Friedman Brit-50 Head

[motorboy1]

....because with original Ceriatone iron, ALL of the amps I have played or come across my bench sound like shit...that's why!
They do not run at appropriate power (probably because out of China and can't design them to handle higher power and reliably) and are bright, so something wrong (don't care what it is, the ears and Tone dictate - could be wire, wire type, how they are magnatized, lamination stack, whatever).
If you can't HEAR the difference...well, that's where the problem starts, but I'm an electrical engineer masters degreed and have built or modified over 1,000 amps in 16 years and they don't get flipped, so I think I know what I'm talking about and not just happy with a cheap amp in the vicinity! Thanks.

As for people inquiring about higher gain....Yes, as indicated above, the Butterslax should fit that bill and is the highest gain amp Friedman has offered to date. One channel is pre-tonestack (Jose) master designed and the other post-tonestack master (traditional and typical Friedman-style), fyi!

Yes, Friedman resale is in the shitter! People's wages have not been keeping up while expenses increasing significantly. People looks for cheap right now and you have resale market or modelers for solutions, so sales are affected. Tariffs don't help with Ceriatone if getting from across the pond, but if local distributor at AP (asia-pacific) rates....that's the way to go. I would however and again as stated...NOT put in Ceriatone iron! I would either:

1. Order, but with upgraded Heyboer iron across the board (if you can trust it will be authentic and now a typical Chinese inferior clone).
2. Order a completed rolling chassis with boards and everything populated and installed, but NO iron, nor tubes, nor enclosure if you don't like theirs and want your own and as enclosures are heavy and addl $$$ again unless you can get domestic distributor pricing and then get real Heyboer iron and install yourself or have a local tech do it. Then you have good components and build quality with real domestic iron!! One other thing though is the Ceriatone designs though good, many need tweaks and again, you or a tech could do. Hope this helps and in making decisions!!

Relax…..lay off the caffeine..

 

[Rick Lee]

Looks like a really cool amp. But how is it better than the Plex? The local GC had a Plex, brand new, that sat and sat. It was discounted down to $2099 and still sat another few mos. By then I had already gotten a Suhr SL67, so I could not justify getting the Plex. Finally, it sold. I had my SL67 for five mos. before I had occasion to bring it to band practice, where it just slayed. Brought my Runt 50 the next week, which sounds so great at home, but didn't compete with the SL67 at band practice. When these Brits hit the used market, I might be interested in one. But it only stays in the stable if it can hang at band practice. YT videos don't really settle that.

 

[napalmdeath]

WOW! Thanks for pointing out the Ceriatone JCM 52. 52 is two JCM800s. 51 is Plexi and JCM800, which is more like the Brit-50 from that the demonstration shows.

Yeah, it's veeeeeeery similar in layout speaker in the center instead of off to the left side, the 2 jacks on front including Input and Footswitch, and PPIMV!!! :O One thing is, it doesn't say whether the footswitch is 1 or 2 button!!! If only one button, just switches channels, but I know I personally would not want it unless it's a 2-button footswitch and can turn the FX Loop on and off by the footswitch rather than always on or always off....that would suck!

The Ceriatone has way more versatility with additional switches and defeatable FX loop, and bright channels on BOTH channels, and of course independent Bias controls to really dial in mismatched tubes.

I'm actually a little pissed off Nik stole my amp name "Double Barrel" I had developed like 10-15 years ago!! Everyone steals until it's truly "unique"!

Too bad Ceriatone transformers are the weakness and shit. Take this circuit and put in some good iron and you'd have a really good Plexi/800 amp!!

At least you get a usable FX Loop with the Friedman. Ceriatone's are shit.

 

[harddriver]

Looks like a really cool amp. But how is it better than the Plex? The local GC had a Plex, brand new, that sat and sat. It was discounted down to $2099 and still sat another few mos. By then I had already gotten a Suhr SL67, so I could not justify getting the Plex. Finally, it sold. I had my SL67 for five mos. before I had occasion to bring it to band practice, where it just slayed. Brought my Runt 50 the next week, which sounds so great at home, but didn't compete with the SL67 at band practice. When these Brits hit the used market, I might be interested in one. But it only stays in the stable if it can hang at band practice. YT videos don't really settle that.

The Plex is Plexi tones only has a PPIMV and no loop.

This Brit 50 appears to be a Sweetwater version of the JEL50 amp that has a Pre Phase inverter master volume, Plexi and JCM800 switchable channels which also appear to be footswitchable and a loop.

 

[ZEN Amps]

The Plex is Plexi tones only has a PPIMV and no loop.

This Brit 50 appears to be a Sweetwater version of the JEL50 amp that has a Pre Phase inverter master volume, Plexi and JCM800 switchable channels which also appear to be footswitchable and a loop.

The cynic in me says it may just be a way to sell JEL type amps without having to cut in its namesake.

That and releasing a new amp generates buzz, which generates sales. The discussion about why we need this is moot really. If a company makes a product that generates a profit, need has nothing to do with it. People want things.

Plus Friedman has said before that he's always being pushed to make new products - not just support, promote and maintain existing ones. Not sure who is pushing him - BAD owners?

