les paul copy > Opus mustang series 1 "help"

flashback · Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

lee_UK: wrote

if yours has all the original parts it could be worth £500-£700, its worth a lot more than a comparative Marshall, don't sell it cheap, those things are all point to point hand wired too, take the cover off and have a look at the skilled workmanship inside, they realy are a work of art.

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Well lee_uk, i took the thing apart for the first time and had a look,it has partridge transformers (after a quik wrestle with the dust),but then things start to look a bit fishy!!, I lent it out in good faith about 4 years ago,with orig valves,these do not look like same valves.Looks like it was made in 1976 if i go by the tested sticker on the side, also has a name textered on the bottom,might be the technitian who made it or a previous owner.....if you dont mind go to> http://www.freewebs.com/opusmustang/cutomhiwatt100.htm < AND HAVE A LOOK FOR ME MATE!! ...tell me what you see that is and isnt orig.

cheers
"flash"

flashback · Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

ooops..last post a mistake Embarassed

if anyone can delete this post and one above..feel free!! please.

1bassleft · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:18 am Post subject:

Flashback, it really is a pleasure to see a new member come in and take the trouble to post up such a lovely gem. If I could dole out prizes, you'd be #1 in line for an amp-porn lover like me. I am "Bender" from Futurama and you have a lovely Custom 100, there. Make a coffee, sit back and read. I could bore you, but it's worth writing a lengthy about.

First, that sticker:

At first, I didn't take much notice. Those things are available to anybody in Blighty, and frequently used by local government employed types who test electrical equipment for safety. All it meant was that the amp was born no later than 1976. However, those initials "DR" suggest that it could have been checked over and passed by Dave Reeves, the founder and head honcho of HiWatt.

Next, that name written on the underside of the chassis:

Harry Joyce was the chief technician in HiWatt's engineering, and went on to make his own valve amps after Reeve's death in 1981. The pic also beautifully shows the attention to the wiring that is the HiWatt trademark. Look at those right angles where the critical wires pass, to avoid any impedance loop. By comparison, a Marshall Superlead or Plexi is a plate of spaghetti.

Your topshot:

clearly shows the Partridge mains and output transformers. Your "odd one out" is a replaced filter capacitor. Don't worry too much about this, even though some people like to see original capacitors. The fact is, they were designed to live maybe 10-15 years and it's amazing that originals are still in place. If your original were bubbling and/or showing white powder, it really needed to be replaced before it puffed an acrid smokebomb all over the innards.

Finally, the valves:

These look to me like the Electro-Harmonix 6CA7, a modern valve that is a copy of the "big bottle" Sylvania 6CA7 of the USA. They definitely weren't the originals, but you don't say for how long you lent out the amp. Valves, even more so than capacitors, wear out. If it had Mullards when you lent it out, but came back a fortnight later with these EHs, then you've been done. If, however, the amp was borrowed for a long time then I'm not surprised the valves were replaced. FWIW, the EH 6CA7 isn't a bad choice out of all the modern availables and probably suits the amp well enough. I prefer the old valves, but they're not easy (or cheap) to get hold of.

Hope some of this is useful info, thanks again for the pics and posts. I've deleted your pic-posts that didn't work out Very Happy

flashback · Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Posts: 9

thanx for your reply 1Bassleft,quit interesting indeed.
i lent the amp out for about two weeks,the valves that should of come back with the amp were much taller and skinnier and when fired up ,they had a beautiful blue glow to them...these crap just emit a shitty dull yellow/orange lol.Ive rarely used the amp itself,rather opting for the quick'n easy set up of a 50w CRATE practice amp.Its a pitty the serial plate has been removed to make way for a silly bloody switch ,which i have no idea wat it actually does.
One thing is for sure,i will look after it a bit better after learning of its integrity and maybe even "use" it more often than not.
Ive always known it sounds better than most(by ear),but with little kids running around,ive opted to keep it put away,well kids are older now and are showing intrest themselves...so now's the time to let the HiWatt rip.

cheers 1Bassleft.
"oh and by the way!!!.....no you cant borrow it" Laughing

lol

1bassleft · Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 2:31 pm Post subject:

I hope the "quit interesting" was a typo; some say I quit being interesting around post #3 Laughing

. Anyhoo, you're in good company; Pete Townshend, John Entwhistle and Dave Gilmour all had Custom 100s specially adapted for them by Hiwatt to their own spec. Pete Townshend, particularly, is synonymous with Hiwatt. I think CDs of The Who "Live at Leeds" are readily available; one of the great recorded gigs with plenty of your Hiwatt to listen to. Some of the people I know at a "vintage amp" forum I'm on will be spluttering their coffees on reading that your Custom 100 gathers dust in favour of a Crate Shocked

, but I know what you mean.

Incidentally, lack of use with my own favourite head has had its downside. At least one, probably two, of the filter caps have started to show white powder and I'd better replace them. Funnelly nuff, regular use keeps electrolytic capacitors sweet and prevents them drying out. Try to give the amp a monthly kerrang if you can.

Your tall. skinny tubes were EL34s (or E34Ls), much more commonly used with British amps than the big-bottle 6CA7. There's two reasons why your previous tubes may have glowed blue. One possible is that you had the JJ Tesla E34L with blue-stained glass:

or they were normal tubes and the blue glow was from trace gas fluorescence (this worries some people but it's no harm to amp or valve). It sounds suspicious that someone should replace tubes inside a fortnight. If I had, I would've said "Your cruddy amp needed retubing and it cost me $50!" rather than said nothing. I've got a feeling they weren't JJs, but prized and valuable old Mullards that your "friend" has lifted and replaced with cheap moderns. A working, matched quad of Mullard EL34s is worth several hundred dollars, depending on which type, condition etc.

As for removing the serial plate to fit a switch, that's just Evil or Very Mad

, whoever did that. Probably some hot-rod mod to give it some overdrive. What is left of the ident? Is there the plate with the factory address still present? Another photo would be interesting.

Lastly, here's a website with a bit of Hiwatt history:
http://mhuss.com/Hiwatt/history.html

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