The Honeymoon Is Over...

LP Freak said:
Sounds to me it was more the price tag than the tone. I’ve never had a problem with my Friedman cutting through live. If you do you’re doing something wrong. Here’s mine. Seems to be cutting fine to me..

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I have no doubt that it is working for you. I didn’t say the amp sucked. I said it was not working for me. I didn’t have an issue spending the money. But I also expect that I shouldn’t have to fight an amp to get the tone I want. No matter the price tag. But I damn sure won’t settle for something that is not doing it for me in that price range. Maybe I had a lemon. I don’t know. As I said earlier, I have heard many people make them sound killer. I just could get the one I had to sound killer for me.
 
SFW said:
I have no doubt that it is working for you. I didn’t say the amp sucked. I said it was not working for me. I didn’t have an issue spending the money. But I also expect that I shouldn’t have to fight an amp to get the tone I want. No matter the price tag. But I damn sure won’t settle for something that is not doing it for me in that price range. Maybe I had a lemon. I don’t know. As I said earlier, I have heard many people make them sound killer. I just could get the one I had to sound killer for me.
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It happens. I've been exactly where you are with an amp that I should be loving but I don't. Everyone is different and all boats don't float the same when it comes to amps that's for sure!

That thick mid groove, grindy attack the Splawn has is something your ears may be trained to hearing and that's what you're missing, you know... the "WEIRD MIDS"..........:LOL: Sorry fellas I had to throw that in. With that said... I love my Splawn modded 79 Marshall he did in 2003 that has one of his circuit boards, Dagnall power transformer and Mercury Magenetics OPT and the amp is killer for alot of things, so it's really is preference when it comes down to it.
 
The be100d sounds best in the first channel boosted but that defeats the purpose of the amp.
 
You mIght prefer an older model back towards the ‘kitchen sink’ days. They’re my favorites. I‘ve kept my ‘14 BE because I think it sounds better than the newer stuff. But the older ones are better still. Just my opinion, but as marketing and mass production became the focus, the tone regressed.
 
fek said:
Several touring pro's use and love the BE's, and other Friedman variants, so there is something right with that formula. I still want to try a Smallbox and Runt because I hear that they have a bit more of that Marshally high mids thing but have not come across one yet to do so. The JJ Jr I had sounded pretty good on it's own but still lacked that cut.
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Dave Navarro used one rig for his entire career and switched to one. That’s a big endorsement. That said, a friend was a dealer and never could bond with them. He was the biggest Soldano dealer in the country at one point, too.
 
I just returned an EVH EL34 100; not because it didn't sound good(it did) but it just paled to the others I have here. The Vintage amps I have, no new production can really measure up for what I like to hear anyway, other than the Naylor I got in July. That amp stays right with my other amps, and is its own thing. Cool blend of vintage/modern in one box. For 4K if it doesn't check all the boxes for you, send it back.
Maybe check out Jeremy's (Red Plated) amp or Shea (Monomyth); Headfirst(Jason)? I would guarantee those have all the right snarl and open/raw tone like a good modded Marshall. And those are a bit cheaper than the BE Deluxe.
 
Panhead5 said:
Yup . My 2203/4's will take your face off with boosts . It's funny because I've spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years looking for the holy grail of amps but the 6 knob princesses were right in front of my face the whole time.
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I think a lot of y’all would like the Phil X model. It’s got enough gain on its own but also takes pedals well.

Like a higher gain late 70s hard rock live tone.
 
Racerxrated said:
I just returned an EVH EL34 100; not because it didn't sound good(it did) but it just paled to the others I have here. The Vintage amps I have, no new production can really measure up for what I like to hear anyway, other than the Naylor I got in July. That amp stays right with my other amps, and is its own thing. Cool blend of vintage/modern in one box. For 4K if it doesn't check all the boxes for you, send it back.
Maybe check out Jeremy's (Red Plated) amp or Shea (Monomyth); Headfirst(Jason)? I would guarantee those have all the right snarl and open/raw tone like a good modded Marshall. And those are a bit cheaper than the BE Deluxe.
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I would’ve strongly advised against wasting time with that if I knew lol. There are a few worthwhile non-vintage amps here and there like the Naylor’s, Wizard’s, OG Uber. The Alessandro’s, Gjika & Schroeder’s also imo sound phenomenal, but not for metal or hard rock. IME I felt vs my stock ‘79 JMP2204 I had & 72 SL100, the 2 Monomyth’s & the Cam mods I’ve had did sacrifice some of the Marshall mids & of course more compressed, equally raw I’d say (as long as it’s a good vintage donor amp), but I think it’s an ok trade-off for what the OP is probably looking for. No Splawn or EVH isn’t walking away unhuniliated/unscathed from an AB with those amp lol (I’ve tried it)
 
