There was a time when Hiwatt stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Marshall and Vox at the top of the British Amplifier hierarchy. In fact during the Dave Reeves Era (1966-1981) Hiwatt was considered the superior amp brand of the day - with significantly better build quality than all the rest. This had much to do with Dave’s dual apprenticeships at Marconi and Mullard - where he was imbued with MilSpec production values - such that those devices could be more easily and expediently maintained.
MilSpec precision was most apparent in the neatness of the wiring - where Dave’s builds were head and shoulders above anything else made around the same time. The DR103 was sometimes associated with the Marshall Super Lead Plexi, but it’s an entirely different circuit - which delivers a lot more headroom on cleans, and more flavour / vibrancy when overdriven and distorted. Some mentioned that a Marshall could sound positively anaemic when driven next to a Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 in full flow.
For a long time the DR103 was known for being the preeminent gigging amp of its time - as it was consistently louder than pretty much everything else available - and as a result you had a broad collection of artists who used the amp in a variety of ways.
Notably this was the original Who amp - as favoured by Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. While it’s probably best known for being David Gilmour’s favourite amp across his extensive career - where he loves it for that super massive clean headroom that helps make his lead lines soar so well.
The DR103 roster used to be a who’s who of the rockstars of that time and while it still endures to this day, some of its most significant following waned somewhat in the wake of Dave Reeves’ sudden passing in 1981. Had he lived on - we would most likely be recounting Hiwatt alongside Marshall and Vox in the pantheon of all-time greatest British Amps!
The Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 has been favoured by David Gilmour, The Edge, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of the Who, Eddie Vedder, Robert Fripp, Ronnie Wood, Kevin Shield, Neal Schon, J Mascis, and Tommy Bolin.
And Brian Mena’s take on that great amp should hopefully help reevaluate and rehabilitate the core amp’s standing in the public conscience.
You have the ability to blend Brilliant and Normal Amp Input Gains, with 3 Band EQ, and a further mini Power Gain knob - for that extra degree of sear.
Controls - Volume, Brilliant Gain 1, Normal Gain 2, Bass, Mid, Treb, Power Gain, Internal Amp Match Trimmer (Gain Refine).
Both the MenaWatt and Wreck'T landed at the same time for me - and they beautifully and absolutely carry the flavours and dynamics of their source amps. Both sound stellar to me - with plenty of range across each of the dials and copious amounts of volume most appropriately.
My favourite most harmonious settings on the MenaWatt to date - have Volume, Brilliant and Normal all @ 2 o'c, Bass @ 3 o'c, Mid @ 9 o'c, Treb @ 1:30 o'c, and Power Gain @ 3 o'c - that really sounds superb.
The MenaWatt V3 is excellent value too @ $209 from the Menatone Webstore. Brian is mostly making these to order nowadays - so you will need to correspond with him to get your hands on one of these. Brian definitely has a deft touch with these Preamp pedals, and the Wreck'T coming up next may be even more impressive - which is a big deal - as the MenaWatt is already stellar.
I say get both! The Wreck'T review is coming up next week, and leading towards an update of my seminal 16 Iconic Amps article!
After that I have two more of Brian's compacts to acquire - the Dirty Blonde, and Workingmans Blue - so I will be seeking to get those in fairly soon also! And end on a range review of all the compacts - which should number 11 by then!
Weirdly there aren't too many demos of this pedal - but there are some very suitable sound samples on the Menatone site that you can review - besides the one demo I was able to find on YouTube - as below - which beautifully recreates those 'The Who Live at Leeds' tones!
The Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 is definitely one of the most quintessential peak early rock era amps - and the Menatone MenaWatt is the perfect jumping off point for those superior tones. Brian has most definitely gotten the formula spot on in this V3 Edition of the MenaWatt - it sounds amazing!