vintageHIWATTconvention.com

Hi All,

I really need your advices on my crisis... I LOVE / HATE Hiwatts... I already had a '71 DR103, a '75 SA212 and now a '72 DR504...

My problem is that I love Hiwatts for Gilmour tone : clean amp with pedals BUT moreover the Who crunch or Page crunch...

Now, I realize that I love Hiwatt cleans for what they are but I don't really like cleans... I'm in Classic Rock and love crunch... I love Gilmour tone with Tube Driver, Fuzz Face and love to play guitar with that tone but this is not what I play everyday...

I realized then that without modifying a Hiwatt, it is nearly impossible to reach crunch... Then I thougt, ok, put some pedals in there and it will be ok but I don't really like pedals now that I got a Plexi with crunch that you can control with guitar master volume...

Then, I wonder, ok, maybe the best way is to go to the VHR JP 307 : best of both worlds but the BIG question is : if I sell my '72 DR504, will I not miss it ?

For those who tested the JP 307, can it go from clean to crunch like big old non master volume amp ?

Last point, I was going to buy a '72 cab 4x12 Hiwatt in the next days but I don't know what to do... I already sold a previous one because I couldn't take it with me in rehearsals...

Thank you for your help !!!

Fabien

I am biased, but the DR307 JP is the amp I play through 95% of the time.........and I have several HIWATTs to choose from.

Clean and crunch, its all in there.

You're biased of course but that doesn't matter at all

Could you please tell me more ?! Is the clean to crunch really linear ? Can I really manage it with guitar volume ?

I play my Cornell Plexi 45/50 in 15W mode in a 4x12 with Scumbacks with 100dB of efficiency... would you say I can reach the same level with crunch with JMP307 ? When I read 30W, I think about the VOX amp which is dawn too loud for medium crunch, would it be the same with this one ?

Thanks again for the answers Mister !

yes the amp cleans up very well with the guitar volume.
I haven't played a cornell, but the DR307 is capable of being very crunchy. It is an incredibly dynamic and flexible amp!

I hope Mikhailwatt gives his opinion, he got to try one a couple weeks ago.

Dr.HIWATT wrote:It is an incredibly dynamic and flexible amp!
I hope Mikhailwatt gives his opinion, he got to try one a couple weeks ago.

Flexible is not necessary the key point even if having Hiwatt cleans AND Hiwatt crunch on the same amp is incredible... Having incredibly dynamic amp is THE key point for me, that's what I wanted to hear...

I will be very pleased to hear news from Mikhailwatt !

To be 100% honest, I had the '72 DR504 unmodified for a very good price so buying a new DR307 amp at higher price didn't sound the better choice for me, not speaking about re-selling but now, I now that the most important thing is : will this amp fit my needs really ?

Well... I get plenty of crunch out of my Hylights. Crank the preamp and run the master in the sweet spot - about 2:00 - 3:00... Crunchy, touch-sensitive goodness.

(Caveat - I use good-quality, mostly transparent attenuators to be able to run at these settings in the "real world.")

Your '72 might have a bit less preamp gain on tap, though. Sometime after that there was a minor tweak in the V2 plate/cathode resistor values that provides a bit more, well, more...

Yup, the JP307 is a sweet "little" amp. Extremely versatile... Really, just like a proper Hylight, at less punishing volume levels.
The "switch" mode is a nice feature.

You won't be getting into "doom metal" territory with one of these but they will do classic Zep+ crunch for days.

mikhailwatt wrote:Well... I get plenty of crunch out of my Hylights. Crank the preamp and run the master in the sweet spot - about 2:00 - 3:00... Crunchy, touch-sensitive goodness.

(Caveat - I use good-quality, mostly transparent attenuators to be able to run at these settings in the "real world.")

Your '72 might have a bit less preamp gain on tap, though. Sometime after that there was a minor tweak in the V2 plate/cathode resistor values that provides a bit more, well, more...

Yup, the JP307 is a sweet "little" amp. Extremely versatile... Really, just like a proper Hylight, at less punishing volume levels.
The "switch" mode is a nice feature.

