Friedman amps - why is the bass on 11?

flash6969

flash6969

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Just watching the new JJ100 amp vid & so thought I would also go back & check out the various SS100 vids around & have noticed something interesting about both players - Jerry & Steve both play their amps with the bass on 11. Whilst mids & trebles are set somewhere around the middle for both players, each has the bass maxed!

Check out Steve at 16:31 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk2Fk9TdKWY

Check out Jerry at 0:43 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s85kpMaUUBI

Obviously both players have monster tones so guess I'm interested in any feedback, thoughts &/or insights into this common setting on both Friedman endorsed players, and also interested to hear from other Friedman players - do you do this also? If so, why?
Thanks in advance. :rock:
 
jferla":2kjtfg1r said:
Noticed this on Richie Sambora and Billy Duffy's brown eye too. Interested in why so high?
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Wow - that is very interesting! So we have 4 high profile Friedman artists all with the bass maxed out on their amps.

Hoping Dave can add some insight here, or does anyone have personal experience with this?
 
These are bright and tight amps with not a lot of bass in the preamp.
There is some compensation for this in the power amp, but apparently the players you refer to like the bass up high.
 
I don't get this either and the tones in the vids from these guys and Mark Day as well always sound good and not overly bass heavy...yet on my 2012 BE playing thru a splawn 4x12 with either greenback reissues or scumback m75's when sitting or standing in front of my cab if I turn the bass up anywhere close to that it sounds bloated and wayyy overly bass heavy and almost hollow at the same time. I never turn bass past 9 oclock and often lower or even off. I've always felt that for my preference the BE has too much bass...I would love a version with much less bass! I guess I don't want that modern of a tone out of it as that is what is seems to do. Yet the vids with bass dimed always sound great but mine sounds like a bass amp at those levels. I could probably use higher levels with a 2x12 idk?

Here is a short vid of mine with bass at 8 oclock if I recall, very low lol! Plenty big sounding to me haha!
 
Tom-Andrew":2xr0541j said:
These are bright and tight amps with not a lot of bass in the preamp.
There is some compensation for this in the power amp, but apparently the players you refer to like the bass up high.
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I don't know where the bass is coming from power amp or preamp but my 2 yr old version of the BE has mega amounts of bass even with bass set halfway (see my post above this)
 
I was just watching SS on that clip and besides the Bass on 11, isnt the treble as well.. Why doesn't he use the clean on the SS100 amp with his rig, he says he uses the CAE amp for clean...
 
We haven't integrated the clean into his rig yet. We are planing a rig redo in the near future he then will be using it. Well what I can tell you about the bass is if you want it to say match up to a plexi Marshall lets say then you would have the bass around 9 o'clock to noon depending on the amp you are comparing it to. Your mids play a big part in it also. How high are you running those? For let say a plexi dimed kind of thing your mids would be around 3 o'clock. The BE has a fixed resonance in it I could put a switch in to take it out or lessen it if you like. My dimed plexi settings would be pres noon, bass 11 o'clock, mid 3 o'clock, treb 1 o'clock. It would be on the BE channel with gain on 3 o'clock or all the way up. No switches on. Hope this helps a bit.
 
sjk":hp6wzcrx said:
I never turn bass past 9 oclock and often lower or even off.
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Same here. I have mine set somewhere between 8 and 9 o clock usually (just where it starts to make a difference)

RACKSYSTEMS":hp6wzcrx said:
Well what I can tell you about the bass is if you want it to say match up to a plexi Marshall lets say then you would have the bass around 9 o'clock to noon depending on the amp you are comparing it to. Your mids play a big part in it also. How high are you running those? For let say a plexi dimed kind of thing your mids would be around 3 o'clock. The BE has a fixed resonance in it I could put a switch in to take it out or lessen it if you like. My dimed plexi settings would be pres noon, bass 11 o'clock, mid 3 o'clock, treb 1 o'clock. It would be on the BE channel with gain on 3 o'clock or all the way up. No switches on. Hope this helps a bit.
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The switch seems interesting. Would it be a little easier to dial in the bass control if the resonance circuit was switched out? I realize the bass control is a bit sensitive to begin with though

