", "So-called Class-A amps (like the AC30) don't actually exhibit much power supply sag because, well, they're Class-A (or nearly). Since that mode has no negative feedback the speaker resonance has a tremendous effect on the sound. The is probably the reason Leo Fender switched to fixed bias amps with negative feedback. One of the beta testers was remarking that his 5E3 clone sounded more "choked" in comparison to the model. Our reference amp was made in 2018 and has the feedback off the 4-ohm tap. Mesa knew this and the Lead 2 modes on the Triaxis all had the treble shift engaged by default. You can find out more about him here. Often called the best amplifiers in the online guitar world, Friedman amps have an excellent build quality, high and low inputs, awesome loop and master, and are fun to play, requiring minimal tweaking. ", "I used a Triaxis for, shoot, I dunno, over a decade before designing the Axe-Fx. Not sure if you watched the video, but Dave says that the Runts (which are PCB) have less issues than the rest of his line. Crossover distortion is a unique sound. Check Price That's low but it does affect subharmonics due to intermodulation. ", "That "interference" is due to all the treble peaking used in the design. They just call it treble. In other words that filter requires headroom to function properly, as does the presence control of any amp where it's a component of the feedback loop. We will also explore the top queries and questions that we have come across, during our research, concerning Friedman Amps before finishing with our final thoughts. The gains are the same. I go through the amps and check the values of each component, measure the voltages, compare the frequency response to the model, etc., etc., etc. I have a Dumble and a Trainwreck and various other boutique amps and the Tucana is better than all of them. Another interesting point to note is that the Tucana has a high pass filter in the power amp feedback loop, which gives you a nice tight low end because the bass is subjected to more gain. For overdriven sounds some find it desirable. JavaScript is disabled. Funky amp. Some minor changes but the basic topology is identical. ", (about the difference between the "JP Green" and "USA Clean") "JP has less gain and a much larger midrange potentiometer. But if you connect the amp to an 8 ohm load there is about 30% less feedback. With a 20 watt compact combo, the JJ-Junior lets you take the stage, studio, or jam session with total confidence. For example my guess is that the AFD100 was designed around a Les Paul. As expected the models are extremely accurate. ", "The 1987x doesn't have the 0.68uF cap on the last triode. ", "The Buttery model was REPLACED by a Budda Twinmaster model. ", "The Treble control in a Chieftain is actually a "Preamp Presence" control, similar to the Presence control in a Dual Rectifier in Modern mode. I would say it's a very functional layout and fair job, but I miss some attention to detail I can see in other similar priced amps (Germino, Metropoulos). The impedance ratio is about twice that of other amps. It's a very good sounding one. ", "Camerons have linear taper MV and you need it with them because the signal level into the power amp is very low due to the Jose topology. ", "Based on the Lead 1 Red mode of a Mesa Triaxis preamp with the TX-4 board.". Amp designers know this and exploit it to give their amps a "signature sound". Friedman has squeezed the iconic features of Cantrells flagship amp head, renowned for its exquisite high-gain tones, into an affordable and compact combo and with impressive results. The JB100 model is basically an OD2 with the entire OD circuit on the board with predefined filters made up of quality components without adjustment through fragile trimmers. Some distortion pedals also do this. They're all completely different. Otherwise things are pretty similar. Trainwrecks have plate suppressor diodes for just this reason. [7] Discography [ edit] As producer [ edit] References [ edit] ", "That model does the chugga-chugga better than Thomas the Tank Engine. ", (negative feedback) "I've seen JTM45s with 27K off the 16-ohm tap. I didn't model the nonlinear slider behavior because IMO it's a design flaw. The Friedman BE-100 amp was created after Dave Friedman had amassed years of experience working with mods on his client's Marshall plexis. It makes me think (this is probably key, but yes, believe) the amp will perform better, be more durable, easier to service, and possibly even sound better. ", "It's a single-ended power amp with negative feedback and bias tremolo. So its no surprise that while growing up there David Friedman was inspired by Detroits heady music scene and its legacy. ", ("Cygnus" amp modeling) "The Bassman was reworked using an original 59 Bassman 5F6-A as a reference. The loop send is taken right off the MV which means the output impedance is very high. AB. never really had a use for them, but I'll leave that up to Dave. ", "The reason they clean up when you back off the volume is because the OT is so overmatched. Add to Cart. There are no signs it was removed. The other was virtually identical to a JCM800. ", "Recto2 is based on a new 3-channel Dual Rectifier. This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 18:49. Implementing second-order filters in a real tube amp is difficult and costly so is rarely seen. It's biased too cold. