Friedman JJ - Trying to Love mine.

Bad.Seed

Bad.Seed

Well-known member
I've had this amp for close to 2 years. I didn't love it out of the box, sounded cold, kind of weak and I'm not sure what frequency it is, but when you get volume on it it just turns into a piercing beam machine. I've used it for 2 shows, it sounded good in the band context, but still not my favorite amp by a long shot.

I gave it to my tech, had him install and bias up a set of JJ Kt77's, which helped with the fullness a bit. I also had him installed a "Resonance" knob on the back, which allowed more more low end thump. Everyone says this amp sounds huge, but I don't get that from it, and neither do some of my friends who tried it as well.

Has anyone else owned this amp and notice it gets piercing/beamy when you get it up to volume? I have no problem dialing in a myriad of other amps and being perfectly happy with them, but I just can't seem to love the JJ for this reason, and damnit, I want to because I love it at low volumes.
 
Cant say ive had anything like what you are hearing happen. What cab/speakers are you using? Using the Friedman 412 I do notice a bit more top end /sizzle than with the 2 Bogner cabs I started with, but very different cabs and half the speakers are different models etc... I've never thought it lacked bottom end at any volume, nor had mine ever sound "piercing" to my ears. Try some cabs/speakers, sorry Im not any more help...
 
Wow, that is crazy! I haven't heard anyone comment on that particular amp being piercing, etc. I have never played one but the Friedman sound is so full of low end, etc. that I am surprised.

Do you think there is anything with other things in the chain like pickups, speaker cab, a bad pedal, etc. that could be causing this? When you have had adjustments done, was it with different setup?

I could see even if JJ side is maybe something in the tone you don't dig but once over in BE mode, seems like it would clear up that problem. I'm really curious about this. Like you said though, you love it at low volumes so maybe there is some issue with a part of the amp and just need fixed. I'd see what Dave says. You should post something in the Friedman forum.
 
Thanks for the replies folks.

I honestly feel like something may be wrong with the amp. I did give it to my tech but I can remember if I had him do full service on it or if he just performed the simple mod and retube/bias.

I talked to Dave about this amp before and he mentioned he'd update it to current standards for just the cost of shipping. I'm thinking I should have that done.

I ran it through a few cabs this weekend, Diezel 412 RV and Marshall MF400 being the main 2. Both of those cabs are big and warm sounding compared to my Splawn, 1960 and Mesa and Randall cabs, and the amp still sounded pretty piercing. I was doing a round about of my amps in my new spot and when I got to the Friedman, it was painful at high volumes, and I had the presence dialed back to 11 o clock and the treble dialed back to 9 oclock
 
Bad.Seed":43e8j37d said:
I talked to Dave about this amp before and he mentioned he'd update it to current standards for just the cost of shipping. I'm thinking I should have that done.

I was doing a round about of my amps in my new spot and when I got to the Friedman, it was painful at high volumes, and I had the presence dialed back to 11 o clock and the treble dialed back to 9 oclock
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that would be a great idea. As the creator of the amp he'll notice something immediately, especially if you tell him what the issue is. One loose connection on a particular component could make all the difference. Maybe there is some type of treble/presence connection that limits the amount of high end and has come loose.
 
I always had to re-do the eq when turning up, amps will get brighter louder at least most of my Marshall’s would. But piercing is not how I’d describe it if I didn’t re eq.
 
Take up Dave on his offer, without a doubt. I find on the JJ, you have to run the Presence and Treble higher than the BE100 and 50 DLX. So, people might say it's "darker", but really, you can brighten it up to match the others.

It sounds like something is wrong with your amp. I LOVE my JJ and want to do some mods to it as well.

Good luck!
 
Racerxrated":3cx5vics said:
I always had to re-do the eq when turning up, amps will get brighter louder at least most of my Marshall’s would. But piercing is not how I’d describe it if I didn’t re eq.
Click to expand...

For sure, I run the treble and presence much higher at low volume and turn up I have to dial them way back and there is still that one frequency that seems to jump out way above all others
 
I had a JJ100 for a while, I had to run the Bass on mine all the way up and eventually I sent mine to Dave to have the resonance control added because I felt it was lacking some thump. The amp has a lot of mids and not a big lowend, judging from what you have said and how mine was its possible its just how the amp is voiced. That being said It might be worth sending yours to Dave to have it updated , ya never know maybe there is something a little off... The other option is to have him mod it a little more to your liking while its there , He seems to be very responsive to doing that sort of thing if you ask.
 
I recently bought a JJ and returned a week later. It was cool for some stuff, but lacked in attack on the low E string. It sounded awesome for leads and strumming chords, and the louder it got the worse it sounded. Maybe something was wrong with mine too. I sent it back and ordered a Driftwood Purple Nightmare.
 
I would try an EQ in the loop or maybe a parametric eq. I hear my buddy's JJ almost every week at practice and kind of get what you are saying. But overall I think it sounds pretty damn good especially with Marshall cabs, T75s in particular.
 
I don't turn mine up a ton, most I ever have is about half, but I have never found it piercing. If anything, it is a bit dark as others have said but that can be dialed out. I've also never noticed lack of attack on the low E. In JJ mode especially it is aggressive and tight. I am using a Friedman cab and put all V30s in it. Now I'm not sure if I love all V30s (too much mids), and may mix them with T75s. But I know that is speakers, not the amp.

But to each is own! That's why there are a lot of different amps to choose from.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. Sounds like it could go one way or the other.

I may end up just ponying up and sending it to Friedman at some point. Sucks to stick even more money into an already expensive amp, but I also want to make sure it's up to snuff and actually make me want to play the damn thing.

Like I said, I dig the tone at low volumes but it turns into an icepick at show volumes.
 
Bumping this. I've been getting new amps in and on a slight recording spree lately.

I plugged the Friedman back in and, still kinda same results. I feel the recording captures it, as well. The 3 clips below show how much brighter/spikier it is in comparison to 2 Marshall amps.

Friedman JJ Be Channel
https://soundcloud.com/kyle-bull-760574723/jj-be412

Marshall JVM 210 OD Orange
https://soundcloud.com/kyle-bull-760574723/jvm-210

Marshall JCM 900 SLX
https://soundcloud.com/kyle-bull-760574723/jcm-900

Let me know how you think they compare, but the Friedman is certainly harsher in the clips as well
 
Just my observations:

All three clips sound awesome and none sound "bad". I don't hear spikey or harsh at all with the JJ. There is a different thing going on with the frequencies but I think it sounds killer. I know my JJ Jr. is not the same amp as the bigger one but I have noticed that presence at 10 o'clock and treble up at 2 o'clock seems to work good for me. I saw Doug Rappaport's YouTube clip and that is roughly what I set mine at.

I'm not sure how much you have messed around with settings, etc. over the years but I often find that I can't set EQ on one amp and then use the same settings on another these days. Amps are so all over the place with the tones. You might have to really drop the presence on this one to get in the ballpark of where your Marshall is set.

Hope this helps. Like I said, I didn't hear any harshness personally. I think it is more frequencies.
 
I'm by no means an authority but I see what you are saying. I thought they JJ was supposed to be on the darker side? This doesnt seem dark at all. Also it seems like it has a weird high frequency... I dont want to say noise or hiss but something the other two amps dont have. Granted it could very well be my headphones
 
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