Hiwatt is a brand with real weight in the guitar amplification world. We had long wanted to put one of these “little guys” on the test bench. In fact, at the last trade show we attended we tried out several models. The problem with testing it there was the volume limits, so as not to bother visitors and the other booths. So the tests were left half done, because if you can't push an amp, you can't get a feel for exactly what it does.
The moment of truth has arrived. Now the amp has been here with us, ready to deliver all the adrenaline in the world at whatever volume we felt like.
Construction and Finish
This is a medium-sized combo with a weight on par with its competitors, which is to say, rather heavy. The power and the fact that it has a speaker of sufficient size both lead to a bigger cabinet and a heavier product.
With a sober look (personally my favorite), the styling combines whites and blacks, apart from the small splash of color of some handy channel-indicator LEDs, which we'll discuss later. The amp is sturdy, well finished and perfectly prepared to withstand all the abuse you throw at it in rehearsal and at gigs.
Channels and Tone Control
This is a very complete system thanks to its two channels. The control panel starts on the right with the power switch and a front headphone output. Next come the master controls, which act on both channels: overall volume and reverb.
The Clean Channel
Four knobs control the EQ (three bands: treble, mids and bass). The fourth pot sets the volume of the clean channel, which Hiwatt calls the “Normal Channel.”
The Overdrive Channel
Under the name “Overdrive Channel,” we find a complete, versatile set of parameters for shaping our battle tones. Let's say that within the Overdrive channel itself you get a further split into gain types. With a small push button/switch you go from gain type 1 to 2 and back. Each type of overdrive has its own Gain control (gain 1 and gain 2).
The three-band EQ (treble, mids, bass) is shared by both gain types, meaning it works whether you're on gain 1 or gain 2. In addition to the usual channel volume control, also common to both gains, there's a very effective “contour” control. With these parameters we covered an enormous range of timbres, gains, overdrives and metal distortions.
Gain number one is more relaxed. It starts (position 1) with subtle overdrive tones and ends (position 10) in a fairly aggressive crunch sound. If we switch to gain number 2 within the overdrive channel, we cover a range of much heavier distortions, so much so that we reach the total extreme of heavy distortion.
On top of all these options, the “contour” control shapes the timbre, taking the distortions and overdrives toward darker, muffled, distant tones and vice versa: close, bright and shrill. In short, you can dial in practically any kind of saturation or distortion you can think of.
To wrap up the comments on the control panel, we'll say how comfortable we were with the small illuminated LEDs that tell us, even in poor visibility (at night, at a gig, on stage...), which channel and mode we're using.
Power and Sound
This is without a doubt an amp with extreme muscle. In other words, a system that delivers huge output volumes. In my case, I ran the tests with the channel volume and master volume at ¾; the result: crushing volume. Given the affection I have for my eardrums, when I turned the master up to 9 and the clean channel to 8, I just ran my hands up and down the guitar's neck as if caressing it, without picking a single note. Just brushing the strings made my pulse race, and I get the impression that if I had hit a huge chord, strummed hard with my hand/pick, even the light bulbs in the room would have fallen out.
The conclusion regarding power is that the drummer will stop drowning you out in the rehearsal room and you'll have more than enough volume to play and to gig in small and medium-sized venues without any PA reinforcement.
Under sound we also include the reverb, which did not go unnoticed. It's a warm, fitting reverb that delivers the expected feel both clean and overdriven.
As for sound quality, we're in solid-state amplification territory. Personally, I find it hard to get the warmth of tubes from this type of amplification, however good it is. The basic criterion that makes this type of system (transistors) tempting is the price compared to tube amps. There are other factors, which we've discussed before, that also play a role: greater durability and less need for care and maintenance compared with tube systems.
Having defined the terrain we're in, we have to applaud the quality of the Hiwatt, because it offers an enormous range of options in sound variety, all of them with attractive quality for the concept and the price at which they're positioned on the market.
Rear Panel and Connections
We often neglect this section. One fine day, after having owned the amp for a year, we suddenly look for an output “x” that we need for a specific purpose (recording, sending a signal to a mixing console, etc.), and that's when we realize we should have considered the amp's connectivity the day we bought it.
The Hiwatt is well equipped in this respect. Its rear panel offers several tools:
- External speaker (cabinet) output with 4 - 8 ohm impedance selector
- Remote channel control jack
- Remote reverb control jack
- Line out
- ¼" female jack Send with signal level pot
- ¼" female jack Return with signal level pot
Conclusions
We always hear that you don't need expensive instruments or gear to make good music. That's absolutely true, since you can write the best song in history on the cheapest instrument in the world, or even without one; imagination is enough. Another thing is whether, when we play it for others, or even for ourselves, it sounds wonderful or like infernal junk. When you try good instruments and good gear, you realize things sound better, and you feel a certain gratification and renewed inspiration when you play. So, considering the one basic parameter we're missing, price, we have to set our budget to narrow the search and compare items at the same price level or type. You also have to consider the amount of power you'll need. Having tons of watts isn't always best. We have to match our needs to the level the amp provides. If you play at home, an amp like this will be too much for you, since you won't be able to play it at full tilt (without your neighbors murdering you afterward). On the other hand, a limited-power amp can give you a hard time in a rehearsal room, for example if the band's drummer plays loud and you have to turn up to hear yourself, pushing the amp so hard that playing clean will be almost impossible because it will distort, in addition to the risk of “sudden death” for the speaker cone.
That said, this Hiwatt sits at a price of 459 €, well within a more than reasonable budget for a guitar amp. I think it's quite affordable considering its 100 watts, its extreme power and the good versatility its various channels offer. Within its class, I think it's a good amp, especially suited to hard-hitting rehearsals and gigs. That doesn't mean it's exclusively a “weapon of war,” because its clean passages are especially warm and powerful. In fact, its clean sounds are the ones I personally liked best. In distortion/saturation it delivers the best a solid-state amp can, and therefore the overall assessment of the Hiwatt G100 112R is very positive relative to its price.
