Thinking of buying another Friedman: Advice Needed

[Aristocat]

About two years ago, I sold my modded 72 Super Lead and I've been dying to get it back. While I wouldn't even know how to track it down, I was looking on Sweetwater at the BE100 Deluxe and thought about pulling the trigger.

I've been out of the guitar game for about three years now. I sold off my rig and I just want to keep a simple/pure signal path. I typically like to get my clean sounds from the volume knob and keep the gain on tap as I'm not huge on pedals.

So for you guys out there, how does the BE100 Deluxe compare to the SB? The SB is more of my flavor due to the limited options. But then again, the deluxe probably could cover all the ground I'd need. I'm also probably overcomplicating this as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LP Freak]

I’ve got a BE50 Deluxe I might let go

 

[PDC]

There are a couple of legit Friedman ‘Marsha’ amps on the verb right now as well as a legit Friedman ‘Naked.’

If I was in the market, I seriously consider one of those...

 

[LP Freak]

There are a couple of legit Friedman ‘Marsha’ amps on the verb right now as well as a legit Friedman ‘Naked.’

If I was in the market, I seriously consider one of those...

$4300 give me a break. There’s nothing special about that amp. It’s a metro build that Dave modded. You could buy one used or build one yourself and send it to him to mod for half of that. Or better yet, send him a real Marshall.

 

[romanianreaper]

I’ve got a BE50 Deluxe I might let go

Dude, WTF??? You bastard.



Seriously though, not digging it anymore or just too much amp?

 

[Aristocat]

I’ve got a BE50 Deluxe I might let go

Appreciate it, but it might be too much for me.

My KS Modded SL a bunch of extra goodies and I only ever used BE with SAT or HBE

 

[LP Freak]

I’ve got a BE50 Deluxe I might let go

Dude, WTF??? You bastard.



Seriously though, not digging it anymore or just too much amp?

Neither really, it’s a killer amp but I mostly play my Monomyth. I’m not really trying to sell it but if someone offered to buy it I’d probably let it go.

 

[psychodave]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

 

[braintheory]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

Agreed. Will sound much better than any Friedman IMO

When it comes to modded Marshall’s and Marshall styles amps, I’ve had ‘em all (except for a Larry, which I’m on the waitlist for) and imo nothing beats a good late ‘70’s boosted JMP2203. In fact, I’m planning to take my Monomyth modded ‘79 JMP2203 to my tech to have it put back to stock since I liked it better stock boosted with my Klon. The other Monomyth will stay as is and sounds killer

Literally the only Marshall type amps I’ve kept were the Wizard, a Cameron mod and Monomyth, all of which are more expensive than the jmp and not even better, just different flavors. All of ‘em much better than Friedman imo

 

[Racerxrated]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

Agreed. Will sound much better than any Friedman IMO

When it comes to modded Marshall’s and Marshall styles amps, I’ve had ‘em all (except for a Larry, which I’m on the waitlist for) and imo nothing beats a good late ‘70’s boosted JMP2203. In fact, I’m planning to take my Monomyth modded ‘79 JMP2203 to my tech to have it put back to stock since I liked it better stock boosted with my Klon. The other Monomyth will stay as is and sounds killer

Literally the only Marshall type amps I’ve kept were the Wizard, a Cameron mod and Monomyth, all of which are more expensive than the jmp and not even better, just different flavors. All of ‘em much better than Friedman imo

This.

A stock JMP/JCM 2203 and a pedal (or two) will get you what you need....If you want to plug in without a pedal then I'd suggest sending it in to Shea at Monomyth...much cheaper and his mods are right up there with a Cameron in feel/response/clarity, and with a shit ton of all usable gain. Plus they clean up well with your guitar volume. I've had some Friedman modded Marshalls and they are good, but don't compare to the Mono for what I like.

