Any Friedman Guitar Owners?

[romanianreaper]

I'm a Charvel guy and wondering how the Friedman Cali would compare with my Charvel USA DeMartini? Wondering if the neck is similar, bridge pickup tones, etc.

 

[Metlupass2]

I have a cali and a vintage s, both have Floyd's the cali is hh and vintage s is hsh. Alder bodies and maple necks. I really like them. They play as good as my suhrs but with a different neck profile. Super comfortable to play. The cali is a little more aggressive sounding than the vintage s even though they have the same bridge and neck pickups. Classic + in bridge and classic neck. Vintage s sounds a little rounder on the bottom end and doesn't have quite as much bite in the high end. Still sounds great, just different. My guess is it's the top route vs. Rear route. I was thinking of swapping in an afwayu to the bridge of the vintage s to see if it would tighten it up a bit. The cali is fantastic as is.

Pics please.

 

[GOHOINC]

 

[Zado]

Hopefully better made than the GJ2 series.

What was wrong with GJ2 guitars?

I've played 2 GJ2's and both were duds. They felt as if the the were USA made guitars using budget parts. That being said. I have heard that they make guitars for several other brands and those guitars are high quality

Such a shame, I've always thought they looked badass. Still curious to try those Friedman, they are seid to have a nice broken in feel to them.

 

[El Mariachi]

I'm a Charvel guy and wondering how the Friedman Cali would compare with my Charvel USA DeMartini? Wondering if the neck is similar, bridge pickup tones, etc.

Friedman necks are rounder and fatter than the Charvel neck profile.
I used to have a USA DeMartini, so I'm familiar with your guitar.

The Friedman is pretty comfortable feeling, but definitely has more girth to it. Definitely a "C" shape as opposed to the flatter back shape you find on a Charvel.

I think it fills the void for folks that feel that the other super strats out there are too slim feeling.

Hope that helps.

 

[romanianreaper]

I'm a Charvel guy and wondering how the Friedman Cali would compare with my Charvel USA DeMartini? Wondering if the neck is similar, bridge pickup tones, etc.

Friedman necks are rounder and fatter than the Charvel neck profile.
I used to have a USA DeMartini, so I'm familiar with your guitar.

The Friedman is pretty comfortable feeling, but definitely has more girth to it. Definitely a "C" shape as opposed to the flatter back shape you find on a Charvel.

I think it fills the void for folks that feel that the other super strats out there are too slim feeling.

Hope that helps.

Hey thanks man! I tell ya, I just picked up a used Eric Clapton signature Strat from 1991 and the neck is amazing on that thing. I imagine it is similar to the Friedman because it has more girth but never feels like a baseball bat.

 

[GOHOINC]

I'm a Charvel guy and wondering how the Friedman Cali would compare with my Charvel USA DeMartini? Wondering if the neck is similar, bridge pickup tones, etc.

Friedman necks are rounder and fatter than the Charvel neck profile.
I used to have a USA DeMartini, so I'm familiar with your guitar.

The Friedman is pretty comfortable feeling, but definitely has more girth to it. Definitely a "C" shape as opposed to the flatter back shape you find on a Charvel.

I think it fills the void for folks that feel that the other super strats out there are too slim feeling.

Hope that helps.

Hey thanks man! I tell ya, I just picked up a used Eric Clapton signature Strat from 1991 and the neck is amazing on that thing. I imagine it is similar to the Friedman because it has more girth but never feels like a baseball bat.

I think the clapton's are more of a v shape, the friedman is a a C. They are 1 11/16 nut so wider at the nut than a stock Suhr modern elliptical, there's some girth but theyre not thick by any means. They feel better imo than the suhr modern satin I had, the satin felt too small in my hand, I have a couple suhr drips that feel great but still smaller than the Friedman. I had a warmoth Clapton profile for a long time and these feel better imo and a bit fuller through fret 1-6 than the Clapton profile due to the shoulder difference of c vs v. These arent as thick as the clapton profile , i dont think, but shape still feels fuller in the hand.

