New Friedman Brit 50

[la szum]

My favourite ever moment on Tone Talk (besides the Jake E Lee drink/drunkfest) was when someone
sent Dave $5 to ask a question, and the question was, "What are your favourite recorded tones featuring
one of your amps?"

Good question.

You know what, Dave honestly could not answer for a bit.



Then he hemmed and hawed and said, "Well, not a lot of people are writing and recording guitar
music as much these days and Yadda Yadda."

It was a full blown Costanza-level embarrassment.

Then he said, "Sammy Boler."

Kind of telling, if you ask me.

I mean the Sig Amp guys he has endorsing his Brand hardly to rarely use Friedmans.

Because.....

Also, very, very telling.

 

[LCW]

My favourite ever moment on Tone Talk (besides the Jake E Lee drink/drunkfest) was when someone
sent Dave $5 to ask a question, and the question was, "What are your favourite recorded tones featuring
one of your amps?"

Good question.

You know what, Dave honestly could not answer for a bit.



Then he hemmed and hawed and said, "Well, not a lot of people are writing and recording guitar
music as much these days and Yadda Yadda."

It was a full blown Costanza-level embarrassment.

Then he said, "Sammy Boler."

Kind of telling, if you ask me.

I mean the Sig Amp guys he has endorsing his Brand hardly to rarely use Friedmans.

Because.....

View attachment 60623



Also, very, very telling.

Cantrell left him… back to Bogner I think?

Bill Kelliher has/had the Butterslax… don’t know if he still plays it.

 

[Solarflares]

I’ve tended to buy an amp that friends are using, or I might have seen by chance un-wrapped in a shop.
After disappointing 70’s Marshall MV amps, I went with Lab Series L5’s. Mainly ‘cos a friend had one,
Heavily modified, I stuck with them for 20 years.
I built a rack for someone that had a superb ProAmplifiers pre-amp, a VSQ.
I eventually got one, and veered away from the Lab Series.
Heavily modified again, I stuck with a Pro Amplifiers V65 head for 15 years, until it died.
I was probably the last guy in the world using one.
Played around with everything, but nothing to write home about. Almost bought a ‘69 Plexi.
I found modelling a bit sterile, and noisy.
A Victory Sheriff 44 arrived, long story, but that is now modified, and is a major part of my studio.
But the one that got me is the Seymour Duncan Convertible 100W head.
I’d seen and played one by chance in ‘85 in Sweden, but was on my Lab Series trip.
Bought and rebuilt one recently, and that to me, is what I’ve been waiting for.
I’m hoping the Victory and Seymour will see me out, as I really can’t go through this again!

I’ve been using the same two guitars since ‘87.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

My favourite ever moment on Tone Talk (besides the Jake E Lee drink/drunkfest) was when someone
sent Dave $5 to ask a question, and the question was, "What are your favourite recorded tones featuring
one of your amps?"

Good question.

You know what, Dave honestly could not answer for a bit.

Then he hemmed and hawed and said, "Well, not a lot of people are writing and recording guitar
music as much these days and Yadda Yadda."

It was a full blown Costanza-level embarrassment.

Then he said, "Sammy Boler."

Well it's true, the company really started production in 2013. Not a lot of iconic hard rock records have been made since then (if any). It's kind of cool that he gave the nod to a newcomer like Sammy tbh (who's a killer player btw). Nothing wrong with that. He should be promoting his younger players.

His endorsees do use the amps live, but as far as records go, most of these guys are either winding down or releasing lower budget, self-produced albums, that won't be the best representation of their tones, no matter what amp they use. So I am not really surprised he didn't choose, say, Red Dragon Cartel or something along those lines.

 

[WizDawg]

I agree, it is mostly silliness. Yes, Friedman amps do have different/more modern filtering than old Marshalls. That's for sure. But even still, they don't sound that different from a Marshall, if you set them up to sound like a Marshall.

Now, obviously they have a ton more gain on tap, a resonance control, mod switches etc... so they CAN sound very different.

If you start cranking the resonance, turning every switch on and especially cranking the gain, then yeah that will be different, but that's what YOU'RE doing.
Keep the gain at a reasonable level, "Thump" on 0, master up and the mods off, it's pretty close to a classic Marshall. A bit more filtered and tighter, sure, but not it's really a night and day difference.

Yep

 

[Solarflares]

When I can buy a mint ‘71 JMP50 for £2000, and fully mod it - why would I bother with some niche, sexist upstart with his $3000 price tags for Marshall-flavoured copies?

 

[GuitarBilly74]

When I can buy a mint ‘71 JMP50 for £2000, and fully mod it - why would I bother with some niche upstart with his $3000 price tags for Marshall-flavoured copies?

Because buying a mint '71 Marshall and fully modding it is one of the dumbest things ever. Keep that amp stock. It needs no mods.

 

[WizDawg]

My favourite ever moment on Tone Talk (besides the Jake E Lee drink/drunkfest) was when someone
sent Dave $5 to ask a question, and the question was, "What are your favourite recorded tones featuring
one of your amps?"

Good question.

You know what, Dave honestly could not answer for a bit.



Then he hemmed and hawed and said, "Well, not a lot of people are writing and recording guitar
music as much these days and Yadda Yadda."

It was a full blown Costanza-level embarrassment.

Then he said, "Sammy Boler."

Kind of telling, if you ask me.

I mean the Sig Amp guys he has endorsing his Brand hardly to rarely use Friedmans.

Because.....

