HiWatt - where they came from, and the tones they''re known for.
What do Slade, Robert Fripp (King Crimson),
Tommy Bolin, Tommy Shaw (Styx, Damn
Yankees) Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), and Mike
Rutherford (Genesis) all have in common?
They used vintage Hiwatt amplifiers to achieve
their signature tones. Put on the Who’s
classic album Live at Leeds, and you’ll hear
these amplifiers in all their naked glory. In my
humble opinion, Hiwatts are probably the most
unforgiving guitar amplifiers to play through,
and one of the more difficult to “make friends
with,” because they are so damn accurate and
quick in the way they reproduce sound. That
said, the Hiwatt sound is much more refined
and chock-full of high-resolution details when
compared to any other British amplifier.
Part of the reason for their special sound lies
in the fact that they are quite a bit cleaner
than, say, a Marshall metal-panel 100-watt
head, and they respond extremely quickly to
the player’s touch. In fact, after seeing and
hearing a few vintage Hiwatts over the years,
I can safely say that a Hiwatt is more closely
related to a Vox AC30 than any other British
amp—a really big sounding AC30 at that. If
you like AC30s, you should get along with a
Hiwatt without any major issues (other than
adjusting to its super-fast response).
Hiwatt’s 4x12 cabinets also play an important
part in the their overall tone—something I first
discovered with a Marshall Major, ironically
enough. In the mid ’70s, I had the opportunity
to take some private lessons with Bill Connors
(Return to Forever’s first, and best, electric
guitarist) when he lived in the San Francisco
Bay Area. These lessons went for about a year
before Bill decided to move back to New
York, and he asked me whether I could help
sell his RTF performing rig, which consisted
of a Marshall Major 200-watt head coupled
with two model 4122 Hiwatt 4x12 cabinets.
Even though Connors had already sold the
Maestro Full Range Booster that he used to
overdrive this monster rig—the “secret sauce”
to his single-note tone—that amp and speaker
combination was devastating nonetheless. It
was bold, loud, and chimey all on its own, with
only a Les Paul plugged into the Major head.
A critical element in the sound of those
Hiwatt cabinets were the original 50-watt
Fane speakers. These have an inherently
chimey quality that might remind many
players of the old original Vox “Blue”
speakers. One of the greatest benefits of
the original Fanes is that they clean up very
quickly when you lower your guitar’s volume
control, thus allowing you to obtain both
acoustic guitar-like clarity at lower levels and
that famous kerrang when the volume is set
at full bore. And believe me, once you can
tame the roaring thunder of a goosed Hiwatt
rig, you’ll be able to play anything else.
True proof of the Fanes’ brilliance came nine
years ago at the so-called Tampa Tone Fest,
an informal gathering of amp enthusiasts
and friends. One day, while we were at
lunch, resting our ears, our friend and Hiwatt
collector, Patrick, hooked up my Komet 60
head into a 1975-era model 4123 Hiwatt
cabinet to compare it to the various Marshall
cabs in attendance. We were all stunned at
the sound we heard coming out of those
Fane 50s—it was propelled with a laser-like
focus, unmatched by even our reference
1968 Marshall cabinet.
To this very day, I still crack up at the thought
of being able to hear Patrick from my car the
next morning, blasting the “big gun” 200-watt
DR201 model through two Hiwatt 4x12 cabinets
with my old Precision Bass—about 7 blocks
away from the venue. That was indeed a scene,
watching everyone run from the building when I
drove into the parking lot. Talk about loud!
In the decades since my first encounters with
Hiwatts, I’ve developed a real love of the
“snarling” tone Hiwatt stacks produce. This is
opposed to the “growl” that Marshall amps
produce—it’s a very different sound really.
The Marshall clean tone comes across as very
weak and distorted when compared side-by-side
with the Hiwatt’s obvious clean prowess.
