New Friedman IR-X preamp

[southpawdd]

I agree about the home vs. live/room stuff. I'm listening very critically on all my gear in a home studio so it is kinda folded into the hobby at this point for me. Funny thing is I mostly play(ed) bass live and rarely cared about my tone or gear choices - just wanted something that sounded good and worked for the purpose.

 

[cragginshred]

Hooked up and on my desk, running into the input of my Axe FX 3.

First impressions: it's the real deal and way better than the drive pedals.

Tonally it sounds really good out of the box on the first IR with no fuss. It's got a nice midrange cut and clarity, not too bright or dark, impressive. The gain range on the first channel goes from very clean to near AC/DC levels of gain. Second channel goes from near AC/DC up to moderately saturated modern gain. Boost can take it way over the top. There's a really nice feel to the gain channel, there's a solid low end, and there's a really nice clarity. It's a lot clearer sounding and way wider range of gain and tone than the BE-OD Deluxe pedal and Smallbox.

There is a slight audio dropout when switching channels or engaging the boost, for those who are curious. Build is all metal and feels solid like their pedals. Included AC adaptor has a bunch of plugs for I'm assuming different countries.

Layout is a bit funky, it's weird that there's boost volume on the front and gain on the sides. I would have expected the other way around. Also the boost volume is on the left next to the channel indicator light, and the channel gain is on the right next to the boost indicator light. Feels like they planned to do that the other way around. The channel one and two gains are flipped around on the side too, which is odd. None of this impacts usage though.

It's actually quite impressive they built this unit, shipped it out to stores, and had almost no leaks until the announcement. Product was announced last night and I picked it up locally this morning. Crazy!

Fantastic to hear! I hated the BE OD pedal. No mids and fizzy to my ears.. Why just the IP of Ax3? Just using time based effects in loop only?

 

[Jarick]

Fantastic to hear! I hated the BE OD pedal. No mids and fizzy to my ears.. Why just the IP of Ax3? Just using time based effects in loop only?

I was lazy there, I ended up hooking it up in the loop of the Axe FX 3 and it sounds killer! Way better than any of the Friedman pedals.

Straight to FOH powered speakers? I have the HX FX and was thinking of running a similar board!

That shot was running into the effects return of my Boss Katana Artist but it didn't sound all that great. Right now I'm running the IR-X in the loop of an HX Stomp into my interface and then into my Yamaha HS8 monitors.

I just ordered an HX Effects this morning to use with the IR-X actually! Wanted to see if there was sonic improvements compared to the Stomp for effects only, and also to have more switching options. Found one for cheap used.

I've been prepping for a massive gear purge to include most of my pedals. I like my MXR Sugar Drive (Klon clone) but the rest are meh. The HX drive pedals actually sound pretty much as good as most of the others and I'm tired of dropping $150 to try a slightly different overdrive pedal so hence the HX Effects.

 

[ejecta]

Mine was delivered today. Hoping to get some time with it this week. I hate having stupid work stuff get in the way of the widdly widdlies.

 

[cragginshred]

I was lazy there, I ended up hooking it up in the loop of the Axe FX 3 and it sounds killer! Way better than any of the Friedman pedals.



That shot was running into the effects return of my Boss Katana Artist but it didn't sound all that great. Right now I'm running the IR-X in the loop of an HX Stomp into my interface and then into my Yamaha HS8 monitors.

I just ordered an HX Effects this morning to use with the IR-X actually! Wanted to see if there was sonic improvements compared to the Stomp for effects only, and also to have more switching options. Found one for cheap used.

I've been prepping for a massive gear purge to include most of my pedals. I like my MXR Sugar Drive (Klon clone) but the rest are meh. The HX drive pedals actually sound pretty much as good as most of the others and I'm tired of dropping $150 to try a slightly different overdrive pedal so hence the HX Effects.