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The Soldano X-99 uses motorized pots. You can reduce the compression in the models by lowering the Compression parameter in the Cathode Follower section. The bright cap boosts the highs to compensate. The problem is the plate voltage is too high so when you set the bias higher the dissipation goes up and tube life is shortened. But you can recover that behavior by setting the Mid control fully CCW. ", (original Double Verb model) "The Twin Reverb that the model is based on breaks up like that. ", "The Mid switch, sometimes labeled "Deep", shorts out the 390 pF cap in the tone stack (which is in series with a 2 nF cap). Just like with the actual amp. ", "The amp has a Hi Cut but it's labeled Brilliance. Then if they mount anything to the board the solder area is small and weak. That amp was one of the primary amps used in the G2 modeling development. ", (about moving Master volume to the post phase inverter) "It's called PPI MV or the "Lar-Mar Mod". ", "I modeled the Super with V1 pulled as most people pull V1 so the amp has more grunt. Also note that this amp suffers from extreme blocking distortion at or near maximum gain. Crossover distortion is a unique sound. The other is a "regular" one with the rocker switches. Friedman Amps. ", The actual amps Tight switch engages a built-in Tube Screamer circuit which can be replicated using a Drive block or the Amp blocks internal Boost feature., "The clean channel is like every other Mesa clean channel: a Blackface Fender copy. The bias point is totally wrong and crushes one side of the signal considerably. The mating cab for a BE/HBE is 16 ohms which means lots of feedback. Set up as normal, plug in the XLR and youre ready to rock. Put the Master Volume on 5. ", "Most amps use a linear taper for the treble pot. ", "All these amps have the same basic circuit with minor differences. The model is based on schematics that were given to us that supposedly accurately represent Robben Ford's Dumble. You already have all those models., "Having owned multiple Mark IV's, multiple Triaxis's and a variety of other Boogie products, I can tell that the Mark series in general are a bitch to dial in. ", "Solo 88 RHY is based on an X88R since the rhythm channel of an X99 is identical to an SLO-100. Turn it down and you are actually boosting bass and reducing treble. Here are some tips: The old version of the model incorrectly referenced the Mark IV tone stack. They sound different. On PCB amps I usually only have issues with the hookup wires but never the board itself unless a design issue. This bypasses the EQ for more gain. You can soften the JCM800 attack by lowering the Triode Freq values. Circuit is slightly different than the late 60's model (Plexi 100W). So we decided to redo the model based on Mark's amp which is the amp that was the demo model at Tone Merchants. Whichever you buy is going to be a good-quality, reliable piece of kit after all, their creator takes the time to personally check each one before dispatch or so it is claimed. They all sound completely different. 'Noon' on an SLO isn't actually the knobs at half-way. ", "Ruby Rocket is based on a Paul Ruby Rocket which is based on a TW Rocket but with some notable differences. Lowering the Cathode Resistance reduces the crossover distortion as it keeps the amp in Class A operation longer but the tubes run hotter and don't last as long. ", "The G3 version of the 5E3 Deluxe Tweed model is a hoot. When G3 came out the models were accurate but Fredrik contacted me and said something like "ahhhhh, I loved the old Recto model". With my Suhr it's much too bright because that's a very bright guitar. ", "The values for the Deluxe Reverb model are based on measurements of an actual 65 Deluxe Reverb, not some hypothetical values on some spec sheet. People put the knob at 5.0 and go "wow, this amp is dark". Hence it has more gain. ", "I think what people like about this amp is the same reason people like the BE/HBE. Corey James Member Depending on the firmware, some models may not yet be available on every device. After 7 the treble increases rapidly. Friedmans amps guts I've seen are nicely made, but nothing to write home about. To simulate the Boost switch use the Boost switch in the amp block as it has the same amount of gain. The Vibrato channel of an AB763 Twin Reverb has three gain stages. Whether or not the schematics are accurate I do not know. ", Archean: Lead channel with Bright switch OFF, Archean Bright: Lead channel with Bright switch ON, "You have to crank the MV on the real amp. However, if you crank the Master you might