Friedman Butterslax

L

lessarti

Well-known member
Has anyone else tried or owned one of these, and can chime in on their findings for tweaking for a more raw/brighter sound?

I am a fairly new owner, and prefer raw/brighter sounds vs typical Friedman smooth refined sounds. So when I got this, I figured it was going to sound too dark for my tastes, BUT also recently, have experimented and found for this amp model, it seems to get that aggressive raw sound (maybe because of its grainy unique voicing?) if the treble and mids are way up, like 1 to 3 O'clock, presence 1 to 2 O'clock, and thump 2 O'clock while bass at noon.

Any similar findings ?

I am using V30 speakers in Bogner OS 2x12 for reference and PAF pickups.

Are there other Friedman models that sound as aggressive as this, or is this the end of the spectrum as far as raw aggressive tones available? I've tried BE100 and found it too bouncy/soft/refined.
 
With those settings, which are far from extreme, it sounds like the amp is doing what it was designed to do.
 
I’ve got a couple different Friedmans and I have to push the treble between 2:00 and 3:00 on both…the presence stays between noon and 2:00 depending on the cab and guitar

That’s at pretty low volumes for home playing. Probably use less treble when turned up. That’s also not mic’d or being recorded…just jamming at home
 
I used to own one and would agree on your findings. I’ve tried almost the entire Friedman line-up and it was one of their more aggressive amps, but for my taste still too tame vs the Cameron Aldrich modded Marshall and Wizard I had at the time. The JEL-20 I also liked more than other models

Currently I have a 2009 Marsha 100 and it’s the one Friedman that’s really done it for me as a keeper worthy amp. For me way better than the others I’ve tried/had, including an HBE/BE modded 1978 SuperLead 100
 
skoora said:
With those settings, which are far from extreme, it sounds like the amp is doing what it was designed to do.
Click to expand...
Yes, that is true, maybe I should clarify what I mean. Treble like 3 O'clock and higher and Mids at 2 O'clock with Presence around 2 O'clock are getting into the higher extreme settings of high end when compared to other amps that I have owned or tried. So I just had to use ears tweaking and noticed that there is a lot of usability in Friedman voicings to extreme settings vs other amps that would be mega bright.

Thought it was cool, and it was a good surprise because I went into it expecting it to be too dark no matter where I set the dials. I found the Thump added the 3d texture that I enjoy, the Presence added sizzle and Treble gave it the upper end cut needed. It is a higher mid grainy voicing that is really fun, and not harsh so I can get away with cranking up the high end to aggressive levels. Really enjoy this amp AND I am curious if any other amps in the line up can get to similar levels of aggression ?
 
lessarti said:
Yes, that is true, maybe I should clarify what I mean. Treble like 3 O'clock and higher and Mids at 2 O'clock with Presence around 2 O'clock are getting into the higher extreme settings of high end when compared to other amps that I have owned or tried. So I just had to use ears tweaking and noticed that there is a lot of usability in Friedman voicings to extreme settings vs other amps that would be mega bright.

Thought it was cool, and it was a good surprise because I went into it expecting it to be too dark no matter where I set the dials. I found the Thump added the 3d texture that I enjoy, the Presence added sizzle and Treble gave it the upper end cut needed. It is a higher mid grainy voicing that is really fun, and not harsh so I can get away with cranking up the high end to aggressive levels. Really enjoy this amp AND I am curious if any other amps in the line up can get to similar levels of aggression ?
Click to expand...
The JJ100 in my experience is just like that. Run the presence at 3 o’clock and higher and it’s super aggressive and cutting.
 
lessarti said:
I am curious if any other amps in the line up can get to similar levels of aggression ?
Click to expand...
The JJ is just a tad less aggressive, otherwise a boost and eq in the loop does wonders for his other amps. But agree, the Butterslax is a cool amp and fun to play, one of my favorites. I A/B'd channel 1 with my old pink taco v1 and it was close enough that I sold the taco. Channel 1 can even get similar to dirty shirley tones but lacks that DS chewy sag, but still pretty awesome especially when boosted.
 