I like the amount it has when turned nearly all the way down, but I suppose that could change depending on the speakers etc (I usually run mine through the matching 2x12 with V30s)
 
sjk":qhfm6jii said:
Tom-Andrew":qhfm6jii said:
These are bright and tight amps with not a lot of bass in the preamp.
There is some compensation for this in the power amp, but apparently the players you refer to like the bass up high.
Click to expand...

I don't know where the bass is coming from power amp or preamp but my 2 yr old version of the BE has mega amounts of bass even with bass set halfway (see my post above this)
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Yeah, I have mine with the bass almost off, and it still seems a touch too dark at times. The switch Dave mentioned sounds interesting. Anyone try it yet? Even a pot for the resonance so it can be tamed would be great or even a bright switch for the be channels.

Ps. I will say that I saw Steve Stevens with billy idol live about two weeks ago and his tone was much better now then when I last saw him about ten yrs ago. Best tone he's had in many yrs :rock:
 
sjk":22l1xyte said:
Mids on mine are around 3 with very low or no bass dialed in.
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Wow - i guess it simply proves you do what you need to do for a good sound! Perhaps its the cabinet?? Is your guitar a darker wood? :confused:

I've just tried my BE100 (running through a Bogner 2x12 closed back) & even with the bass on 11 it sounds great - not at all "bassy" or muddy or bottom heavy. My mids & trebles/presence are on about 2-3 o'clock!

Thanks for the tips Dave - the mids & presence controls are helping me define the detail in my sounds. :rock:
 
RACKSYSTEMS":y5y26ev5 said:
Just for grins,where do you run your mids at?
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usually around 2 o clock

I tend to go for a mid heavy sound that still has a good high end. (which probably explains my EQ settings)

flash6969":y5y26ev5 said:
I've just tried my BE100 (running through a Bogner 2x12 closed back) & even with the bass on 11 it sounds great - not at all "bassy" or muddy or bottom heavy. My mids & trebles/presence are on about 2-3 o'clock!
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What speakers does that cabinet have? I've only run mine through the matching 2x12 with V30s and another cabinet with M creambacks.
 
Besides Steve and Jerry, I noticed the same thing in some videos for Mark Day also and Bass AND Gain's being on "10". Evidently all three love gain, but it depends what else is going on like SATuration switch and speakers, etc.

One thing that is concerning by comments like "dialing in bass (or whatever)" and folks need to understand is you're not "adding" or dialing "in" anything in the tonestack of these. "10" across the board is "flat" and only lowering them your actually taking away frequency and attenuating it! The tonestack is not linear thou and have an effect on one another and why Dave was asking where your MID setting is. Also, someon identified Dave's amp(s) as tight and "bright"! Again, very concerning as Dav'e's amps appear to me as being "DARK"...not bright!...but again, depends what your pickups and speakers are and settings, but all in all, dark, not bright.
 
Well I consider a great plexi amp with everything dimed to be bright. The setting on a BE to match is pres 6 , bass 4,mid 8, treb 6 gain on 8 to 10 on the be channel all else off. If it can match the plexi this way is it dark? Those settings I don't have to have the treble or pres cranked or anything.
 
I'm running the bass on mine about half way, no need for more. I adjust the treble and mids for taste which is at around 6 on both controls.
Sounds really good :)
 
philb":kukzz0bq said:
I'm running the bass on mine about half way, no need for more. I adjust the treble and mids for taste which is at around 6 on both controls.
Sounds really good :)
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Pretty much the same here.
 
I should clarify that I'm using these super low wimpy bass settings on my Les Paul's :LOL: :LOL: and higher for strats which I rarely play anymore.
 
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