|
PHOTO GALLERY 35 DR103W (circa 1974) Photos courtesy of Brian Prybylski HIWATT STORY DIRECTORY
|
In the last 3 years since THE HIWATT STORY has been on the web, we
have seen hundreds of photos submitted to us by visitors to the
site asking us to identify "unusual" HIWATTs. Needless to say, some
of those units unfortunately weren't authentic.
But every once in a while we come across a real "rarity". Such is the case with this particular unit. After quite a bit of research, here's what we have come up with as to the "pedigree" behind this amp. The unit pictured below was badged by Hylight Electronics as a DR103W, serial number 5073, which by its serial number and some other external and chassis cosmetics puts it at around 1974 for its final date of manufacture. The unit is based on the CP103 models that were built for Pete Townshend in the late 60s and early 70s, including four individual volume controls for the normal and brilliant inputs, bass and treble controls, with no middle or presence. A couple of unusual features make this unit a bit different. First off the pre- amp section has five tubes instead of the usual four found on the early DR103 and CP103 models. And as you'll notice the serial plate is missing about 25% of the tag. Members of Hylight Electronics that we contacted said that the most likely scenario was that this was one of the chassis that might have been made for Mr. Townshend originally, but never taken possession of.The unit was later assembled and marked as a DR103W, the W possibly standing for "Who". Thanks again to Brian Prybylski for these shots of a very rare and unusual HIWATT. 
|
