sixstringking713
New member
I own Splawn QR and evh50w.. how does a Friedman Pink Taco compare? Hard to tell from vids.
mniel8195
Active member
I can sorta chime in... I owned a 5150 III for years. Very fun amp and has a ton of gain. Once i got my friedman smallbox it was an adjustment because i did not have that insane amount of gain. But for me it was like switching from a distortion pedal to a tube amp. Friedman stuff has TONE! And a ton of amazing feel to go with it. I am sure the pink taco is similar in vibe.
dfrattaroli
New member
Wouldn't mind hearing other opinions. I just got a smoking deal on a PT-20 from Sam Ash. Will be here next week. I played a BE100 a few weeks back and still think about it. Picked up the PT because of it's price and some vids I've heard.
K
kunos
Member
I moved from an EVH LBX to the PT20. The PT20 has of course less gain (I am using mine at full gain with occasional SD1 in front as boost), it's darker and smoother. They both sound very good at super low volume and they're both focused and very tight. At the end, I prefer the PT20 in general, but the EVH gets the edge the lower you go with tunings.. I mostly play in standard E so I enjoy the fatness of the Taco. It's quite possible that the 50w EVH has a stronger bottom end than the LBX, especially at high volume and it should overpower the PT20 on a stage.
The new gen PT20 are supposed to have additional switches for the gain structure.. but mine has not, so I can't really comment on that.
I am going by memory here, but I think a properly dialed in blue channel on the EVH can get quite close to the PT20 thingy... but the Friedman is such a beautiful thing to behold.
The new gen PT20 are supposed to have additional switches for the gain structure.. but mine has not, so I can't really comment on that.
I am going by memory here, but I think a properly dialed in blue channel on the EVH can get quite close to the PT20 thingy... but the Friedman is such a beautiful thing to behold.
splawner
Well-known member
I had both.... I like my evh way better than the taco...taco had to much low end and not enough gain for my liking.
Speeddemon
Well-known member
Was the Taco's low-end not controllable then? I mean, there's a Bass knob on it, right?splawner":lb5yihpj said:
Was it mushy/muddy/loose low-end?
El Mariachi
Well-known member
I'd be interested to hear the update.
I own a 50w Quickrod B+ and an EVH 1x12 combo.
I tried the PT20 at my rehearsal space through my 2x12 when I found someone selling one locally on Craigslist.
Wasn't even a consideration for me. The PT had so little gain compared to my Splawn or EVH. (I set my Splawn around 1 o'clock)
The tone of the PT didn't impress me at all. I found it very small sounding. To each his/her own. I'm sure it works great for some.
For me, it wasn't even worth considering.
I own a 50w Quickrod B+ and an EVH 1x12 combo.
I tried the PT20 at my rehearsal space through my 2x12 when I found someone selling one locally on Craigslist.
Wasn't even a consideration for me. The PT had so little gain compared to my Splawn or EVH. (I set my Splawn around 1 o'clock)
The tone of the PT didn't impress me at all. I found it very small sounding. To each his/her own. I'm sure it works great for some.
For me, it wasn't even worth considering.
dfrattaroli
New member
Got my Taco the other day. It sounds monstrous through my Uberkab. Plenty of gain IMO.
El Mariachi
Well-known member
dfrattaroli":33olhv56 said:
Interesting... Wonder if the one I tried out was F'ed up...
Bad tubes or something...
It just had ZERO "cajones".
dfrattaroli
New member
El Mariachi":2muj8smx said:dfrattaroli":2muj8smx said:
Interesting... Wonder if the one I tried out was F'ed up...
Bad tubes or something...
It just had ZERO "cajones".
The only other Friedman I've tried is the BE100 and that was for about 15-20 minutes. When I plugged this in yesterday and fired it up I thought "Yes, there's that Friedman sound and feel". Not identical to the BE but the same voice. I guess the BE has more gain on tap because I was at 2:00 on that amp. I had to max the gain on the PT to get that much gain from it.
I bet if I have Dave add a SAT switch to it, I'd be good.
splawner
Well-known member
For my liking it needed a Sat switch and a presence knob. I wouldn't say the low end was muddy just to much of it and not enough cut. And it was very small sounding..For the price of one i was not a fan at all..I own and played other amps in that price range that had much more options, sounded way better and had much more headroom.. EVH 50 all day long.. Just my opinion!!Speeddemon":hv1j8gue said:
splawner
Well-known member
El Mariachi":kbpong42 said:dfrattaroli":kbpong42 said:
Interesting... Wonder if the one I tried out was F'ed up...
Bad tubes or something...
It just had ZERO "cajones".
Same here..Mine was not even close to sounding monstrous...
errrrrl
Well-known member
mniel8195":2v1wzrzp said:
This exactly.
I do wish it had a just a bit more gain like the BE100 for low volumes (I use a Seymour Duncan pickup booster in the front for my guitars with not so hot pickups). When cranked up loud the gain is awesome. I am curious on the new ones with the 3 way gain switch also. Recently I put a MXR 10 band eq in the loop just to see.. i like it cause I was able to make it super tight sounding but it really takes away from that Friedman sound.
El Mariachi
Well-known member
splawner":1pz1eqmu said:El Mariachi":1pz1eqmu said:dfrattaroli":1pz1eqmu said:
Interesting... Wonder if the one I tried out was F'ed up...
Bad tubes or something...
It just had ZERO "cajones".
WHEW!!! Okay... so it's not just me!
dfrattaroli
New member
To each their own I guess. This PT kills the OD channel on the Quick Rod I had.
MARK1970
Active member
I have heard the PT20 several times at the LA amp show. The last time it was blasting with a 4x12 and it was monstrous chords bloomed really nice. I prefer to here a G chord over muted chugging. I was surprised when I asked what amp was being demoed and Dave said the PT20.
dfrattaroli":1nwkqg0c said:
G
gtrwun
Well-known member
I owned a Taco for a while and its a killer amp. It is a dark amp and as was mention above, I felt it needed a presence pot to adjust the cut of the high end some. The PT20 is running those EL84's really hot and if you don't have a good pair of power tubes in the amp its not going to sound right for sure. I thought the amp had too much gain and I was always looking for a cleaner/less compressed tone. It a killer amp and I will probably buy another if they address the issue with the high end and made the gain a bit more open. Or maybe I need the DSM?
mniel8195
Active member
For those who are finding either the small box or the pink taco does not have enough gain try a koko boost. I have not had a ton of luck just adding a straight clean boost to maxed out amps because they become bass heavy or farty sounding. Now the red side of the koko boost is incredibly flexible. It's essentially a super quiet easy to use eq pedal.
hammered
Well-known member
On the subject of the Pink Taco being low on gain there was a guy jamming on one today at GC thru the Friedman 1x12 cab. The gain was at noon and it was very gainy , I was surprised since a few here have had issues with it being not gainy enough . It sounded like it had more gain that my Small Box at the same volume setting and just as much gain as my Splawn SS
Scallywag666
Active member
Pink Taco all the way, I prefer the tone and the single channel but thats just my opinion. I know alot of people who prefer channel switchers.