Brown Eye vs. HBE - if you could onlly have one...

Pete Lacis

Pete Lacis

Member
So my Egnater seminar head is inbound to Dave for a mod and he recommended the Brown Eye for this amp vs. the HBE, partially because of the added space requirements of the HBE's additional gain stage. If I'm going for tight modded marshall rhythm/chunk a la classic EVH, Nuno Bettencourt and the like, would the Brown Eye be more than sufficient or should I push for the HBE?

One other question.....I've read about folks talking about a John Sykes mod (or Jose Mod) and was curious if anyone could point me to a good resource that demos this sound as well (especially as compared to the Brown Eye). Thanks!
 
I owned them both and the HBE is the way to go!
Its much easier to dial the gain back a bit on the HBE then to MAx out the gain on a Brown eye and still not "quite get" the drive you are looking for.
The HBE is a KILLER KILLER TONE!
:rock:
 
I just got back from the amp show in LA and played both the Marsha BE and the Marsha HBE and the HBE was pretty Badass,lots of gain :D
 
I love the Black Eye module Dave did for me. The Hairy Brown Eye is a very cool Marshall tone. Out of the two you listed I would go with the Hairy Brown Eye.
 
UPDATE:

While my amp was evidently finished last Thursday, supposedly it was shipped late last night. Still waiting for tracking information to confirm. Guess I won't be seeing it this week....
 
UPDATE: Got the word from Dave that my head shipped a few days later. According to the tracking info it should be here on Tuesday. I have three gigs next week so this will be a great opportunity to put it through the paces.
 
FWIW,if any of you guys are considering sending in your amp to friedman's shop and are trying to decide on ONE mod only,i'd recommend going with the "Brown Eye" mod PLUS the "saturation" switch...this is one hell of a combination!!! the BE mod covers you're classic rock through early vh/lynch stuff with ease,then with a flick of a toggle switch,the "saturation" feature propels you deeper into METAL territory!!! we're talkin vinegar pissin',balls-on-fire,mean-ass gain-saturated jose tone :scared: OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
goldwing68nv":1qysowg1 said:
FWIW,if any of you guys are considering sending in your amp to friedman's shop and are trying to decide on ONE mod only,i'd recommend going with the "Brown Eye" mod PLUS the "saturation" switch...this is one hell of a combination!!! the BE mod covers you're classic rock through early vh/lynch stuff with ease,then with a flick of a toggle switch,the "saturation" feature propels you deeper into METAL territory!!! we're talkin vinegar pissin',balls-on-fire,mean-ass gain-saturated jose tone :scared: OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:
 
I haven't played either one but I do have an HBE modded Randall MTS module inbound. I am going to compare it to a modded Brahma and stock Mr. Scary and decide which two to keep. I will trade one for probably a modded Grail.
 
fek":3mk2b9k9 said:
I haven't played either one but I do have an HBE modded Randall MTS module inbound. I am going to compare it to a modded Brahma and stock Mr. Scary and decide which two to keep. I will trade one for probably a modded Grail.
Click to expand...


i've owned all three same MTS modules you mentioned.all are cool,but my fav was the modded BRAHMA boosted with a good o/d pedal :rock:
 
goldwing68nv":7eg3110q said:
fek":7eg3110q said:
I haven't played either one but I do have an HBE modded Randall MTS module inbound. I am going to compare it to a modded Brahma and stock Mr. Scary and decide which two to keep. I will trade one for probably a modded Grail.
Click to expand...


i've owned all three same MTS modules you mentioned.all are cool,but my fav was the modded BRAHMA boosted with a good o/d pedal :rock:
Click to expand...

I need to get some volume behind them still but the Brahma was thicker and I think would sound great for many styles especially when adding the boost out front. I did really like the attack of the Scary too. I will add the HBE to the mix and go from there. Who knows, I might keep all of them!
 
tonmazz":h0dgwihz said:
goldwing68nv":h0dgwihz said:
FWIW,if any of you guys are considering sending in your amp to friedman's shop and are trying to decide on ONE mod only,i'd recommend going with the "Brown Eye" mod PLUS the "saturation" switch...this is one hell of a combination!!! the BE mod covers you're classic rock through early vh/lynch stuff with ease,then with a flick of a toggle switch,the "saturation" feature propels you deeper into METAL territory!!! we're talkin vinegar pissin',balls-on-fire,mean-ass gain-saturated jose tone :scared: OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I don't know I might have to revise my previous. I can't get enough of the HBE tonight. They are all so good, hard to choose.
 
Hello all, first post here. I am about to send my amp to Dave and I would like to clear a few things up before I decide on what exactly to do.

1. Does the HBE have the exact same tone as the BE, but with more gain or is the tone slightly different as well?
2. What is the difference in tone/gain between the BE w/ the saturation switch engaged vs the HBE w/out the switch engaged?

Thanks!
Jeff
 
Jeff the HBE is designed to give more gain to the BE. The voice is almost the same but just a little meaner. The BE with the sat switch has more compression and a little more scooped and metal sounding then the HBE. The regular settings in general are more organic and dynamic then with the Sat switch. They all are good sounds though. Dave
 
I dig em both. The BE with the Saturation switch is more than enough gain for most applications. Just got my BE/C45 back last week, and it kills!!! Its definitely a keeper. The saturation feature makes this amp sound quite nasty.
 
I was thinking of going with the just that. The BE/C45 with Sat/Fat switches. But then I was thinking for only $100 more I might as well add the HBE, especially if it's a differenent flavor of higher gain than the Sat switch.
 
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