So what’s the consensus on the BE100 Deluxe?

J

Jon BCN

Active member
So the amp has been out for more than a year now and it’s the new flagship of the Friedman line.

The people who have it, still love it?

I heard some complains about the amp having a fuzz kind of tone and being too dark, but that’s probably user error?

I love the rawness and the brightness of the BE50 Deluxe and I love the Betty clean on that amp, but seems that the BE100 Deluxe it’s a totally different animal.

So, thoughts?
 
can't speak directly as to the Delux but I'd had a Butterslax, a JJ100 w/ MV, and tried my friends BE100

they're really good sounding amps - there's no doubt about it - they sound good

what turned me off was the fact that - IMHO and I'll done my flamesuit - for the price?? shitty quality construction and longevity "yet to be determined"

it's no dis to Dave, as really and truly, what we all oughta be paying for is the "tone" and out of the bunch I still miss my JJ the most, but it just came down to overlap with other amps I have, and what felt like a non-stop excellent roll-out campaign of models...first this, then the 100W model, then this, then the added MV option, then this, then the Deluxe...was an interesting cycle to observe

but for the money? wood screws into ply headshells with crappy tolex jobs, and cheap metal mesh screens?? c'mon....

but the toanz were definitely excellent.
 
Ventura said:
can't speak directly as to the Delux but I'd had a Butterslax, a JJ100 w/ MV, and tried my friends BE100

they're really good sounding amps - there's no doubt about it - they sound good

what turned me off was the fact that - IMHO and I'll done my flamesuit - for the price?? shitty quality construction and longevity "yet to be determined"

it's no dis to Dave, as really and truly, what we all oughta be paying for is the "tone" and out of the bunch I still miss my JJ the most, but it just came down to overlap with other amps I have, and what felt like a non-stop excellent roll-out campaign of models...first this, then the 100W model, then this, then the added MV option, then this, then the Deluxe...was an interesting cycle to observe

but for the money? wood screws into ply headshells with crappy tolex jobs, and cheap metal mesh screens?? c'mon....

but the toanz were definitely excellent.
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I guess Friedman amps have grown exponentially a lot in a very short span of time and for amp manufacturers, the only way to still be in the wave is to release new products, especially in this times of super good modelers. If they don't release new products, they end up competing with the second hand market of their own amps (happened to Splawn). I personally can't complain about it, the more options the better and the easiest way to find one amp that really suits you. It really doesn't bother me if I buy a Friedman and then some years later a "Deluxe" model appears. I had a BE100 and I don't think that the BE100 Deluxe sounds the same, for starters. Plenty of people prefer the previous itinerations of the BE100 because every little detail makes the amps sound different. Some people prefer the BE100 2016 specs, which was more raw and aggressive, some people prefer the BE100 2014 and before, because they were more smooth and record like sounding. At the end of the day, what you have is options.

And I guess the price you pay goes more for the Friedman experience than the sum of the parts of the amplifier. You obviously pay for the name, but also for the amazing quality of his amps to sound actually good at bedroom levels (this is super important to me), the impressive effect loops, the dynamics and versatility, the tones and the excelent customer service.
 
I've had the BE-100 Deluxe for a while now after having owned the majority of the Friedman lineup. It is definitely a killer amp and I wouldn't say that it's dark in the slightest. In my opinion, it's the most flexible of his amps but they've all got that Friedman DNA and feel so it's just subtle differences between each of the higher gain amps. I pretty much live on the BE channel, but I really like having the Plexi channel as a clean channel. Wished the other amps like the SS-100 or JJ-100 had a gain control on the clean channel just so you can have that edge of breakup tone as a clean tone, but that's just personal preference. I recorded my band's new record entirely with a Les Paul Custom into the BE-100 Deluxe.

 
halomojo said:
I've had the BE-100 Deluxe for a while now after having owned the majority of the Friedman lineup. It is definitely a killer amp and I wouldn't say that it's dark in the slightest. In my opinion, it's the most flexible of his amps but they've all got that Friedman DNA and feel so it's just subtle differences between each of the higher gain amps. I pretty much live on the BE channel, but I really like having the Plexi channel as a clean channel. Wished the other amps like the SS-100 or JJ-100 had a gain control on the clean channel just so you can have that edge of breakup tone as a clean tone, but that's just personal preference. I recorded my band's new record entirely with a Les Paul Custom into the BE-100 Deluxe.

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OT but love your demos and I've got your new disc saved in my library, probably one of the best albums I've heard in years. You could have told me it came out in 1995 alongside Jawbox or Helmet or Failure, which is awesome. Good luck with the release and hope you guys can properly play some shows soon!
 
halomojo said:
I've had the BE-100 Deluxe for a while now after having owned the majority of the Friedman lineup. It is definitely a killer amp and I wouldn't say that it's dark in the slightest. In my opinion, it's the most flexible of his amps but they've all got that Friedman DNA and feel so it's just subtle differences between each of the higher gain amps. I pretty much live on the BE channel, but I really like having the Plexi channel as a clean channel. Wished the other amps like the SS-100 or JJ-100 had a gain control on the clean channel just so you can have that edge of breakup tone as a clean tone, but that's just personal preference. I recorded my band's new record entirely with a Les Paul Custom into the BE-100 Deluxe.