You won't be getting into "doom metal" territory with one of these but they will do classic Zep+ crunch for days.

Thank you Mikhailwatt...

Yes, mine is a '72 model and I read that the preamp circuit has the less gain among versions... I checked Mark's schematics and I got the early 70s preamp. I bridged inputs and maxed them... Then, without attenuator, I could put the master to 2 / 10 but it was then really LOUD, dynamic as hell, even my Cornell doesn't have this dynamic, no compression at all, a bit unreal... My trouble is that I don't trust in attenuators anymore. I had the Mr Ho attenuator (Ultimate) then the TAD Silencer (Tube Amp Doctor) and then the ARACOM PRX-150... The last one was the clear winner but the tone was still degraded. Now, I believe more in low-wattage pushed hard without attenuators but then the power amp tubes are not the same, etc...

I thought then about the minor modification on preamp turret board but feel a bit like blasphemy... Then, I thought about getting the 2-holes version for more gain but still the 50W problem then I thought about the JP307...

What I need is a 15W / 30W amp that can do Hiwatt cleans (Shine on You Crazy Diamond or Echoes type of cleans) so in 30W mode I guess for max. headroom and then can do "The Who" or "Led Zep" crunch for Classic Rock at 15W mode for less headroom and a bit of compression.

If you confirm that it can do it then the baby will be mine very very soon...

Thanks you all for your kindness & support...

Fabien

billou_35 wrote:What I need is a 15W / 30W amp that can do Hiwatt cleans (Shine on You Crazy Diamond or Echoes type of cleans) so in 30W mode I guess for max. headroom and then can do "The Who" or "Led Zep" crunch for Classic Rock at 15W mode for less headroom and a bit of compression.

It can do that (which is why I've got to get myself one!). Have you listened to the clips on YouTube?


Dave

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, I just heard this one :
http://www.youtube.com/user/HITONE2011# ... 1UEu1xm7ok

I'm completly in LOVE !

Is it 15W or 30W mode ? It seems that there is no pedal, just guitar & amp ?

30w.
no pedals

I am going to move this to the HI-TONE area as it doesn't pertain to Hylights really, but feel free to keep posting in it.

Dr.HIWATT wrote:30w.
no pedals

I am going to move this to the HI-TONE area as it doesn't pertain to Hylights really, but feel free to keep posting in it.

Oops, sorry. It was question of my Hylights '72 DR504 but it drifted quickly, sorry for that.
By the way, I sent you an Email at Sales@VintageHiwattRestorations.com !

What guitar(s) are you using? I can max out all of the volume knobs on an early 70s Hiwatt (and on the guitar) and the tone is still clean (louder than sin, too) with thin single coil passive pickups (some Strat pickups for example). Some of the hotter humbuckers will begin crunch with all knobs at noon position. P90s and Jazzmaster pickups usuall get crunchy with all volume knobs around 1 to 2 oclock position. Active pickups vary a lot but usually crunch easily w/ Hiwatts. The guitar pickups make a huge difference.

I did play through the first JP307 prototype that Mark brought to the 2010 Convention (did not use a Strat though). It has a little less headroom, of course, but the sweet Hiwatt type tones one would expect. I highly recommend one with a HITONE 2x12 cab with DRF speakers (Hiwatt Fane clones). Less weight and all of the tone.

Regardless of which Hiwatt or clone you play, the guitar choice can make huge difference. I'd use at least a clean boost pedal if using a Strat with a Hiwatt.

Dr.H have you played Strats throught the JP307? Is it crunchy much when the 'choke' is not engaged ?

I plan to get a JP307 myself, hopefully soon.

Crunchy Strat

http://www.youtube.com/user/HITONE2011# ... 5NmPHrhbMo

the volume cut doesn't affect the crunchy-ness much.
Strats can still crunch straight in to the DR307.

I designed the 307 to crunch a bit earlier than normal for a classic Hiwatt design. We already have plenty of loud and clean in the 50 and 100. The 307 will still do clean, but you have to turn the input volume down.

--mark