Friedman VOX Proto NAMM 26

[Boudoir Guitar]

Didn’t know Dave has pissed people off this bad. I’m just somewhat annoyed his amps don’t sound that great.

The names of his amps are dumb - I don't think he's a cocksucker, but either he's gonna have a sense of humor about his fat ass naming all his amps in ways that the fat kid at the lunch table would name amps or he's not.

Some of his amps I don't love; some I do (would kinda love to have a twisted sister or whatever the 2-channel DS is called);

Some of the information he shares is super great and useful and objective; some of the marketing speak is not bad for marketing speak but still marketing speak.

The allegations that his Class D amps, that are the same size, weight, and price as the other consumer-grade Class D amps that are somewhat hamstrung by their small-ish power supplies are magically not also going to be somewhat hamstrung by small-ish power supplies but instead are going to be magical Tube Watts has me momentarily triggered, I admit.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Just one demo for now, but I have no doubt that this will be the best reissue of a true vintage sounding VOX with Friedman magic in the past 40 years.

I mean -- its the first "true vintage sounding VOX with Friedman magic" so yeah...will be the best!

 

[GTR37]

Aesthetically , (although tone is most important ) his amps just don’t look that good to me
It’s like he went through the shop and randomly grabbed a Headshell
Tolex and went here

The Px20 looks awful. It could have a better grill cloth more scaled size logo better knobs
Maybe it’s a proto ?

 

[Jarick]

Getting up in arms over the naming thing is about 10 years too late. Everything released basically in the last decade is either named after someone or pretty innocuous.

I'm not really sure what the appeal is about a Friedman version of a Vox to be honest. It's likely a $2500+ AC30 clone. Although I suppose Matchless HC-30 and Bad Cat Era 30 are near $4000.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I love Vox tones, so will keep an ear on this one. But definitely more interested in hearing the PX20.

 

[ejecta]

Just one demo for now, but I have no doubt that this will be the best reissue of a true vintage sounding VOX with Friedman magic in the past 40 years.

Game changer.

 

[Chocol8]

I have no doubt that this will be the best reissue of a true vintage sounding VOX with Friedman magic in the past 40 years.

Considering it is the only Vox with Friedman "magic" it is also safe to say it is the worst sounding one as well.

 

[Blix]

Didn’t know Dave has pissed people off this bad. I’m just somewhat annoyed his amps don’t sound that great.

Never been a fan of the BE stuff, but the Plex and Josè are fantastic amps, all Marshall rawness there. Hopefully the VX-30 is just as raw.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Considering it is the only Vox with Friedman "magic" it is also safe to say it is the worst sounding one as well.

True that!

 

[FuzzyAce]

No reason the VX-30 wouldn't sound great. Even AC30s vary, especially when you consider using alnico vs. ceramic speakers.

 

[ejecta]

Never been a fan of the BE stuff, but the Plex and Josè are fantastic amps, all Marshall rawness there. Hopefully the VX-30 is just as raw.

Yeah the Plex I played was pretty good. He should just stop saying the BE stuff sounds like a Marshall. It doesn’t.

 

[paisleywookiee]

The names of his amps are dumb - I don't think he's a cocksucker, but either he's gonna have a sense of humor about his fat ass naming all his amps in ways that the fat kid at the lunch table would name amps or he's not.

I really like the Dirty Shirley, PT/PTv2, and the Smallbox. Didn't at all care for the BE stuff though.

 

[banned]

Looks like something NDSP designed - looks great and I bet it sounds great!

 

[banned]

Never been a fan of the BE stuff, but the Plex and Josè are fantastic amps, all Marshall rawness there. Hopefully the VX-30 is just as raw.

Same - I'd like to try out the Plex - haven't seen one in the wild yet.

The Pink Taco is nice for low powered duties but no way I'm buying an amp named like that. I don't get what it is with him and amp names either.

 

[Richard_G]

(...) and someone mentioned in another forum it was worked on by Mark Sampson as well as Friedman. (...)

Interesting!

 

[László]

Interesting!

Could be! I guess the proof will be in playing through one. I haven't had a chance to do that yet. I don't own a Vox style amp, but I generally try them. I had a Bad Cat and it sounded great, but it was the Hot Cat, which was a different twist on the formula.

Back in the day 60 years ago () I played through vintage AC30s when they were new. I loved 'em. I'm guessing that what I remember is much more technicolor than the reality, but the old ones I've played through sure do sound great to this day (if properly maintained of course).

 

[metropolis_4]

I think it sounds good, and I usually don't care for Friedman amps. As I understand it, the amp is called the VX30, and someone mentioned in another forum it was worked on by Mark Sampson as well as Friedman.

I don't know whether this is true; if so, I'm not surprised it sounds about right.

I don’t know about that, but I could be wrong. Mark Sampson had returned to Bad Cat and worked on the Era before he died in Feb 2025. I’m not sure when he would’ve worked on this one released almost a year after his death?

Also, I would think that if he had worked on it they would be advertising that pretty loudly since he was pretty much THE authority on boutique Vox tones.

 

[ejecta]

but either he's gonna have a sense of humor about his fat ass naming all his amps in ways that the fat kid at the lunch table would name amps or he's not.

Just watched an Anderton’s video where he’s in full frame and he looks like he’s dropped some weight.. so on that front good for him.

 

[laxu]

Yeah the Plex I played was pretty good. He should just stop saying the BE stuff sounds like a Marshall. It doesn’t.

The BE sounds like some Marshall. Not a specific model, but it's definitely a Marshall based sound with its own flavor, same as amps from say Bogner. To me Friedman's claim to fame with the BE series was more in line with what people expect from a cranked Marshall, just achieved via preamp gain and customized voicing.

Real Marshalls are a pretty big range of variation where just the bright cap value can influence how aggressive, biting and bright they get. Some love the big bright cap, others hate it.

The Friedman Plex, and I assume this Vox-based model are more in the "warts and all" territory where the circuit is a good Vox AC30 circuit with some customization thrown in.

My favorite Marshall tone is the one on my BluGuitar Amp 1 ME Vintage channel. It's got that huge bright cap so the player needs to know how to tame that (turn gain to 5-7, roll down guitar volume and tone to compensate), and the model itself is based on Blug's modded Marshall JTM "Black flag" Super PA100. No idea what the mods are.

 

[ejecta]

The BE sounds like some Marshall.

Like I said maybe his 50 watt sounds like that. I’ve played quite a few over the years even modern versions and they were all way more open and raw sounding. The BE is very modern sounding, very smooth and the feeling of the amp isn’t anywhere where near what a Marshall feels IME. The Soldano is based on a Marshall circuit but it sounds or feels nothing like one. I could say the same about Bogner etc. Also Mike or Bogner never claimed those amps sound identical to a Marshall. I think Dave should follow their lead.

I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself on Blug’s stuff since it seems you like them. Let’s just say it’s not far from what I feel about Friedman.