So dude you have provided a lot of good info so thank you! Just so I'm clear you have never owned a real Friedman with the Plexi ch smallbox, bE dlx JEL ect? Seems like you spend a lot of $ on pedals, Fractal and stuff but I mostly interested in an A/B to the real deal as opposed to clips thru DAWs comparing it to Fractal or whatever.
I do have an FM9 and might use it with the IR X, but the HX FX would fit on a board with a smaller foot print. I use very little delay and verb so I don't need the better quality effects Fractal offers.

Still on the fence on the IR X till I hear more boosted plexi tones like this (JEL 20w Plexi side boosted with Tumnus mini) Rock crunch with a punch you in the chest clarity. Not quite like my Wizard by perfect for medium size venues we have been gigging at

 

[nicolasrivera]

So dude you have provided a lot of good info so thank you! Just so I'm clear you have never owned a real Friedman with the Plexi ch smallbox, bE dlx JEL ect? Seems like you spend a lot of $ on pedals, Fractal and stuff but I mostly interested in an A/B to the real deal as opposed to clips thru DAWs comparing it to Fractal or whatever.
I do have an FM9 and might use it with the IR X, but the HX FX would fit on a board with a smaller foot print. I use very little delay and verb so I don't need the better quality effects Fractal offers.

Still on the fence on the IR X till I hear more boosted plexi tones like this (JEL 20w Plexi side boosted with Tumnus mini) Rock crunch with a punch you in the chest clarity. Not quite like my Wizard by perfect for medium size venues we have been gigging at

If you own an FM9 why do you think you need the IR-X?

 

[ejecta]

If you own an FM9 why do you think you need the IR-X?

Cause “game changer”.

 

[cragginshred]

If you own an FM9 why do you think you need the IR-X?

The gist of the X is
1) Real tube amp
2) When they say 'tired of scrolling pages and a million parameters to still be so close but so far away'... They are referring to those who are tired of trying to make a modeler work for live application

Those who love them are primarily bedroom players or those who have used them so long they forgot what a real amp sounds like.

My apprehension now is it sounds like X has that post production compressed smooth BE tone unlike the more raw open JEL or PT v2 which I dig. Anyone who owns and IR X confirm this?

 

[Jarick]

The gist of the X is
1) Real tube amp
2) When they say 'tired of scrolling pages and a million parameters to still be so close but so far away'... They are referring to those who are tired of trying to make a modeler work for live application

Those who love them are primarily bedroom players or those who have used them so long they forgot what a real amp sounds like.

My apprehension now is it sounds like X has that post production compressed smooth BE tone unlike the more raw open JEL or PT v2 which I dig. Anyone who owns and IR X confirm this?

I don't know about the real amps, but the IR-X sounds more "raw" than the Fractal to my ears. The Fractal has a smoothness to the tone that IR-X does not. I hear the IR-X as having a little more presence in the highs and lows, although the Fractal has more extended high frequencies. I'm not sure of what EQ may be happening though.

Just speaking for myself, the IR-X hits a sweet spot in tone that I really enjoy, and I don't have to think about amp models or IR's or anything. I just turn the knobs and play. I'm tired of tweaking honestly. I said before I would love to have a BE-50 Deluxe and an attenuator but that's not in the cards. The clean tones sound like the clean tones I like, and the gain tones sound like the gain tones I like. It takes pedals like a compressor or drives really well in front, and it sounds really good with effects after the unit as well.

 

[Jarick]

Also I was A/B-ing the HX Stomp vs Friedman IR-X and honestly it might be a little closer than the Fractal? I dunno, I need to spend more time there. The Helix Placater is a killer amp model either way.

 

[Mongillo19]

Also I was A/B-ing the HX Stomp vs Friedman IR-X and honestly it might be a little closer than the Fractal? I dunno, I need to spend more time there. The Helix Placater is a killer amp model either way.

I always found myself A/Bing when having a lot of gear lol it's fun for a little bit but then it gets tiresome imo. Have you felt that way at all?

 

[Jarick]

I always found myself A/Bing when having a lot of gear lol it's fun for a little bit but then it gets tiresome imo. Have you felt that way at all?

