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Dang.....what a great amp!
In praise of the Friedman Smallbox
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TonyFlyingSquirrel
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I’ve never played a bad Friedman, fantastic brand, great build quality, up there with Mesa Boogie.
The BE-100 and the JJ versions both small and full strength are my faves.
The BE-100 and the JJ versions both small and full strength are my faves.
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Ya, believe it or not I am Marshall-less now. The Smallbox is black and gold though, so I still feel good about it.
Now I'm fighting the urge to buy the matching vertical 2x12 cab. Thing is, I already have a 2x12 cab with V30's, so I wouldn't get anything I don't already have.....except a matching set!
Anybody want a MojoTone 1936-style 2x12 cab w/ Vintage 30's?
Hodgo
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DM if serious
bagman67
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Sounds tasty, but I don't have the scratch to buy the cab AND pay for shipping from Georgia.
bonesofwrath
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The new JTM20 has my attention
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The combo weighs about 50lbs IIRC, but I swore off combos many years ago. The head only weighs about 34lbs.
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Ya, the shipping will be the killer. But think of the prestige of owning a cab previously owned by me!!
I'll even include an autographed letter of authenticity, a personalized photo (should I just make the inscription out to bagman67?), a signed copy of my last album, and two commemorative aarontunes guitar picks if it seals the deal.Should I just go ahead and send you my PayPal info now?
bagman67
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Ya, the shipping will be the killer. But think of the prestige of owning a cab previously owned by me!!
Should I just go ahead and send you my PayPal info now?
“Oh, you can give me a half dozen of those Vulcan D10s & set my friend up with the whole schmeer. You know, clubs, bag, shoes, gloves, shirt, pants. Hey, orange balls! I'll have a box of those & give me a box of those naked lady tees and gimme two of those and six of those...”
rauchman
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@aarontunes
I remember previously you had much praise for the EVH 5153 50w head with the 6L6 tubes, as well as various DSL Marshalls, both of which I have (EVH 5153 50w 6L76 and Marshall DSL 40w CR).
I like, but don't love these amps. The blue and green channel on the EVH are good, but IMHO, there is always a trebbly'ness I can't dial out. I've found, having the Presence control set to zero gets me closest to what I want. With the Marshall, channel switching delays are annoying.
How does the Friedman compare?
I remember previously you had much praise for the EVH 5153 50w head with the 6L6 tubes, as well as various DSL Marshalls, both of which I have (EVH 5153 50w 6L76 and Marshall DSL 40w CR).
I like, but don't love these amps. The blue and green channel on the EVH are good, but IMHO, there is always a trebbly'ness I can't dial out. I've found, having the Presence control set to zero gets me closest to what I want. With the Marshall, channel switching delays are annoying.
How does the Friedman compare?
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The Smallbox has less treble for sure. You won't have any issues with a high end that you can't dial out with this amp. It's also more compressed than either of the other two, in a good way IMO.
The crown jewel of the amp is the plexi channel IMO. Sounds fantastic with a Tele. The BE channel is no slouch either, and I've settled on it as just the right amount of gain for me. OTOH, the 5150 has more gain than any human could ever need, almost to the point of being annoying. I like the DSL more, but the channel switching is annoying, and when I play it now I really miss how the compression the Smallbox adds, which allows me to hear all those notes and nuances I could never quite get to sound right.
For example, the part on Atomic Punks where Ed is rubbing the side of his palm against the strings. For the first time ever it sounds right. Same with the tapped harmonics on the intro to Mean Streets.
It's a very versatile amplifier.
rauchman
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The Smallbox has less treble for sure. You won't have any issues with a high end that you can't dial out with this amp. It's also more compressed than either of the other two, in a good way IMO.
The crown jewel of the amp is the plexi channel IMO. Sounds fantastic with a Tele. The BE channel is no slouch either, and I've settled on it as just the right amount of gain for me. OTOH, the 5150 has more gain than any human could ever need, almost to the point of being annoying. I like the DSL more, but the channel switching is annoying, and when I play it now I really miss how the compression the Smallbox adds, which allows me to hear all those notes and nuances I could never quite get to sound right.
For example, the part on Atomic Punks where Ed is rubbing the side of his palm against the strings. For the first time ever it sounds right. Same with the tapped harmonics on the intro to Mean Streets.
It's a very versatile amplifier.
Excellent info.....thanks
You're making the wallet tremble
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It's a great amp.