View attachment 60623



Also, very, very telling.

I mean, you can ask that same question about numerous amp brands people go nuts over. How does that actually prove anything?

 

[Frodebro]

I mean, you can ask that same question about numerous amp brands people go nuts over. How does that actually prove anything?

It doesn’t mean shit, really. Hobbyists keep the music industry afloat- not the big name pros. For every Slash playing a Marshall on the MTV, there are thousands and thousands of people buying Marshalls to play in their basements. A manufacturer can be highly successful over the long haul without even one major endorsee, but they would fold fairly quickly without the thousands of nobodies who are the core of their sales numbers.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

I mean, you can ask that same question about numerous amp brands people go nuts over. How does that actually prove anything?

It proves that if a company started in 2013, no one used their products in the 70s/80s/90s. That's a great revelation to us all.

 

[Solarflares]

Because buying a mint '71 Marshall and fully modding it is one of the dumbest things ever. Keep that amp stock. It needs no mods.

Oh. Come on now.
Haven’t you ever wanted to flick a switch, and turn your holy-grail high-gain amp into a Marshall MG10G?

 

[WizDawg]

It doesn’t mean shit, really. Hobbyists keep the music industry afloat- not the big name pros. For every Slash playing a Marshall on the MTV, there are thousands and thousands of people buying Marshalls to play in their basements. A manufacturer can be highly successful over the long haul without even one major endorsee, but they would fold fairly quickly without the thousands of nobodies who are the core of their sales numbers.

Exactly. For 99.9% of players it doesn’t matter. So if it sounds good in your basement or on a small gig who cares?

 

[paisleywookiee]

I mean, you can ask that same question about numerous amp brands people go nuts over. How does that actually prove anything?

Yeah, all those amazing albums with Revv on em!! LOL

 

[WizDawg]

It proves that if a company started in 2013, no one used their products in the 70s/80s/90s. That's a great revelation to us all.

I was blown away

 

[GuitarBilly74]

Oh. Come on now.
Haven’t you ever wanted to flick a switch, and turn your holy-grail high-gain amp into a Marshall MG10G?

I stand corrected. You convinced me again. Damn you're good.

 

[Frodebro]

Exactly. For 99.9% of players it doesn’t matter. So if it sounds good in your basement or on a small gig who cares?

Yep. I’ve been busting my ass for decades to get to the point where I can afford to treat myself to nice things when I want to, and I honestly don’t give a shit if somebody on the internet doesn’t approve of my personal choices. I paid my dues with “affordable” gear thirty years ago when I was still playing in bars, and now I’m making up for those days.

 

[WizDawg]

Yep. I’ve been busting my ass for decades to get to the point where I can afford to treat myself to nice things when I want to, and I honestly don’t give a shit if somebody on the internet doesn’t approve of my personal choices. I paid my dues with “affordable” gear thirty years ago when I was still playing in bars, and now I’m making up for those days.

Yep, I don’t get the constant pissing match. I like what I like and don’t care what other like. It’s OK other gear exists that you don’t prefer. It’s all individually subjective anyways. I’m just glad we have all the options.

 

[Solarflares]

It doesn’t mean shit, really. Hobbyists keep the music industry afloat- not the big name pros. For every Slash playing a Marshall on the MTV, there are thousands and thousands of people buying Marshalls to play in their basements. A manufacturer can be highly successful over the long haul without even one major endorsee, but they would fold fairly quickly without the thousands of nobodies who are the core of their sales numbers.

When those same hobbyists and amateurs start controlling the market, is when you get serious exploitation, and fly by night rip off artists - and they deserve all they get.
Unrealistic price point manipulation. mk2 models that only fix the issues the mk1’s had. Forbidding dealers to sell used items - killing the used and trade-in value. And much much more, none good.
The honest small-time builder doesn’t get a look in, because the trade shows price the stands out of his reach.
Whereas Friedman will have a whole wall of amps.
Line 6 is a case in point. Owning a Line 6 used to be the running joke. Thanks to the amateur, semi-pro and church worship crowd - the Helix is a top seller - and what’s new? 128 presets - that’s what.
Fractal were forced into making a floorboard because of the amateur brigade. Positive grid were forced out of the market. Kemper too to some extent.
Class D amps.
Neodymium magnets.
Chinese valves.
Indonesian guitars.
And all the other stuff a pro wouldn’t piss on.

 

[Solarflares]

I’m happy with my £250 Seymour Duncan Convertible 100W.

If I can live with two Lab Series L5’s for 20 years, and get consistent tone as a pro, then job done.

 

[paisleywookiee]

When those same hobbyists and amateurs start controlling the market, is when you get serious exploitation, and fly by night rip off artists - and they deserve all they get.
Unrealistic price point manipulation. mk2 models that only fix the issues the mk1’s had. Forbidding dealers to sell used items - killing the used and trade-in value. And much much more, none good.
The honest small-time builder doesn’t get a look in, because the trade shows price the stands out of his reach.
Whereas Friedman will have a whole wall of amps.
Line 6 is a case in point. Owning a Line 6 used to be the running joke. Thanks to the amateur, semi-pro and church worship crowd - the Helix is a top seller - and what’s new? 128 presets - that’s what.
Fractal were forced into making a floorboard because of the amateur brigade. Positive grid were forced out of the market. Kemper too to some extent.
Class D amps.
Neodymium magnets.
Chinese valves.
Indonesian guitars.
And all the other stuff a pro wouldn’t piss on.

This is…..a lot to digest.