Yeah basically every day lol. My gear journey is basically a circle of me trying to get something that sounds great and isn't distracting, but then gets increasingly more complex until I blow it up and start all over!

 

[cragginshred]

Also I was A/B-ing the HX Stomp vs Friedman IR-X and honestly it might be a little closer than the Fractal? I dunno, I need to spend more time there. The Helix Placater is a killer amp model either way.

I need to hear clips of the Plexi side boosted to hear if it can get close to the clip I posted above. Everyone is fixated on the BE side which I would only use for solos. Any way to get you or someone else who has one to make a clip using an iPhone,.. run everything at noon (don't turn up bass which kills mids) and bump the gain on the plexi ch 1 to 3/4 then hit it with a boost of choice?

In Leon's video he did that but it's hard to tell for sure once it start going through a DAW and he was using the an SD-1 which can be a bit sterile sounding but will get the job done

 

[ejecta]

The gist of the X is
1) Real tube amp
2) When they say 'tired of scrolling pages and a million parameters to still be so close but so far away'... They are referring to those who are tired of trying to make a modeler work for live application

Those who love them are primarily bedroom players or those who have used them so long they forgot what a real amp sounds like.

My apprehension now is it sounds like X has that post production compressed smooth BE tone unlike the more raw open JEL or PT v2 which I dig. Anyone who owns and IR X confirm this?

I’m totally with you I the BE tone and feel. It’s why I don’t own a BE. The clips of this, especially the more “plexi side” seem more open like the PT and JEL clips seemed to be so that’s why I’m giving it go. Maybe the BE side of this is a bit more open? Greatly depends as well on the IR or speaker cab so there’s that. Mine is still in the box from Sweetwater due to being stupid busy this week.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I’m totally with you I the BE tone and feel. It’s why I don’t own a BE. The clips of this seem more open like the PT and JEL clips seemed to be so that’s why I’m giving it go. Mine is still in the box from Sweetwater due to be stupid busy this week.

Boo AF!

 

[la szum]

Man, if this was a straight up JCM800 based preamp I'd be all over it like stink on shit.

 

[Whizzinby]

Man, if this was a straight up JCM800 based preamp I'd be all over it like stink on shit.

My guess is if his approach works ($$$) this won’t be the last

 

[Jarick]

I need to hear clips of the Plexi side boosted to hear if it can get close to the clip I posted above. Everyone is fixated on the BE side which I would only use for solos. Any way to get you or someone else who has one to make a clip using an iPhone,.. run everything at noon (don't turn up bass which kills mids) and bump the gain on the plexi ch 1 to 3/4 then hit it with a boost of choice?

In Leon's video he did that but it's hard to tell for sure once it start going through a DAW and he was using the an SD-1 which can be a bit sterile sounding but will get the job done

Here's a quick clip, running the IR-X through the Axe FX 3:



0:00 is the clean channel from gain about 10:00 to all the way up.

0:25 I switch to dirty channel with gain about 9:00 then go all the way up.

0:55 I switch back to clean channel with gain about 1:00 and kick on the Klon in the Axe 3 with gain at 1 and level at 5

1:25 I think it's back to dirty channel with the Klon boost

1:45 clean channel with some effects

2:00 dirty channel with effects

My guitar is a PRS S2 Standard 24 with Suhr SSV's in D standard so it's a little thicker than average.

IR used is the Ownhammer GNR single 57 in sweet spot

 

[la szum]

I just don't always jive with Dave's ear. As much as he says he loves vintage Marshalls his own amps
just don't ooze that vibe. To my ears, anyways.

 

[Jarick]

I just don't always jive with Dave's ear. As much as he says he loves vintage Marshalls his own amps
just don't ooze that vibe. To my ears, anyways.

Yeah I don't know how close this is to a vintage Marshall, the "Plexi" channel isn't all that Plexi to me, still sounds awesome though. It's darker and thicker than what I expect from a vintage Marshall, and the snarling upper mids are reigned way in. Add in more gain, and to me that's a "modern modded Marshall" sound, not vintage.