 

[Aristocat]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

Agreed. Will sound much better than any Friedman IMO

When it comes to modded Marshall’s and Marshall styles amps, I’ve had ‘em all (except for a Larry, which I’m on the waitlist for) and imo nothing beats a good late ‘70’s boosted JMP2203. In fact, I’m planning to take my Monomyth modded ‘79 JMP2203 to my tech to have it put back to stock since I liked it better stock boosted with my Klon. The other Monomyth will stay as is and sounds killer

Literally the only Marshall type amps I’ve kept were the Wizard, a Cameron mod and Monomyth, all of which are more expensive than the jmp and not even better, just different flavors. All of ‘em much better than Friedman imo

This.

A stock JMP/JCM 2203 and a pedal (or two) will get you what you need....If you want to plug in without a pedal then I'd suggest sending it in to Shea at Monomyth...much cheaper and his mods are right up there with a Cameron in feel/response/clarity, and with a shit ton of all usable gain. Plus they clean up well with your guitar volume. I've had some Friedman modded Marshalls and they are good, but don't compare to the Mono for what I like.

I haven't followed anything gear related for 3 years now. Shit, I haven't even been on the forum for close to 5 years.

I did message JCJ about his M Zero. I've been dying to try that out as well.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I must have not landed a "good" Marshall because when I tried them neither gave me what I was looking for with numerous boosts out front. Both were stock JMPs one 77 the other 79 I think. They were ok boosted but no where NO WHERE near as good as the three Wizards I've had. I'm afraid to try another Hose type modded Marshall as the one and only one I've ever tried was the Armored Sabot (if that's even considered a Hose modded circuit ) because that was the worst amp I've ever owned.

 

[LP Freak]

I agree, not all stock Marshalls are created equal. I have found that they have to sound good without a boost before they will sound good with one.

 

[paulyc]

I think that’s true of NMV Marshalls, I’ve never had a dud JMP 2203/4.

 

[Racerxrated]

I must have not landed a "good" Marshall because when I tried them neither gave me what I was looking for with numerous boosts out front. Both were stock JMPs one 77 the other 79 I think. They were ok boosted but no where NO WHERE near as good as the three Wizards I've had. I'm afraid to try another Hose type modded Marshall as the one and only one I've ever tried was the Armored Sabot (if that's even considered a Hose modded circuit ) because that was the worst amp I've ever owned.

Lots to consider though, with vintage amps..my 83 2203 was anemic sounding, but the bias was 15ma per 6550...plus the filter caps were leaking. Those two things are a must check when trying out a vintage Marshall without question. Now, with the bias up around 36ma and 6 new filter caps this amp is every bit as good/punchy as the 2010 Wizard MCI I had with the C transformers, which are the most Marshall of them all. Some Wizard fans say that version is the best to have, punch wise. It is a great amp but my 83 2203 takes that gas away for me.

 

[JerEvil]

Well, if you’re specifically looking for a Friedman, I personally haven’t heard anything from the Deluxe that made me want to swap my 2018 BE for the Deluxe. I’d probably buy a SB if you know you like them.

 

[psychodave]

For me it was stock Marshall’s with 6550’s. I would always get a JMP and immediately change it out to EL34’s then a few month later I’d sell it. I must have done this 5-6 times. The JMP I own now is bone stock with 6550’s and I’ve owned it for a few years. It just sounds killer with a pedal out front.

Here it is... just guitar, VFE Standout pedal and amp. Playing through two 4x12’s with Celestion G12H30 anniversary speakers.

And here it is testing two pedals. Tons of aggression, tone and the feel is there.

 

[braintheory]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

Agreed. Will sound much better than any Friedman IMO

When it comes to modded Marshall’s and Marshall styles amps, I’ve had ‘em all (except for a Larry, which I’m on the waitlist for) and imo nothing beats a good late ‘70’s boosted JMP2203. In fact, I’m planning to take my Monomyth modded ‘79 JMP2203 to my tech to have it put back to stock since I liked it better stock boosted with my Klon. The other Monomyth will stay as is and sounds killer

Literally the only Marshall type amps I’ve kept were the Wizard, a Cameron mod and Monomyth, all of which are more expensive than the jmp and not even better, just different flavors. All of ‘em much better than Friedman imo

This.

