FRIEDMAN SS100

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sixty-niner

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Hey everyone,
I have had my SS100 since 2018 and mine is a very dark amp, I am always cranking the precense to about 3 o'clock and the mid and trebel to around 2 o'clock regardless of the guitar or cab I use.
I use the original SS100 412 cab loaded with V30s which to me sounds better than my other friedman 4x12s with Greenys and V30s. I have had many other friedman amps and have never felt the need to put the presence past noon, where in this one It just seems super muffeled if I dont. like it has cardboard over the cab but when I do its amazing but is this normal? Or could something be wrong with it? anyone have one and have use similar settings on the gain channel? If I could find one at a store I would compare it but these are difficult to find.
If you have one or have spent some time with one did you crank the presence too? did you find it dark?
thanks.
ERIK
 
I find a lot of Friedman amps have a subdued high end response.
I think that’s attractive to a majority of players that have experienced the “ice pick” high end common in certain amps.
As long as you can get your amp to sound the way you want, I wouldn’t worry about where your knobs are set.
 
The one I played was also as dark as you’re describing. Darker than other Friedman’s. Wasn’t for me, but imo there’s nothing wrong with settings like you do if it gets the sound you want. Plenty of amps where I had to do very weird settings to get the best results
 
burger said:
The SS uses an audio taper treble pot, meaning that when its at midday its the same as a normal linear pot set at 1. Crank that treble pot up to say 7 or 8 and the amp should come to life.
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^ This right here. And almost all the action in the Presence is way up high on the dial.

And make sure the NFB wire is connected to a 4ohm speaker jack.
 
I run the presence on my jj100 at 2 o'clock. I also have a butterslax which is brighter/tighter than jj so I run presence a little lower than on my jj. While I haven't played the ss, 3 o clock sounds like it could be reasonable depending on your eq choices.
 
I run mine with presence at 2 o'clock and treble at 1. Sounds perfect to me, smooth and cutting but not harsh and fatiguing.

Mine is currently blowing fuses and I need to pop the hood sort it out. Just waiting on Dave to reply to my email.
 
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sixty-niner said:
I have had my SS100 since 2018 and mine is a very dark amp, I am always cranking the precense to about 3 o'clock and the mid and trebel to around 2 o'clock regardless of the guitar or cab I use.
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Being a 2018 yours should already have the NFB wire on a 4ohm speaker jack. Those are very close to the settings I used. That's just the way it was made and totally normal to run it that way imo.
 
It changes with different guitars and cabs but I basically run mine with presence around 1:00 to 2:00. I’ll push the treble just below 3:00. Mids will vary but usually in the 2:00 range. Bass can be past noon and beyond with a really wide sweep depending on what I’m going for and using.

I wouldn’t say my settings are bright but I try and just push past the smoothness of the amp. It’s my favorite all time and really gets an ideal almost recorded modded Marshall tone.

Usually don’t run treble that high on other amps but it’s what I hear with the SS100.
 
Philhouse said:
I run mine with presence at 2 o'clock and treble at 1. Sounds perfect to me, smooth and cutting but not harsh and fatiguing.

Mine is currently blowing fuses and I need to pop the hood sort it out. Just waiting on Dave to reply to my email.
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Power tubes first. Go from there.
 
The subdued highs makes it more friendly to volume. Without the tapered highs, modded Marshall type circuits can be downright unbearable and cut your head off. It’s also harder to keep those ice pick highs as gain is piled on and the amp stay stable.
 
gtrwun said:
Power tubes first. Go from there.
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Thats the way I'm thinking, although it's an expensive quick fix these days :( I've ordered some anyway. FU Putin.
I blew the Main fuse a while ago, replaced it to check it again and its been playing perfect for weeks. It blew the HT fuse this week, power stayed on so I could see the tubes were all lit up with no redplating, flashing or visible burn signs. Nothing glaringly obvious. I'm waiting on replacement fuses for the HT slot from eBay. I'll check bias again naturally. Just thought I'd ask Friedman if there was any other things I could perhaps check too while have it up on the hoist.
 
last time at my friend’s studio i shot a quick iphone vid as we dialed in his SS trying to find the fine balance between fattest crunch tone and enough gain to solo without the lead boost on



with the lead boost on it gets the hair trigger pinch harmonics legato level gain at will, but without it takes more finesse. i prefer no boost for that huge full tilt plexi *tone* while retaining the clarity and voice of the mids and highs.
 
mentoneman said:
last time at my friend’s studio i shot a quick iphone vid as we dialed in his SS trying to find the fine balance between fattest crunch tone and enough gain to solo without the lead boost on



with the lead boost on it gets the hair trigger pinch harmonics legato level gain at will, but without it takes more finesse. i prefer no boost for that huge full tilt plexi *tone* while retaining the clarity and voice of the mids and highs.
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Lots of effects on there, but great tone nonetheless. Sounds like it would be fun to play. 👍👍
 
gtrwun said:
Lots of effects on there, but great tone nonetheless. Sounds like it would be fun to play. 👍👍
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i actually rolled off tons of things he had going on fx wise to arrive at that tone, including peeling back on the gain! the amp likes to be turned up for the power tubes to hit the sweet spot in the tone/feel balance point.

otherwise it’s easy to fall into the “need more gain” game which may be easier to play but tone starts to thin out, compress, splatter up top, and suffer.

he used to have a BE100 and i convinced him to try the SS, which i knew was more his cup of tea. he fell in love with it and quickly sold the BE. it’s a blast to play, killer clean channel too!
 
glpg80 said:
The subdued highs makes it more friendly to volume. Without the tapered highs, modded Marshall type circuits can be downright unbearable and cut your head off. It’s also harder to keep those ice pick highs as gain is piled on and the amp stay stable.
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Of course, one can always turn down the Treb/Pres if needed, no? I’ve never cared for the earlier Friedmans since even with pres/treb dimed it’s borderline too dark for me. With my boosted stock or any modded Marshall I owned, I always dime the presence and start with treb on 0 and go from there. Always room to darken if needed.

I should add that the newer versions seem to have more eq range and a better ability to get bright/raw.
 
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