but it's clear there are many passionate enthusiasts (of Hiwatt and the WHO) over there and primarily I want them to go to someone who WANTS them (rather than someone who can see a profit in them).

In the next few days I'll be taking more photos, and if I can sort out some suitable leads I'll try powering them up.

GrahamC wrote:Thanks Stu, I understand what you're saying about the US/UK markets. In some respects I'd rather they stayed in the country, and certainly the hassle and expense of shipping them to the States doesn't appeal

In the next few days I'll be taking more photos, and if I can sort out some suitable leads I'll try powering them up.

I helped a mate of mine sell one of Dave Hill's (Slade) Hiwatt 200 to a guy in New York about 4 years ago. It was double boxed with about 6 inch of foam between the two boxes. The US guy organised a FedEx pickup & it all worked great. (though strangely one of the mains lamps on the front was broken in transit & was replaced by an Ebay purchase).

Seriously - if they've not been used for so long I wouldn't dream of just powering them up. A tech would do that with a Variac to control how much power went into it. If one of the old capacitors blows you'll have a very gunky amp to clean up before you do anything else.

Bulgin leads are fairly hard top come by now - on the grounds that they're not legal - but do often appear on Ebay at around £20+.

Stu_R wrote:...

Seriously - if they've not been used for so long I wouldn't dream of just powering them up. A tech would do that with a Variac to control how much power went into it. If one of the old capacitors blows you'll have a very gunky amp to clean up before you do anything else.

Bulgin leads are fairly hard top come by now - on the grounds that they're not legal - but do often appear on Ebay at around £20+.

You're right, I hadn't really thought that through. I'll hold off plugging them in for now. I have got a pair of Bulgin leads for them, didn't realise they were so rare. Maybe I should sell the leads separately?

i've seen a lot of pics with WHO stencilled on them that look exactly like that so i believe them to be original. the who did own a lot of hiwatts over the years, couldve been for the bass rig or the onstage monitor rig maybe?

Hi everyone!!!
I've been reading this forum a few weeks to get info, thanks to all!!
My mane is Rober, I live in Basque Country (Spain) and own a ´74 DR103 from a week (ebay).
http://imgur.com/a/XlK1w


My relationship with HIWATT has started badly because I broked it in 10 minutes , just when I was checking it before taking it to the technicianI , I turned up the volume (60%), the amp melted a fuse and when I replace it, but now no sound (maybe a EL34 and some resistance¿?¿?)
Yesterday I received a set of caps(hi-tone), because I have to change them. In a few days it'll take to repair (re-cap, new power tubes...)
I hope to write soon talking about how good it sounds
sorry for my English

Welcome! We hope your new old amp issues are sorted out soon.

--mark

Hello, my name is Jürgen. I live in Germany, my amp is a 1977 Custom 50. Found lots of usefull informations here the last few weeks. As i entered yesterday the forum first time as a member got directliy fantastic support from Clayton. Thank you again!

Here is my amp (will take better fotos in the near future to introduce him ar the amps area):

Welcome, Jürgen!

--mark

Hi Jurgen,
Welcome!

Good afternoon, Jürgen, and welcome to the forum...

Congratulations on having a '77 50w in, apparently, cleaner condition than the new ones we used to see in the shops at the time..! Do you have access to a time machine, or did you find the one last surviving New Old Stock DR501..? Has the amp been re-finished..? It looks splendid.
Very nice.

Hi Dad,

i've got this amp few weeks ago. It had been waitig some years in a garage. Got it from my brother, he is car mechanic in Berlin. One of his longyear customers died last year an he was asked by the widow to take away everything from his garage. My brother is not a musican, but noticed some of the stuff could be interesting for me. He gave me the information that it is a VOX amp. As i visit my brother every year in december to check my car, we decided i should take a look and if i like the stuff i should take it with me. I was curious about what is waiting so i asked him for fotos. The fotos he sent to me are attached. I nearly got an heart attack as i saw the Hiwatt amp. As a fan from David Gilmour, it's the amp of my dreams. It had been stored with cover, so it doesn't look too bad. Cleaned it up with soap and a soft brush, then use ArmorAll for both the amp and the cabinet.

Now i'm looking for a hiwatt cabinet as well. My questions about this brougt me to this place.

Best regards

Jürgen

The stuff of dreams, Jürgen, the stuff of dreams. Thanks for sharing the story. I should have listened to my parents and studied to become a mechanic..!