You mentioned that channel switch delay on the Marshall. I am not much of a channel switcher so that never bothered me much. When playing live I usually keep things on one channel and dial back the guitar's volume for my cleanish sounds.
Just for you I'm firing up the Smallbox right now to check the channel switching.
While we wait: if you're shopping used be aware that there several iterations of the Smallbox out there. There is a 26" shell, and 24" shell (newer of the two), and the newest versions has a "Thump" control on the back. I have the 24" version with no thump control.
OK, the amps warmed up now. Let me check....
No delay. No pops or clicks. You are able to flip back and forth between channels seamlessly.
And since I'm working commission-free for Dave Friedman now I will add that of all the multi-channel amps I've ever tried, this one is the best at making both channels sound like natural extensions of one another, rather than completely different circuits. Tonally speaking, the BE channel sounds exactly like the Plexi channel, just with more gain. It's a beautiful thing.
If you want to hear it be sure to check out the video I am posting this Thursday. I compare a Les Paul vs Meadowhawk vs my Warmoth Tele-Paul build. I do five clips, and the first four are through the Smallbox. (Last is through the Plexi patch on an FM3. You'll be able to hear the difference!)
rauchman
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Fantastic info.....thanks!
TonyFlyingSquirrel
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The JJ is my fave, but the BE100 is right in there as my 2nd.
The BE100 is right in there in EVH territory, being the best of hot rodded Plexi, Bogner Uber, and ch 3 of a Deizel VH4 with the gain pulled back quite a bit.
The BE100 is right in there in EVH territory, being the best of hot rodded Plexi, Bogner Uber, and ch 3 of a Deizel VH4 with the gain pulled back quite a bit.
jay4321
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Super late to the party but I was extremely, extremely impressed with the Smallbox. I very nearly purchased one but decided to try the entire Friedman range first & that led me instead to the BE-50D. I wouldn't say even now that I consider one "better" than the other, but I felt the BE-50D cleans + BE channel were a more ideal combo for me personally considering the gear I already own...
For you folks on a tighter budget looking for an affordable approach to the Friedman plexi sound, the IR-X at $500 is incredible. It's far and away the most credible MIAB-type solution I've had my hands on & doesn't really make much sense that it's as good as it is, and I've wired it up every which way - effects loop of a big amp, direct in & through a 170w Power Stage. I presumed the tubes it it were maybe a gimmick but bottom line it's the first piece of small kit that I don't really have to qualify next to this or that.
For you folks on a tighter budget looking for an affordable approach to the Friedman plexi sound, the IR-X at $500 is incredible. It's far and away the most credible MIAB-type solution I've had my hands on & doesn't really make much sense that it's as good as it is, and I've wired it up every which way - effects loop of a big amp, direct in & through a 170w Power Stage. I presumed the tubes it it were maybe a gimmick but bottom line it's the first piece of small kit that I don't really have to qualify next to this or that.
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jay4321
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Gotta say this Friedman guy is the real thing. I've had some pretty good-sounding amps but they all have their little idiosyncrasies and imperfections, this one doesn't come with anything I can take issue with. Dialing it in is easy, the knobs operate straightforwardly, the clean channel is basically a good amp on its own rather than an afterthought, no channel switching issues, don't have to groan about the loop or channel switching issues. Doesn't need to be attenuated when I need to turn it down, it's not noisy, etc.
For sure it's completely sucked away any interest I had in my other amps or amps I used to own, I can't imagine ever owning some of the fire breathers like an 800 or Soldano again. None of my Fenders have anything on the clean channel at all really, other than reverb or trem build in, which is kind of a monumental thing to say for me since there aren't too many Fender combo amps I don't like. And here I'm playing through a large 2x12 recto cab and not an open back or anything.
If he ever did a 3-channel with the BB clean + BE channel + Plexi together in one amp (and let the HBE channel go) that would probably be the only thing that would have me replace this one. And at 50w, which is perfect for this too.
For sure it's completely sucked away any interest I had in my other amps or amps I used to own, I can't imagine ever owning some of the fire breathers like an 800 or Soldano again. None of my Fenders have anything on the clean channel at all really, other than reverb or trem build in, which is kind of a monumental thing to say for me since there aren't too many Fender combo amps I don't like. And here I'm playing through a large 2x12 recto cab and not an open back or anything.
If he ever did a 3-channel with the BB clean + BE channel + Plexi together in one amp (and let the HBE channel go) that would probably be the only thing that would have me replace this one. And at 50w, which is perfect for this too.
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