Oh man, got the Friedman PT20 V2...percussive, hard rock goodness!!

romanianreaper

romanianreaper

Well-known member
I haven't spent a ton of time with the amp but so far, I'm loving this thing. I've always dug the BE100 "sound" and captures that for sure. There is this "articulation" and percussive sound when playing that sounds amazing and the only way I can describe it is when you hear a player like Nuno or Vito Bratta and each note stands out really nicely.

As a point of reference, I have a 5150-III 6l6 50 watt and Friedman JJ Jr. I definitely like this amp better than the JJ Jr., although I fo like thst amp too, but this one sounds more open for sure.

Although it is only one channel, I can get some really great clean sounds with the gain turned down to 9 o'clock. I mean beautiful, rich Fender tones. I was playing my Strat with the Keeley Halo and a reverb pedal and sounded great. I realize I won't get as clean of a sound when the volume goes up.

I'm excited to give this thing a whirl at band practice. The only thing I wish it had was the XLR out and ability to power it on without a speaker connected. A second channel would be nice but not necessary. I'm pretty happy with this little amp!
 
Chubtone said:
Interesting and tempting. I liked the PT20 I had but it was just too dark.
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I have never played a PT20 but was intrigued when I saw video reviews and seemed like Dave added more treble and brightness exactly for that reason, more gain, etc. I need to spend more time with it but really digging it. You, and many others here on the forum like that 80s tone and feel I dig and I could see you, Psychodave, Buckeyedog, and others liking the tone. Always hard to know though.
 
ccn said:
Nobody gives a shit about clean tones you need to crank that bastard up and play some 80's metal . I want to hear more samples .
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Hey it is good to have that handy 😉 🤣 I'll try to get something setup in the near future so I can record some sweet action.
 
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Techdeth said:
Best Friedman I’ve heard . The brighter Friedman to me makes it best .
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Yeah, people bitched because the OG's were dark, now alot of people are bitching that the V2 is bright. YES, IT'S BRIGHT, but easily managed.. Treble knob, people....

This amp, (IMO), is the amp the majority of people wanted in a PT-20.

More gain? Check.
Less polished? Check.
More aggressive? Check.
Brighter? Check.

Typically, a more British, traditional "Marshall" is a bright-ass amp. It's in their DNA. This is what you're getting here, but with an EQ that's far more rewarding.

Now, everyone knows I'm a boostaholic, so naturally I'm boosting it for my tastes. The Flux Drive is back in rotation, (and off the chopping block), and I get some of the narliest thrash tones I've ever had. And I leave the sat switch off, which is fatter and juicier.

This little amp is no joke. And from the folks posting videos of, or feeling the JJ Jr. falls short in the heavier tones, I think this one will eat it's lunch.
 
i always thought the first version sounded the best of all the friedman stuff based on what ive heard, curious to hear this one
 
napalmdeath said:
Yeah, people bitched because the OG's were dark, now alot of people are bitching that the V2 is bright. YES, IT'S BRIGHT, but easily managed.. Treble knob, people....

This amp, (IMO), is the amp the majority of people wanted in a PT-20.

More gain? Check.
Less polished? Check.
More aggressive? Check.
Brighter? Check.

Typically, a more British, traditional "Marshall" is a bright-ass amp. It's in their DNA. This is what you're getting here, but with an EQ that's far more rewarding.

Now, everyone knows I'm a boostaholic, so naturally I'm boosting it for my tastes. The Flux Drive is back in rotation, (and off the chopping block), and I get some of the narliest thrash tones I've ever had. And I leave the sat switch off, which is fatter and juicier.

This little amp is no joke. And from the folks posting videos of, or feeling the JJ Jr. falls short in the heavier tones, I think this one will eat it's lunch.
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This thing definitely chugs better than my JJ Jr., which I did not expect
 
RaceU4her said:
i always thought the first version sounded the best of all the friedman stuff based on what ive heard, curious to hear this one
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I'm really digging the switch that adjusts the character of the tone. The middle position can do a great ACDC, the lower is like early hair metal and the up position can do heavier hair metal up to the great chugging stuff.
 
romanianreaper said:
This thing definitely chugs better than my JJ Jr., which I did not expect
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It will certainly check the boxes for the metal guys into tight thrash metal riffage. For lead players, it's articulate, and full of harmonics that sings.

To be fair, I've only played My SG Standard through it, so the pickups are much lower output, (the SG has a nastiness of it's own).
 
napalmdeath said:
It will certainly check the boxes for the metal guys into tight thrash metal riffage. For lead players, it's articulate, and full of harmonics that sings.

To be fair, I've only played My SG Standard through it, so the pickups are much lower output, (the SG has a nastiness of it's own).
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So far I've played my Chubtone (with JB in bridge), Les Paul Classic (with Motor City 2nd Degree BB), Les Paul Standard, and Fender Stratocaster. All of them sound amazing.
 
romanianreaper said:
I'm really digging the switch that adjusts the character of the tone. The middle position can do a great ACDC, the lower is like early hair metal and the up position can do heavier hair metal up to the great chugging stuff.
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I haven't delved into the middle long, but all the way down does great 70's to 80's rock.

I'm in the up position highest gain, boosted and gain backed down. Very aggressive. It's almost like a Splawn's Gear 1 and Gear 2. But, of course the voicing is much more high-mid focused, closer to a traditional Marshall vs. Scott's flavor.

I don't use the sat switch. Its fuller, bigger, and the sat thins it out. It's much bigger, and still aggressive with it off and boosted.
 
napalmdeath said:
USA. Nice try though.
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Try what? I thought some of the Friedman amps were made in China?

Maybe where something is made doesn't matter to you but it might to others.

Pretty cool this ones made in the US. Would be much more inclined to buy one knowing that.
 
Philo Beddoe said:
Try what? I thought some of the Friedman amps were made in China?

Maybe where something is made doesn't matter to you but it might to others.

Pretty cool this ones made in the US. Would be much more inclined to buy one knowing that.
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What gave you the idea any of his amps were made in China?
 
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