 

[romanianreaper]

I think the clapton's are more of a v shape, the friedman is a a C. They are 1 11/16 nut so wider at the nut than a stock Suhr modern elliptical, there's some girth but theyre not thick by any means. They feel better imo than the suhr modern satin I had, the satin felt too small in my hand, I have a couple suhr drips that feel great but still smaller than the Friedman. I had a warmoth Clapton profile for a long time and these feel better imo and a bit fuller through fret 1-6 than the Clapton profile due to the shoulder difference of c vs v. These arent as thick as the clapton profile , i dont think, but shape still feels fuller in the hand.

Yep, absolutely right. I looked up my guitar last night after I posted that and did see that it is a V shape. I don't think I've ever played a V shape, or don't remember if I have. I definitely dig C and V shapes so the Friedman would definitely feel good in my hands. I have one custom made guitar that has a baseball bat type neck and I think that is the only neck I'm not a fan of. I think that is why with Les Pauls, I always like the 60s necks versus the 50s necks.

I love all types of guitars but it is nice when you play a guitar and it feels like an extension of your arm and is effortless. Almost any Charvel I pick up, I get that feeling and I'm sure the Friedman is the same.

 

[Rango]

I really "want" to like those guitars... But they just miss the mark for me visually.

Love Dave's amps and Grover is a great builder but visually they just "off" to me? Heavy relic on plain paint.... I guess I want something to pop?
I'm sure they sound and play great...but so do Suhr, Tom Anderson and a bunch of others.

I saw a blue "Metro" that was much better looking.

 

[PAULYC2]

.

 

[Metlupass2]

Well 8 months later and I gots me one. A Cali heavy aged in white with a rosewood fingerboard.

Verdict is....... Very nice!

 

[Econ]

I have one on order that should be in my hands in the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[Metlupass2]

Nice what did you order?

 

[Econ]

I ordered a Cali basically identical to the purple metallic one that is in the website under the Cali models.

 

[GOHOINC]

I'm awaiting a third Friedman axe, this one a custom order. Vintage T heavy relic in metallic blue over candy green, mahogany body w tortoise pickguard, ebony board with the gotoh 510 trem. Admittedly, I havent had the best luck with custom orders from Friedman. I've had two custom tolex orders get screwed up in the past and I've been waiting 4 months for my modded JJ Jr to show up as the one they originally built apparently got lost or shipped to someone else? In any case, they have always made it right and I love what they do, so I keep going back for more. If this order is correct, it should be a pretty crazy looking and awesome instrument, fingers crossed...

 

[MrDowntown]

I'm awaiting a third Friedman axe, this one a custom order. Vintage T heavy relic in metallic blue over candy green, mahogany body w tortoise pickguard, ebony board with the gotoh 510 trem. Admittedly, I havent had the best luck with custom orders from Friedman. I've had two custom tolex orders get screwed up in the past and I've been waiting 4 months for my modded JJ Jr to show up as the one they originally built apparently got lost or shipped to someone else? In any case, they have always made it right and I love what they do, so I keep going back for more. If this order is correct, it should be a pretty crazy looking and awesome instrument, fingers crossed...

Ooooo...when is the eta on your Custom T? pictures are a must...(i guess that goes w/o saying)

 

[PBGas]

I have tried a couple of them and they were both really, really nice feeling, playing and sounding guitars.

 

[GOHOINC]

I'm awaiting a third Friedman axe, this one a custom order. Vintage T heavy relic in metallic blue over candy green, mahogany body w tortoise pickguard, ebony board with the gotoh 510 trem. Admittedly, I havent had the best luck with custom orders from Friedman. I've had two custom tolex orders get screwed up in the past and I've been waiting 4 months for my modded JJ Jr to show up as the one they originally built apparently got lost or shipped to someone else? In any case, they have always made it right and I love what they do, so I keep going back for more. If this order is correct, it should be a pretty crazy looking and awesome instrument, fingers crossed...

Ooooo...when is the eta on your Custom T? pictures are a must...(i guess that goes w/o saying)

Should be any time now. Last update I got said end of this month, so we will see...

 

[Thunkful]

They probably are good guitars for sure, but after i discovered the partscaster route i haven't seen any reasons to spend fucking 3k on a single guitar.

 

[Metlupass2]

They probably are good guitars for sure, but after i discovered the partscaster route i haven't seen any reasons to spend fucking 3k on a single guitar.

Pics?