find the extra brightness helps compensate for the power amp getting darker. The model is the Plexi version. Los Angeles, California friedmanamplification.com Joined September 2014. ", "The Sun/Moon equals the Bright Switch. If you don't want all that blocking distortion turn down PI Bias Excursion. If youre looking for advice thatll stick with you for a lifetime, Jodies here to share everything she knows. ", "The vibrato channel is loaded down by the vibrato circuit. ", "A 5150 uses a fixed bias with no adjustment. ", "The model is based on the Hi input of a 1981 50W Master Volume "2204" Plexi. ", Lead channel, Contour switch OFF (boosts lower midrange around 500 Hz), Lead channel, Contour switch ON (boosts from 1200 Hz and cuts lower midrange), "From noon and up it's a presence boost, from noon down it's a presence cut. ", "It's basically a Deluxe Reverb preamp with a cathode bias 6L6 power amp and no negative feedback. @FriedmanAmps. Splawns don't have enough compression. If you turn off Bright you're effectively clipping the bright cap. dave coleman author meet the writer amp discover his work "Resea del editor cryptozoology (n.) . One is a Canadian export with bat-handle switches and sounds glorious. and tweaked the model until I thought it sounded like one. The Small Box pedal packs the same intuitive control set as the amplifier, allowing you to dial in your perfect shade of rock, from vintage Plexi goodness to high gain madness. Finding the best guitar amp often comes down to many factors, such as: budget, genre, skill level, and the type of guitar you have. ", "The key to a good Boogie sound, IMO, is the Fat Switch. IOW, it's displaying 60 pF which is equivalent to 120 pF. The original Marsha we have is dark and bassy with lots of lowpass filtering. The Axe-Fx III is precisely linear-in-dB. Probably because it's so nasty with it in. A lot of people like this sound though. ", "It's the way a Plexi is supposed to sound. $249.00. ", (Cygnus) "All the Friedman models are now based on the latest amp. The 2C and 2D models have lower output because of the Sat switch position. For cleaner sounds it tends to be objectionable. The model matches the amp extremely accurately (as do all G3 models). The bright cap in Marshalls can be very bright and harsh. ", "I thought that Shred mode is the same as the Red mode on the Triaxis which is just a treble boost on the output when, in fact, it's a clean boost on the input similar to a Tube Screamer but without the treble rolloff. Hand-signed by Slash with COA. ", "The amp has no hi-cut circuit therefore the control won't do anything. ", "All the distortion comes from the power amp so the tone controls don't do much. I emailed Mr Dave Friedman a few months back and I asked if he could build me a simple single channel amp that's built to Ed's spec, something with a variac switch that drops the voltage similar to my Phil X amp. Set the Level to +3 dB. The location in the circuit board is empty and the solder joints do not appear to have been disturbed. In 2017, Fridmann became the director for the Western New York Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps, where he plays the bass drum. When the grid conducts it shifts the bias point and in those old amps it can shift so much that the tube goes into cutoff prematurely. The model is based, naturally, on the amazing sounding one. The power amp then compresses the highs and the sound gets fatter. This has a 12AY7 input buffer which has less gain than the reissue which uses a 12AX7A (7025 actually, same thing). It uses a inverting summing amp to sum the Normal and Bass inputs. Another possibility is the designer felt the amp was too bright with all knobs at noon (and a linear taper presence pot) and changed the taper to reduce the brightness. ", "You don't need to crank the real amp to get a ton of overdrive. Puzzling to me because the BE has a fixed depth circuit and a significant amount of negative feedback so there is quite a bit of bass boost in the power amp as well. to get the tone to match. This is already modeled in the Axe-Fx via the Bright Switch. ", "Our reference amp is a head with matching 1x12 cab. I went through several before settling on this one as it was the best sounding by far. ", "The tone stack in the PAB models is a neutral tone stack which is the same as lifting the ground. The is probably the reason Leo Fender switched to fixed bias amps with negative feedback. The topology is very similar to a JCM800. The phase inverter drives the power tubes too hard which results in excessive bias excursion., "The phase inverter design causes significant bias excursion. That's due to the cathode follower. Red is 5.7. ", "The two channels have preset tone stacks. Fixed bias is just that, the bias point is fixed so the amp doesn't shift into Class B operation when overdriven (not as much anyways, depends on the bias circuit, grid stoppers, etc.). "It's not a competitive model, it's a live demo of an OD2 as tweaked by me. ", "That's how our reference