Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
So which are the rawest Friedman amps? From what I have read and heard on clips, it seems like the Smallbox, the Runt, and his Pink Taco 2 ( newest) one have the most teeth.
Anyone have a BE Deluxe modded to make it meaner?
- Thread starter cragginshrd
- Start date
dead-pan
Active member
From my experience the JEL100.
PDC
Well-known member
Never owned a Friedman. Love 99% of the clips I’ve heard online. Friedman owners / officianados can chime in here, but aren’t the ‘Naked’ and the ‘Marsha’ a bit more raw and uncompressed?
I also recall Steve Stevens wanting more tightness and articulation in his original sig series to more closely match his Marshall backline at the time.
JTyson
Well-known member
Ive owned one for awhile now, while it is capable of more aggression than some previous models, I would not say it was every bit as aggressive as some other things out there. Im gonna take Red Plated's suggestion and try that too. The JEL is def more raw, but its nowhere near the gain levels of the BE DLX. Jake's whole thing in Dave building that amp for him was that he wanted LESS gain and compression.
Its much easier to take lower gain levels and make them gainier and more compressed than it is to take a metric shit ton of gain and compression and make it more open and raw sounding. EQing the bottom to try and make it tighter is different from making it tighter within the gain structure in my opinion. I think Dave was trying to present a amp that delivered a tone that we all heard on albums that we loved and I think he did certainly accomplish that. Once you get into 5 gain stages everything is a compromise (from what Ive experienced) If Red Plated's suggestion will accomplish it that easily, I'll be all over that!
Its much easier to take lower gain levels and make them gainier and more compressed than it is to take a metric shit ton of gain and compression and make it more open and raw sounding. EQing the bottom to try and make it tighter is different from making it tighter within the gain structure in my opinion. I think Dave was trying to present a amp that delivered a tone that we all heard on albums that we loved and I think he did certainly accomplish that. Once you get into 5 gain stages everything is a compromise (from what Ive experienced) If Red Plated's suggestion will accomplish it that easily, I'll be all over that!
FourT6and2
Well-known member
You can remove the "compliance" resistors in the clipping circuit (not sure if present in the Deluxe, but they're in the regular BE) and maybe swap the 2200pF bright cap for 4700pF. The compliance resistors are described in Keven O'Connor's "The Ultimate Tone" book series. Instant aggression and upper-mid range growl. Or even a slight tweak to the NFB values (resistor, tap, depth cap). Maybe 30 minutes of work for any tech. Other than that, I believe the amp has the typical .68/2k7 gain stages, which is squarely in "Marshall punch" territory, so no need to mess with them.
NFB is a powerful tone-shaping tool. You can completely neuter an amp and remove it's balls with it... or you can turn it into a gnarly runaway freight train—all by messing with one resistor and a cap.
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hellzington
Well-known member
I had Dave do a couple of extra mods to my Friedman “Kitchen Sink” modded 1990 Marshall 1987. Had him add a small bright cap to the gain pot which when pulled makes it gnarly like an old Marshall. Also had him add a three way NFB switch on the back to take it from more vintage and raw to more aggressive and in your face. Made an already incredible amp even more awesome.
cragginshrd
Active member
glad someone follows my amp journey!
cragginshrd
Active member
I need to try that, this latest DLX does not arrive until tomorrow -hopefully.
I don't recall the Response switch doing that much but I will try center. I recall 2 positions on the structure/gain switch on the rear that I would use. Also depth no more than a 1/4 or a little more were key to not killing the mids.
Also this is big going to try a v1 Koko mid boost too. May be all I need. Also my name is 'Don' but you can call me 'El Don'
the crag in craggin shred refers to a cliff. I'm an avid rock climber and crag is slang for the cliffs we climb
.gif "guitar :m17:")
Nitrobattery
Well-known member
I need to try that, this latest DLX does not arrive until tomorrow -hopefully.
I don't recall the Response switch doing that much but I will try center. I recall 2 positions on the structure/gain switch on the rear that I would use. Also depth no more than a 1/4 or a little more were key to not killing the mids.
Also this is big going to try a v1 Koko mid boost too. May be all I need. Also my name is 'Don' but you can call me 'El Don'
the crag in craggin shred refers to a cliff. I'm an avid rock climber and crag is slang for the cliffs we climb
The Koko sounded good before I took out the resister, now it sounds hilariously good. Interested to hear your findings.
