Wizard modern classic II or I vs Friedman BE100

[Chubtone]

I play some southern hard rock stuff and I need sounds from ZZtop, darkness, Lynyrd, to Hard rock 80/90's. Having a good classic crunch warm and dynamic could be important too and a massive lead tone.

Interesting. Did any of these bands use Wizards or BE100's?

 

[volt13]

I play some southern hard rock stuff and I need sounds from ZZtop, darkness, Lynyrd, to Hard rock 80/90's. Having a good classic crunch warm and dynamic could be important too and a massive lead tone.

Interesting. Did any of these bands use Wizards or BE100's?

Futher details, I do not want to sound exactly like one of this band, its just to explain the" context ". But I saw some pictures of Lynyrd S. with vintage classic Wizard on stage, B. Gibbons make some advertising for Wizard, and Darkness are in the customer list ( like many more) and i do not talk about ACDC ... do not know for friedman.

 

[guitarmike]

If you buy used should should be able to resell at close to what you paid for it. The only way to really tell which amp will work best for you is to spend some time playing it and I think you need a few hours or so to really be sure. Plan on spending $400-600 to learn by owning used (the cost of buying and selling a couple amps), in the end only you can prevent forest fires...wait, I meant only you can tell what amp will work the best for you.

Remember, the tones you hear on classic rock albums are the sounds of amps played at very loud levels, much louder than anyone would play today. The amps from back in the day did not sound as good when played at low levels.

 

[volt13]

that s true,

but it's usefull to have feedbacks from users of both BE100 and MC.

 

[glip22]

I had a modded JMP2203 with Dave's mods and an MC100. Depends what you want. The new Wizards I was told by a known studio owner is the tops in his studio right now. He owns six of them. Steve told me they are not the same as the MC1 which he and I had at the same time. Both can be great for you. Based on my experience the BE is much tamer. The Wizard sounds like a bomb is going off. That amp had the most punch I have heard. It is not for in home playing. My Wife hated mine and I eventually sold it. It shook the house foundations. Huge round thumping low end. The highs on the older ones were too piercing for the home as well but in a band it probably worked. I honestly think that amp damaged my hearing and brain a little. The new ones are different and supposedly much better fwiw. I liked them both for different reasons.

 

[thegame]

The Friedman is way more versatile.

No way! clean on the wiz blows doors on the be 100 and the wiz is just a bigger sounding amp in comparison imo

Yea way...and besides that you can't give away a used Wizard.

I "gave mine away" for $3300 US last summer, pretty damn good in this economy. Unless Rick St. Pierre personally fucked you over, your axe to grind with Wizard in general seems to be baseless.

 

[Greazygeo]

Interesting. Did any of these bands use Wizards or BE100's?

Ricky Medlocke of Skynrd is using Wizards....

 

[Jofipe]

So in general the Wizards are more open and big sounding with less compresion. Are they maybe less responsive compared to the Friedmans?

 

[Greazygeo]

So what I need is A head that will cover all the classic and hard area but with a real growl ,dynamique, and" in your face" feeling.

The Modern Classic will do this no problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Just get the one that isn't overpriced

Oh wait...

 

[thegame]

So in general the Wizards are more open and big sounding with less compresion. Are they maybe less responsive compared to the Friedmans?

Yes on the former but no on the latter.

 

[steve_k]

There was a couple of reasonably priced Wizards around here the last few weeks. Go search the classifieds. To cover what you need to cover, as George said, the MC will work well for you. But, if you can find a deal on an MC2, go for it, as it adds more switching and another gain stage to the original MC. There are some original MC's floating around that Rick modified with the pull treble boost function and sorted out the switching.

 

[hunter]

I have a Friedman and it's dark in a bright way.

The wizards seem bright and evil from clips, the BE can cut and still sound smooth if needed.

 

[Greazygeo]

There was a couple of reasonably priced Wizards around here the last few weeks. Go search the classifieds. To cover what you need to cover, as George said, the MC will work well for you. But, if you can find a deal on an MC2, go for it, as it adds more switching and another gain stage to the original MC. There are some original MC's floating around that Rick modified with the pull treble boost function and sorted out the switching.

I haven't played an MC2 yet, I'm sure it would also handle the tones. I usually just lump all the MC's together. The MC2 with the updates ans addtiional features probably make it a heck of an amp. I know Arild loves his.

I would like to get the updated switching. Not a big deal for me since I just stay on the dirty channel for everything, adjusting everything from the guitar. Sometimes I do use the cleaner channel on ten for that Highway to Hell tone.

 

[Superunknown]

I own both of these heads and these are my observations of each amp:

Wizard MC-I(hand-wired with updated gain mods) Mercury C spec transformer, bulit like a tank:

Gain Channel(3 levels of gain via push/pull
Gain 1: (Angus & Gibbons) Very sweet, open, and articulate with plenty of bottom and top. Very AC/DC/old Marshall type of tone.
Gain 2: Added gain with the cut of a Hiwatt while retaining some of the sag of older Marshalls. Smoothest mode and darker than Gain 1 & 3.
Gain 3: (Sykes & Lynch) Balls out distortion that can get very heavy. I find this tone/mode very unique because even with the additional tons of gain the Wizard still retains that old Marshall/Hiwatt clarity and punch. Bottom stays tight as well.