amps work. David Melech Friedman (born August 8, 1958) is an American bankruptcy lawyer and the former United States Ambassador to Israel. It can be switched in via relays which are controlled by the channel switches. It's basically a brief explosion of noise. This can lead to further damages to the innards and potentially even be a dangerous thing to do. Each Friedman amplifier is built in the U.S.A. to Dave's exacting . Friedman's designs are a bit odd in that he takes the feedback off the speaker jack rather than off a transformer tap. When you hit the note there's this blast of high end that rapidly decays so it has an almost vocal quality. Part of the reason the Blackface era are so sought after is because they distort. ", "Bogner's are notoriously "slow" due to the low B+ voltage. EDIT** You know what, I'm not ruling out the Fryette Power Station just yet, that thing is a two 6L6 50 watt power amp also, man the specs look amazing. Bias tremolo works by modulating the quiescent operating point of the power tubes. The breakup range/tones between is wide and dynamic and can respond to your playing dynamics, getting crunchier as you dig in and cleaner as you play lighter. With varying prices and different functions, there can be significant differences between Friedman amps. As you turn the MV down, it will get thinner. ", "It has a master volume. In terms of amps, his early years with the band saw him use a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp as his main stage amp though lately he has been known to use Laney L50H Lionhart Amp heads and. Lower values are looser. If you do this on a Bogner it's like turning the treble way down on a Marshall. This results in a bouncier feel. ", (before Cygnus) "The models are based on two different amps. ", (to emulate Pull Shift on the Bass) "Put a Tilt EQ before the amp block with a frequency of 320 Hz and a gain of -3 dB. ", "Combines the best features of the British (Marshall) and USA (Mesa) crunch models. To replicate this increase Xfrmr Match to around 1.8. Over the past 25 years, Dave Friedman has built, tweaked and modded guitar amps for some of the world's most renowned players. ", "Our reference amp has no bright cap. If a knob isn't present in the Authentic menu then it may not do anything in the Ideal menu. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Dave has been building, modding and repairing amplifiers for many of the world's biggest stars for the past 25 years. Use the 5150 model and turn off the bright switch. One of them has a different value bright cap than the one with the same Gain pot. Friedmans amps guts I've seen are nicely made, but nothing to write home about. I couldn't stop playing it yesterday. The problem with the design is that the drive control is located between the 3rd and 4th gain stages. Experiment with different values of Negative Feedback. It is one of the Harry Joyce, Hylight era models. Some people like a colder sound. With the Presence Shift on the JP IIC+ will be very similar to the Mark IV with its Presence Shift on. ", "What you are hearing is output transformer high frequency resonance. To simulate this lower the negative feedback by 1/sqrt(2). No it isn't. For those in the industry professionally, you could consider the use of an amp transporter to protect it from any damages during transit. The final tweaks were made like that using parametric eq blocks that were hard coded in to the model. The Friedman Amplification Dirty Shirley Mini 1x12" closed-back guitar speaker cabinet delivers much bigger tone than its size would suggest. The bright cap varied over the years, supposedly depending on what was lying around in the shop. It's the infamous AB165 circuit which is very crunchy and bright and does not sound like your typical Fender. This allows the most flexibility. They are expensive, though, and you wont often find them available second-hand. The gain staging, overdrive voicing and output stage are night and day to ANYTHING Mesa, any owner of the real amp would attest to that. ", "All the Fender models except the 59 Bassman and 5F8 Tweed don't have cathode followers. ", "The "Vintage" tone stack is flat. It's about twice the optimum value. ", "A Princeton Reverb has an extra gain stage due to the reverb recovery. So AC20 EF86 Bass model would be the Bass/Treble switch in the Bass position, the switch on the back in EF86 position and then the Bright switch on the model is the Sun/Moon switch on the amp. ", "The Hot model models the AC-30HW model set to Hot. ", (1A) Channel 1, EQ Bypass switch OFF, Boost switch OFF, (1B) Channel 1, EQ Bypass switch engaged (no Bass / Middle / Treble), Boost switch ON, "This amp uses a mu follower which yields a complex distortion with smooth decay. You can un-mod the model by turning down the MV Trim to around 0.5. In the actual amp the Treble control is re-purposed as a Negative Feedback control. I forget the actual values but I'm pretty certain if you look at the Cathode Resistance value for those amps it's pretty high. Otherwise you would just engage the Bright switch under the Treble knob. Don't be afraid to turn them way up or way down. If youre wanting a show-stopping guitar amp then the Buxom Betty is an expensive, but excellent choice. 