There are a couple of things you need to
know about the Hiwatt design that make
things seem a little backwards if you’re used
to other British amp heads. Firstly, the high-low
sensitivity inputs are actually upside
down (the high-sensitivity input is on the
bottom, not the top like on a Marshall head,
for instance). Secondly, do yourself a big
favor and avoid plugging your guitar or bass
straight into the Brilliant channel inputs—
these things are razor-sharp, and have been
known to scare off new players before they
were able to discover the true Hiwatt tone.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Finally, vintage Hiwatts are generally much
more reliable than other British amplifiers
because they were built by military-trained
assemblers. For example, the 200-watt model
Hiwatt heads are extremely well-made and
very reliable, whereas the Marshall Major
200-watt head was fraught with issues such
as catching on fire, not taking well to pedals,
etc. Hiwatt did produce a 400-watt head
that ended up having various reliability
issues, but they didn’t make too many before
pulling them from the market. One of the
late Ken Fischer’s last comments about these
amplifiers—besides noting that you should
“wear a diaper” if you were going to be
prodding around the insides of a 400-watt
amp—came in late 2006, when he told me
over the phone that, “The only vintage amp
that will be left standing (and still working) in
the year 2025 would be a Hiwatt!” Knowing
Ken, he’s probably right.
Dean Farley
Dean is the chief designer of "Snake Oil Brand Strings" (sobstrings.net) and has had a profound influence on the trends in the strings of today.
MayFly Le Habanero Review
Great versatility in combined EQ controls. Tasty low-gain boost voice. Muscular Fuzz Face-like fuzz voice.
Can be noisy without a lot of treble attenuation. Boost and fuzz order can only be reversed with the internal DIP switch.
$171
May Fly Le Habanero
A fuzz/boost combo that’s as hot as the name suggests, but which offers plenty of smoky, subdued gain shades, too.
Generally speaking, I avoid combo effects. If I fall out of love with one thing, I don’t want to have to ditch another that’s working fine. But recent fixations with spatial economy find me rethinking that relationship. MayFly’s Le Habanero (yes, the Franco/Spanish article/noun mash-up is deliberate) consolidates boost and fuzz in a single pedal. That’s far from an original concept. But the characteristics of both effects make it a particularly effective one here, and the relative flexibility and utility of each gives this combination a lot more potential staying power for the fickle.
“Le Habanero’s fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof.”
The fuzz section has a familiar Fuzz Face-like tone profile—a little bit boomy and very present in that buzzy mid-’60s, midrangey kind of way. But Le Habanero’s fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof (especially with humbuckers) and an effective filter switch that enhances the fuzz’s flexibility—especially when used with the boost. The boost is a fairly low-gain affair. Even at maximum settings, it really seems to excite desirable high-mid harmonics more than it churns out dirt. That’s a good thing, particularly when you introduce hotter settings from the boost’s treble and bass controls, which extend the boost’s voice from thick and smoky to lacerating. Together, the boost and fuzz can be pushed to screaming extremes. But the interactivity between the tone and filter controls means you can cook up many nuanced fuzz shades spanning Jimi scorch and Sabbath chug with tons of cool overtone and feedback colors.
IK Multimedia is pleased to announce the release of new premium content for all TONEX users, available today through the IK Product Manager.
The latest TONEX Factory Content v2 expands the creative arsenal with a brand-new collection of Tone Models captured at the highest quality and presets optimized for live performance. TONEX Tone Models are unique captures of rigs dialed into a specific sweet spot. TONEX presets are used for performance and recording, combining Tone Models with added TONEX FX, EQ, and compression.
