Friedman BE 50 Deluxe...Thoughts?

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angelspade

angelspade

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Any of you guys had any experience with the Friedman BE 50 Deluxe? I have a trade opportunity for one that seems like a very good deal and wanted some thoughts. My primary concern is that I have read that it lacks aggression / gain and may be a bit too polished / polite? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
angelspade said:
Any of you guys had any experience with the Friedman BE 50 Deluxe? I have a trade opportunity for one that seems like a very good deal and wanted some thoughts. My primary concern is that I have read that it lacks aggression / gain and may be a bit too polished / polite? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Depending on what type of music you’re into I guess it could lack gain and aggression. You can always add a pedal to get you there though. It has more than enough gain in my opinion. Overall it’s a killer sounding amp that’s very versatile.
 
i'm a big fan of Jason Hobbs playing and tone..i feel like these demos do the best job of capturing what the amp excels at





 
If you’re getting a good deal its worth trying. I have the 100 deluxe and i wouldn’t pay too much attention to what you read on the internet. The amps super versatile, doesn’t lack gain and you can dial it to be aggressive or polite.
 
angelspade said:
Any of you guys had any experience with the Friedman BE 50 Deluxe? I have a trade opportunity for one that seems like a very good deal and wanted some thoughts. My primary concern is that I have read that it lacks aggression / gain and may be a bit too polished / polite? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Nice amp, and versatile. But buy it for the Friedman sound, not if you want authentic Marshall tones.

This is not a criticism of the BE range, just pointing out that a lot of guys buy one and then realise it doesn't stun like their old 2203 they never shoulda sold! Different beast, despite the aesthetics and the builder's background.
 
I briefly owned the BE100 Deluxe. I have owned several old Marshalls throughout the years as well. I did not care of the voicing of the BE. Some people love it. I found that I was missing the bite and aggression that I personally wanted to hear. I had just come from a 2005 Splawn Quickrod, and found the BE to sound tame to my ears. I personally had trouble getting it to cut through the mix. Obviously, others don't have this issue. In the end, I sent it back to Sweetwater and went on to buy an EVH 5150 IIIS. Personally, I find the Blue channel of the EVH to sound more "Marshall" than I found the BE to.
 
Had the 100 Deluxe and didn't like it much at all tbh. Didn't like the overall voicing and gain structure. At the time I also had a Wizard, Peters, and Fryette D60 II and the Deluxe jut sounded off. Had no balls compared to the others as well.
 
For amps in a similar-ish ballpark I would strongly recommend instead looking into a Bogner Snorkler 50, Lenz Hot Chili, or Steavens Poundcake as much better options imo

All 3 of these amps are in a less bright Marshall-y area, but still all sound plenty growly and aggressive with nuances of that nature in feel that you just won’t get in the Friedman’s having a more tame/polite take on that (including the JEL model despite being a bright amp)

I find those more polite amps bland and less inspiring to play through. Some call it refined and that’s to me very incorrect. Just bland, lacking character and distinction to me
 
Thanks for the feedback guys...It's what I feared: Seems many felt that the amp lacks aggression and are a bit too polite overall. I'm probably going to take a pass.
 
I'm a Friedman fanboy and think Dave is making the best rock amps you can buy at the big box store these days. If you play classic rock, classic metal or modern rock, I don't think there is anything better going right now.

If you play heavy stuff and need the chugga chuggas then it probably wouldn't be your first choice.
 
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Elric said:
Kinda funny how RT goes.. Seems like it is popular here to rag on Friedman these days. When his stuff was less obtainable, it was the pinnacle here but now that it is plentiful, it's time to hype something else.
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It has nothing to do with that. I was saying this stuff about Friedman since I first tried them back in 2012. Nothing personal against them, he seems like a great guy with amazing customer service, just not what I like to hear in an amp. I think it was just overhyped back in the day since there were less known options for hot rodded Marshall type amps besides Cameron, it was a fresh new product back then, and guys just knew less (including myself). Especially since 2020 guys just learned a lot from maybe more time on their hands and realized there are just better amps out there for similar prices or some even less on the used market. For obtainable amps I really enjoy the new Bogner Snorkler 50 and '90's Recto Reissue. I think anyone who likes the Friedman's should give the Snorklers a shot as it's darker voiced like most Friedman's, but with a lot more character, growl and feel to it, not polite or bland. Just my opinion. Naylor is another great one for this criteria
 
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Elric said:
Kinda funny how RT goes.. Seems like it is popular here to rag on Friedman these days. When his stuff was less obtainable, it was the pinnacle here but now that it is plentiful, it's time to hype something else.
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I don’t think anyone is ragging on him. It’s just enough people have played his amps now to form an opinion on them. Dave is an awesome builder and his customer service is exceptional.
 
Elric said:
Kinda funny how RT goes.. Seems like it is popular here to rag on Friedman these days. When his stuff was less obtainable, it was the pinnacle here but now that it is plentiful, it's time to hype something else.
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Ya...the amp hype train is real. Go a little earlier and I remember when Diezel VH4's were touted as the "be all, end all" high gainer. Around that same time, everybody raved about SLO's still. Friedman came a little later, but for sure guys were hyping them up as the pinnacle of high gain Marshall tone.
 
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