5.0 for left position (default). ", "The Bright switch on clean and crunch channels does not engage a capacitor on the drive potentiometer as is typical but instead disengages a treble cut circuit", 1969 100 watts, Normal and High Treble channels jumpered, 1972 50 watts, 6550 power tubes, jumpered channels, 1981 50 watts JMP with master volume, EL34, 1972 50 watts, EL34, High Treble channel ("High 1"), 1972 50 watts, EL34, High Treble channel ("High 2") (2nd triode stage has a 0.68uF cathode bypass capacitor, which was added in the early 70s and gives a slightly brighter tone), 1972 50 watts, EL34, Normal and High Treble channels jumpered, "1970 Marshall 1959SLP 100 has a darker, smoother sound than earlier Plexis. The newer amp is brighter and tighter. On a recent trip home, the Friedman crew shot some footage, wed like to share with you. ", "The Legato 100 is based on a one-of-a-kind version owned by a certain Californian guitar player. I just tuned it by ear. The reason they seem that way is the pot tapers. My Runt 50 is far and above the best sounding amp I've ever owned. As you increase the MV the source resistance increases which decreases both of these things. ", "The Normal Gain input has a very low input impedance, about 44K in addition to cutting the gain in half. I didn't want to give it back and offered to buy it from him but he wouldn't sell it. ", (about the Tech Note) "Applies to the Liverpool because the preamp is almost identical to the Express. ", (Cygnus) "The model was completely redone. I based the model on information I've collected over the years about the mods that were done. Enter your email address to be first to hear about our new products and special offers. Modern designs use more carefully crafted treble boosting to retain the cut but tame some of the harshness of the attack. It's a really cool amp. The other thing that helps the tone is the 220K plate resistor on the last triode. Some people like that spitty sound. In the Clean model there is only a buffer and one gain stage. This means the output voltage follows the speaker impedance. Each Friedman amplifier is built in the U.S.A. to Daves exacting standards using hand selected components. That smooths out the tone considerably. The models default to B1. If it's a good emulation you should find a point (around 1-2) where you can hear the power amp start to saturate. Reducing the MV or MV Trim will simulate the lower gain. IMO, the key to a MKIV is to use the TMB to get the feel and the EQ to get the tone. Most issues I have seen involved the shipping company punting these amps around like footballs. ", "A 5150's presence control has almost no effect from 0 to 7. ", The new DC-30 model may have dethroned the mighty AC-20 as my favorite "Class A" model., "Dr. Z is the quintessential country amp. ", "Some of them are really dull. Even the greatest guitar in the world can sound pretty dire if played through a poor-quality amp. The OD2 was never designed to be put side by side in a Dumble clone fest in some guys living room with everyone playing their best Ford licks, it was designed to be used on stage for guys who played in cover/blues/wedding/classic rock bands. Simple circuits with minimal frequency shaping. Old Plexis didn't do this because they had good transformers. When players talk about Friedman amps, the BE-100 is always at the top of the list. I could never get the model to sound exactly like our reference amp. This single-channel, hard-wired, 50W boutique amp is the most expensive on our list and a wonderful amp in every way. Shared: Presence and Balls, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Pentode/Triode (not modeled), Reverb (not modeled), Tremolo, Master, Pre Gain, Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Sparkle (not modeled), Shift switch (not modeled), Input Level, Drive on channels 2 and 3, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Master, Classic/Modern voicing switching, Input Level, Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain (Overdrive channels), Master (all channels), Presence, Dirty channel: Volume, Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb (not modeled), Volume, Gain, Tone (High Cut), 7w/15w switch (not modeled), Volume, Bright switch (Normal channel), Treble/Bass (Top Boost channel), Hot/Cool switch (Top Boost channel), Tone Cut, Master, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence, Hi Cut, Touch Response switch: Fast/Gradual (not modeled), Gain, Overdrive, Bass, Middle (500Hz), Treble, Master, Presence, Resonance, Cab: Fender 1x12 or 2x10 (C12Q, EVM 12L, JBL D120, 2x10, C10N, C10Q, P10R), Volume, Bass, Treble, Reverb, Vibrato (not modeled), Cab: Friedman 4x12 (V30, G12M, G12-65, G12H), Gain, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence.