NAD: Fryette PS-100 Power Station

[DrewJD82]

I jammed around with the FM9/Duncan PS170 for a while before the Fryette got here, pretty quickly I was like "Man, what were my gripes about this? This sounds fucking great with this 4x12" and while I know my gripe is cranking class D stuff, I was still a bit shocked how great it sounded at apartment volume.

But still not as good as a tube power section at apartment volume!

I had it on the JCM800 Studio 20 just because I saw it there when I was setting up and never tried it before, had it boosted with an SD-1 and actually got lost for a while with both power amps and that model. Then I switched to a Bassman preset I dialed in when I first got the FM9 years' back and I stopped and laughed several times, whenever I'd hit certain notes on the low E the low end would just fill in the room and you'd get that thwack in the chest, even at a lower volume.



Then I grabbed a Les Paul and went to a IIC++ preset becasue it's the greatest high gain head ever and had even more fun. This is perfection.



I don't know why I didn't get one of these sooner and the whole time I was using the EVH 50-watt just because I didn't have a proper tube power section for the FM9 was just wasted time. I still haven't even plugged my Plexi into it, I've been having too much fun hearing these Fractal models whooping ass all over the place. I can't wait to bring this to work and really crank it up, or better yet, use it in a band situation, but even for just jamming in the living room I'll be using this thing.

I've got company coming over tonight but if I find time before I go meet with my singer tomorrow I'll toss a mic in front of the cab and make some clips of the difference in sound between the power amps. There's not a whole lot between the two class D amps but I'm really curious to see if the difference with the Fryette is audibly noticable or it's more of a feel thing. It definitely feels like the depth of the sound increased significantly.

 

[DrewJD82]

Ohhhhhhhh yesss!!!! I LOVE THIS THING!!!!



I put the FM9 in the loop of the Fryette and made a quick preset of my general post-amp effects. It's crazy how clean sounding this thing is. And man I love this Plexi50 and will love it so much more hearing it through a cab than studio monitors.

And bonus- for those who haven't seen the Fuzz thread, I've been having a nightmare of a time with RF in my studio with them to the point they're unusable in here. Well, not out in my living room and through the amp! They both sound fanfuckingtastic!!!!

I start with the Hendrix Fuzz Face

 

[Mongillo19]

Dangggggg everything you've posted sounds amazing. I think I'm partial to the Plexi. It's that sound. I bet the fractal plexi models get really close though.

 

[chicken]

had this one years ago. it was humming terribly, iirc around 100hz. wrote to fryette - no reply, saw others with the same problem on tgp and returned. glorious device otherwise, sad.

 

[CorrosiveMatter]

Those all sound great and I bet your neighbors appreciate the PS-100 too!

 

[Byrdman]

Mighty fine playin' there, Hoss!

You forgot the dimed Plexi with the LP clip

 

[Chocol8]

and you'd get that thwack in the chest, even at a lower volume.

Yep! Power amp matters! Small, light, cheap, etc. are great selling points for class D stuff, but it comes at a price.

 

[sleewell]

HNAD! Those look awesome

 

[DrewJD82]

Dangggggg everything you've posted sounds amazing. I think I'm partial to the Plexi. It's that sound. I bet the fractal plexi models get really close though.

I should have noted, I had the Hot Mod Gain engaged when I dimed it, which is why it had that much dirt. It pretty much goes right to VH1 dime’ ing that amp without it engaged, so it’s basically boosted VH-1 with it. The Fractal models are indistinguishable to me, a lot of times I’ll come in the studio and flip the amp on to warm it up then start noodling on the Fractal model and after 5 minutes I’m looking to see which unit is lighting up as I play; the Suhr RL or the Fractal.

I’m really curious to compare how they sound through a real cab, that’s something I have not been able to do with the actual Plexi.

had this one years ago. it was humming terribly, iirc around 100hz. wrote to fryette - no reply, saw others with the same problem on tgp and returned. glorious device otherwise, sad.