Who Gets What:
TONEX Pedal
- 150 crafted presets matched to 150 Premium Tone Models
- A/B/C layout for instant access to clean, drive, and lead tones
- 30 Banks: Amp & cab presets from classic cleans to crushing high-gain
- 5 Banks: FX-driven presets featuring the 8 new TONEX FX
- 5 Banks: Amp-only presets for integrating external IRs, VIR™, or amps
- 5 Banks: Stompbox presets of new overdrive/distortion pedals
- 5 Banks: Bass amp & pedal presets to cover and bass style
TONEX Mac/PC
- 106 new Premium Tone Models + 9 refined classics for TONEX MAX
- 20 new Premium Tone Models for TONEX and TONEX SE
TONEX ONE
- A selection of 20 expertly crafted presets from the list above
- Easy to explore and customize with the new TONEX Editor
Gig-ready Tones
For the TONEX Pedal, the first 30 banks deliver an expansive range of amp & cab tones, covering everything from dynamic cleans to brutal high-gain distortion. Each bank features legendary amplifiers paired with cabs such as a Marshall 1960, ENGL E412V, EVH 412ST and MESA Boogie 4x12 4FB, ensuring a diverse tonal palette. For some extremely high-gain tones, these amps have been boosted with classic pedals like the Ibanez TS9, MXR Timmy, ProCo RAT, and more, pushing them into new sonic territories.
Combined with New FX
The following 5 banks of 15 presets explore the depth of TONEX's latest effects. There's everything from the rich tremolo on a tweed amp to the surf tones of the new Spring 4 reverb. Users can also enjoy warm tape slapback with dotted 8th delays or push boundaries with LCR delay configurations for immersive, stereo-spanning echoes. Further, presets include iconic flanger sweeps, dynamic modulation, expansive chorus, stereo panning, and ambient reverbs to create cinematic soundscapes.
Versatile Control
The TONEX Pedal's A, B, and C footswitches make navigating these presets easy. Slot A delivers clean, smooth tones, Slot B adds crunch and drive, and Slot C pushes into high-gain or lead territory. Five dedicated amp-only banks provide a rich foundation of tones for players looking to integrate external IRs or run directly into a power amp. These amp-only captures span clean, drive, and high-gain categories, offering flexibility to sculpt the sound further with IRs or a real cab.
Must-have Stompboxes
TONEX Pedals are ideal for adding classic effects to any pedalboard. The next 5 banks focus on stompbox captures, showcasing 15 legendary overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals. This collection includes iconic models based on the Fulltone Full-Drive 2, Marshall DriveMaster, Maxon OD808, Klon Centaur, ProCo RAT, and more.
For Bass Players, Too
The last 5 banks are reserved for bass players, including a selection of amp & cab Tone Models alongside a few iconic pedals. Specifically, there are Tone Models based on the Ampeg SVT-2 PRO, Gallien-Krueger 800RB, and Aguilar DB750, alongside essential bass pedals based on the Tech21 SansAmp, Darkglass B7K and EHX Big Muff. Whether it's warm vintage thump, modern punch, or extreme grit, these presets ensure that bassists have the depth, clarity and power they need for any playing style.For more information and instructions on how to get the new Factory
Content v2 for TONEX, please visit:
www.ikmultimedia.com/products/tonex
Darkglass Electronics unveils ANAGRAM, a flagship bass platform designed to redefine tone, flexibility, and performance. The pedal’s extraordinarily deep feature set includes multiple effects and modeling, an on-board looper and tuner.
Best of all, ANAGRAM brings together these creative tools in a streamlined, rugged format that’s designed for ease of use. Onstage and in the studio, bassists can quickly access and fine-tune their sound via the ANAGRAM interface:
- 7-inch high-brightness touchscreen for clear and intuitive control.
- Three footswitches for live performance control.
- Six high-resolution endless rotary knobs for precise parameter adjustments.
- Flexible input and output configuration.
With ultra-low latency, extensive customization, and seamless integration into the Darkglass ecosystem, it supports both studio precision and stage performance. Combining 15 years of innovation with cutting-edge processing power, ANAGRAM offers a purpose-built solution for bassists seeking unparalleled sound-shaping capabilities.
