Will Friedman and others eventually offer...

[Rick Lee]

One of the GCs in Phoenix always has at least four Friedmans in the deluxe room. I don't think I've seen any Friedmans in the other GCs here though.

 

[keennay]

We get them at the Guitar Center Atlanta location all the time!

One gets sold; it's replaced soon after.

 

[psychodave]

We get them at the Guitar Center Atlanta location all the time!

One gets sold; it's replaced soon after.

That would be cool if they had a room like that in a GC near me.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

You guys crack me up... You do realize that there is no difference between hand wired and a populated PCB board in an amp right? Same components, same layout, same circuit. It is a crapshoot in either amp whether or not you get the one with the right value drifts to give it the "mojo". Unless you want to make changes to the circuit yourself , there is zero point in owning the hand wired version. My 2204 is a 1982 with a pcb, still sounds fantastic. Why on earth would he spend more time wiring and produce less amps to sell...and make less money.

 

[LP Freak]

.....I give up, why?

 

[jkdsteve]

Had no idea Friedman amps made it to GC...swore off GC a long time ago because it's always full of crap but then I live in a broke arse area I suppose :-/

 

[skoora]

The price shouldn't come down because of PCB but because labor time is significantly less to produce one. But if he keeps moving them anyway why reduce price? Simple economics supply and demand and the demand seems high right now.

 

[Rick Lee]

I would think resale value would eventually be affected by HW vs. PCB. But then is there really such a demand for Friedmans now that people are willing to pay the same for PCB as for HW? I wouldn't do that because it would be harder to get top dollar if I had to sell.

 

[marshall2553]

They aren't fully PCB. They are a hybrid PCB/turret board that is still mostly hand wired from what I understand. Not that it really matters.

 

[JerEvil]

Just played the SS and BE this weekend at our local GC (Las Vegas). Brilliant amps.

 

[rcm78]

Wow. Good for him. I'm surprised with that volume none of the Guitar Centers in NJ have them? With 120 a month being produced, you'd figure they would put at least one in every store (I've checked numerous times) I'd love to try one with the new updates. I hate having to drive to Long Island to play Rockinchippy's amp.

Some GCs carry higher end gear than others based on economic factors of the area.

I guess so. I just searched Guitar Center and only 2 stores within 100 miles of me have them in stock.... Manhattan and Times Square. I guess NJ is a poor state.

The GC in East Brunswick has declined into a store full of junk!!!

 

[psychodave]

The GC in East Brunswick has declined into a store full of junk!!!

It really doesn't matter since Fender and Gibson will be out of GC in the next several months. I heard that GC is offering pennies on the dollar for merchandise contracts. Like if you sold them $80,000 worth of gear they are only honoring like $18,000. If the manufactures don't like it they will end up with nothing. I expect GC to be gone within the next 12-18 months.

I'm keeping my eyes out in case they dump gear cheap.

 

[Rick Lee]

I expect GC to be gone within the next 12-18 months.

There are thousands of pages of Internet discussions predicting exactly this and they go back many years. I think Keith Richards will die before GC goes out of business.

 

[sahlomonic]

I just learned he is already there... except no price change lol I had no idea he changed to a pcb type layout but I havent been following things too closely lately...

I don't see him effectively hand populating boards while making 120 amps a month.

exactly? why not have two lines, an elite handwired series and a full pcb with a more affordable price point? just a thought

I think this is a great idea for many brands to consider doing. It's like buying a Mustang; you can buy the V8 with a manual transmission and have all the fun and all the sound, or go cheap and get the V6 auto.

 

[journeyman73]

Just played the SS and BE this weekend at our local GC (Las Vegas). Brilliant amps.

but was it the turret board or pcb board version?

 

[Finnster]

I've hear the new upcoming Runt will be a PCB board. Not confirmed....but I recall reading that somewhere.

 

[Adambomb]

Dude confirmed the new Mini Dirty shirley is torrent board, along with the Pink Taco. But yes, he switched to a "HYBRID" board, not true PCB, to be able to add DC heaters and make amps more consistet. The components are still the same, pretty much the layout of parts on the board are still like point-to-point torrent, just on a black hybrid board thats similar to an eyelet. I've played the older torrent board BE100 and the hybrid BE100... tone was the same and the new one has less hiss and noise. Many threads on this subject so do your homework BEFORE you buy any amp. I'm getting a new Mini Dirty Shirley probably this week, can't wait!!

In truth.. The boards are at heart PCB, but with some tweaks looks like, so guess thats why Dave calls them "Hybrid".

Check out the Metro-Plex it's PCB Hybrid GT5000 too man. The tones are there, so people will pay.

 

[paulyc]

GC in Boston have BE100, SS, and the Pink Taco in stock

 

[rcm78]

The GC in East Brunswick has declined into a store full of junk!!!

It really doesn't matter since Fender and Gibson will be out of GC in the next several months. I heard that GC is offering pennies on the dollar for merchandise contracts. Like if you sold them $80,000 worth of gear they are only honoring like $18,000. If the manufactures don't like it they will end up with nothing. I expect GC to be gone within the next 12-18 months.

I'm keeping my eyes out in case they dump gear cheap.

I believe it!!! GC buys all their inventory on credit. How they're still in business is beyond me...

They're not going to take down Gibson or Fender, but Friedman better be careful!!!