A stock JMP/JCM 2203 and a pedal (or two) will get you what you need....If you want to plug in without a pedal then I'd suggest sending it in to Shea at Monomyth...much cheaper and his mods are right up there with a Cameron in feel/response/clarity, and with a shit ton of all usable gain. Plus they clean up well with your guitar volume. I've had some Friedman modded Marshalls and they are good, but don't compare to the Mono for what I like.

I haven't followed anything gear related for 3 years now. Shit, I haven't even been on the forum for close to 5 years.

I did message JCJ about his M Zero. I've been dying to try that out as well.

The M Zero is also a great amp and imo better than Friedman’s. It has some SLO’s qualities to it. I sold mine years ago because of one of my Cameron modded Marshall’s and probably would’ve also preferred my Wizard, but the M Zero was a very good amp for sure. Very big and fat sounding

 

[Aristocat]

Honestly, go out and buy a late 70’s JMP and stick a pedal in front of the amp. Then buy a simple Marshall cabinet. Amp, pedal and cabinet will cost you right around $2000.

Agreed. Will sound much better than any Friedman IMO

When it comes to modded Marshall’s and Marshall styles amps, I’ve had ‘em all (except for a Larry, which I’m on the waitlist for) and imo nothing beats a good late ‘70’s boosted JMP2203. In fact, I’m planning to take my Monomyth modded ‘79 JMP2203 to my tech to have it put back to stock since I liked it better stock boosted with my Klon. The other Monomyth will stay as is and sounds killer

Literally the only Marshall type amps I’ve kept were the Wizard, a Cameron mod and Monomyth, all of which are more expensive than the jmp and not even better, just different flavors. All of ‘em much better than Friedman imo

This.

A stock JMP/JCM 2203 and a pedal (or two) will get you what you need....If you want to plug in without a pedal then I'd suggest sending it in to Shea at Monomyth...much cheaper and his mods are right up there with a Cameron in feel/response/clarity, and with a shit ton of all usable gain. Plus they clean up well with your guitar volume. I've had some Friedman modded Marshalls and they are good, but don't compare to the Mono for what I like.

I haven't followed anything gear related for 3 years now. Shit, I haven't even been on the forum for close to 5 years.

I did message JCJ about his M Zero. I've been dying to try that out as well.

The M Zero is also a great amp and imo better than Friedman’s. It has some SLO’s qualities to it. I sold mine years ago because of one of my Cameron modded Marshall’s and probably would’ve also preferred my Wizard, but the M Zero was a very good amp for sure. Very big and fat sounding

I just messaged him back. I'm gonna pull the trigger on it.

I've always wanted one and it's a good deal. I've already been down the Friedman road and can always scoop one up again.

I tried messaging the guy who bought my 72 SLP here awhile back but never heard anything. I figured it's long gone at this point. I would've loved to have that one back in the stable.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I must have not landed a "good" Marshall because when I tried them neither gave me what I was looking for with numerous boosts out front. Both were stock JMPs one 77 the other 79 I think. They were ok boosted but no where NO WHERE near as good as the three Wizards I've had. I'm afraid to try another Hose type modded Marshall as the one and only one I've ever tried was the Armored Sabot (if that's even considered a Hose modded circuit ) because that was the worst amp I've ever owned.

Lots to consider though, with vintage amps..my 83 2203 was anemic sounding, but the bias was 15ma per 6550...plus the filter caps were leaking. Those two things are a must check when trying out a vintage Marshall without question. Now, with the bias up around 36ma and 6 new filter caps this amp is every bit as good/punchy as the 2010 Wizard MCI I had with the C transformers, which are the most Marshall of them all. Some Wizard fans say that version is the best to have, punch wise. It is a great amp but my 83 2203 takes that gas away for me.

The 79 had all new filter caps, fresh tubes and was biased up....still nothing that would have worked for me for metal. The 77, that's the one I sent you pics of, no idea how old the caps & tubes were, but I did check bias while I had it and it was at 40 mA. That one was not bad when boosted, but I'd still take the MCII boosted over it everyday. Those Marshalls were both 50 watters so maybe a 100 watter would have been better.

I'll stick to the Wizards