DR88 Custom Hiwatt 100W Head

Custom Handwired 100W "Bass" Head w/ 2ch, Master Volume and KT88 Power tubes

100W of pure valve-driven Hiwatt Headroom. The DR88 occupies the sweetspot between crystal clean and silky overdrive. Push the channel volume or jump the channels for dirt and saturation. Designed for bass tones, the DR88 also excels for down-tuned guitars, baritones, or just a different flavour of KT88 based tones. The iconic British sound trusted by musicians and engineers for generations.

FEATURE OVERVIEW

— Faithfully hand-wired according to Dave Reeve's original late 60's circuit design.

— A unique, silky character set apart by the dual KT88 output valves.

— Hiwatt is the premier pedal platform prized for clarity and headroom. Presents pedals true to your sound — no effects loop required.

— Normal and Brilliant channels with independent High and Low impedance inputs for each channel. Versatile and intuitive, perfect for bringing life out of dark pickups or taming shrill high end in bright pickups.

— Link the two channels for extra punch and dynamic control of your EQ via the independent channel volumes. Unleash the ’jumped’ channel sound Hiwatt is famous for.

— All the clean headroom you could want.

— The DR88 comes fitted with a transparent PPIMV control for phase inverter distortion at lower volumes

— A truly all-purpose amplifier. Historically used by the world's most influential artists on a wide range of instruments in the studio and on stage. Ideal for amplifying bass, keys, synthesizers, guitars and other full-range and acoustic instruments.

The PPIMV is a volume control after the signal is split by the phase inverter tube and just before it goes into the power section (tubes) of the amp. Because the PPIMV comes after the phase inverter tube it benefits from a little more added ‘overdrive’ when compared to the PrePIMV. A neat trick with the PPIMV is that by cranking it you are essentially ‘taking it out of the circuit completely’ and hearing the amp without a Master Volume which only became available in later models

Specs

wattage 100W

channels Normal, Brilliant

inputs

• Normal Hi
• Normal Low
• Brilliant Hi
• Brilliant Low

output 2 x 1/4" Speaker Out 1 x Speakon Speaker Out

preamp valves 3 x ECC83 (12AX7), 1 x ECC81 (12AT7)

output valves 2 x KT88

controls

• Normal Volume
• Brilliant Volume
• 3-Band EQ shared by both channels — Bass, Treble, Middle
• Presence — Treble Boost shared by both channels
• Master Volume
• Post-Phase Inverter Master Volume
• Standby — On/Off
• Mains — On/Off

impedance Switchable using Impedance Selector on the rear panel — 4 Ω, 8 Ω, or 16 Ω height 255mm (~11")

width 630mm (~25")

depth 280mm (~12")

weight 30 Kg (~67 lbs)

Road Ready — Rugged 18mm Birch-Ply Construction

Band Ready — ’Soak Tested’ by our Custom Shop Technicians

Touring Ready — World Voltage and Impedance Selectors

Based on Hiwatt’s original circuit designed by Dave Reeves. Original Partridge spec English transformers. Meticulously hand-wired to Harry Joyce’s exacting military standards.

🇬🇧 Proudly manufactured in the Hiwatt Custom Shops.