Friedman BE-OD pedal, is it all that ?
- Thread starter Samhain
- Start date
psychodave
Well-known member
I think it’s cool. It has a ton of gain so it’s meant to be used with clean or low gain amps. It can be a little dark at times… meaning I wish it had a tiny bit more mids. I’m nit picking though.
Dr. Dave i value your opinion even if sometimes we don't agree. Im meeting a guy in an hour to snag one for $100 bucks.
I figure i can flip it if it doesn't mesh with my rig.
Most folks like it, down sides ive heard are unwanted noise & it can sound a bit scooped.
Got a new Strat looking to thicken things up tone wise. Im sure i can get usable tones out of the BE-OD ive got tones out of alot worse.
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I haven’t found the BE-OD to be dark personally. I’ve had to bring down treble and presence actually, and bass up. It’s also the first high-gain pedal that actually paired well with my amp - which typically turns to mush when a high gain pedal is in front. I stalled on trying the Friedman pedals for quite a while. But I eventually started with the Smallbox pedal (killer, and has a mid control) and liked it so much I tried the BE-OD. Both keepers. I can see why some might label the BE-OD as a “scooped” pedal, but the EQ is flexible and the pedal just cuts. Which is what I want. For $100, absolutely worth trying.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
What's the difference between the BE-OD and say a modified TS-9 or Pro Co Rat ?
The TS-9 is an overdrive pedal, meaning its primary purpose is to slam the input of your amp with a very hot signal with some bass cut and mid boost to accentuate the natural qualities of your amp while also tightening it up a bit.
The BE-OD is not an overdrive pedal, it's not meant to push your amp's input to bring out the natural tone of your amp. It's a preamp pedal. It is meant to be run at an output volume that does not overdrive the input of a clean amp. The distortion happens entirely inside the pedal. It's a great sounding pedal though. I have one and really like it. I find it has a bit too much treble with the knobs set to noon though. I turn the treble and presence almost all the way down but when I do it sounds huge. It's also a very modern sound, very chunky and high gain, very clear and crisp. If you want anything resembling vintage, this isn't it.
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romanianreaper
Well-known member
I thought it was a great pedal when I had one but I'm actually looking at the Smallbox pedal now. I think that would be a perfect fit.
Manxmusicman
Active member
I preferred the dirty Shirley pedal, increase the internal gain pot and turn the mids all the way down on the DS and it’s hard to distinguish between the DS and the BE.
Okay so first impressions are its super defined & articulate as a mofo. I set the trimmer in back at 1/3 open. I don't really find it too much different noise wise than any other dirt pedal ive had at that setting. Gain knob was open 1/3 on front with volume set about 6 oclock. I ran it gain 1/2 way to 2/3rd on jmp 2203 and it handled it fine.
But i run time based & modulation thru the loop, if that were in front with the BE OD would probably sound like a Jeff Bezos rocket.
Super touchy pedal that can get away from you easy gain wise.
Surprisingly quiet with single coils on a Strat too. Definitely a preamp for sculpting tone and not an OD.
Its a cool pedal. Cut, cut, cut thru the amp.
It exceeded my expectations with the Stratocaster.
But i run time based & modulation thru the loop, if that were in front with the BE OD would probably sound like a Jeff Bezos rocket.
Super touchy pedal that can get away from you easy gain wise.
Surprisingly quiet with single coils on a Strat too. Definitely a preamp for sculpting tone and not an OD.
Its a cool pedal. Cut, cut, cut thru the amp.
It exceeded my expectations with the Stratocaster.
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napalmdeath
Well-known member
It's no overdrive, it's all-out distortion - and shit-loads of it. It does, in fact, sound scooped. There's no mid control.
It has an internal gain trim-pot - I always turned it WAY down, between zero, and maybe 9 o'clock.
It's most useful into a clean channel - light boost is a doable, but not the best tool for the job. It has an ass-load of gain, as mentioned.
Pretty noisy too.
TheToneDig
Active member
Basically behaves like a solid-state pre-amp of the BE-OD so it has the JCM distortion tone layering onto your clean channel. I have had that in front of a Marshall Origin 50.
There is a gain pot inside you can adjust.
Nearly as good as Diezel pre-amp pedal quality. I would rate it high up there with the Herbert pedal and VH4-2 pedal in terms of replicating the pre-amp section of those amps.
It does 80s hair metal really well when you add a chorus to it.
There is a gain pot inside you can adjust.
Nearly as good as Diezel pre-amp pedal quality. I would rate it high up there with the Herbert pedal and VH4-2 pedal in terms of replicating the pre-amp section of those amps.
It does 80s hair metal really well when you add a chorus to it.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
The only thing about the BE-OD Deluxe is that the Tight control is on a 3-way switch instead of a knob like the BE-OD. If the BE-OD Deluxe had an actual Tight knob instead of 3 preset values it would easily be the best in class, no brainer, must have amp-in-a-box pedal instead of just a really good one.
psychodave
Well-known member
Glad you like it. It’s a neat pedal and with 6 knobs, it can do a lot.
ElectricVoodoo
Well-known member
I had the Deluxe and thought it was just Ok. Better than the 5150 od pedal imo
bubbastain
Well-known member
I had the BE-OD a while ago and really liked it. I ran the gain fairly low and would boost if I wanted more. After a while I got the Deluxe version but didn't like it as much. I really prefer the tight knob over the switch. Just yesterday I got the Smallbox pedal and really like it. My favorite so far.