 

[harddriver]

The cynic in me says it may just be a way to sell JEL type amps without having to cut in its namesake.

That and releasing a new amp generates buzz, which generates sales. The discussion about why we need this is moot really. If a company makes a product that generates a profit, need has nothing to do with it. People want things.

Plus Friedman has said before that he's always being pushed to make new products - not just support, promote and maintain existing ones. Not sure who is pushing him - BAD owners?

I think the JEL amp is a good platform, Dave made it more raw and Marshally pissed off. It's what every guitar player always asks for... a good plexi channel and a gained up JCM800 channel with a loop. For alot of guitars players those two sounds in one amp is very usable and enticing so I can see why Dave would bring it market without calling it a JEL amp.

 

[ZEN Amps]

I think the JEL amp is a good platform, Dave made it more raw and Marshally pissed off. It's what every guitar player always asks for... a good plexi channel and a gained up JCM800 channel with a loop. For alot of guitars players those two sounds in one amp is very usable and enticing so I can see why Dave would bring it market without calling it a JEL amp.

Yep it makes sense, and signature amps turn some people off - as does bright red tolex.

 

[legend71]

WOW! Thanks for pointing out the Ceriatone JCM 52. 52 is two JCM800s. 51 is Plexi and JCM800, which is more like the Brit-50 from that the demonstration shows.

Yeah, it's veeeeeeery similar in layout speaker in the center instead of off to the left side, the 2 jacks on front including Input and Footswitch, and PPIMV!!! :O One thing is, it doesn't say whether the footswitch is 1 or 2 button!!! If only one button, just switches channels, but I know I personally would not want it unless it's a 2-button footswitch and can turn the FX Loop on and off by the footswitch rather than always on or always off....that would suck!

The Ceriatone has way more versatility with additional switches and defeatable FX loop, and bright channels on BOTH channels, and of course independent Bias controls to really dial in mismatched tubes.

I'm actually a little pissed off Nik stole my amp name "Double Barrel" I had developed like 10-15 years ago!! Everyone steals until it's truly "unique"!

Too bad Ceriatone transformers are the weakness and shit. Take this circuit and put in some good iron and you'd have a really good Plexi/800 amp!!

I had a JCM51 All Access last year. It was a great amp.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I think the JEL amp is a good platform, Dave made it more raw and Marshally pissed off. It's what every guitar player always asks for... a good plexi channel and a gained up JCM800 channel with a loop. For alot of guitars players those two sounds in one amp is very usable and enticing so I can see why Dave would bring it market without calling it a JEL amp.

But does the Plexi side of the JEL do an actual gained up wild Plexi or more lower gain and dirty clean sort of deal? Sounds like this Brit50 does a gained Plexi.

 

[Equ1nox]

I had a JCM51 All Access last year. It was a great amp.

I reviewed the March 2025 schematic of the JVM51 All Access 800 + Plexi last night.

The way it switches and creates the Plexi and JCM800 modes is fine, but both share the Master and then you have the PPIMV master, so a little fighting each other and interaction you have to work on with this setup.

I was surprised no DC Heaters! It taps off of the phase inverter and then uses a voltage divider to create a 59VDC elevated heater setup and applied to all valves (preamp and tube). One could just apply DC heaters across the entire amp, or to the preamp and elevated to the power tubes and phase inverter.

The auxillary circuit utilizing the 5V transformer taps which are common on a lot of transformers for rectifier only applies rectified and regulated 5V for relay switching, not heaters.

I like that the Ceriatone design has an LED indicator on the amp to show which mode you are in! Friedman doesn't do this on any of his amps.\

I hate Ceriatone due to transformers and some components like cheap switches, but great component selection and moreover build quality. Some people have suggested their FX Loops suck, but on the JCM51 and many other amps, they just use a traditional zero loss SDM designed FX loop, so unsure what they're talking about, everyone's using the same thing!

I made my own Plexi/JCM800 amp 10-15 years ago I called the Double-Barrell! The design could be updated and create the ultimate Plexi/JCM800 amp. The preamp tone stack and NFB could be one improvement and segregate rather than being global, so each channel tweaked, which I did do in the original design (at least the preamp section)!

I'd like to play on the of JCM51's. However, not readily available.
I think if I were to pick up and try a Brit-50 (and many people might be in the same boat), I might be disappointed to find its an all-PCB based, PCB mounted potentiometers, less gain than I want without hitting it with a pedal, and no footswitchable FX Loop and be very disappointed and why looking for clarification FIRST. Right now, the only confirmation it seems is it is incorrectly advertised and has 4 preamp tubes and not 3!

 

[tallcoolone]

The Plex is Plexi tones only has a PPIMV and no loop.

This Brit 50 appears to be a Sweetwater version of the JEL50 amp that has a Pre Phase inverter master volume, Plexi and JCM800 switchable channels which also appear to be footswitchable and a loop.

