Living Its Best Life: A 1970 Hiwatt DR103 Gets a Makeover
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The last chapter of our recent forays into the land of old Hiwatts, this episode shows Steve being tasked with making a 1970 DR103 sound as good as possible. In our estimation this usually means bringing it up to a mid-70s spec... follow along to see if it holds true in this instance!
#hiwatt #vintageamps #amplifer #davidgilmour #petetownshend
That’s my amp!
Pretty clean , sweet find
This whole series on Hiwatt has been really incredible. Thank you so much guys! 🎸
Great amp YEAH! I have an all original '73' Custom 100 w 4x12 Purple Fanes wall of sound! My band FireBug s endorsed by Hiwatt based in Joshua Tree California.
Do you know what version is in a new DR103? Or is the new one a completely different beast?
If you guys made a video called “explaining the Hiwatt circuit” where you walked us through each of the components and their function of your ideal Hiwatt I think that would be one of the greatest contributions to the knowledge of Hiwatts found on the internet. This video I’d say is currently sitting at #1. You guys absolutley rock!!!!!!
Hmmm, might be fun. Thanks for the suggestion.
The last minutes of playing tell exactly why a great tube amp can do much more for you than a cluttered pedalboard❤
💯 percent.
@FryetteAmps how critical is it that the preamp cap is 16/32uF? I prefer F&T can caps, but can only find them in 16/16uF and 32/32uF.
imo you can get away with the 32+32 can cap.
Steven's the best, This is truly brilliant and informative.. I enjoyed spending time with Steven, when I worked for FANE and showed him the pre-current model FANES and subsequently pushed Neil @ FANE to come out with a vintage line of new speakers... anyone have those new FANEs .. what do you think ?
I'll be that "tube geek" Those preamp tubes are RFT made in East Germany...Really enjoying the Hiwatt Content.. wish I never got rid of my old 70s Hiwatt head..Keep up the good work guys..Take care.
God look how clean and perfect that wiring looks. HHHHNNNGGGG.
I didn't have a plan to start with, but it turns out that I am trying out everything that I can think of, particularly the ideas that even I can tell are insane, and making it work despite the challenges. Malcontent? Maybe, but I am definitely retarded.
The wholesome content the internet needs
Wish Steve had the one I had. It was a Canadian 504 (50 watt) made around 1980. It had more gain. Like a JCM800 (2204) with added gain. It was awesome until the filter caps started to die. Never was the same after a recap.
Sounded way better before it was"fixed".
I don't. But neither of us was in the room, so who knows.
Stellar tone with the el34 and the mod! Gotta do that on mine once I get the xformers sorted. Is a DR504 112 Fane.
Sad to see this series end Steve. It was awesome watching your expertise with these Hiwatts. I am missing the Malcontents, will catch on the replay. All hail Niko Chan...... Joe, hope you are well also.
🤘🏼🤘🏼
That jumper cable noise is likely way gilmour moded his to internal
I'll never understand techs who are hesitant to replace 40 year old electrolytic caps. Just replace it and be good another 40 years.
We'll never understand why people insist on paying for, or charging others for an operation that we've proven repeatedly is not always necessary, or even recommended in many cases. But sure, please tell us how many times you will do or pay for this operation again using the same logic over the next 40 years.
@@FryetteAmps I'd rather spend $50 on caps that I know will last 40 years than wait until they fail and I've got bigger problems. Just me. I think you might be part of the minority in this thinking.
@@tetsuo2195 We are definitely in the minority. We'd rather leave tested, well performing 40 year old capacitors in a perfectly functioning amplifier than charge the customer $200 (because that is what it would really cost them) to replace them with current parts that in many cases likely would not last even 10 years. Understanding how this dynamic works in the real world is essential and often misunderstood, which is the point of this video. The facts, supported by scientifically derived evidence beats personal bias and internet hearsay every time.
