Friedman Smallbox vs Morris XSIII

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Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

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Has anyone played both to give a fair rundown of their opinion between the two? Both, to me, seem to be geared towards the 80s hair hotrodded Marshall flavor and both are point to point, but curious if there is a big difference in available sounds, flexibility, features, etc?
 
I’ve owned both and currently own a Morris XSIII. I found personally that the small box was compressed and processed sound “not a negative thing just the characteristic of the amp” where the XSIII is more raw and in your face. It comes alot closer to a Marshall tone with a bit of Hiwatt. For 80’s tones which is my benchmark sound they both are capable. But I prefer the xsIII is more aggressive. The key is with the presence know which really isn’t a preference but more of an attack knob. The higher it goes the more it punches through the speakers. The two gain knobs can fine tailor the gain sound to be darker or brighter. The only thing is keep the depth low like at 1. To be honest I wouldn’t miss that control if it wasn’t included. The small box in comparison sounds more like a recorded tone but never jumped above the band like I wanted and lacked the aggression like xsIII.
 
Ah, good review. I'm leaning more towards the Morris personally but it never hurts to get multiple opinions on gear and see what other guitarists think. I appreciate the info.
 
If you're looking at Morris, the Perplex'd would be closer to the Friedman, I'd think.

I haven't played the XSIII, but I picked up a new Perplex'd S2 a few months ago. Absolutely rips. (Plus Glen is a fantastic guy.)
 
beej said:
If you're looking at Morris, the Perplex'd would be closer to the Friedman, I'd think.

I haven't played the XSIII, but I picked up a new Perplex'd S2 a few months ago. Absolutely rips. (Plus Glen is a fantastic guy.)
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There is a Perplex'd Signature I can across but I don't know how it compares to the current offerings.
 
I have an XSIII and had a Smallbox for a few months. They aren’t really comparable. The 69/70 is going to be closer to the SB.

The XSIII has way more gain and is more versatile with the dual Drive and Crunch gains. It is more like a Marshall/Hiwatt hybrid and sits in a lower EQ footprint. I agree, with the above review……put presence high and depth low (or off) depending on the cab and it will rip like a hot rodded Marshall. But it does so much more as well. If you want to go further, then go for the SIRROM.

IMG_7767.jpeg
 
Matt300ZXT said:
There is a Perplex'd Signature I can across but I don't know how it compares to the current offerings.
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You'd have to ask Glen Morris- I know there have been a number of changes but couldn't say what they are.

I believe the tweaks he did for Joe Dzialak are what he's currently using for the S2 version-



When I picked up the amp, I spent a day in his shop going over everything with him. He couldn't have been any nicer or more knowledgeable. Just a fantastic experience.
 
Any other amps on your radar? Lots of good options.

Bray, Germino, SL68 etc?
 
beej said:
You'd have to ask Glen Morris- I know there have been a number of changes but couldn't say what they are.

I believe the tweaks he did for Joe Dzialak are what he's currently using for the S2 version-



When I picked up the amp, I spent a day in his shop going over everything with him. He couldn't have been any nicer or more knowledgeable. Just a fantastic experience.
Click to expand...

Glen is the BEST. Thx for posting that clip. Such a great amp!
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
I have an XSIII and had a Smallbox for a few months. They aren’t really comparable. The 69/70 is going to be closer to the SB.

The XSIII has way more gain and is more versatile with the dual Drive and Crunch gains. It is more like a Marshall/Hiwatt hybrid and sits in a lower EQ footprint. I agree, with the above review……put presence high and depth low (or off) depending on the cab and it will rip like a hot rodded Marshall. But it does so much more as well. If you want to go further, then go for the SIRROM.

View attachment 210748
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Can you elaborate on the Sirrom? Not much info out there on them. How does it compare to the 5153?
 
Meeotch said:
Can you elaborate on the Sirrom? Not much info out there on them. How does it compare to the 5153?
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Well I have two them. The OG 105 watt, 2 channel and a 60 watt single channel with some custom options. The big one is like a sledgehammer and is basically either pristine clean or Uber gain. Glen’s master volumes are the best and you can get crushing metal tones at all volumes. The 5153 sounds like a toy in comparison because the sonic footprint of the SIRROM is so huge. And it doesn’t have a hint of fizz or high end sibilance like the 5153 can get when you don’t go easy on the treble/presence.

The 60 watt SIRROM is my favorite because it has a custom mini pot that can further tailor the gain……so I get all the in between sounds. It also sits a little higher in the EQ range which makes it more comparable to the 5153 blue when boosted. But again, no fizz and still bigger sounding. It really covers everything I need from dirty-ish strat/tele sounds through classic rock and 80’s metal with humbuckers. It will do modern metal easily as well, but that’s not my thing.

I’ve had the 5153 for almost 2 years and have only played it a few times. But I keep it around because it does sound good when EQ’d properly. But just a “smaller” sound that can get fizzy if not careful.
 
Well, I ended up buying the XSIII from a guy on TGP. I had heard the name Morris and seen a few people post up pics of theirs, mostly variants of the Perplex'd, but 4 or 5 days ago or so, I came across a video of BeLoud19's YouTube and he was playing the XSIII and his Palermo superstrat and the riffs and licks he was playing totally sold me on the amp. He had it dialed in for awesome 80s tone and that chirpiness he was getting when playing some notes and chords in the middle of his riffage just spoke to my soul, and my pocketbook lol
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
Well I have two them. The OG 105 watt, 2 channel and a 60 watt single channel with some custom options. The big one is like a sledgehammer and is basically either pristine clean or Uber gain. Glen’s master volumes are the best and you can get crushing metal tones at all volumes. The 5153 sounds like a toy in comparison because the sonic footprint of the SIRROM is so huge. And it doesn’t have a hint of fizz or high end sibilance like the 5153 can get when you don’t go easy on the treble/presence.

The 60 watt SIRROM is my favorite because it has a custom mini pot that can further tailor the gain……so I get all the in between sounds. It also sits a little higher in the EQ range which makes it more comparable to the 5153 blue when boosted. But again, no fizz and still bigger sounding. It really covers everything I need from dirty-ish strat/tele sounds through classic rock and 80’s metal with humbuckers. It will do modern metal easily as well, but that’s not my thing.

I’ve had the 5153 for almost 2 years and have only played it a few times. But I keep it around because it does sound good when EQ’d properly. But just a “smaller” sound that can get fizzy if not careful.
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Thanks for the write-up! The Sirrom remains high on my wish list. I owned an XS III and thoroughly enjoyed it but want something more metal oriented.
 
Meeotch said:
Thanks for the write-up! The Sirrom remains high on my wish list. I owned an XS III and thoroughly enjoyed it but want something more metal oriented.
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The SIRROM will definitely do it. With the XSIII, I had to clean boost, throw a Chinese 12ax7 here and there, and bias it a little cool to get that “edge” for metal. The SIRROM will get you there right off the bat.
 
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