radiophonic Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I've always really fancied a HiWatt 200 and I continue to cruise Reverb in the unlikely hope of finding one at a price I can afford. I recently saw something called a MyWatt advertised. It appears to be a German HiWatt clone and is 6550 / KT88 based but the price tag is a fraction of the cost of either a vintage or reissue. I'm interested but a bit sceptical. Does anyone have any experience with these? How do the transformer specs compare - the old HiWatts had huge Partridge ones, more like a massive HiFi amp. Are these worth a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 I had a Mywatt 200 from new and it was just like a Hiwatt. Superb amp. I can't remember the make of the transformer but they were pretty big toroidal transformers which made it a bit lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 Just now, bertbass said: I had a Mywatt 200 from new and it was just like a Hiwatt. Superb amp. I can't remember the make of the transformer but they were pretty big toroidal transformers which made it a bit lighter. Did you have the 200 or 400? The 200W HiWatt is 'the thing' I always wanted but having played through 70s SVT heads, I did wonder if the extra power might be handy. Back in the day, multiple guitar and bass heads was a pretty common sight and I've always assumed 200 was a little on the low side for headroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 It was the 200. It was pretty loud and the 400 would only be 3db louder which would be hardly noticeable. Back in the 60s / 70s I never had a problem being heard with a 100w tube amp and 2 x 4X12s. Mind you, when I had 2, Marshall Superbass heads and 4, 4x12s, that was a different level! Wouldn't want to move it all now though and it would be bigger than some of the stages we're supposed to set up on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 15 minutes ago, bertbass said: It was the 200. It was pretty loud and the 400 would only be 3db louder which would be hardly noticeable. Back in the 60s / 70s I never had a problem being heard with a 100w tube amp and 2 x 4X12s. Mind you, when I had 2, Marshall Superbass heads and 4, 4x12s, that was a different level! Wouldn't want to move it all now though and it would be bigger than some of the stages we're supposed to set up on. I'm not bothered about heavy heads, but speaker cabs are another matter. I definitely don't miss lugging those old Celestion loaded 4x12s and 4x10s around. I'm figuring 200 into my Barefaced Compact 15 would be a super punchy and loud combo. I have a 2x10 to add some extra displacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Sounds good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 The MyWatt 200 is excellent, relatively low weight at 24 kg, easily biased, and in every way like a Hiwatt. I can recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 23 hours ago, bertbass said: It was the 200. It was pretty loud and the 400 would only be 3db louder which would be hardly noticeable. Back in the 60s / 70s I never had a problem being heard with a 100w tube amp and 2 x 4X12s. Mind you, when I had 2, Marshall Superbass heads and 4, 4x12s, that was a different level! Wouldn't want to move it all now though and it would be bigger than some of the stages we're supposed to set up on. +3dB in the same environment roughly equates to a doubling in sound pressure levels. The 400 ought to be tangibly louder than the 200 if using the same cabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildebassman Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) One amp repair dude serviced one here in the Netherlands. He was pretty impressed. The measured output was max. 141 watts rms. Edited July 15, 2020 by wildebassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I've got a Mywatt 200 and it's a thing of beauty. You certainly don't need to worry about running out of power either because it has headroom by the bucket load. I'd like to see anyone tell it apart from a Hiwatt DR201 too. Absolute beast of an amp. I've toyed with letting mine go through lack of gigging opportunities too, but wouldn't mind keeping it one teensy weensy bit either. Edit; I'll add a few more musings. In my opinion, the best way to use this amp is to bridge the normal and bright inputs. It really comes alive then. The power delivery on it is very linear and it doesn't run out of steam and start losing it's character however hard you push it. Everything remains crystal clear and it really cuts through in a live setting. Weight wise it's very manageable if you're relatively fit and certainly nothing even approaching an SVT or similar. It's certainly the best sounding amp I've ever had and I personally prefer it way above the few Ampeg valve amps I've played through. It also blows away the best of the non valve amps I've had which include Eden, Tecamp, Genz Benz, Gallien Kreuger and Mesa. Edited July 14, 2020 by Japhet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) I mailed Max Weber to get a quote. Definitely seriously pondering my options. However, 141W seems quite a bit down on the 200 claimed. I'm not doubting it's loud though and of course out of context numbers don't really tell you anything anyway and speaker sensitivity will play a huge role. I'm in the fortunate position of having triple glazing, no connecting neighbours and a cellar big enough to use as a recording space for amps - last time my band recorded guitars we ran 2 valve heads into a 4x12 and 2x12 at stage volume and it was inaudible from the street. I also discovered just how loud a 40W Fender valve combo is on 10 (very, it turns out). Not being able to gig is frustrating, but I can still crank it up so now actually seems like quite a good time to buy. Edited July 14, 2020 by radiophonic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiophonic Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 4 hours ago, wildebassman said: One amp repair dude serviced one serviced here in the Netherlands. He was pretty impressed. The measured output was max. 141 watts rms. That's an interesting guts shot. It seems to have 2 transformers, but only one of them is toroidal. The other one is about the same size as the ones in my 4 x 6550 HiFi amp. Do you know what the story is there? Max needs to raise his website game I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildebassman Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 22 hours ago, radiophonic said: That's an interesting guts shot. It seems to have 2 transformers, but only one of them is toroidal. The other one is about the same size as the ones in my 4 x 6550 HiFi amp. Do you know what the story is there? Max needs to raise his website game I think. The non toroidal is the output transformer, pretty normal, I have an older Laney amp with toroidal mains and non toroidal output transformer. I hand made quite a few replica Marshall amps and nver used toroidal transformers. Pics of one of the "bluesbreaker" combo's I used to build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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