The Super-Hi 50 is a high-end boutique amp, the result of Fortin Amplification's™ mod of the DR504. With David Reeves' timeless circuit at its heart, it boasts the clarity, punch, and definition of the Hiwatt DR series. Mike Fortin adds phenomenal gain, which like his own amps is tight, organic, and articulated. It responds strongly to pick attacks and easily separate all notes from the chords, even at high saturation levels. It matches perfectly with 7- and 8-string guitars and very low tunings. Yes, the Super-Hi 50 djent.
With three gain stages, the preamp designed by David Reeve in the 1960s (perfectly reissued in today's Hiwatt DR103 and 504) is the ideal platform for high-gain mods.
While the purpose of these three gain stages was to give the maximum headroom for clean sounds, Fortin uses it to create three and four cascading gain stages that deliver maximum saturation.
The result is a powerful and precise saturation tone, which unlike many saturated amps, doesn’t need a boost pedal to unleash its full potential. The amp keeps the huge, percussive, and powerful character of the DR series, while taking pedals really well. A drive boost can be added to either channel and controlled via the included Hiwatt Custom Shop footswitch.
The Super-Hi 50 has two channels, with dedicated gain and volume controls, which work exactly like Fortin™ amps: the gain on channel 1 is rather gutural and thick, while gain on channel 2 plays on a higher range for a more precise result. With the gain controls at minimum, you get a slightly crunchy sound that can clean up by rolling the guitar volume down. It works wonderfully with any drive-based pedal, especially fuzz pedals, to which it adds just the right amount of compression and character to reveal their best. For modulation, delay, and reverb effects, the highly transparent effects loop allows them to be brought out while utilizing 100% of the Super-Hi 50's saturation capabilities.
The SE212115CF cabinet is unique and has been specially developed to create the ultimate rig. With its two 12" guitar speakers (Fane F75 or Celestion V30™ of your choice) combined with a 15" Fane, the Super-Hi 50 can deliver all its power with the width of the 2x12 and the depth of a bass speaker. It to never cuts off a powerful attack or an angry palm-mute.