Also, for you guys smarter about this stuff than I am, is this same resistor present on the Smallbox? I'm so over the moon with what removing it did to my BE-100 that now I'm thinking about adding a Smallbox. I went from thinking about selling my Friedman to potentially buying a second one. I really hope Dave introduces a switch to bypass this resistor. I think people would freak.
cragginshrd
Active member
That's so cool! Owned 2 smallboxes and the Koko was 100% mandatory to bring out mids.
I need to get motivated to secure a hotel room N Hollywood to meet up with Dave and see what he has up his sleeve. He did mention your pic is a 'totally different amp' in his words and it sounds like he would approach it differently but it's cool to know that these very well built amps can sound even better!
cragginshrd
Active member
It's happening people!! April 17th I exit the paradise of the Calif foothills and make the trek to the jungle of LA to meet up with Mr Dave Friedman
the following day who will adjust to the BE deluxe to my taste..
Additionally, we will drop the chassis into a 50 deluxe shell and add ports for easy biasing! Stay tuned
the following day who will adjust to the BE deluxe to my taste..
Additionally, we will drop the chassis into a 50 deluxe shell and add ports for easy biasing! Stay tuned
Bardagh
Well-known member
This is very interesting. I had a JJ100 for a while and I liked a lot about it but eventually got bothered by the impression of there being what’s akin to a low pass filter over the sound along with a too soft attack. If it has the same deal with the resistor on the treble pot I would have definitely liked to have tried bypassing it to see if it opened the amp up.
In the end I traded it for a 2204 though that honestly just fits the bill better for me, for most things anyway.
In the end I traded it for a 2204 though that honestly just fits the bill better for me, for most things anyway.
I thought I saw someone refer to as Craig. Lol.. My mistake Don. The Response switch on the deluxe makes a MASSIVE difference in the center position.. left is super dark, right is more of the standard softer feel of the BE from what I can tell. center and the whole amp comes alive is as toothy as you want! I love that Bright crunch and crispness off a good Marshall and I can get the with this amp. Sometimes I even take a down a notch and use the setting to the right. Playing primarily Rush Tribute band so the middle setting is actually too much. But when we play other stuff like Sabbath, Maiden, Rhoads era OZZY, Dio,VH etc the switch is at center and it makes a world of difference..I need to try that, this latest DLX does not arrive until tomorrow -hopefully.
I don't recall the Response switch doing that much but I will try center. I recall 2 positions on the structure/gain switch on the rear that I would use. Also depth no more than a 1/4 or a little more were key to not killing the mids.
Also this is big going to try a v1 Koko mid boost too. May be all I need. Also my name is 'Don' but you can call me 'El Don'
the crag in craggin shred refers to a cliff. I'm an avid rock climber and crag is slang for the cliffs we climb
It definitely makes a difference. Thank you @RedPlated !!
Short A/B on the HBE channel (SAT engaged, FAT engaged & Structure set to Hi-Gain).
BE-DLX is plugged into a SYN1 going into the FX Loop (buffered) of my Ceriatone Chupacabra 50W.
Knob settings for both reamps as follows:
Short A/B on the HBE channel (SAT engaged, FAT engaged & Structure set to Hi-Gain).
BE-DLX is plugged into a SYN1 going into the FX Loop (buffered) of my Ceriatone Chupacabra 50W.
Knob settings for both reamps as follows:
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cragginshrd
Active member
I tried it and coupled with a Koko v1 mid boost center position it helped a lot -Thank you! What i cannot figure out is the 'Thump' -the manual says' changes the frequency of the thump knob. And I cannot hear much difference,...ideas and setting to combine with center raw Response setting?
Rush tribute??? Rad! My buddy in Clovis ca. is in one too check it out, this was their first gig
Any clips of your band?
cragginshrd
Active member
Here is a sample of said BE dlx to be modded (pre mod) with Koko mid boost v1. The Tele tone I would use as is. One thing i messed with last night was cranking the ch volume on the BE and slightly lowering the system volume was a more pleasing gain likely due to less pre amp gain and adding a slightly cleaned signal from the power amp push I suppose?
Yeah man.. Glad it helped.. I can't hear much with the Thump knob and associated switch either.. Old and deaf I suppose.. lol.. The Rush Tribute is new in the last few months.. Lots of clips from rehearsals but nothing I can be proud of in it's entirety just yet.. ... been meaning to put together a little edit or 'demo'.. but we have major singer woes. not only is he not very good, but he is kind of a pompous ass.. I am gonna try to put something together featuring the music, because that is coming along quite well.. and use that to attract a decent singer.. Have an awesome bass player/ keyboard/ moog dude and a kick ass drummer... but singer is a douchebag. Lol. a work in progress... Good luck in your amp journey. It never ends..