Yeah man, that too. My initial post was moreso with regards to channel 2 and 3, but channel 1 is really cool plexi to jcm 800 gain tones, I think this channel is supposed to be a plexi or something not sure exactly. Yes, it takes very well to an old SD 1 and it is super 80's hard rock / thrash level fun. I shared a SD1 boost Butterslax vid just to show it, and that was using ch 1 and 2, I think it works wonders and depending on preference either sound is amazing.
errrrrl said:
The JJ is just a tad less aggressive, otherwise a boost and eq in the loop does wonders for his other amps. But agree, the Butterslax is a cool amp and fun to play, one of my favorites. I A/B'd channel 1 with my old pink taco v1 and it was close enough that I sold the taco. Channel 1 can even get similar to dirty shirley tones but lacks that DS chewy sag, but still pretty awesome especially when boosteda
Click to expand...
 
braintheory said:
I used to own one and would agree on your findings. I’ve tried almost the entire Friedman line-up and it was one of their more aggressive amps, but for my taste still too tame vs the Cameron Aldrich modded Marshall and Wizard I had at the time. The JEL-20 I also liked more than other models

Currently I have a 2009 Marsha 100 and it’s the one Friedman that’s really done it for me as a keeper worthy amp. For me way better than the others I’ve tried/had, including an HBE/BE modded 1978 SuperLead 100
Click to expand...
I had a similar experience. The first Friedman I tried was a modified 1979 jmp with a BE mod....it was a monster! I actually thought it blew away the Fortin modded 83 jcm 800 I tried at the same time. When I bought my 2017 BE 100, I had super high hopes and expectations it would be like that Friedman modded Marshall. Nope. Lol!
 
VHTStark said:
I had a similar experience. The first Friedman I tried was a modified 1979 jmp with a BE mod....it was a monster! I actually thought it blew away the Fortin modded 83 jcm 800 I tried at the same time. When I bought my 2017 BE 100, I had super high hopes and expectations it would be like that Friedman modded Marshall. Nope. Lol!
Click to expand...
I meant that the 1979 Superlead HBE/BE I had, while definitely better than the production BE amps I've tried, still wasn't keeper material for me because it also to me got outdone when compared to other stuff I had at the time like Cameron modded Marshall's and a few others, while this 2009 Marsha 100w I got recently is looking like it's actually here to stay and was not as impressed with that HBE/BE modded Marshall I had. I haven't tried other Friedman modded Marshall's though. I might like others more
 
All the Friedman amps I've tried were a bit too polished for my taste but @RedPlated had a quick mod that seemed to help people with that issue with the BE100. Really had me thinking about picking up one on the used market(Friedman that is. No specific model).

Maybe he can chime in with what it was here.
 
Friedman makes great amps...I've tried several. He just seems to favor a somewhat polite, polished and produced voicing that not everyone prefers. I've always felt that if he ever chooses to make a modern metal amp that is tighter, brighter and more aggressive he would capture an entirely new market segment.
 
Last edited:
Would a harsher or brighter speaker pair well in contrast to the “polite” Friedmans? Maybe like G12T75 or something with a raspier top end?
 
marvcus said:
Would a harsher or brighter speaker pair well in contrast to the “polite” Friedmans? Maybe like G12T75 or something with a raspier top end?
Click to expand...
IME it helps and works well with them, but doesn’t ultimately turn the amp into something it’s not and still in that context if AB’ed with the amps I preferred, I still preferred them. The Marsha I got recently though is much better. Still a smoother top end, but doesn’t come off boring or polite somehow
 
The headfirst atla 100 is everything I wanted in a hot nodded Marshall. It could do practically every Marshall flavored tone I could ever want. I feel like the butterslax, JJ, etc could get there with not much fuss mod wise. Just needs a little less polish to it. There are certain amps that have, I don't know, a certain excitement to them is probably the best way to put it.
 
I have the slax and the jj. I've never really ran them through the same cab. But running The slax through the slax 2x12/2x15 cab and JJ through a standard Friedman v30/greenback cab. The slax has a faster attack, but can sound very similar to the jj with similar tone and presence settings. I find I get JJ max gain tone at around 2 o'clock on slax. The slax.really stands out though when you push the mid, treble and presence a bit, as someone pointed out earlier.

I find slax sounds kind of anemic with gain settings lower than 1 o'clock. I find throwing a volume.box in the loop to use as a return/master volume helped me.balance channels where I wanted them more and I got much happier with slax that way... Both great amps but JJ is my favorite.
 
GOHOINC said:
I have the slax and the jj. I've never really ran them through the same cab. But running The slax through the slax 2x12/2x15 cab and JJ through a standard Friedman v30/greenback cab. The slax has a faster attack, but can sound very similar to the jj with similar tone and presence settings. I find I get JJ max gain tone at around 2 o'clock on slax. The slax.really stands out though when you push the mid, treble and presence a bit, as someone pointed out earlier.

I find slax sounds kind of anemic with gain settings lower than 1 o'clock. I find throwing a volume.box in the loop to use as a return/master volume helped me.balance channels where I wanted them more and I got much happier with slax that way... Both great amps but JJ is my favorite.
Click to expand...
The JJ just rips. My favorite in the Friedman line i've tried so far. I miss that amp sometimes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top