@@FryetteAmps I was speaking as someone who can work on amps, so $50 in parts, to me, is worth the peace of mind, . There is no harm in replacing 40 year old filter caps. You can find science that says you might not die from smoking a a cigarette today. But why not eliminate the risk and just quit now? Those old caps might test ok and work, but why chance it to save a few bucks? I don't see any benefit to keeping old filter caps. But, to each their own.
@@tetsuo2195 Working on your own amps puts you in the minority (welcome!) and only confers limited expertise on the subject of component design, failure statistics and the ability to save money on your own repairs. But using tour own logic, why not “eliminate the risk” entirely and replace all of those pesky pots, resistors and especially those 40 year old broken down transformers? If you want to head off any possible disaster, don’t just do a half-asses job. Put your money where your mouth is!
Thank so much for doing these videos! I’d love to know Steve’s opinion on Heyboer vs. Mercury for replacement Hiwatt transformers.
Heyboer all day long👍
In other words, Dave's amp makes more torque.
Hello. When is the new gpdi coming out. Musicians friend keep telling me they have receive dates but nothing ever happens. I preordered like two years ago. Thanks
Old gen used are now pushing 800$
Sorry! We're very close now.
@@FryetteAmps I went ahead and placed a new order and they are saying either this month or September. Please reissue the Pittbull ultra lead and I will buy one!! Thanks! Maybe an Aaron Turner signature version of Pittbull??
@@MB-wu9uq Definitely not this month.
So Good 👍🏾
Now that was a very interesting video with those frequency response curves etc. I wish I could have heard the sound difference live on the spot. I mean in video (I listened using headphones) the amp sounded just great to me before the mod. I was quite confused because I could not hear the difference in audio track of video in the way that I supposed it was heard in the same room.
Being in the room, the main difference was in the low end and to some degree the amount of "scratchiness" there was in the upper-mids (and top-end) before the mod. Afterward the low end was tighter and sat underneath without drawing attention to itself and any top-end harshness was resolved.
@@JoeGambleGuitarInteresting. Recently I made experiments using OT primary RC "snubber" circuits trying to get an optimal snubber component values, in which case the snubber does not tame the speaker/OT interaction too much keeping the sound as original as possible but still protecting OT and tubes when output stage is heavily overdriven. It felt that this mod affected the sound a bit like a very very subtle OT primary snubber circuit.
@@jutukka A snubber is basically a form of local feedback. Probably not so great for tone shaping. More effective at helping to control ringing, which isn't a big issue in old HW output transformers.
where can i find that mid 70s 0schematic, the one that you think is the hiwatt holy grail?!
As far as we're aware, that specific version is not documented online.
Mark Huss has a "mid-70s rev 1.4" schematic on his site that shows the two resistors in question as 1M and 220k. Might be worth trying the 220k as well as the 680k Steve is using here.
QUESTION: I have a HIWATT DR103 and a SIX 10" speaker cabinet. What 10" speakers would replicate the Fane sound? Should I go with Eminence, or Celestion Cream back? Is there a 10" speaker that Hiwatt is known for using? THANKS
Good question. What speakers are in it now? Fane currently do not make a suitable 10. Contact Jensen's distributor Amplified Parts directly and ask them for a recommendation. C10Q maybe or Jet Falcon. You don't need high power handling with 6 speakers.
@@FryetteAmps THANKS so much for the info. I didn't know a six speaker cabinet would lessen the need for wattage. I have a crappy Marshall cabinet with I believe Celestion 30's, also I think they're defective. I bought my Hiwatt as a second and NO ones EVER FIXED IT FOR ME. Do you repair Hiwatts? I think Desert sound out west offered to repair it. I am willing to buy a road case to ship it if I find someone who will fix it. If you want to repair an Audio Brothers DR103 HIWATT let me know? THANKS.
@@josephesposito3499 Send this to support@fryette.com. Thanks.
@@FryetteAmps THANK YOU. I didn't see this message until now. I will get back to your support page, and I would love to fix my Hiwatt DR 103 for good.