guitarslayer
Member
Anyone here owned or tried both? Opinions wanted... and go. 
Friedman JJ vs Butterslax
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DragonCrestPC
Well-known member
Just ordered a butterslax. Played one here locally and was really impressed by its feel and sound. I played a JJ about a year ago and thought it was also awesome. The butterslax is more my thing, higher gain and sounds much more aggressive to my ears. I don't think you could go wrong with either TBH.
Ventura
Well-known member
Just got the JJ100. Immediately bonded with it - came with additional JBE MV. I'm not into too much gain - I don't dig compressed thick undefined push. I like grinding chewy articulate hefty gain with a lot of punch. It took no more than 2 minutes after plugging into the JJ to find at least a few spots on the EQ that I could spend all day with a 25ft cable sitting away from the amp. It just hit home to my ears. Had the back off for cleaning and ended up throwing 3 Genalex GL-ECC83 into the preamp slots and a balanced LPS into the PI slot. Didn't make a tremendous difference - it just sounds fucking great - period.
What this has created for me is "more interest and intrigue" to Friedman's amps. Sure, my curiosity is piqued with the Slax, it's also piqued with the Dirty Shirley. We'll see. I'm from the Bogner camp where mids, grind and chew are paramount. The JJ didn't disappoint WHATsoever in this department.
I'm more AIC than Meshuggah. I'm not a huge fan of Mastodon or their tone; enter the Slax. In fact I think Reza and JerEvil's demos of the Slax far outshine the demo that Kelliher did for his own signature amp LOL. I'm very happy with the JJ100 - it's hard to explain where it sits amongst my other amps, but if I had to give some ideas? It's like a pissed off Shiva in high-gain mode blended perfectly with the finest Blue Channel crunch of the XTC, all added with this incredible 3D and bloom. It's not overtly low-end, and it's not mushy. It plays so simply, but where the devil lies is in the details I am sure - the sensitivity and attack are incredible. The bloom is amazing. It's just incredibly good.
What this has created for me is "more interest and intrigue" to Friedman's amps. Sure, my curiosity is piqued with the Slax, it's also piqued with the Dirty Shirley. We'll see. I'm from the Bogner camp where mids, grind and chew are paramount. The JJ didn't disappoint WHATsoever in this department.
I'm more AIC than Meshuggah. I'm not a huge fan of Mastodon or their tone; enter the Slax. In fact I think Reza and JerEvil's demos of the Slax far outshine the demo that Kelliher did for his own signature amp LOL. I'm very happy with the JJ100 - it's hard to explain where it sits amongst my other amps, but if I had to give some ideas? It's like a pissed off Shiva in high-gain mode blended perfectly with the finest Blue Channel crunch of the XTC, all added with this incredible 3D and bloom. It's not overtly low-end, and it's not mushy. It plays so simply, but where the devil lies is in the details I am sure - the sensitivity and attack are incredible. The bloom is amazing. It's just incredibly good.
errrrrl
Well-known member
My buddy/guitarist in a band I play in has a JJ100 so I hear it pointed at me once a week (i'm the drummer) and it sounds absolutely amazing. Nice clarity and just sounds great in the mix for the thrashy stuff we play. I just got my Butterslax last week and am just loving it. As mentioned it is just a tad more brutal than the JJ100 as is with no boost or overdrives but to my ears the JJ100 has a more darker tone overall which is good and bad pending on what your playing I guess.
Things I like about the Butterslax - channel 3 is just perfect if you are into super thick sounding chugging riffs. Channel 2 sounds like a really bad ass hotrodded Marshall... Haven't messed with channel 1 much to be honest.
Things I like about the Slax in comparison to the JJ100 - I like that there are no switches on the front or the back of the amp for extra gain (JBE/HBE) or bright. I'm just not a fan of lots of switches. And the Slax has a Thump knob! It really helps bring in more bottom end into your tone without necessarily adding more bass which for me is huge. I want to compare my buddy's JJ100 directly soon but I think the Slax has more bottom end overall. Both are great amps, I think it depends on what style you want to sound more like... Ironically I love AIC and wouldn't recognize a Mastodon song to save my life.
Things I like about the Butterslax - channel 3 is just perfect if you are into super thick sounding chugging riffs. Channel 2 sounds like a really bad ass hotrodded Marshall... Haven't messed with channel 1 much to be honest.
Things I like about the Slax in comparison to the JJ100 - I like that there are no switches on the front or the back of the amp for extra gain (JBE/HBE) or bright. I'm just not a fan of lots of switches. And the Slax has a Thump knob! It really helps bring in more bottom end into your tone without necessarily adding more bass which for me is huge. I want to compare my buddy's JJ100 directly soon but I think the Slax has more bottom end overall. Both are great amps, I think it depends on what style you want to sound more like... Ironically I love AIC and wouldn't recognize a Mastodon song to save my life.
JerEvil
Well-known member
By thabks man!Ventura":2okb40du said:
I TEALLY need to check a JJ out. It's on my short list of things to play. The Butterslax is soooooo good. The Dirty Shirley is definitely one you need to check out. It's a straight up rock machine. It kills with Fuzz for Stoney good times. Not sure if you saw the fuzz demos I did with mine.
Ventura
Well-known member
Reviving this thread.
JJ100 - EiYugo in the PI slot, and top-grade Chinese preamps in the rest of the slots. Sounds a bit sharper and punchier than the GL-ECC83's throughout. The LPS is a fine, fine PI tube, but let's face it - the ECC83 by Gold Lion are - I am almost 100% certain - rebranded LPS tubes anyway.
Wanted to try the lil' firecracker EiYugo in the PI - seems to have added even more feel sensitivity to the JJ.
