Hiwatt SA-212 Custom 50 212 Combo

- What musical styles do you use this amp for?

It's a clean sound machine, with very clear sounds till high power levels thanks to its legendary headroom.

A perfect amp to play with a packed pedalboard. All pedals I plugged into it sounded like marvel. This is one of David Gilmour's favorite amps, and that's how he uses it. No fx loop, but you won't miss it since the amp only has a single channel.

I've used it quite a lot in the studio, and this professional grade amp appeared limitless. I almost only ever used it, for versatile, beautifully pedal-crafted sounds. All by itself (without any pedal), the amp delivers a cristal-clean, precise sound, almost hifi until a high sound level. It may sound a bit shrilly depending on the guitar you use. If you drive it a little with a Strat, you'll get that Shine On You Crazy Diamonds sound (that's for Pink Floyd, fans - and I'm one of them). A delay, a good ol' OD and a phaser for the famous four notes and here we are - incredible!

- Given its weight and power, is this amp feasible for practicing, rehearsing with a band, and/or using live?

A rather delicate question. The amp is very powerful (50w Hiwatt really means something), sometimes too much for some small stages with PA engineers used to almost silent stages (yes, some of them are). In normal stage configurations (that is medium to large stages), I consider this amp to be perfectly suited. No problem either for working and rehearsal, as this amp is really dynamic. But getting THE sound takes pushing it a bit.

- Are the clean, crunchy and distorted sounds suitable? Are the parameters efficient and effective?

Clean sounds : already evoked, it’s one of the best amps in the world in that regard.
Crunch: Master at 1 or 2, full-on volume with a Les Paul type guitar. It rocks, you’re at Led Zep’s but – is your room soundproofed btw?
Distorted : no way. Perhaps using pedals, in that case you certainly can play anything you like.

Settings are really basic, no problem finding your sound. Well, provided you get the interest of a presence knob and how volume and master volume relate to each other.

Both inputs can also be linked using a small patch, opening way to new sonic opportunities (for the best of both worlds?).

- What are the pros and cons of this amp?
+ vintage amp (mine is from 1977), point-to-point, built to conform army norms. Only high-end components.
+ awesome sound
+ huge headroom
+ excellent value-for-money on the used market !! Well, it seems Hiwatt isn’t “in” these days: a great thing!
+ perfect for my studio needs
+ a combo: transportable, still...

- ...it weighs 34kg and is rather big. Not being the muscular type, It’s a bit of a problem to me. If you’re not too skinny, it’ll do. Glad I have nice and charitable friends.
- too powerful for my on-stage needs.