Friedman gas!

sted

leerocker said:

sted said:

What the hell man, cannot shake my Friedman gas whatsoever! 3k for a head though? 

I must be crazy for even thinking it, or am I? What other amps get close though? Bogners? Marshalls even? 

 Gah!

what one you gassing for? @sted

Well the BE is the one that sets the standard but I must admit I absolutely loved the demo's of the Phil X amp, less gain but a fuller sound to my ears.

The Matchless is a 3k head but I kind of traded my way to that, I would have to actually pay out cash for a Friedman or finance but it's a hell of a lot of wedge.

As usual no one near me stocks so it's having to order one, they do sound glorious though.

Adamski

I have been gassing for a Taco for the longest time now. My friend has one and it does sound great once it's wound up a bit. I would say though that it doesn't sound as good as my 20th Shiva and the BE that I tried was only on a par, well for me anyway, which is why I've held off for so long, although having a great sounding small head would certainly be useful.

I think Friedmans are great amps, but this opinion going around on a lot of the message boards that they are the holy Grail, be-all-and-end of all amps is a bit silly. It's all personal tastes

shaunm

I'd love to try one out but Yorkshire is just about the worst place to live if you want to go to a shop and try amps. We have PMT and Dawsons which is no good for trying out these caliber of amps.

I've watched a few YouTube clips on these amps and they sound good but on the net I can't pick up what makes these better than say a Cornell 45/50 (albeit they have more gain). That's a genuine question, what is it that sets the BE apart from all the competition?

leerocker

Ive had everything going and was happy with a 5150 iii for years which saw off an xtc 20th, shiva and couple of diezels as well, I think the beauty of these amps is the range you can get from them, can play jazz, funk , rockabilly, straight up rock and metal all from one head. I felt the same about them being overrated before i played one.

They are only doing what us guitarists want and something that marshall should have done years ago and have now missed the boat, If these big amp companies gave us the best then the little builders wouldnt even exist!

Each to their own i suppose.

shaunm

So if you were looking for a quite specific sound and didn't need the versitility of being able to play different styles would the BE still be the option?
is it a case that the BE is jack of all trades master of all?

sted

leerocker said:

played the Steve Stevens amp today that to me is one that has gone under the radar fantastic amp seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on that one.

You tried the Phil X one mate?

leerocker

shaunm said:

So if you were looking for a quite specific sound and didn't need the versitility of being able to play different styles would the BE still be the option?
is it a case that the BE is jack of all trades master of all?

I would say the small box covers the most ground and you cant get that dirty clean low gain plexi from the other amps from my experience, The brown eye is very versatile and you can get that ac/dc from be mode and also a lot more gain available.

 I have the Cantrell which i love and its a bit differently voiced to the brown eye even in be mode. Again the same with the smallbox which sounds different but in a good way, Takes pedals and boosts really well if you want more gain on the brown eye channel and the plexi channel takes boosts really well too.

leerocker

sted said:

leerocker said:

played the Steve Stevens amp today that to me is one that has gone under the radar fantastic amp seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on that one.

You tried the Phil X one mate?

Yes had a quick blast on one yesterday , Very good indeed!

Deijavoo

I'd love a JJ. I reckon that would suit me best, the BE sounded superb when I tried it too.

sted

Super tempted by the X model now! :-/

leerocker

The jj kills , use one in my originals band

Deijavoo

I'm pretty much set on my Diezel Hagen at the moment but I reckon next step will be either JJ or Kemper route.

Drew_TNBD

The BE was my favourite Marshall model in the Axe FX II, and I've got some good Kemper models of one too. I imagine in real life they tear your face off!

Can't help but think they're a bit limiting for my personal needs though. Basically any single or two channel amp is always going to be a compromise for my needs, so I tend to steer away from them.

My VHT and Diezel are absolutely stellar, and I'm sure if you put them up next to the Friedman stuff, there wouldn't be a clear winner. For high gain I can't even pick between the two amps I've got! For cleans the VHT wins it though

thisisguitar

@shaunm - The Cornell doesn't have an FX loop, or a master volume, or two channels (though you can use and ABY switch between the Normal/Bright inputs. That said, the Cornell sounds truly incredible… you'd just never use it at home! 

There's about a grand separating them, but it's worth the extra for a BE just for the MV and clean channel (extra gain and voicing options are nice too).

paulmapp8306

If you like it, and can afford it, get it.

FWIW though I wasnt blown away by them.  Very Good yes, but nothing others arnt doing.  Its more about if its your personal taste.

For that kind of sound I actually prefer both the Custom Audio (and yes they are more refined - less gritty), and even more so the Camerons.  Dont know if anyone in the UK stocks them new though, only found one to try used.  It was stunning though.

Aidanspaghetti

Id love to get a SS model. I've linked it before somewhere here, but Andy Wood playing the Eric Johnson stuff on a SS sold it for me

leerocker

Aidanspaghetti said:

Id love to get a SS model. I've linked it before somewhere here, but Andy Wood playing the Eric Johnson stuff on a SS sold it for me

Picked up a ss100 yesterday and its absolutely stunning, I think it might be my favourite friedman, clean channel is stellar, gain can go from old plexi to real high gain stuff.

Deijavoo

Anyone tried the Naked? Yet anothe Happy New Amp Day too Lee!

leerocker

Deijavoo said:

Anyone tried the Naked? Yet anothe Happy New Amp Day too Lee!

They dont make the naked anymore, Im all set now no more buying for me for a long time!

shaunm

leerocker;622481" said:

Deijavoo said:

Anyone tried the Naked? Yet anothe Happy New Amp Day too Lee!





They dont make the naked anymore, Im all set now no more buying for me for a long time!

Heard it before