I’m old and I’ve had countless new and old Marshalls and ‘plexi-type’ amps. I took a Plex in trade and couldn’t turn it fast enough. And I like a lot of Friedman amps. But that is no ‘plexi’.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I’m old and I’ve had countless new and old Marshalls and ‘plexi-type’ amps. I took a Plex in trade and couldn’t turn it fast enough. And I like a lot of Friedman amps. But that is no ‘plexi’.

What didn't you like about it or felt it lacked?

 

[tallcoolone]

What didn't you like about it or felt it lacked?

No bite, no KERRANG, felt it lacked punch and sustain. Most Friedmans are ‘smoother’ takes on Marshalls but his BE and Twin Sister are fantastic amps in their own right. At the time I had a 1987x here and it absolutely ate the Plex for lunch.

 

[legend71]

I reviewed the March 2025 schematic of the JVM51 All Access 800 + Plexi last night.

The way it switches and creates the Plexi and JCM800 modes is fine, but both share the Master and then you have the PPIMV master, so a little fighting each other and interaction you have to work on with this setup.

I was surprised no DC Heaters! It taps off of the phase inverter and then uses a voltage divider to create a 59VDC elevated heater setup and applied to all valves (preamp and tube). One could just apply DC heaters across the entire amp, or to the preamp and elevated to the power tubes and phase inverter.

The auxillary circuit utilizing the 5V transformer taps which are common on a lot of transformers for rectifier only applies rectified and regulated 5V for relay switching, not heaters.

I like that the Ceriatone design has an LED indicator on the amp to show which mode you are in! Friedman doesn't do this on any of his amps.\

I hate Ceriatone due to transformers and some components like cheap switches, but great component selection and moreover build quality. Some people have suggested their FX Loops suck, but on the JCM51 and many other amps, they just use a traditional zero loss SDM designed FX loop, so unsure what they're talking about, everyone's using the same thing!

I made my own Plexi/JCM800 amp 10-15 years ago I called the Double-Barrell! The design could be updated and create the ultimate Plexi/JCM800 amp. The preamp tone stack and NFB could be one improvement and segregate rather than being global, so each channel tweaked, which I did do in the original design (at least the preamp section)!

I'd like to play on the of JCM51's. However, not readily available.
I think if I were to pick up and try a Brit-50 (and many people might be in the same boat), I might be disappointed to find its an all-PCB based, PCB mounted potentiometers, less gain than I want without hitting it with a pedal, and no footswitchable FX Loop and be very disappointed and why looking for clarification FIRST. Right now, the only confirmation it seems is it is incorrectly advertised and has 4 preamp tubes and not 3!

I had a combo that I ordered last year. I have always enjoyed every Ceriatone amp I have owned. I used the JVM51 as a clean dirty amp and it was fine. I did not have issues with the master or the loop. My only disappointment was that the footswitch did not have an LED on it to know what channel you are on and that some of the chassis screws came loose. Other that that is sounded great. I did not have much use for the bright switches etc. I am a simple user. I use a Mesa Fillmore right now while I wait for a cabinet for my Shiva. I need clean sounds and dirty sounds from an amp.

 

[Leroymyman]

No bite, no KERRANG, felt it lacked punch and sustain. Most Friedmans are ‘smoother’ takes on Marshalls but his BE and Twin Sister are fantastic amps in their own right. At the time I had a 1987x here and it absolutely ate the Plex for lunch.

I agree with this 100%, and I am a huge Friedman guy and love my TS and smallbox

I had a plex and eventually moved on to a 1987X

The plex is nice if you want all the doo-hickeys and are interested in an easier path to do a VH thing. If you aren't interested in those extras, it's just an average sounding 50 watt plexi. And the PPIMV didn't sound great to me so I was still stuck using a fryette PS.

 

[itsme]

I cannot watch or listen to Bowcott demo anything

 

[GuitarBilly]

The cynic in me says it may just be a way to sell JEL type amps without having to cut in its namesake.

And without the red tolex/heinz 57 ketchup bottle look. So I'm all for it.

But seriously now, I've played the JEL amps and this doesn't sound at all like the same circuit. The JELs are way brighter. But that could just be this piss poor excuse for a demo that SW put out.
Hard to know for sure until a proper demo is out.

 

[GuitarBilly]

Looks like a really cool amp. But how is it better than the Plex? The local GC had a Plex, brand new, that sat and sat. It was discounted down to $2099 and still sat another few mos. By then I had already gotten a Suhr SL67, so I could not justify getting the Plex. Finally, it sold. I had my SL67 for five mos. before I had occasion to bring it to band practice, where it just slayed. Brought my Runt 50 the next week, which sounds so great at home, but didn't compete with the SL67 at band practice. When these Brits hit the used market, I might be interested in one. But it only stays in the stable if it can hang at band practice. YT videos don't really settle that.

I've been dying to try out the SL67.

 

[Rick Lee]

If you're in Phoenix, you can come try it out.

 

[mermer]

I'm surprised he hasn't talked about this on Tone Talk or NAMM recently. Feels like this came out of nowhere.

I wonder how accurate this is though. Like does the Plexi/800 switch just toggle that extra gain stage? Does it also change the NFB?

That’s strange I also do not remember Dave mentioning it in Tone Talk or Amp Panel.