NAD: Friedman Time

[LP Freak]

I think most players would prefer the tone and feel of the Jose (I do), but there are tradeoffs with the Jose:

-less gain
-can't change sounds easily without disrupting other settings (Jose is a studio amp)

I'll tell you that I do love the Jose tone, but I'm leaning towards just keeping the BE50.

@LPFreak, now that I've gotten used to it, I prefer my BE50 with the SAT off. I now don't need as much as gain as I thought for a long time.

I totally get it. For you, the Jose is more of a one trick pony that requires tweaking for different sounds. Where as the BE is capable of different sounds on the fly.

I have my BE100DLX set up as a four channel amp using a Fractal FX8.

Ch 1 clean
Ch 2 clean pushed with on OD for a semi broken up tone
Ch 3 BE channel for rhythm tones
Ch 4 HBE channel for solos

This is extremely useful live

 

[BABMusic]

I totally get it. For you, the Jose is more of a one trick pony that requires tweaking for different sounds. Where as the BE is capable of different sounds on the fly.

I have my BE100DLX set up as a four channel amp using a Fractal FX8.

Ch 1 clean
Ch 2 clean pushed with on OD for a semi broken up tone
Ch 3 BE channel for rhythm tones
Ch 4 HBE channel for solos

This is extremely useful live

Woah, I didn't know you also had a BE100 deluxe! I imagine you might be able to get even closer to the Jose sound with that amp having the same 4 power tubes. I think if the 100 had a clean clean channel, I would have bought that instead of the 50.

 

[LP Freak]

Woah, I didn't know you also had a BE100 deluxe! I imagine you might be able to get even closer to the Jose sound with that amp having the same 4 power tubes. I think if the 100 had a clean clean channel, I would have bought that instead of the 50.

It does. The clean has a gain control. You just run the gain less than 5 for clean. It’s a Plexi clean on the 100 though which I prefer. It’s more versatile than the 50 with the Fender clean channel. I replaced my 50 with the 100.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I’m not a fan of the fat switch on the BE, or any of the other switches. To me the BE sounds best and most natural with everything off.

Here’s my BE50 from ages ago. Dave had these up on his website forever. I’m still waiting on my royalty check

What pickups we're you using the in the LP?

 

[napalmdeath]

If the Runt 50 had more gain, it would be perfect. It’s really just a Friedman JCM800 with a good clean channel.

Get a Hot Mod, and it'll compete with any of the modded Marshalls I see in the classifieds for more than double the price. Turns it into an absolute beast, and they're a steal on the used market.

 

[LP Freak]

What pickups we're you using the in the LP?

Suhr Aldrich

 

[harddriver]

I hadn't decide yet to be honest. The interesting truth is, since receiving the Jose, that amp has taught me how to better dial my BE50 to more my liking. The strangest thing about the Jose is the mids sound good between 2-6, but in order for the BE50 to sound close to the Jose, the mids have to be low at 1-2. You also need the FAT switch on for sure, and the response at about 5-6.

Sorry, didn't have a lot of time to create this, but this is how I will dial it at low volumes.

You could try running your Presence and Treble higher to give you more of that high end sizzle you hear with the Jose Master with your BE50. The pre-tonestack Jose Master and traditional JCM800 master will impart different attributes to the final tone.

Both amps sound very good BTW and those are the tones people mod their stock Marshalls to get and Dave gave people that sound in a production amp.
I find my CameronHG Jose is just a different kind of animal compared to my more JCM800 Splawn modded Marshall., they each do things that I like and I can see that with the Friedman Jose and BE50/100 amps.

Since you are comparing a 100 watt Jose to the the BE50 you may find the 100 watt Jose to just be bigger dynamically and hit harder than the BE50 but with the Depth control on the BE50 it should help even the playing field with low end bigness and punch.

 

[harddriver]

I think most players would prefer the tone and feel of the Jose (I do), but there are tradeoffs with the Jose:

-less gain
-can't change sounds easily without disrupting other settings (Jose is a studio amp)

I'll tell you that I do love the Jose tone, but I'm leaning towards just keeping the BE50.