Anagram
Powered by a state-of-the-art hexacore processor and 32-bit/48kHz audio processing,ANAGRAM delivers ultra-low latency, pristine clarity, and studio-grade sound. Its intuitive blocks-based architecture lets players create signal chains in series (12 blocks) or parallel (24blocks) using a high-resolution touch display. ANAGRAM features three control modes—Preset,Scene, and Stomp—for instant switching, parameter adjustments, and traditional pedalboard-style operation. With a curated collection of distinct preamps, 50+ customizable effects, a looper, tuner, and user-generated IR support, ANAGRAM delivers unmatched creative flexibility.Seamless integration with the Darkglass Suite allows for expanded control and functionality. Additionally, Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) integration provides access to thousands
of high-quality amp and effect models, expanding tonal possibilities from analog warmth to futuristic textures.
"Anagram represents the culmination of years of research and development," says Marcos Barilatti, Managing Director of Darkglass Electronics. "We set out to create a product that not only pushes the boundaries of bass tone but also inspires musicians to explore new sonic territories."
Housed in a rugged anodized aluminum chassis, ANAGRAM is road-ready, compact, and powered via 9V or USB-C (PD). With flagship features at a compelling price, ANAGRAM represents the new standard for bassists seeking a modern platform for their performance.
Street $1199.99 USD
Alongside Nicolas Jaar’s electronics, Harrington creates epic sagas of sound with a team of fine-tuned pedalboards.
Guitarist Dave Harrington concedes that while there are a few mile markers in the music that he and musician Nicolas Jaar create as Darkside, improvisation has been the rule from day one. The experimental electronic trio’s latest record, Nothing, which released in February on Matador, was the first to feature new percussionist Tlacael Esparza.
Taking the record on tour this year, Darkside stopped in at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, where Harrington broke down his complex signal chains for PG’s Chris Kies.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Express Yourself
Harrington bought this mid-2000s Gibson SG at 30th Street Guitars in New York, a shop he used to visit as a kid. The headstock had already been broken and repaired, and Harrington switched the neck pickup to a Seymour Duncan model used by Derek Trucks. Harrington runs it with D’Addario NYXL .010s, which he prefers for their stretch and stability.
The standout feature is a round knob installed by his tech behind the bridge, which operates like an expression pedal for the Line 6 DL4. Harrington has extras on hand in case one breaks.
Triple Threat
Harrington’s backline setup in Nashville included two Fender Twin Reverbs and one Fender Hot Rod DeVille. He likes the reissue Fender amps for their reliability and clean headroom. Each amp handles an individual signal, including loops that Harrington creates and plays over; with each amp handling just one signal rather than one handling all loops and live playing, there’s less loss of definition and competition for frequency space.
Dave Harrington’s Pedalboards
Harrington says he never gives up on a pedal, which could explain why he’s got so many. You’re going to have to tune in to the full Rundown to get the proper scoop on how Harrington conducts his three-section orchestra of stomps, but at his feet, he runs a board with a Chase Bliss Habit, Mu-Tron Micro-Tron IV, Eventide PitchFactor, Eventide H90, Hologram Microcosm, Hologram Chroma Console, Walrus Monument, Chase Bliss Thermae, Chase Bliss Brothers AM, JHS NOTAKLÖN, two HexeFX reVOLVERs, and an Amped Innovations JJJ Special Harmonics Extender. A Strymon Ojai provides power.
At hip-level sits a board with a ZVEX Mastotron, Electro-Harmonix Cathedral, EHX Pitch Fork, Xotic EP Booster, two EHX 45000 multi-track looping recorders, Walrus Slöer, Expedition Electronics 60 Second Deluxe, and another Hologram Microcosm. A Live Wire Solutions ABY Box and MXR DC Brick are among the utility tools on deck.
Under that board rest Harrington’s beloved Line 6 DL4—his desert-island, must-have pedal—along with a controller for the EHX 45000, Boss FV-50H volume pedal, Dunlop expression pedal, Boss RT-20, a Radial ProD2, and another MXR DC Brick.