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LPMojoGL said:
Many folks prefer to have more of the Marshall rawness, krang and bite than what Friedman amps typically offer.
The Splawn Comp 50 I got to play certainly cuts through great.
The MOAB mod by @RedPlated offers up plenty of gain and versatility like the Friedmans, but retains the punch and bite of the Marshall.
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Just got one from a friend today. Can't wait to plug in...
 
braintheory said:
I wouldn’t strongly advised against wasting time with that if I knew lol. There are a few worthwhile non-vintage amps here and there like the Naylor’s, Wizard’s, OG Uber. The Alessandro’s, Gjika & Schroeder’s also imo sound phenomenal, but not for metal or hard rock. IME I felt vs my stock ‘79 JMP2204 I had & 72 SL100, the 2 Monomyth’s & the Cam mods I’ve had did sacrifice some of the Marshall mids & of course more compressed, equally raw I’d say (as long as it’s a good vintage donor amp), but I think it’s an ok trade-off for what the OP is probably looking for. No Splawn or EVH isn’t walking away unhuniliated/unscathed from an AB with those amp lol (I’ve tried it)
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I know lol; I’ve always wanted to try the 100w EL34. I knew it stood little to no chance to stay haha. No loss with the return policy 😊
 
Racerxrated said:
I know lol; I’ve always wanted to try the 100w EL34. I knew it stood little to no chance to stay haha. No loss with the return policy 😊
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I did like the EL34 version more and the Stealth version of the 34 more too iirc, but 34’s can only do so much. I see why guys like them. They’re voiced very well, but way too plastic-y/filtered. They’re a stereotypical from concentrate oj version of an amp sound to me. A fresh squeezed version amp like the Cam modded vintage Marshall’s and others I compared to my friends EVH’s (both 34’s & 6L6’s) was not a good time for them at all lol. His rig evolved a lot since then after as did mine
 
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braintheory said:
I did like the EL34 version more and the Stealth version of the 34 more too iirc, but 34’s can only do so much. I see why guys like them. They’re voiced very well, but way too plastic-y/filtered. They’re my stereotypical from concentrate oj version of an amp sound to me. A fresh squeezed version amp like the Cam modded vintage Marshall’s and others I compared to my friends EVH’s (both 34’s & 6L6’s) was not a good time for them at all lol. His rig evolved a lot since then after as did mine
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Modding my 5150IIIS EL34 to 6550s. It will stay because if I need a reliable channel switcher that isn’t super rare or is just reliable for band practice right now that’s the amp I’m grabbing. For raw gain and punch I have a plethora of amps at my disposal that do it better, but the key to the el34 stealth is the gain on tap AND the clean channel. Some of the songs I cover I need instant cleans where a volume knob roll won’t cut it.
 
glpg80 said:
Modding my 5150IIIS EL34 to 6550s. It will stay because if I need a reliable channel switcher that isn’t super rare or is just reliable for band practice right now that’s the amp I’m grabbing. For raw gain and punch I have a plethora of amps at my disposal that do it better, but the key to the el34 stealth is the gain on tap AND the clean channel. Some of the songs I cover I need instant cleans where a volume knob roll won’t cut it.
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Don’t you already have everything you just described there covered with your XTC?
 
braintheory said:
Don’t you already have everything you just described there covered with your XTC? A few other amps that I think fit the bill there are a Wizard & Bad Lander, but they certainly don’t have as much gain or compression on tap as a 5150IIIS
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XTC needs goosed on the blue channel. I hate the red channel.

I could make it work if I had a channel switching and front pedal switcher all in one like the Boss ES8. I did say grab and go though.

Also let’s not forget the XTC is 525V on the plates and cannot tolerate just any tube brand. It can only take the best like NOS winged Cs. A JJ power tube would shit itself.
 
glpg80 said:
XTC needs goosed on the blue channel. I hate the red channel.

I could make it work if I had a channel switching and front pedal switcher all in one like the Boss ES8. I did say grab and go though.
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Fair enough. I admittedly really don’t think about things practically too often LOL. I tend to usually be on the exact opposite end of that spectrum to a fault maybe, but IME that’s how it’s gotta be to find the best sounding gear in their various categories (amps, pedals, pickups, speakers, tube, etc)
 
braintheory said:
Fair enough. I admittedly really don’t think about things practically too often LOL. I tend to usually be on the exact opposite end of that spectrum to a fault maybe
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I keep it around because it’s the only amp I’ve ever cranked, hit a chord, and said wow. It’s that damn good dialed in right. But the blue channel does need hit hard.

I also don’t want to burn through NOS glass at practice. I just wanted an amp that works as a package. I prefer 6550s over EL34s most of the time. To my ears the EL34 stealth has a weird upper mid honk due to the power side that 6550s do wonders at removing.

Also if I were actually playing my Bogner and it shit itself at practice, I didn’t really have a good all around amp to take its place. the one thing people forget is that the XTC is stupid complicated with midi built in. I love my 5150 II but the stealth can cover more ground and serve as a quick plug and go amp for the XTC should I need to. Does it sound as good as either? No. But I don’t need it to. I need it to just work.
 
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