AMPS IN THE ZONE #8 HIWATT DR103 PETE CORNISH MOD 

Finally! HIWATT!!! No other amp on the planet sounds like a HIWATT! Not just Townshend and Gilmour, but Tommy Bolin as well among a myriad of others.

Pete, thank you for mentioning Alex Lifeson. He’s one of my favorite all time guitarist. Alex mainly used Marshall’s from when he was renting a Marshall 50 watt that he later bought and we first heard it on their debut album in 1974 and he was using them all the way up to to 1977 on the A Farewell To Kings tour and afterwards he started using Hiwatts from Hemispheres all the way until Signals and afterwards he was experimenting with different amps. The Hemispheres tone is my favorite of Alex’s guitar tone and it’s one of my favorite guitar tones of all time.

Lifeson started using Hiwatts around 1978 - which was when they first toured in the UK. He always had Marshalls before then, at least live (there's a lot of rented Fenders on the early Rush albums, and for A Farewell to Kings, he used HH solid state amps). I'm pretty sure he got them while they were there. He met Pete Cornish there as well; Pete would design and build his rigs from then until the mid-80s. Hemispheres and Permanent Waves are all Hiwatt, pretty much. For Moving Pictures and Signals, he added the Marshall Club & Country combo amps, which have a very unique sound when distorted ("Limelight" is a good representation of that tone). He decided to ditch the Hiwatts after the Signals tour. His gear was always changing and evolving, as was his playing style. Not many players went from playing 335s with a few pedals and an Echoplex into Marshalls, to playing funky Strat-style guitars with active pickups and Floyds into solid state Gallien-Krueger amps with a huge rack of stereo effects within the span of 10 years.

The 'Georgia Satellites' band used Hiwatt. You can really hear the tone of those amazing amps...I have a 1971 w/ matching cab...crystal clear tones.

I still have my 1973 DR103. The loudest amp I ever played through. To play clubs, I'd have to face my 4x12 backwards and throw a sleeping bag over the speakers. Sound guys hated it, and they'd tell me to get a new amp. Plenty of stage volume to get over the loudest drummer, for sure. I dusted it off 10 years later to use as clean power for my ADA MP-1. Now, I'm using it as a bass amp. It hasn't needed service in decades. I love the sounds Pete got out of the amp. I'll have to plug a BE-OD and CC Hybrid Fuzz into my Hiwatt just for kicks.

Recently got into Hiwatts. One thing that I noticed is how extremely sensitive they are with differences in input - a volume knob or pedal provides much more input than with other amps. Also the Fane speakers are a big part of that sound and are more sensitive and harder to break up ... they just sound tough. I like to say that Hiwatt/Fane combos are like an old Pontiac big block V8 - tons of torque and will just slap the crap out of you but also a bit quirky. Love my Hiwatt but also ordered and waiting for my Hi-Tone to arrive. Great stuff, thank you!

Pete’s tone on Live At Leeds is the best guitar tone I’ve ever heard. ❤️ The P-90s in his SG are key to that tone as well. Love that MacMull Tele in the intro.

Over the years of watching Pete demo everything, I’m convinced if he demo’d an amp that sounded like rusty bed springs and used a wha pedal the burped on the up and farted on the way down and his volume knob sounded like that screaming goat he could compose a masterpiece with them. His ability to adapt to any tone and have the creativity to make a song that sounds like “oh, so that what piece of equipment should do/sound like” is mind bending.

All the classic sounds I've always loved! ❤️

Awesome job, Pete! You really nailed those classic tones.

Thanks for the video Pete. After getting back into guitar after a 20+ year break, your videos really inspire me to keep at it.

Man, this was great to hear about Townsend, Gilmour, and Lifeson. Your interpretations of their rigs (setup) is intriguing. Thank you so much for sharing.

Wow some of my favourite tones there. Thank you Pete.

That amp just sounds so amazing and lovely! Thank you sir!

Pete, love this amp in the zone series within your channel.

A friend had one of those Hiwatts , I opened it up and it's amazing how clean the wiring is . Immaculate circuit layout with twine tying all the wires perfectly .

I love the pure tube tones, thanks Pete

That 'New World Man' tone was incredible. Great thorough review of this classic amp Pete! Thanks.

Totally love this series Pete, also big huge ass kudo’s on the hot for teacher Mitch Malloy video. That was KILLER dude!! Rock on!

