How close would a Friedman pedal get a 2204 to the actual Friedman amp?

jchrisf

jchrisf

Well-known member
I'm just curious if the BEOD, Smallbox or DS pedal can actually make a 2204 sound like a Friedman or is it just a glorified OD pedal?
 
I mean, a Dirty Shirley is pretty much a 2204 already (just with a JTM45 power section).

If you want the 2204 to sound more like a BE/JEL/Smallbox then I’d just get it modded. They’re not far apart but I don’t think pedals are how I’d bridge the gap
 
I don’t have a 2204, but I do have a DSL 100, a BE-50, and a BEOD. If I get some time tonight, I’ll do a quick comparison using the green channel on the DSL and report back. My best results have been running into the loop return on the DSL, but I’m guessing that you don’t have a loop on your 2204.

A couple of related notes, though. The DSL green crunch (similar to a 2204 maybe?) boosted with something that doesn’t jack the mids, like a PoT, sounds really similar to my BE in the low gain structure setting with the gain dimed (the least polite setting from my experience). The bottom end and the feel is different on the Friedman, but I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference on a recording. The higher gain Friedman stuff is harder to cop using the Marshall with a boost in front, but I’ll give it a go later tonight.

Bonus tip, the Friedman preamp in the Helix is nearly identical to the real thing when run into the loop of my BE.
 
The Roadshow said:
I don’t have a 2204, but I do have a DSL 100, a BE-50, and a BEOD. If I get some time tonight, I’ll do a quick comparison using the green channel on the DSL and report back. My best results have been running into the loop return on the DSL, but I’m guessing that you don’t have a loop on your 2204.

A couple of related notes, though. The DSL green crunch (similar to a 2204 maybe?) boosted with something that doesn’t jack the mids, like a PoT, sounds really similar to my BE in the low gain structure setting with the gain dimed (the least polite setting from my experience). The bottom end and the feel is different on the Friedman, but I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference on a recording. The higher gain Friedman stuff is harder to cop using the Marshall with a boost in front, but I’ll give it a go later tonight.

Bonus tip, the Friedman preamp in the Helix is nearly identical to the real thing when run into the loop of my BE.
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I did these a while ago with my DSL, not quite the same but not a million miles away. Green was probably closer to my 2203 than Red was to the Friedman but definitely some overlap between them all:



 
easstudios said:
I did these a while ago with my DSL, not quite the same but not a million miles away. Green was probably closer to my 2203 than Red was to the Friedman but definitely some overlap between them all:



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This definitely matches my real world experience. I think that your videos inspired me to do the A/B comparisons myself. Not exactly the same, but closer than I expected. Feel is different though.
 
The Roadshow said:
This definitely matches my real world experience. I think that your videos inspired me to do the A/B comparisons myself. Not exactly the same, but closer than I expected. Feel is different though.
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Yeah, the main difference I find is the sweet spots are different and the Friedman kind of allows you to glide between different sounds easily. DSL (and 2203 actually) is kind of more set and forget for me
 
easstudios said:
Yeah, the main difference I find is the sweet spots are different and the Friedman kind of allows you to glide between different sounds easily. DSL (and 2203 actually) is kind of more set and forget for me
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Exactly! I think it’s a happy coincidence for me that my favorite sound on the DSL (crunch with a boost) is basically the base tone of the BE, plus you get a clean channel, plus you get a higher gain version with HBE. And a more usable EQ range with a less harsh top end. Admittedly, sometimes I just really crave that Marshall brightness and cut, so there’s a spot for both amps. And the BE doesn’t seem to do the lower gain crunch sounds as well as the Marshall, or at least to my liking.

To the OP, I think the only answer to the question that you didn’t actually ask is “just get both.” Although the pedal is cool and maybe can get you into the same ballpark with some tweaking.
 
I got a Bogner Ecstasy Blue pedal today and am pretty impressed. There are a ton of cool tones in this pedal. But I've never played a Bogner so I don't know how close it is.. might be a good thing if I am happy with what I have now.
 
I’m glad you’re happy with the new pedal! That’s really cool.

FYI, I got a chance tonight to try my BE-OD into the clean channels of my DSL and BE-50. I didn’t spend a ton of time tweaking, but I was having a hard time getting it to sound like the real BE. I’m not well practiced at dialing in distortion pedals though. I’m more of a dirty amp + boost / overdrive guy. The pedal was way more gained out than the real amp, but I think that there is an internal dip switch or something to reduce that. I think I’d like the pedal better straight into a loop return or power amp.

My recommendation to get a Marshall (at least my DSL and probably your 2204) to sound sort of like a Friedman is to put the presence way low, like on 0 or 1, and then boost the front with something neutral sounding. It won’t be exact - there are a bunch of minor differences actually - but it gets it into the right ballpark.
 
I am continually floored by how ‘amp-like’ my BE-OD-DLX sounds, but I’m feeding a non-MV 1973 Marshall with it. My 50 Marshall is much warmer and rounder sounding than any other Marshall I’ve ever owned or played through - almost Fender-ish cleans. I know that has a LOT to do with how convincing the pedal is. But bent notes gently break into overtones just like you’d expect from a wound up tube amp. Great, great pedal.
 
I already did the comparaison with a JCM 800 and BE-OD with a real Friedman BE that my friend have, inthe same cab. Sounded good but not near of the real deal. Sold the BE-OD 2 weeks after.
 
MKibanez said:
I already did the comparaison with a JCM 800 and BE-OD with a real Friedman BE that my friend have, inthe same cab. Sounded good but not near of the real deal. Sold the BE-OD 2 weeks after.
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Did you plug into the low input?
 
I've used a BE-OD in front of my 2204 a couple short times. Great for leads, but didn't spend enough time with it to get a good rhythm sound. Low input yielded the best results. Didn't think it sounded anything like a Friedman per se, but it was a passable good tone regardless.
Never have tried running it through the loop though
 
The Be Od pedal is so so, but I found the LaGrange to be better if you want a modded MIAB.. but even that pedal is a bit fickle. Thankfully, no pedal will cut the balls off your 2204 completely, and you can always turn the silly thing off if you want. Having owned several Friedmans plus countless others (Bogners, Soldano,Boogies, VHts, Wizards, Camerons, etc. ). blah blah blah... a healthy 2204 or 2203 blows them all out of the water by a margin for me personally.. All this hype and silly tone chasing.. Hahaha. What a huge waste of time and money.. ( I was guilty of such foolishness myself for a long, long time)
Friedman amps and so many others all sound neutered, dull, weak and or anemic compared to a good Marshall from my experience. I can't count the times I went chasing always to come back to the standard by which other amps are measured. Sure these others have loads of gain and are polite and polished sounding, but they are missing that special something.. If you need or want more gain, just put an SD1 or tubescreamer in front of your 800 and call it a day. Maybe experiment with some different speakers to get your sound just right for you. Just my .02. Good luck finding what works for best for you. Cheers.
 
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