Played a JEL-50 today

[EyesOfTheSouth!]

Worked a marketplace deal for a pair of speakers. Guy was 5 minutes away and had a JEL-50 atop a Mesa horizontal 2x12. I played it for a bit and was immediately reminded of why I quickly sold my Small Box. My Morris amps eat it for lunch.

Does Friedman intentionally make the amps polished/mixed sounding? I couldn’t get any kerrang in the high mids even through the V30’s. I was expecting more from a JEL sig.

 

[yngHL]

Sounds like you thoroughly put it through its paces

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

It's those mids...the Friedman hollow mids. It's like he's dialed the rawness out of the Marshall sound. People love it i guess but for me i always want more cut and less " softness". But that said maybe it's the ears in the room because recorded, they always seem to sound better and maybe thats the point. Mix ready... Nielsen shows that here. (I still prefer the Marshall)

 

[EyesOfTheSouth!]

Sounds like you thoroughly put it through its paces

No I didn’t. But it’s a pretty simple amp. The guitar was an Ibanez Prestige hardtail with a Tone Zone in bridge……..maybe that was it. But my brief time with it solidified my Friedman opinion.

 

[braintheory]

That’s how the JEL-20 I had was too. Technically it was very bright with lots of uppermid presence and probably would cut through great, but the tone itself still was very smooth, polite, somewhat restrained as his amps just are voiced IME. It didn’t fundamentally fix what I didn’t like in his other amps. They’re not too dark, just too polite and afraid to be truly gritty and aggressive

 

[hellzington]

Worked a marketplace deal for a pair of speakers. Guy was 5 minutes away and had a JEL-50 atop a Mesa horizontal 2x12. I played it for a bit and was immediately reminded of why I quickly sold my Small Box. My Morris amps eat it for lunch.

Does Friedman intentionally make the amps polished/mixed sounding? I couldn’t get any kerrang in the high mids even through the V30’s. I was expecting more from a JEL sig.

Yes, Dave intentionally makes the amp sound polished/mixed. That’s the Friedman sound. He gives you a recorded Marshall sound, but in the room.

 

[midnightlaundry]

The Naked Schematic I seen uses .47uf Bypass Caps instead of the typical Marshall .68uf.. It's a slight difference but still one you can hear. Maybe it's a simple Cap swap to get that upper mid going.

 

[Geo]

It's those mids...the Friedman hollow mids. It's like he's dialed the rawness out of the Marshall sound. People love it i guess but for me i always want more cut and less " softness". But that said maybe it's the ears in the room because recorded, they always seem to sound better and maybe thats the point. Mix ready... Nielsen shows that here. (I still prefer the Marshall)

+1 Marshall hands down.

 

[PDC]

I absolutely understand this observation. And I will be the first to say that the Friedman 'polished' voicing does make the amp feel/sound 'easier' to play. It feels and sounds more forgiving - like adding compression but without the squish, if that makes sense. In a mix - live or recorded - its that Marshall 'bite' that makes the guitar sound so big and so ferocious. I've got an IR-J that I'm feeding into my bone stock NMV 50 Watt Marshall and it definitely breathes a bit of the snarl back into the sound.

 

[BABMusic]

It al depends on what you want. I notice that my Friedman has a nice compression in the chords that allows the notes to ring out more evenly than the Marshall DSL I owned. The Marshall did have some of those more harsher high frequencies that I just can't get with a stock Friedman. Even if you put the Response knob at a high level, it still doesn't have that Marshall thing. My Friedman has an HV mod which does make it sound very close to a real Marshall in the highs.

 

[napalmdeath]

I don't think you can go wrong with a Runt 50 and a Hot Mod. I think the Runt is less polished and more raw to begin with, and the Hot Mod takes it to the next level. Runt 50's have been going for under $1200 on Reverb. Can't beat it for the price.

Same can be said for a Ceriatone 800 and a Hot Mod. Of course, you want the upgraded loop..

 

[mentoneman]

i’ve played the be-100, SS v1&2, dirty shirley, twin sister, small box, JEL-100, plex, ir-j, DS and be-dlx modules, and be-od, deluxe and small box pedals. Dave also modded my egnater tol 100.

i think i can say with a fair degree of experience with his products that his amps cover a majority of what modern players seek out of a marshall, with more gain than the older stuff it is based on.
the remaining 10 percent of raw stringy fat bloomy whatever people say lack in his amps versus real marshalls is likely by design.