Clean channel: The clean is good but not great. The built-in boost it really kicks up the volume with mild breakup. Again, sounds like an old Marshall set clean to my ears.



Friedman BE(updated specs as of 1/13) I think the transformers are Heyboer:

Gain Channel: The Friedman has both the BE & HBE as well as the C45, Saturation, Fat, & VH switch.
BE: (Steve Stevens & EVH) The BE is a perfect Marshall type amp with Dave's unique voicing. To my ears it's the perfect modded Marshall with a very special mid-range quality. The VH switch increases the top and bottom slightly and the C45 makes the tone a bit more round/modern with more gain.
HBE: Pretty much like adding an OD pedal to the BE channel. Slightly more bottom and smoother than the BE mode. Great note articulation/clarity and tons of sustain.

Clean Channel: The clean on my BE is incredible and doesn't get enough credit. It's a damn near perfect IMHO with the option to get dark(middle toggle), Fender/Vox(left toggle), or Fender with a boost(right toggle).


Things I don't like about each of these amps:
The Wizard can get harsh with the high-end at lower volumes.
I don't dig the BE's effects loop. Mine is noisy. I run a line-out so it's no big deal but the loop could be better IMHO.


Just like any other amp, it all comes down to the player's taste, style and preference.

Here are a few videos of my Wizard(Mode-3 Highest Gain) and Friedman (BE with no Saturation switch

My Wizard comes in at 3:45:

Happy amp hunting Bro!

 

[drewiv]

I own both of these heads and these are my observations of each amp:

Wizard MC-I(hand-wired with updated gain mods) Mercury C spec transformer, bulit like a tank:

Gain Channel(3 levels of gain via push/pull
Gain 1: (Angus & Gibbons) Very sweet, open, and articulate with plenty of bottom and top. Very AC/DC/old Marshall type of tone.
Gain 2: Added gain with the cut of a Hiwatt while retaining some of the sag of older Marshalls. Smoothest mode and darker than Gain 1 & 3.
Gain 3: (Sykes & Lynch) Balls out distortion that can get very heavy. I find this tone/mode very unique because even with the additional tons of gain the Wizard still retains that old Marshall/Hiwatt clarity and punch. Bottom stays tight as well.

Clean channel: The clean is good but not great. The built-in boost it really kicks up the volume with mild breakup. Again, sounds like an old Marshall set clean to my ears.



Friedman BE(updated specs as of 1/13) I think the transformers are Heyboer:

Gain Channel: The Friedman has both the BE & HBE as well as the C45, Saturation, Fat, & VH switch.
BE: (Steve Stevens & EVH) The BE is a perfect Marshall type amp with Dave's unique voicing. To my ears it's the perfect modded Marshall with a very special mid-range quality. The VH switch increases the top and bottom slightly and the C45 makes the tone a bit more round/modern with more gain.
HBE: Pretty much like adding an OD pedal to the BE channel. Slightly more bottom and smoother than the BE mode. Great note articulation/clarity and tons of sustain.

Clean Channel: The clean on my BE is incredible and doesn't get enough credit. It's a damn near perfect IMHO with the option to get dark(middle toggle), Fender/Vox(left toggle), or Fender with a boost(right toggle).


Things I don't like about each of these amps:
The Wizard can get harsh with the high-end at lower volumes.
I don't dig the BE's effects loop. Mine is noisey. I run a line-out so it's no big deal but the loop could be better IMHO.


Just like any other amp, it all comes down to the player's taste, style and preference.

Here are a few videos of my Wizard(Mode-3 Highest Gain) and Friedman (BE with no Saturation switch

My Wizard comes in at 3:45:

Happy amp hunting Bro!

As a lurker to this thread up until now, thank you, that was a very nice breakdown.

 

[Anonymous]

As a lurker to this thread up until now, thank you, that was a very nice breakdown.

I second that

 

[Jofipe]

That last video is a great comparison...

Wizard sound "bigger" however, the friedman with the C45 on can sound very big also... great for midgain stuff I think.

I found my KK++ better for midgain rock than my Friedman modded Marshall... cause it's a bit more open and less "pissed off." Could you say the same about the Wizard?

 

[rlord1974]

So in general the Wizards are more open and big sounding with less compresion. Are they maybe less responsive compared to the Friedmans?

Yes on the former but no on the latter.

By definition, if something is less compressed it should feel more responsive, not less!

 

[Jofipe]

So in general the Wizards are more open and big sounding with less compresion. Are they maybe less responsive compared to the Friedmans?

Yes on the former but no on the latter.

By definition, if something is less compressed it should feel more responsive.