Hiwatt was the brainchild of former Mullard
employee Dave Reeves, and is known
until today to be one of the toughest,
baddest, loudest, meanest, and cleanest
amplifiers. Their unmistakably British
character of a punchy and thick response
was one of the signature sounds that
helped drive the British Invasion across
the ocean. Dave Reeves and his family
had close relationships with many of the
users of the amps, and there are stories
of the guys from The Who, Pink Floyd,
Jethro Tull, and many other big names
hanging out in the Reeves family living
room! Behind many of the biggest acts of
the ‘60s and ‘70s you will undoubtedly see
that familiar white badge. Unfortunately,
Dave Reeves suddenly passed away in
1981, leaving the company in limbo and
sending the Reeves family into a spiral
of lawsuits and generally dirty dealings.
The “official” name has switched names
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TONE TALK //
and owners more times than anyone can
count, and is now in the hands of Music
Ground in the UK. These “official” amps
however, while not being bad amps, are
not built to the same standard as the
Dave Reeves originals. There are many
unsolicited “clones” of vintage Hiwatt amps
claiming to get you that classic tone only a
vintage Hiwatt can provide, however there
is only one endorsed and approved by
the Dave Reeves family, which is Hi-Tone
Amplification, out of Columbus, Indiana.
Users of Hiwatt amps: Pete Townshend,
David Gilmour, Keith Emerson (used them
to power his Hammonds and Leslies),
Jethro Tull (both Glenn Cornick and Martin
Barre used Hiwatts on a good chunk of
Jethro Tull’s discography until the ‘80s.)
A People’s Guide to the Gear of the British Invasion