Recently, we were commissioned to recreate a classic Hiwatt DR103 style amplifier. Most famous as Pete Townshend’s amplifier brand-of-choice, we were ecstatic to make this amp for The Treaty Oak Collective – a Houston-based booking firm and record label.
The DR103 has immense style – in fact, Hiwatt was a huge influence on the aesthetic design of all Steamboat amps. Not only in terms of visual design, but high quality, reliable point-to-point wiring with a focus on extreme fidelity. Every nuance of a guitar can be heard and felt through this circuit, from pick up selection to wood species.
Armed with a 60’s Tribute Gibson SG and The Who “Live at Leeds” LP, referencing this new ‘103 was a charmed experience. Throughout the 60’s and the 70’s the DR103 saw several circuit revisions, from the minuscule to the drastic. Using five schematics, one from the late 60’s, one from the early 70’s, mid 70’s and late 70’s, and finally Pete’s own custom Hiwatt, we were able to distill a circuit I think even Townshend would be proud to use.
Adjusting to match our new standard of a high quality, vintage styled tube amp, we implement four bias controls whereas most DR103s had no bias adjustment. Screen resistor values were increased considerably, with no tonal losses but we gain some improved reliability. Plastic booster caps and extra decoupling were used in the power supply, and an active hum filter has been placed within the heater circuit.
Utilizing the same turret board we use in the Steamboat Classic 18 and Steamboat Classic 50, a mix of point-to-point construction and wiring sensibilities established by Hiwatt in the first place, we were able to make this amp extremely consistent with our other models and custom jobs, backed with a lifetime warranty and easy serviceability.
For the next Hiwatt style build, I would play around with a more useful Master Volume circuit – the stock implementation leaves a lot of gain at the end of the dial, a point that is just blisteringly loud. Some later period Hiwatts had a more JCM800 style pre-amp, with the “Brilliant” input servicing as a high gain voicing, and the “Normal” input utilized as the traditional, clean Hiwatt sound.
