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Welcome to the listing of this classic British brand of amplifiers. The long-awaited Hi-Gain series are back and are now available a-Gain! This 100W head was designed in England for those guitar players who want more gain but also want to retain the classic Hiwatt sound based on DR103 (100W Custom head) as played by Pete Townsend and David Gilmour.
Pete had seven of these amps custom-built for him based on the Hiwatt DR103 design between 1969 and1973— in at least three batches — by Dave Reeves of Hylight Electronics with the following factory modifications/differences from the DR103:
CUSTOM HIWATT 100 “The Who” control panel.
No middle or presence controls in the circuit.
Four input channels, one volume control for each channel.
Five preamp valves: four 12AX7/ECC83 and one 12AT7/ECC81
Four EL34 power/output valves.
Misconceptions about the CP103
Here are a few misconceptions about Pete’s Hiwatt amps:
Instrument inputs boosted by an additional 10db: This would only serve to distort the input and create additional hum.
Instrument inputs linked together: The Sound City SC105 did not have linked inputs, and considering each of the inputs offers a unique “voicing,” it is unlikely they are linked.
Middle and presence controls “removed” or “rendered inactive”: The CP103 (and SC105) were just a different tone circuit from the DR103 altogether.
Output stage boosted to deliver 120 watts R.M.S.: The output transformer in the CP103 is identical to the 100-watt DR103.
The CP103 had four preamp valves: It is based on the Sound City SC105, which had five, and the CP103 had five.
Look at the facia of this amplifier, and it looks fairly standard, but don’t be fooled. The Custom 20 boasts some pretty clever circuitry in the EQ network. You could set the master volume and gain at full, but with all three tone controls set fully anti-clockwise, you’ll not hear a thing. It’s like having a further three volume controls set at different frequencies, which means you have such control of your tone, and what a tone! No FX loops, no DI or other interruptions, just you and the amp. 2xEL84s at output and 3xECC83s at pre-amp with this circuitry will give you tones, harmonics, creamy distortion and graunch that you didn’t think possible. Although the 150w 2x12 cabinet is the preferred option, the Custom 20 has more than enough oomph to drive our 4x12.