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Is that your band, Naked Pictures?
 
I've had most of the big Friedmans, except the Phil and SS. Landed on the JJ and almost got the Be100 DLX and had a chance to compare the two at GC in the Plat room and gig volume. ...I got my JJ at a great price and was likely gonna take a hit swapping them, so I kept the JJ.

Yes, the earlier BE's were more polished, compressed, less raw, but that's definitely not the case with the BE50 and 100 DLX. My JJ is anything but dark with my setup. Always get compliments on how much it cuts.

I loved the BE100 DLX and it too is anything but dark. I supposed some amps are so bright in comparison, like my old Splawn, I usually had my Treble off and Presence pretty low.

They are pricey and it's been debated if the overall value is there. For me, I buy used and look for great deals, so they have been worth it. However, like most, I'm always open to trying new things, but I've been happiest with my Friedmans more than any other brand in my nearly 40 years of playing rodded marshall amps.

Cheers.
 
Jarick said:
OT but love your demos and I've got your new disc saved in my library, probably one of the best albums I've heard in years. You could have told me it came out in 1995 alongside Jawbox or Helmet or Failure, which is awesome. Good luck with the release and hope you guys can properly play some shows soon!
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Thanks so much! Love all those bands, so we're in good company!
 
halomojo said:
I've had the BE-100 Deluxe for a while now after having owned the majority of the Friedman lineup. It is definitely a killer amp and I wouldn't say that it's dark in the slightest. In my opinion, it's the most flexible of his amps but they've all got that Friedman DNA and feel so it's just subtle differences between each of the higher gain amps. I pretty much live on the BE channel, but I really like having the Plexi channel as a clean channel. Wished the other amps like the SS-100 or JJ-100 had a gain control on the clean channel just so you can have that edge of breakup tone as a clean tone, but that's just personal preference. I recorded my band's new record entirely with a Les Paul Custom into the BE-100 Deluxe.

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Zach, you're one of the guys (the other one is Shawn Tubbs) who convinced me to buy the BE 100 Deluxe.
I like your music, man. And you got a great YouTube channel! All the best!
ZFVuw2o.jpg

By the way, I'm loving my Friedman !
 
I much prefer the old Friedman models. The 25uF cap on the last stage doesnt sound as good as the 0.68uF the older non-deluxe models have (in my humble opinion)
 
So, on the topic of the amp being darker. I think BE's are naturally more darker voiced amps (except the BE50 Deluxe which seems to be very bright out of the box and I really like that). My BE100 (2016) with "normal" settings was more dark and polished too, and it sounded good that way. But then you could dial it like this too:



Which is bright and aggressive.

So the question is: can the BE100 Deluxe cope the same tones as those? I guess it can, but so far I haven't heard it and there's some critics of the amp online that had me wondering.
 
Junk Yard Dog said:
I've had most of the big Friedmans, except the Phil and SS. Landed on the JJ and almost got the Be100 DLX and had a chance to compare the two at GC in the Plat room and gig volume. ...I got my JJ at a great price and was likely gonna take a hit swapping them, so I kept the JJ.

Yes, the earlier BE's were more polished, compressed, less raw, but that's definitely not the case with the BE50 and 100 DLX. My JJ is anything but dark with my setup. Always get compliments on how much it cuts.

I loved the BE100 DLX and it too is anything but dark. I supposed some amps are so bright in comparison, like my old Splawn, I usually had my Treble off and Presence pretty low.

They are pricey and it's been debated if the overall value is there. For me, I buy used and look for great deals, so they have been worth it. However, like most, I'm always open to trying new things, but I've been happiest with my Friedmans more than any other brand in my nearly 40 years of playing rodded marshall amps.

Cheers.
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My ss100, that’s been modded a bit, stopped my amp flipping. I LOVE that thing. Everyone that’s played it has been blown away. Some are still trying to actively buy it from me! ?
 
Jon BCN said:
So, on the topic of the amp being darker. I think BE's are naturally more darker voiced amps (except the BE50 Deluxe which seems to be very bright out of the box and I really like that). My BE100 (2016) with "normal" settings was more dark and polished too, and it sounded good that way. But then you could dial it like this too:



Which is bright and aggressive.

So the question is: can the BE100 Deluxe cope the same tones as those? I guess it can, but so far I haven't heard it and there's some critics of the amp online that had me wondering.
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When you say so far you haven't heard it, is that when you played it or heard it online?
 
Jon BCN said:
I haven't played that amp yet, sadly. There isn't one here in Barcelona to try.

Just what I heard online.
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Gotcha. Clips rarely sell me, and if they do, it’s mostly in room. I played the 100 DLX in person for a bout 45 mins with the BE4x12. To me, it easily has the ability to get as bright as my BE50 and brighter than the 2017 BE100. I don’t dime my Treble or Presence, but it also has the Response switch, like the knob on the 50 and those make it more raw and bright.

I wouldn’t base it solely off clip. If you want a brighter 2016 BE100, the DLX will do it.
 
I own it. I had the smallbox with sat switch before this. Best sounding and feeling amp I have played for my style. Works great with the Suhr reactive load IR or the matchign 4x12 cab. The amp can be very very bright if you wish.
 
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