Super fun to see - thanks for checking it out Pete! I am lucky enough to have four Hiwatts myself, and I love them. I wish I could find even more :D

Thanks for the video Pete! Good info on Hiwatts. Great job on the guitar playing and expaining this amp! I liked the way the chorus pedal sounded with this amp too.

These are my favorite episodes. Thanks!

Excellent Video Pete, incredible intro music and a fantastic, in depth look at a timeless classic!!! Keep on Rockin' Bruddah!!

That amp has such a nice clear attack and cool saturation texture, so the drive is really pleasant to the ear. This is something I ever search for in my tone.

Instantly recognizable as a Hiwatt, it’s a unique sound.

Cheers Pete great vid. I've had my 1972 dr103 for 35 years I've lost count how many gigs with various bands we have done together and it never lets me down. (Apart from the time the 4 screws that hold the chassis in the case had vibrated loose and the guts fell out in the van and smashed all the tubes check your screws kids) Great as a Bass amp too .

Always loved the effortless headroom and almost acoustic response of the Hiwatts😎

I’m fairly certain Lifeson’s Hiwatts were outfitted with the “Canadian Mod” which was performed by the Canadian distributor to overdrive the front end of the preamp. Lifeson’s tone on Hemispheres is phenomenal with a decent amount of overdrive as is the same on Permanent Waves. Lifeson did not use an overdrive pedal on those albums for his sound and I can only assume the overdrive came from the modded Hiwatts. Phenomenal tone on Hemispheres.

Holy moley - what a tone machine! Great video, Pete.

Great stuff as usual! I've got a HIWATT CP-504 (the 50-watt version of the CP-103) and it sounds glorious. It does have a similar tone to the "DR" amp, but it also has a wonderful top end chime -- kind of makes me think their is some Vox-like mojo in there as well. I only use input 1, as Pete did.

Pete, you are continuously rising your own bar... Really inspirational! Thanks for the great music and demos!

I could definitely hear Pete's tone in there. Loved it!!!! I looked under chairs!!! I looked up under tables.....

Great demo Pete, thanks!

Hiwatt + Tele + Alex Lifeson + "New World Man" = Killer tone and song!!!!

Love the different sounds

Everyone seems to forget Foghat,they used Hiwatts extensively and they got a killer sound out of them.One of the best bands ever!!(the original line up)They always nailed it live.

Sounds so good! Love Hiwatts, always a big Townsend, Lifeson, Bolin fan and had a Custom 50 and Lead 100 in the past. Nowdays I have a 100 watt D-style amp where the OD channel is based on a Hiwatt103 and either channel can lift the tonestack depending on what sound you want.

I always wanted you to demo a Hi Watt thank you, it was worth the wait. This amp is so interesting since not that widely aviable.

I love my Hiwatt Custom "Little P". Great tone and no breakup whatsoever so is a great pedal platform.

Awesome thanks for this Pete! I went down the Gilmour rabbit hole and bought everything and I mean everything lol. Even the Yamaha ra 100 rotating speaker. I was shooting for the Comfortably Numb outro solo tone. Never even came close. :) to be fair I’ve never heard anyone else come close either.

Awesome video as always, Pete! Loved your cover of New World Man especially!

Greatly appreciate you Pete!

Nice history of the HiWATT models here right up front. Great video as always. Cheers

Pete,this was a very useful demo video of your Hiwatt custom 100.

That was an amazing demo.

The Lifeson bit was perfect, thanks Pete!

The Hiwatt has always held a bit of mystique for me, I've never played one but love what I hear.

Thanks Pete for the video! Enjoyed hearing the Hiwatt, took me back to Live At Leeds! Not a bad sound at all! Thanks again Pete!

Wow! Absolutely Love The Gilmour Tone , Sounds Awesome! 👍

That piece from Comfortably Numb solo always puts a smile on my face

For us tone nerds, these videos are awesome! Thank you!

Lawd Jesus!! That is a sweet sounding amp! I remember the first time I saw one at the old Boston Tea Party venue. I think I was drooling!!

Hi Pete! I really enjoy this amps in the zone series. I would humbly request more!

Loud n clean, great platform for pedals - speaking of pedals, I am ULTRA ANXIOUS for that upcoming Sinvertek pedal demo, and it would be cool to show the comparison between the new 3D version and the old N5+. Mine is being built, I was invoiced for the Gold version two weeks ago/will take a few more weeks to ship, so I am stoked big time to hear your demo

At 8:10 that totally nails "The Seeker" tone.

Pete, that was a very accurate representation of the subtleties of Dave Gilmore's technique!!! A lot of guys get the notes, but that was incredible with the vibrato and actual placement of the notes!! Very detailed!!.

Oh yes! At last, Hiwatt! Looking forward to it, Pete.

Love my Hiwatt for some great lead tones. Soars over metal riffs with a nice bloom especially with DOD 250 in front.

Thanks Pete! I love Hiwatts! I used a 50 watt during my band days in the late 70's though the 80's. The 100 watt was WAY too loud for clubs. These are extremely loud amps with huge headroom and dynamics, which is probbably why they ar such great pedal platforms. I used a few pedals TC distortion, Univox Superfuzz Memory Man, etc. I loved the sound. Sound men hated me because it was so friggin loud though. ANd that was just the 50 watt! I was and still am a Townshend guy (Gilmour too) Back then it mainly Townshend though. So I loved loved loved this episode! Thank you!

I used Hiwatt as a pedal platform. It is greaat for that purpose, because it has some unique flavour of clean and very loud. And it is great for metal as a pedal platform.

You got some amazing tones out of the amp

Guided By Voices comes into focus. Great video

Rush old Tone! That's what is 4 sure know & Loved, went long on this Hiwatt, TY! Never knew what was their secret but Pete U never fail after VH tease! That made me have chill bumps again as 1st time see VH live! U brought em back, TY bro, Also TY 4 schooling on Hiwatt, again feeding us G-nerds Brains!!

The port on the Hiwatt cabinet removes a bit of britghness and at the same time, in a big room, gives it more bottom end. On a dead room the Hiwatt cabinet doesn't sound so good, and with the port "closed", there's not enough thump. It sure is a good sounding cabinet, but a bit diferent of the usual 4x12s we're used to!

Awesome, Pete, you’re the man. Appreciate your knowledge.

love those Macmulls ...great lookin guitars

Love this series . Would love someone to do this type of review for Scholtz- Rockman rack gear and early tech 21 pedals and pre-amps .

I had a very talented guitar teacher early on. He was college trained jazz-boundary pushing technical, honestly first thought he was a bit snobby/pretentious. I remember asking about some Alex Lifeson techniques and he told me he was an ALIEN. "Always thought he'd hear him make a mistake as he had that hitchy-burst style of improvising and playing leads. And he NEVER made a mistake...EVER!" and my teacher (Kevin) went on to say he was a very complicated player whom was comfortable with his abilities and authentic style. This video brings up old memories, feels good. I remember the local disc jockey always preceded playing a RUSH song "With talent on loan from God, here's (insert song here)-RUSH" Watching this made my day. 🤘🤘 Thanks Pete

Killer demo ! I have the Ceritone “Hey What ‘“ and it has the Cornish mod with the two channels internally linked . There is also an overdrive pot which appears to be somewhat unique . Mine is the 50w DR 504 clone and I was fortunate enough to have original Partridge transformers and Mullard tubes . . It’s perfectly paired with a 76 Original cab loaded with purple back Fanes .I have a video posted on my channel with it . Not the best quality sound but the overall,sound and tone comes across.

Killer tones~ Wow!

Thanks for the good info and great performances

the Hiwatt and the Vox AC are perhaps the best examples of valve amps where playing open chords with distorted harmonics works and doesn't just sound like mud pushing you towards barre chords.

Blimmin incredible intro track mate! I listened to that a few times.

The CP-103 is basically the Hiwatt PA head, excepting 4 inputs (6 on the PA). The inputs were tied together inside, so we would often "dime" the multiple channels - like jumping channels on a Marshall.

I owned a 103 in the mid 90s. Sold it on before this stuff was sought after unfortunately, would be worth a fortune now. Mine was actually previously owned by Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson. It had the best clean headroom I've ever heard in an amp, great sound too & as you mentioned fantastic pedal platform, this is how I used it.

Great video Pete

So cool! Super fun video on a classic amp... thanks🤘🔥🎸🎵🎶

After the Hot For Teacher sound last night I think you are the go to guitar sound man. I knew it anyway but now it is like roadbridge concrete!

I myself first learned about the Hiwatt brand from the Tommy Shaw interview for Guitar Player mag from 40 years ago (it was made available online 15 years later). Tommy mentioned at the time using a Mesa Boogie head and a Hiwatt cabinet.

Love my 72 Hiwatt. I don’t have the matching cab but the Hi-tone 2X12 I got sounds amazing. It’s got the DR-F eminence speakers in it that were modeled after the rare 78 fanes speakers from Jesse Valenzuela’s cabinet of the Gin blossoms. Highly recommended. They recently came out with a Crescendo clone as well I really want to try. Apparently they worked on that the speaker with Gilmour’s tech to get it just right. The clips I’ve heard of it sound great.

No idea how I missed this video. Hiwatts strike me as masterpieces of amplifier design, based on the rudimentary knowledge I have of amp design. It's also an incredibly honest amp. If you suck it will tell you pretty darn fast! Owning one cleaned up my playing tremendously! :D

Townshend would be proud! I also think he would love that Macmull guitar as it is the perfect cross between an SG with P90s and the Schecter Telecaster he used for a long while too.

If you ever think about sinking a couple of grand into an amp then a HiWatt should be first and last on your shopping list. I have one (similar to the one here with the linked input) with a HiWatt cab. It sounds simply epic. From almost zero on the master it is capable of causing serious internal injuries yet it retains a clarity that I've never heard in any other amp. The detail you get with these things is spectacular. If you truly want to hear a guitar plug it into a HiWatt. Everyone should have a go on one at least once in their lives just to know. Great intro there Pete. Really showed the versatility of the amp and how it brings out the character in all the various guitars.

I used to own a ‘79 DR103. I wish I still had it. I sold it a long time ago. The cabinet had the Fane speakers too. It sounded amazing. Oh if I only knew then…

Tommy Bolin favored Hiwatts and used an Echoplex among other effects. The Lifeson bit sounds amazing! Thanks for the great video; keep 'em comin'.

Always some of my fav Pete videos hell amps in the zone is some of my fav videos on RU-vid lol. Hope to see a dumble style amps in the zone cheers Pete

MACMULL AND HIWATT! Truly an ear opener.

This sounds immaculate !!!

That moment where the text comes up saying GREAT ROCK TONE! … wow, you ain’t kidding Pete

That reissue Tele that Alex played on "New World Man" is his preferred guitar for songwriting. He's said in interviews that most Rush songs since 1982 have been written on that Tele, or at least the parts that he contributes.

I have a 94? Audio Brothers DR504 that I got from a friend, he did hundreds of gigs with it, it's been repaired many times over the years, even had to replace the preamp transformer, went with a Mercury, anyway my friend passed away about fifteen years ago, I keep the amp as a keepsake, I power it up sometimes, it looks pretty cool, however nowadays I only play for self enjoyment, I primarily use my vintage 71 Fender Champ I fully restored...I sold my mint two input 1977 Highlight DR103 that I used back in the day for only $1800 :(....the kid I sold it to seemed pretty cool, anyway I know it's been/being heavily used rather than collecting dust in my home.

Great stuff! Back in 1975 I had a friend who let me play through is Hiwatt. I thought it was nice sounding but then he said to me "cool right? now crank it up dude" so I did and all I could say was holy shit!

Definitely hear that different "ah" vowel quality in the power section. So much different than say a Plexi. I've had the pleasure of playing the old DR103s. Still prefer a Plexi or AC-30, but they're awesome. You do need the cabinet. Great video Pete.

Brother, you've got some wonderful amps there. That Hiwatt is Awesome. 👍👍

Hiwatts have such mystique. I was once doing an album with an 800 that blew up part way through, but instead of trying to find another amp that sounded the same we used a Custom 100 for the other half. Also, an Amps in the Zone episode on Vox would be great.

Damn! The tone of that Hot Fuzz!

Awesome video!!! I love Townshend's playing. We ahould remember that Pete was also responsible for the Marshall stack. He went Jim Marshall and said make me an amp that's as loud as a ( i believe) fender Bassman. The result was a 100 watt head and a cabinet that had 8 twelves. Marshall cut the cab in half because the 8 12s was just to big to be sellable.

This video premieres in 12 hours I feel like a kid again ---- the night before Christmas Thanks 🎅

Killer Amp!

Finally, The almighty Dr103. Please Pete, try out different drives/fuzzes and also time based effects with it. I've heard it is a great pedal platform. Can't wait!