Dave Friedman on Digital Modelers

FractalAudio said:
When I evaluated the Friedman monitor I'm pretty sure I determined it was just a rebranded B-52 with a different grill cloth.

B-52 is owned by the same guy (Avi El-Kiss) who owns Boutique Amp Distribution and whose factory makes Friedman, Soldano and several other amp lines. Form your own conclusions.

Friedman is a good amp tech though.
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Hey, welcome and good to see you here! :beer
 
jay mitchell said:
Cliff has entered the chat....
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Canadian Comedy GIF by CBC
 
jay mitchell said:
IOW, they build cabs that can easily be made by literally hundreds of cabinet shops in the US using widely-available materials. Building a suitable cab is not designing a loudspeaker. Lots of major players - e.g., Danley, EAW - have their cabs built to the highest quality standards by contract manufacturers.


It does. He didn't design the speaker, he rebranded a design and has the company build cabs from his choice of material.
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I was just putting his quote into the discussion for some clarification from his point of view but yeah I totally get what you’re saying. However some people are practically saying that you are just getting a current production B52 model "FRFR" with a Friedman logo on it and that logo costs you more. I don’t think it’s as simple as that and it really depends on what people mean when people say “rebranding”. I’ll leave others to debate the semantics.
 
ejecta said:
I was just putting his quote into the discussion for some clarification from his point of view but yeah I totally get what you’re saying. However some people are practically saying that you are just getting a current production B52 model "FRFR" with a Friedman logo on it and that logo costs you more. I don’t think it’s as simple as that and it really depends on what people mean when people say “rebranding”. I’ll leave others to debate the semantics.
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At a minimum you are getting a B-52 with a different grill cloth and a Friedman logo.

At a maximum you are getting a B-52 made with different wood, a different grill cloth and a Friedman logo.
 
ejecta said:
However some people are practically saying that you are just getting a current production B52 model "FRFR" with a Friedman logo on it
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And apparently a different grille. And maybe a better grade of plywood. FYI, it's pretty self-defeating costwise not to use Baltic Birch (or other void-free plywood with thin plies) to build speaker cabs. The added labor cost to deal with internal voids when machining operations expose them and to clean up and fill exterior joints that expose end grain tend to negate what amounts to a relatively small saving in materials (relative to total) cost. So far, nobody has established that the other monitors of the same design made in the same shop are not made of Baltic Birch.
 
hippietim said:
The real tube amp vs modeler debate is stupid and it’s been done to death.

Friedman amps are really nice. I’ve owned and gigged a couple. But whoever was at the bottom of the video was spewing nonsense about the magic feel of Friedman amps. Again, they’re very nice and feel great. So do a LOT of amps. Marshall, Suhr, Fender, Bogner, Soldano, Boogie, Peavey, and countless others sound and feel great.
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Agreed. He was just fanboying it up. Turned me off a bit.


Bruce said:
Oh god I love BFD. shame they never got the user base of Toontrack.
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You'd be surprised. 60,000 people and still going strong. We've had a few rough years (okay, really fucking rough years!) with acquisition after acquisition. The ROLI one drove me mentally into the ground to be quite honest with you, and I await their death with an evil grin.

We/I've got lots of plans for the software. To infinity and beyond!!!


FractalAudio said:
When I evaluated the Friedman monitor I'm pretty sure I determined it was just a rebranded B-52 with a different grill cloth.

B-52 is owned by the same guy (Avi El-Kiss) who owns Boutique Amp Distribution and whose factory makes Friedman, Soldano and several other amp lines. Form your own conclusions.

Friedman is a good amp tech though.
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Great you're here Cliff! We won't ban you like the dickless fucks at TGP did! I mean.... at least I won't report you when you call me an idiot! :rofl
 
FractalAudio said:
At a minimum you are getting a B-52 with a different grill cloth and a Friedman logo.

At a maximum you are getting a B-52 made with different wood, a different grill cloth and a Friedman logo.
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I do know that I love my ASC-10. The form factor, size, weight, build quality and tones with my FM9 Turbo cranked through it.

What would be cool is to have an even better powered monitor with the a Fractal badge on it (and at a better/lower price point). 😁
 
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I’ll take the other side on Dave Friedman. He’s built amp mods and rig building into a highly successful business. Products are good quality. I don’t think he claimed to design all of his mods and stuff. And he’s trusted by the biggest names in Guitar to do amps and rigs.

As for the podcast, it’s good information he’s putting out and it’s free. He’s documenting a lot of unique and important history with Marc on some pretty legendary names in the amp business.

For modeling obviously it’s cutting into his business so he’s not going to be a fan. Doesn’t have to be. I would guess if he came out with something it wouldn’t be digital but would be some kind of analog unit. Maybe like a Simplifier crossed with Friedman preamp designs.
 
I seem to recall Dave complimenting the Fractal models a few years back, maybe a decade or so ago.

Marc lives a few miles from me, one of these days I’m going to see if we can hang so I can run my FM9 into one of his Friedman heads to see his reaction. I never even thought to invite him over here, I should probably do that.
 
DrewJD82 said:
I seem to recall Dave complimenting the Fractal models a few years back, maybe a decade or so ago.

Marc lives a few miles from me, one of these days I’m going to see if we can hang so I can run my FM9 into one of his Friedman heads to see his reaction. I never even thought to invite him over here, I should probably do that.
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He seems way too chill to hang on a forum!
 
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