The ultimate Friedman 100w head....

[RedPlated]

Just picked up my Friedman from Dave yesterday. It's been an evolution of changes and mods to create what I believe is the best amp I own (the Butterslax is pretty good, too). Of course, when I say "ultimate", it's totally subjective and just what fits my personal style.

Living in LA certainly has its downsides like traffic and politics, but being within driving distance of Friedman's shop is an undeniable plus. Not only do I love the brand, but I can't say enough about Dave's passion in getting the tone in YOUR head to come out of HIS amp. Just a stellar guy to deal with.

This is the one amp that will never leave my collection. One of the controls on the front is a feature that is absolutely genius and I believe this is the first amp, and probably only outside of the shop, with it at the moment...

 

[Spadeace]

Cool stuff, looks a bit BE-100 but i suppose it has substantial mods?

 

[SpiderWars]

Please detail the mods. Not circuit values/etc but just a layman's description.

Two stellar tone consoles right there.

 

[mooncobra]

you are going to show the amp but not tell us the features???!!?!?!?! We want details and clips man!!

 

[psychodave]

Just picked up my Friedman from Dave yesterday. It's been an evolution of changes and mods to create what I believe is the best amp I own (the Butterslax is pretty good, too). Of course, when I say "ultimate", it's totally subjective and just what fits my personal style.

Living in LA certainly has its downsides like traffic and politics, but being within driving distance of Friedman's shop is an undeniable plus. Not only do I love the brand, but I can't say enough about Dave's passion in getting the tone in YOUR head to come out of HIS amp. Just a stellar guy to deal with.

This is the one amp that will never leave my collection. One of the controls on the front is a feature that is absolutely genius and I believe this is the first amp, and probably only outside of the shop, with it at the moment...

What does this one of a kind control do?

 

[fusedbrain]

One of the controls on the front is a feature that is absolutely genius and I believe this is the first amp, and probably only outside of the shop, with it at the moment...

Huh??? ..... your gonna just drop that there and then........

crickets

If Dave swore you to secrecy, then ok, I guess, but otherwise

 

[LunatiBSW]

One of the controls on the front is a feature that is absolutely genius and I believe this is the first amp, and probably only outside of the shop, with it at the moment...

Huh??? ..... your gonna just drop that there and then........

crickets

If Dave swore you to secrecy, then ok, I guess, but otherwise

No Shit, inquiring minds would like to know. Hahaha

 

[RedB4Black]

It's the "hype-knob" on the far left. As you turn it clock-wise, it transforms the amp from the pre-2016 circuit into the even better 2016 circuit and as you go further it begins to incorporate the even more better 2017 updates. As it maxes out on 11, you get to unobtainium level, a special circuit that has a 5 year wait to retro-fit on your lesser 2014 BE.

 

[RedPlated]

It's the "hype-knob" on the far left. As you turn it clock-wise, it transforms the amp from the pre-2016 circuit into the even better 2016 circuit and as you go further it begins to incorporate the even more better 2017 updates. As it maxes out on 11, you get to unobtainium level, a special circuit that has a 5 year wait to retro-fit on your lesser 2014 BE.

You're actually very close in your assessment. Impressive.

I really like "unobtanium." It definitely should be labeled as such. Just for fun, of course.

It's currently set to March 2018 spec...

I don't know how much Dave wants me to explain it at this point. Maybe he will even chime in.

It's not some mythical, magical control but it really offers a lot of flexibility in the tone of the amp. For me, it was just what I needed. I personally think it's fantastic.

 

[psychodave]

It's the "hype-knob" on the far left. As you turn it clock-wise, it transforms the amp from the pre-2016 circuit into the even better 2016 circuit and as you go further it begins to incorporate the even more better 2017 updates. As it maxes out on 11, you get to unobtainium level, a special circuit that has a 5 year wait to retro-fit on your lesser 2014 BE.

You're actually very close in your assessment. Impressive.

I really like "unobtanium." It definitely should be labeled as such. Just for fun, of course.

It's currently set to March 2018 spec...

I don't know how much Dave wants me to explain it at this point. Maybe he will even chime in.

It's not some mythical, magical control but it really offers a lot of flexibility in the tone of the amp. For me, it was just what I needed. I personally think it's fantastic.

Kinda reminds me of the Cameron depth circuit with the depth pot and Q tonal control pot.

What does the response pot do to the sound?

 

[lespaul6]

bass on full... lol

 

[RedPlated]

Kinda reminds me of the Cameron depth circuit with the depth pot and Q tonal control pot.

What does the response pot do to the sound?

I have a CCV but it doesn't have that Q control so I'm not too familiar with it.

Response makes the amp more compressed, squishy and dark when down. Gets brighter, more raw and punchy turned up. It's very noticeable and I'd love to see it become a standard feature one day.

bass on full... lol

The controls are set just like they were when I picked it up from Dave. If you know him, he always cranks the bass on his amps. That's why they're designed to stay tight even at 10.

 

[cyndicate]

It's the "hype-knob" on the far left. As you turn it clock-wise, it transforms the amp from the pre-2016 circuit into the even better 2016 circuit and as you go further it begins to incorporate the even more better 2017 updates. As it maxes out on 11, you get to unobtainium level, a special circuit that has a 5 year wait to retro-fit on your lesser 2014 BE.

The funny thing is this is so true. As you turn it clock-wise the value of all current BE-100's go down significantly.

 

[fusedbrain]

Interesting........This sounds like it may be similar to the "Damping" control that James Peters has been using for a while now.
On the Peters amps, that damping control is the shizz, and one of the reasons why his amps are so completely BADASS.
If Dave has implemented something along those lines, there are certainly gonna be a lot of amps going back to Friedman HQ for some upgrades

 

[Whowantsamustache]

Back to the Future knob.

Must be the flux capacitor.

 

[SpiderWars]

Response makes the amp more compressed, squishy and dark when down. Gets brighter, more raw and punchy turned up. It's very noticeable and I'd love to see it become a standard feature one day.

That almost sounds like a NFB control.

 

[JerEvil]

Is the "Depth" knob similar to the "Thump" knob on the Butterslax?

 

[LunatiBSW]

Response makes the amp more compressed, squishy and dark when down. Gets brighter, more raw and punchy turned up. It's very noticeable and I'd love to see it become a standard feature one day.

That almost sounds like a NFB control.

You beat me to it, my thought exactly

 

[RedPlated]

Is the "Depth" knob similar to the "Thump" knob on the Butterslax?

Yes, same exact thing.

 

[psychodave]

Response makes the amp more compressed, squishy and dark when down. Gets brighter, more raw and punchy turned up. It's very noticeable and I'd love to see it become a standard feature one day.

That almost sounds like a NFB control.

Yeah, I agree. I have one on my Aldrich mod.