New Friedman amp. SS. v2

LP Freak said:
Give me a break. I’m pretty sure Dave knows how to tighten up an amp without peeking into a Splawn lol.
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Right - and if anything the original SS was looser and had more of a vintage feel to it than the BE, so it’s not like the amp was tighter than the rest of Dave’s lineup anyway
 
Friedman’s stuff all sounds very good - no doubt. But I have a hard time distinguishing between any of the variants in the line-up unless set at widely different ends of the spectrum. Within that 66% ‘bell curve’ of the tone stack and gain control, Friedman amps sound really, really similar.
 
PDC said:
Friedman’s stuff all sounds very good - no doubt. But I have a hard time distinguishing between any of the variants in the line-up unless set at widely different ends of the spectrum. Within that 66% ‘bell curve’ of the tone stack and gain control, Friedman amps sound really, really similar.
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Can’t argue there
 
LP Freak said:
Give me a break. I’m pretty sure Dave knows how to tighten up an amp without peeking into a Splawn lol.
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Yup - that’s why every amp in his line-up has that unmistakable compression / squish thing going on…
 
PDC said:
Friedman’s stuff all sounds very good - no doubt. But I have a hard time distinguishing between any of the variants in the line-up unless set at widely different ends of the spectrum. Within that 66% ‘bell curve’ of the tone stack and gain control, Friedman amps sound really, really similar.
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I completely agree. The JEL being the exception. To me, the Jake amp has the high end and open/non compressed tone of a great old Marshall. Most of his other stuff is much more polite. Great, but too refined sometimes.
 
PDC said:
Friedman’s stuff all sounds very good - no doubt. But I have a hard time distinguishing between any of the variants in the line-up unless set at widely different ends of the spectrum. Within that 66% ‘bell curve’ of the tone stack and gain control, Friedman amps sound really, really similar.
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This is why I love the Runt 50 so much. It fully captures that Friedman flavor, without all the bells and whistles I don't want/need. And with the Hot Mod, it takes it a step further, gain-wise, and essentially gives me beast mode.

It's the best value in the Friedman line, no doubt. I have no desire to delve into the more expensive offerings.
 
napalmdeath said:
This is why I love the Runt 50 so much. It fully captures that Friedman flavor, without all the bells and whistles I don't want/need. And with the Hot Mod, it takes it a step further, gain-wise, and essentially gives me beast mode.

It's the best value in the Friedman line, no doubt. I have no desire to delve into the more expensive offerings.
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I’ve had them all and wouldn’t downgrade to a Runt no matter what the value is but that‘s just me. The 100 Deluxe does everything I always wanted
 
gtrwun said:
I completely agree. The JEL being the exception. To me, the Jake amp has the high end and open/non compressed tone of a great old Marshall. Most of his other stuff is much more polite. Great, but too refined sometimes.
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The only Friedman models I’ve not tried yet are the JEL, Twin Sister and this one, but based on the clips I’ve seen of the JEL, I get the sense that despite it finally being a brighter, more uppermidrangey amp, which I like, it probably would still sound polite/not raw vs a real Marshall or more raw amps. The powerchords still don’t seem like they had as complete or mean of a growl as those amps. Seems like basically just a bright sounding Friedman to me, which could be quite cool, but not something I’d personally need
 
braintheory said:
The only Friedman models I’ve not tried yet are the JEL, Twin Sister and this one, but based on the clips I’ve seen of the JEL, I get the sense that despite it finally being a brighter, more uppermidrangey amp, which I like, it probably would still sound polite/not raw vs a real Marshall or more raw amps. The powerchords still don’t seem like they had as complete or mean of a growl as those amps. Seems like basically just a bright sounding Friedman to me, which could be quite cool, but not something I’d personally need
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Isn't the JEL essentially just a 2204 with a few gain tweaks in the first two stages and then a standard 47k NFR to make it more " vintage" sounding? Then add the classic " thump" or whatever you want to call it. I think Jake essentially just plays on the most basic most marshall sounding setting and plays it above 8 on the MV. Then he gooses it the rest of the way like the rest of us. So the best sounding Friedmans ( just like the brahma module), are the ones closest to the original circuit. The synergy BE and DS to me sound good, but both have the compression squish going on and both have soft mids vs the edges and teeth that I like. I think Dave could put whatever he wanted on the table but the current offerings are the ones that people like best. Maybe it is so close it doesn't matter but I think it is def. something you feel. This vid below gives an idea of why so many people who love that old Marshall sound see Dave's amps as being the perfect amp for them. But I def hear a difference. He's also running it the way most people don't and the way Jake does. Wide open with the preamp gain pulled back for tightness. Whether it matters or not though, that's a diff story.

