Question About Friedman Modded Marshalls

[braintheory]

So I've been hearing lately about guys with Marshall's modded by Friedman saying they sound way better than his actual amps even when comparing for example the BE to a Marshall with that mod. Do any of you guys find that to also be the case? If so, what do you prefer about his modded Marshalls?

I wonder if maybe, an amp modded by Friedman would sound less polished and dark than his actual amps? If so, that would be great!

 

[paulyc]

Mine sounded like shit...YMMV

 

[reverymike]

Interesting. Not sure about this. I have a 1971 Superlead that was modded by Dave and it sounds amazing, but I haven't played one of his amps yet in person, so i can't compare apples to apples. My Marshall definitely has a raw sound to it though.

 

[neilli]

Similar to reverymike, I have never had chance to play one of his actual amps, but I have an 87-x with the BE / HBE (plus sat and fat switches) and it rules. I thought my MP-1 rack was my holy grail until I got this amp and have barely touched the rack since. It does exactly what I want for 95% of the time, but I got a 50w 5153 just to cover the more modern super high gain (or at least more than I could ever need).

 

[romanianreaper]

Mine sounded like shit...YMMV

Mine sounded horrible as well. I learned a valuable lesson when I had mine modded and it is that you can't polish a turd. The amp I sent him was a reissue, and not the best one I'm told. He did his best but it just didn't have that magic.

 

[NewWorldMan]

I don't think you're ever going to find two amps that sound exactly alike, modded or stock. Dave has modded a few amps for me over the years, dating back to the days before he had his own amp line. Dave was always great to work with, did excellent work, was very responsive, etc.

They all sounded great to me, and they all have their own individual mojo going for them. But, keep in mind all the amps he modded for me were 70's JMP's or early 80's JCM 800's. They were great sounding amps to start with. I've also had a couple of BE-100's.

 

[Beyond Black]

I've got a '80 JMP KS Mod, and I prefer it to my buddy's BE100 (so does he). My JMP has more of that Marshall midrange bark to it. It's also a little grittier, and has a touch more sag. The BE is more modern sounding and tighter than mine. That being said, the BE100 is an amazing amp, and somebody else could easily prefer it to mine.

 

[braintheory]

I don't think you're ever going to find two amps that sound exactly alike, modded or stock. Dave has modded a few amps for me over the years, dating back to the days before he had his own amp line. Dave was always great to work with, did excellent work, was very responsive, etc.

They all sounded great to me, and they all have their own individual mojo going for them. But, keep in mind all the amps he modded for me were 70's JMP's or early 80's JCM 800's. They were great sounding amps to start with. I've also had a couple of BE-100's.

Did you find his modded amps to be at all brighter or more raw/less polished than the BE-100's? That's the main thing I don't like about Friedman's and a lot of other "Marshally" amps is that they're more polished/tamed compared to a good vintage plexi. I also don't like that they're voiced darker than Marshalls. So far my favorite Marshally amp that I've tried is the Metroplex, but still haven't tried the Helios, Fortin mods, or Brunetti Customworks

 

[braintheory]

I've got a '80 JMP KS Mod, and I prefer it to my buddy's BE100 (so does he). My JMP has more of that Marshall midrange bark to it. It's also a little grittier, and has a touch more sag. The BE is more modern sounding and tighter than mine. That being said, the BE100 is an amazing amp, and somebody else could easily prefer it to mine.

I'm surprised you say the BE is tighter because I found that amp to be on the loose side. Do the BE100 and KS mod still sound similar overall?

 

[suhrimmetal]

I had a '79 Friedman KS JMP 50watt that was 1 of my all time favorite amps... really great tone! Had a '71 Friedman KS Super Trem that had loud floor noise, loop issues... and just didn't really do it for me at the time. With the mods you're gonna be a bit at the mercy of the platform amp, caps, etc(tho Dave can fix all that as well)... where as the Friedman production amps will be more solid, dependable ground up builds.

For what it's worth, I had a BE100 and I still preferred my "79 Friedman JMP... that was one of very few amps I wish I still had.

 

[LP Freak]

I own both. Yes, the BE100 does sound more polished and the mids are voiced slightly lower. Like already said, it's going to vary depending on the donor amp though. Mine's a Metro 2203 which is basically what the old Marshas were made from. I also had mine modded about five years ago so the circuit could have changed slightly since then. Regardless they both sound incredible.

 

[lespaul6]

Is your modern classic a 100 watt? I'll buy it from you so you can get that metroplex!

 

[Beyond Black]

I've got a '80 JMP KS Mod, and I prefer it to my buddy's BE100 (so does he). My JMP has more of that Marshall midrange bark to it. It's also a little grittier, and has a touch more sag. The BE is more modern sounding and tighter than mine. That being said, the BE100 is an amazing amp, and somebody else could easily prefer it to mine.

I'm surprised you say the BE is tighter because I found that amp to be on the loose side. Do the BE100 and KS mod still sound similar overall?

They definitely sound somewhat similar. You can tell that they share Friedman DNA, thats for sure. Compared to the BE, my amp still retains some of that JMP tone from 36 years ago.

 

[hatrick00]

damn rez that is one the best sounding "marshalls" i have heard...thing is PISSSED . sounds awesome. makes me want to buy a marshall and send it to dave, seems like it has it's own thing going on. good shit

 

[Jayy]

Man, that sounds awesome! Great tone! Would you ever part with it? I won't trade you my BE-100 because I love it too, but I might trade you my girlfriend? I'll even throw in a case of good beer! Seriously, great tone man!

 

[severinsteel]

I can't speak to how it compares to a BE100, but I absolutely love my Friedman modded Marshall JMP 2203. Last summer, I actually 'sold it' to someone on a forum. As I was testing it to make sure it was good to go before I shipped it, the FX loop started to go in out. I took it to my local tech, and he said it also needed a new transformer. He also fixed the Loop, but it started acting up again Long story short, I refunded the guy his money and kept it the amp ,debating on what I wanted to do with it. Recently, I made friend with a different amp tech and I had him look at the amp. Apparently the other dude was totally bullshitting about the transformer, just to get me to spend money on a repair that wasn't needed. My new tech also fixed the loop and it has been rock solid ever since.

I've owned a few Modded Marshalls, and the Friedman was the king of the hill. I even had a Cameron modded Marshall, but it sounded too grainy. The Friedman is super smooth with the perfect amount of compression. It's extremely easy to play if that makes sense. It is more refined than other Marshalls I've owned, modded or not. But, you can still get those Marshall mids out of it, and you can run the Presence and trouble above 12:00 if you want!

 

[metalmaniac93]

Mine sounded like shit...YMMV

Yeah and you tried to pawn it off to me in a trade a long while back!!!

 

[Racerxrated]

Had one, 4 hole 800 with BE/Sat switch. It was OK. Nothing too different than a 2204/SD pedal would give. Good decent Marshall. Cameron's I've had blew it away IMO.

 

[///MK]

I currently have a 79 JMP kitchen sink and a JBE. The JBE is way more polished. the JMP to me sounds like its gonna blow up (in a good way). I love them both and honestly cant pick a favorite between them. FWIW every Friedman modded Marshall sounds a little different to me but his signature amps seem very consistent from one to another.

 

[paulyc]

Mine sounded like shit...YMMV

Yeah and you tried to pawn it off to me in a trade a long while back!!!

Maybe it would have sounded GREAT to someone else...