vintageHIWATTconvention.com

Hello guys,

Long time since my last post here...

Im having a "darkish" problem and im having a hard time pin pointing what is causing the problem.

Little background info:
I recently had a custom 2x12 cab made and put some new Weber Fane Crescendo clones in there! (ceramic version ofcourse)
In my strat i put a new Bare Knuckle Irish tour set ('61 style single-coils).
All of this to compliment my '71 Hiwatt DR103

Last night was D-day for putting it all to the test :
I was expecting quite a lot of all this "costly" gear...and although im not completly unhappy..there was however a "darkish" thing going on i just couldn't stand...

With all my knobs on the Hiwatt flat (12 o'clock) and selecting the bridge pickup on my strat, i was expecting the famous fender bridge brightness...but altough the sound of the pickups, the speakers, the Hiwatt was very smooth, vintage like quality...there was no brightness at all !!!!!!!

I don't wanna call the problem "too much bass", or "middy" or even "muddy"...everything was very clear( as in not muddy), not bassy or middy...
I just didn't cut through the band

The second guitarist in my band plays a first edition Paul reed Smith with a Mesa boogie 1x12 combo, and he was cutting through the mix like crazy... you couldn't even hear what i was playing, and we were both on the same volume !

There i am...standing there with my '71 Hiwatt , with the 2x12 Fane Crescendo Clones and the handwound single coils everybody braggs about...
100 Watts of power on a 200 watt cab and the other guitarist with a small 1x12 50 watt combo was cutting through my sound like i wasn't even in the room.

Everybody here (as in guitarists) will know how i felt last night...dissappointed after a big investment!!

I tried every setting on the amp and the guitar...there was no brightness to be found (as in acceptable brightness) i was putting the treble on the hiwatt all the way up, and all i got was a thin sound... im looking for that full bodied, but bright bridge sound.

I know the early british tube amps are sometimes called the "dark" amps... but then again why does someone like David gilmour gets a nice bright fender sound with a Hiwatt...

Im guessing it's either the speakers, or the pickups wiring...

The Hiwatt seemed to be having a volume problem as well (with all the knobs flat), i still need to replace the elco's...can this be the problem? im getting on the job to replace them soon.

Anyone who has experienced the same, please help me to cut through, cause the sound is "there" but i need to get it out.

I will be uploading pictures of the cab, the speakers (and wiring), and some pictures of the wiring of my strat (cause the problem can also be the wiring)

Thanks
benny

Hey Benny,

Haven't experience the same, but here are some thoughts on the subject:

You have an entirely new ensemble, making it difficult to troubleshoot the issue. Start with the basics: try the other guitar player's guitar with your amp and cab. Then, try your guitar in the other guy's amp. Try the amp with a different speaker cab. The idea is to isolate what might be sucking the brightness out of your sound.

Are the Crescendo clones well broken-in? Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of reports in on those yet. So, we don't know if they're traditionally dark speakers.

Also check your preamp tubes. They can make a huge impact on tone. Do you have other ECC83's you could try in the amp?

Are your cables decent?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Dave

What speakers/cab were you using before? Try swapping cabs and see if the "darkness" follows the cab.

My son sometimes has a problem cutting through with his band, using my rig... but he's competing with a guy playing a Tele through a Twin.

Hey Benny I think it might be your Weber Crescendo's. I just got my FC-15 from Weber loaded up today. It sounds great, but the highs are not prevalent. I could imagine that playing with a band it could be hard to cut through the mix. I'm sure once they break in and you get used to them, dialing in your sound will become a lot easier.