@LPFreak, now that I've gotten used to it, I prefer my BE50 with the SAT off. I now don't need as much as gain as I thought for a long time.

The MPSA06 Dave uses for the SAT switch may provide too much clipping saturation for your taste, Jose also used 20V/20V Zeners which will clip and saturate less than the MPSA06 transistor that configured like a diode for the sat/clipping circuit. You could swap out the MPSA06 which I think clips somewhere in the 10-12 V range( please correct me if I am wrong) to a zener configuration between 10V and up to 20V. Higher voltage equals less clipping and saturation/compression.

Here's a great thread by Redplated(Ground Zero amps)

Thread 'Diode shootout - Zeners and transistors on a Marshall JMP comparison video.'

Jul 3, 2021

Had my JMP opened up to compare various diodes on the SAT switch. I tested 20v, 16v and 12v zeners, as well as MPSA06 transistors.

This clip will give you an idea of how lower values affect the tone. Basically, the lower you go in voltage rating, the more perceived gain, more compressed, saturated and darker. For this amp, I preferred the 20v. They offered the least gain but also the most seamless transition from clipping on and off. They were clearer, more defined. Just better for this particular amp and what I want it to do.

The MPSA06 were also really good in this amp. They fall...

• RedPlated
• Replies: 40
• Forum: Rig-Talk

• 
• 

 

[SFW]

Get a Hot Mod, and it'll compete with any of the modded Marshalls I see in the classifieds for more than double the price. Turns it into an absolute beast, and they're a steal on the used market.

I have the Mr Scsry Mod.

 

[angelspade]

I think most players would prefer the tone and feel of the Jose (I do), but there are tradeoffs with the Jose:

-less gain
-can't change sounds easily without disrupting other settings (Jose is a studio amp)

I'll tell you that I do love the Jose tone, but I'm leaning towards just keeping the BE50.

@LPFreak, now that I've gotten used to it, I prefer my BE50 with the SAT off. I now don't need as much as gain as I thought for a long time.

If the Jose had a bit more gain...would that change your current leaning?

 

[BABMusic]

If the Jose had a bit more gain...would that change your current leaning?

It might. I admit thought that I am a bit nervous to mail an amp to Dave, because the last time I did that, my amp got slightly blemished.

I think I might have figured out why the Jose midrange sounds so good to my ears. Maybe it's partly to do with the fact that the high gain modes are both using diode clipping. If you keep in the standard 3 in 1 option, there definitely is more midrange in the tone. Switching to either the left (my favorite) or right, gives you a little more of a scooped midrange. I tested my BE today with the SAT on and turned the gain down to 7 on the HBE channel, and it does get even closer to the Jose tone. However, still won't give you the exact feel or response to your pick attack. I find the Jose more forgiving in both rhythm and leads, which is weird considering it has less gain. I have no difficultly at all playing leads on the Jose, which suprised me.

 

[BABMusic]

The MPSA06 Dave uses for the SAT switch may provide too much clipping saturation for your taste, Jose also used 20V/20V Zeners which will clip and saturate less than the MPSA06 transistor that configured like a diode for the sat/clipping circuit. You could swap out the MPSA06 which I think clips somewhere in the 10-12 V range( please correct me if I am wrong) to a zener configuration between 10V and up to 20V. Higher voltage equals less clipping and saturation/compression.

Here's a great thread by Redplated(Ground Zero amps)

Thread 'Diode shootout - Zeners and transistors on a Marshall JMP comparison video.'

Jul 3, 2021

Had my JMP opened up to compare various diodes on the SAT switch. I tested 20v, 16v and 12v zeners, as well as MPSA06 transistors.

This clip will give you an idea of how lower values affect the tone. Basically, the lower you go in voltage rating, the more perceived gain, more compressed, saturated and darker. For this amp, I preferred the 20v. They offered the least gain but also the most seamless transition from clipping on and off. They were clearer, more defined. Just better for this particular amp and what I want it to do.

The MPSA06 were also really good in this amp. They fall...

• RedPlated
• Replies: 40
• Forum: Rig-Talk

• 
• 

Thanks. I think you could be right. There just is something more organic and satisfying about the diode clipping in the Jose.