Well that would be fucking terrible. I’d still buy another one, though.

Those all sound great and I bet your neighbors appreciate the PS-100 too!

Hahahahah one is moving out and the one on the other side has been gone since NYE!!! The dude downstairs is really cool and if he were going to complain would shoot me a text first. Definitely going tot advantage of this right now while I pray my next neighbor isn’t a shithead!

Mighty fine playin' there, Hoss!

You forgot the dimed Plexi with the LP clip

Hahahah I predict there’ll be PLENTY of LP/Plexi clips on the horizon! I tend to only use the LP with that when I’ve got the Hot Mod rockin’, I’m not big on clean humbucker tones yet, I feel like I need to age another decade first.

 

[Deadpan]

Awesome, I use mine selectively, often!

Amazing device.

 

[ejecta]

Awesome, I use mine selectively, often!

Amazing device.

Agree! I should have done the plexi into the power station thing a long time ago. Best guitar purchase I’ve made in a long time.

 

[chicken]

Well that would be fucking terrible. I’d still buy another one, though.

iirc the consensus was it is a european thingy. like all european units have this problem.

 

[Stratzrus]

Congrats Drew!

I'm looking forward to hooking my PS-100 to my ZMACS and being able to switch between my Rivera Knucklehead Reverb KR100, Deliverance 120, Sig:X, and Mesa TC-50 with the FM9 running the show.

For a while I was using the PS-100 to amplify my FM9 into a Deliverance 4x12 cab or a George Benson HRD 1x12 extension cab and it sounded fantastic into either one. I also used a BAM 200 into the same rig and it sounded really good but, like your experience with the PS170, using the PS-100 made a noticeable difference in tone and feel.

Congrats again, it's a hell of a piece of kit.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

HNAD Drew! Drool worthy for sure.

Are you running the Fractal models without power amp simulation?

 

[Richard_G]

iirc the consensus was it is a european thingy. like all european units have this problem.

My European wallet thanks you for this bit of info—whether it’s correct or not.

 

[AutomationBias]

They are so much fun. I pretty much stopped using my Axe FX after I got a Fryette PS2.

 

[EOengineer]

Thanks for sharing @DrewJD82. Good stuff.

 

[DrewJD82]

HNAD Drew! Drool worthy for sure.

Are you running the Fractal models without power amp simulation?

Keeping the power amp sims on, my assumption is the Power Station was designed with the attenuator/re-amp portion being the main point and keeping it as clear as possible to not change the sound of whatever amp is getting attenuated with it was the focus. I’d imagine the amps that rely on a clean power section would sound fine, but some would probably be a bit lacking if they’re getting some color from the power section, even if it’s not getting dirt from the power section.

A while back I plugged the FM9 into the Return of my Electra Dyne, Shiva and EVH heads, the tones changes radically depending on which amp it was plugged into, regardless if the amp got it’s dirt from the power section or not. Definitely made me realize that some amps aren’t just preamps with power amps attached and for some they’re working in tandem to get the core sound of the amp.

They are so much fun. I pretty much stopped using my Axe FX after I got a Fryette PS2.

Funnily, this will have me using my FM9 a LOT more now and solidified it as something I can use live now, while doing the same for the Plexi50!

 

[R590]

Nice score! Might I recommend grabbing a Fryette Cyclops to go with it then you can switch between using the PS100 with your Plexi or using it as a power amp for your FM9 at the press of a button.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Keeping the power amp sims on, my assumption is the Power Station was designed with the attenuator/re-amp portion being the main point and keeping it as clear as possible to not change the sound of whatever amp is getting attenuated with it was the focus. I’d imagine the amps that rely on a clean power section would sound fine, but some would probably be a bit lacking if they’re getting some color from the power section, even if it’s not getting dirt from the power section.

No weird doubling-up on impedance curves or anything since you're using a tube amp?