 

[tallcoolone]

i’ve played the be-100, SS v1&2, dirty shirley, twin sister, small box, JEL-100, plex, ir-j, DS and be-dlx modules, and be-od, deluxe and small box pedals. Dave also modded my egnater tol 100.

i think i can say with a fair degree of experience with his products that his amps cover a majority of what modern players seek out of a marshall, with more gain than the older stuff it is based on.

Sure they can cover the territory but we are talking about $2500+ amp heads--you should be picky in that $$ range. I've had a bunch of Friedmans as well and think they sound great but it can't be denied that Dave takes a lot of 'bite' out of the Marshall recipe. For some that is a dealbreaker, for others it is a perfect compromise and for some it is the amp of their dreams. People b diffrent and all

 

[mentoneman]

Sure they can cover the territory but we are talking about $2500+ amp heads--you should be picky in that $$ range. I've had a bunch of Friedmans as well and think they sound great but it can't be denied that Dave takes a lot of 'bite' out of the Marshall recipe. For some that is a dealbreaker, for others it is a perfect compromise and for some it is the amp of their dreams. People b diffrent and all

i see many that currently own or have owned walls of different models of boutique modern high gain amps. friedmans tend to appear in a lot of those walls.

the whole GAS/gear ADD thing is kinda weird when i really stop and think about it. particularly when i have a 36 yr old mark III that for my ear and taste rivals most of what is considered cutting edge modern gain now.

 

[tallcoolone]

i see many that currently own or have owned walls of different models of boutique modern high gain amps. friedmans tend to appear in a lot of those walls.

the whole GAS/gear ADD thing is kinda weird when i really stop and think about it. particularly when i have a 36 yr old mark III that for my ear and taste rivals most of what is considered cutting edge modern gain now.

Great example—I sold my MIII head a bit ago b/c I felt it didn’t cut enough (and was too sensitive to control changes). For some like you that is the high water mark.

I don’t give a shit about what my wall looks like, I want multiple options avail whether I have a gig or I want a few hours in Madison Square Basement and if something isn’t getting played it goes.

 

[dcburn]

I absolutely understand this observation. And I will be the first to say that the Friedman 'polished' voicing does make the amp feel/sound 'easier' to play. It feels and sounds more forgiving - like adding compression but without the squish, if that makes sense. In a mix - live or recorded - its that Marshall 'bite' that makes the guitar sound so big and so ferocious. I've got an IR-J that I'm feeding into my bone stock NMV 50 Watt Marshall and it definitely breathes a bit of the snarl back into the sound.

Can I bug you to ask which cabs (is that IR's?) you are using?
Loving the IR-J and just opened up the editor yesterday to check out other cabs.

Actually, enjoying it so much I may actually keep my buddies IR-X (he's selling) he lent me...

 

[CrystalSky]

It's those mids...the Friedman hollow mids. It's like he's dialed the rawness out of the Marshall sound. People love it i guess but for me i always want more cut and less " softness". But that said maybe it's the ears in the room because recorded, they always seem to sound better and maybe thats the point. Mix ready... Nielsen shows that here. (I still prefer the Marshall)

TIL Nielsen can’t play Lay it down riff precisely haha

 

[mentoneman]

Great example—I sold my MIII head a bit ago b/c I felt it didn’t cut enough (and was too sensitive to control changes). For some like you that is the high water mark.

I don’t give a shit about what my wall looks like, I want multiple options avail whether I have a gig or I want a few hours in Madison Square Basement and if something isn’t getting played it goes.

i’m not suggesting those with amp walls/rooms shouldn’t have them. i get the fun of having a bunch of cool amps. my residency at Madison Square Garage is a blast!

 

[PDC]

Can I bug you to ask which cabs (is that IR's?) you are using?
Loving the IR-J and just opened up the editor yesterday to check out other cabs.

Actually, enjoying it so much I may actually keep my buddies IR-X (he's selling) he lent me...

I'm such a cave man - I'm not using the IRs (!) I'm just using the 'line out / loop send' to feed the input of my Marshall - like any other 'Amp-In-A-Box' pedal. The Marshall head is driving a Thiele ported 2x12 with a 65 Watt Creamback and a UK Marshall Branded V-30. Its really, really killer sounding.

 

[SoooRad]

Also being a Morris owner, I know exactly what you mean.

They really make pretty much everything I’ve used before from the bottom to the previous top sit in “second tier” category. From Peavey to Soldano, they aren’t at this level, imho.