Next up will be the Slax - will try a 5751 in V1, EiYugo in PI and either top-grade Chinese in the the rest of the Vs, or just back to the ARS stock (which are Chinese rebrands all the same).
Stay tuned - no pun intended....
Just experimenting now, having fun with two incredible amps
Peace Y'All,
Mojo
PS: If anyone has ever used an EiYugo preamp bottle, you'll know why I refer to them as "the little firecracker"...they do this really cool "flare up" run the amp goes to ON mode. Neat. But outside of how they look - they have a unique feel to them...
JJ100 - EiYugo in the PI slot, and top-grade Chinese preamps in the rest of the slots. Sounds a bit sharper and punchier than the GL-ECC83's throughout. The LPS is a fine, fine PI tube, but let's face it - the ECC83 by Gold Lion are - I am almost 100% certain - rebranded LPS tubes anyway.
Wanted to try the lil' firecracker EiYugo in the PI - seems to have added even more feel sensitivity to the JJ.
Next up will be the Slax - will try a 5751 in V1, EiYugo in PI and either top-grade Chinese in the the rest of the Vs, or just back to the ARS stock (which are Chinese rebrands all the same).
Stay tuned - no pun intended....
Just experimenting now, having fun with two incredible amps
Peace Y'All,
Mojo
PS: If anyone has ever used an EiYugo preamp bottle, you'll know why I refer to them as "the little firecracker"...they do this really cool "flare up" run the amp goes to ON mode. Neat. But outside of how they look - they have a unique feel to them...
LP Freak
Well-known member
I’ve been using those for a while now and they’re great tubes. They go extremely well in a Marshall style circuit. I use them in my BE50 and BE100.Ventura":185bl3vn said:Reviving this thread.
JJ100 - EiYugo in the PI slot, and top-grade Chinese preamps in the rest of the slots. Sounds a bit sharper and punchier than the GL-ECC83's throughout. The LPS is a fine, fine PI tube, but let's face it - the ECC83 by Gold Lion are - I am almost 100% certain - rebranded LPS tubes anyway.
Wanted to try the lil' firecracker EiYugo in the PI - seems to have added even more feel sensitivity to the JJ.
Next up will be the Slax - will try a 5751 in V1, EiYugo in PI and either top-grade Chinese in the the rest of the Vs, or just back to the ARS stock (which are Chinese rebrands all the same).
Stay tuned - no pun intended....
Just experimenting now, having fun with two incredible amps
Peace Y'All,
Mojo
PS: If anyone has ever used an EiYugo preamp bottle, you'll know why I refer to them as "the little firecracker"...they do this really cool "flare up" run the amp goes to ON mode. Neat. But outside of how they look - they have a unique feel to them...
Junk Yard Dog
Well-known member
Is the Slax 'dark' compared to a JJ or is it the other way around? If so, what are you considering or calling 'dark'?
Loving my Slax more and more and thinking to pull it from the classifieds and mod it. Also have the BE50 and it surprises me that it can really almost keep up with the Slax in terms of punch and gain, but Slax has a little bit more plus two more power tubes.
Loving my Slax more and more and thinking to pull it from the classifieds and mod it. Also have the BE50 and it surprises me that it can really almost keep up with the Slax in terms of punch and gain, but Slax has a little bit more plus two more power tubes.
Junk Yard Dog":wju3dus6 said:
I think the JJ is darker and the Butterslax is brighter with a grain in the gain.
The BE50 can keep up in terms of agressiveness with the Butterslax?
I have a BE100 (2016) and I can't make it sound nowhere close to that. Maybe is the new Deluxe versions that are capable of that.
I have to mod my BE100 sooner or later. I have to add the thump and presence knobs for sure.
Junk Yard Dog
Well-known member
Jon BCN":n4xn2wo0 said:
OK, cool! Happy I've got the Slax currently. I wouldn't want it 'darker', but what do you mean by 'darker'? ...I tend to think 'darker' amps don't cut as well live.
I agree that the Slax has a little grain on the gain to it; not a bad thing but this is where the Voice switch helps. I've been thinking of adding a Voice switch to the Slax, among a few other things.
Yes, the BE50 gain isn't as 'brutal', but it gets pretty close, and of course, you can always boost it. This is with the Sat switch, of course.
Every amp should have a Thump knob. I always use mine on the 50 and Slax. Response is very cool, but I think you can get buy without one, but it certainly adds more tonality.
Junk Yard Dog":3ta0h3b1 said:
English is not my native language, so it's very difficult to me to explain tones. So maybe what is "bright" to me can be "dark" to you, and viceversa.
I would say to start that I'm not saying that the JJ100 is a dark amp, just that in comparison to the Butterslax, sounds darker to me. But I'm sure you can make both of them brighter or darker depending of the tweaks, as I can make my BE100 that is normally more darker to be really bright if I want to (that's the beauty of the Friedman amps, the knobs actually work). Normally to me the Butterslax sounds brighter and has a grain in the gain that to me gives it kind of a little bit of subtle Orange flavour, but more brutal. It kind of has an Uberschall vibe too, but sounds less tight and more squishy.
Orange and Marshall were the basis for the Mastodon tone, so maybe it's not a surprise that the signature amp of Bill has traits of both.
For my taste I prefer the Butterslax, but the JJ sounds equally as awesome, just a little bit different. At this level it just comes to your own personal taste, but you can't go wrong and I'm sure you can make them sound really close to each other with the appropriate tweaking.
https://youtu.be/d8cbSDfiupc?t=593
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQq6u-ALODA&t=81s
I'm on the fence of having my BE100 modded, or directly trade it for a Butterslax. I don't think I can justify myself to have both. I see a Dirty Shirley in the future to cover more ground and have a really different type of amp, though.