 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Isn't the JEL essentially just a 2204 with a few gain tweaks in the first two stages and then a standard 47k NFR to make it more " vintage" sounding? Then add the classic " thump" or whatever you want to call it. I think Jake essentially just plays on the most basic most marshall sounding setting and plays it above 8 on the MV. Then he gooses it the rest of the way like the rest of us. So the best sounding Friedmans ( just like the brahma module), are the ones closest to the original circuit. The synergy BE and DS to me sound good, but both have the compression squish going on and both have soft mids vs the edges and teeth that I like. I think Dave could put whatever he wanted on the table but the current offerings are the ones that people like best. Maybe it is so close it doesn't matter but I think it is def. something you feel. This vid below gives an idea of why so many people who love that old Marshall sound see Dave's amps as being the perfect amp for them. But I def hear a difference. He's also running it the way most people don't and the way Jake does. Wide open with the preamp gain pulled back for tightness. Whether it matters or not though, that's a diff story.

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I’m not technical guy, so I don’t know. What you’re saying may all very well be true on paper, but to my ears in the clips it doesn’t sound raw or organic like a vintage 800. Sounds to me basically like a Friedman trying to be more like an 800, which is cool, but I would easily go for a real 800 with a good boost or mod 10/10 times
 
DragonCrestPC said:
I've owned the butterslax and jj. I've come to the conclusion that daves amps aren't for me. This still has that polite top end I'm not a fan of.
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I agree and those were some of the better Friedman’s IME. This is metal and hard rock, we’re not looking for polite at all here lol. This should be obvious lol. Are we trying to do an elevator music version of metal/hard rock?
 
braintheory said:
I’m not technical guy, so I don’t know. What you’re saying may all very well be true on paper, but to my ears in the clips it doesn’t sound raw or organic like a vintage 800. Sounds to me basically like a Friedman trying to be more like an 800, which is cool, but I would easily go for a real 800 with a good boost or mod 10/10 times
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You aren't incorrect because those small changes can make bigger audible differences. I still like an 800/2204 with everything on 7 and preamp back to 4 . That's my jam right there. A little push with an od, maybe a few part swaps to taste for a diff value here or there for very subtle enhancements and that's it. It's funny because the pedals i like at low volume MV playing are diff than the ones I use when the amp is roaring.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
You aren't incorrect because those small changes can make bigger audible differences. I still like an 800/2204 with everything on 7 and preamp back to 4 . That's my jam right there. A little push with an od, maybe a few part swaps to taste for a diff value here or there for very subtle enhancements and that's it. It's funny because the pedals i like at low volume MV playing are diff than the ones I use when the amp is roaring.
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Agreed on all. That’s a great sound. Tried and true classic over 40 years later. I have noticed how such seemingly subtle, even minute changes can sometimes make such a big difference. This to me is part of the magic and fun with gear and I wish the super technical guys were more open minded to thinking about these things that on paper “shouldn’t” matter. It’s imo at least as much an art as a science
 
Luca79 said:
Here the video, without need to be redirected to TGP :p





Sound modern and a bit compressed, but i like it.
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All of Rezas videos sound alike to me no matter what expensive head he plays, because of the speakers he uses and the way he dials everything in…
 
I have a Ceriatone 2204 build modded to the Friedman JEL specs. Master over 7, and tamed with a PS2, just brings the goods for me. Owned a JJ Jr for a bit too but it was too polite for me on the top end.

I have a Friedman SS cab that sounds and looks great!
 
Wasn't there already a version 2 of this amp? Pretty sure there was, so maybe it was 1.0, 1.1 and now 2.0.

I can almost hear the owners of the earlier ones groan - resale usually takes a nasty hit when this happens. I wonder if Steve is happy yet - maybe by 3.1...

And yes a JEL100 is not far from a 2203, like many, many other amps.
 
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