Jimmy Page’s Hiwatt Custom 100

Page began using Hiwatt Custom 100 amplifiers around mid-1969 during Led Zeppelin’s North American summer tour. Initially, he used them exclusively, but by 1971 he had added a Marshall 1959SLP to his rig and began running both amps together. By late 1971, the Hiwatt had been phased out, and Jimmy relied solely on the Marshall.

So, after the Vox, I looked around and everyone was using Marshall amps, so of course I wanted to do something different, so I got the Hiwatt, which had a foot-switch overdrive. Eventually I did go on to the Marshalls.

Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page

The Hiwatt amps Page used were custom versions of the standard models, modified to provide more gain. According to a schematic shared by Hiwatt, these amps were largely based on the DR103 model, with the notable addition of a choke for enhanced performance.