Dave Friedman Introduces the All-New Friedman PLEX - In-Depth Review

[jchrisf]

I’ve seriously thought about adding another one but the price is gone way up since I bought mine. Now I’d probably get the fryette that Nelson made cabs for if I got a second unit.

What did the price used to be for these?

 

[Corey James]

What did the price used to be for these?

I got mine from Sweetwater on a demo {edited to say 990} - my memory was fuzzy, sorry!

Back in 2019.

It wasn’t when it was brand spanking new, but it was not very old yet either

 

[Meeotch]

The Plex is marketed as the first in his "vintage line". Makes me wonder if he will eventually recreate a faithful 2203 or 2204 WITH effects loop. That would get my attention for sure!

 

[DanTravis62]

That said:
WiFi connectivity is inconvenient
If you want the effects, you can’t use them live through your guitar cabinet only through the monitor source
No updates (aren’t needed but you know they’ve stopped developing and it’s limited product lifespan)

This is the main reasons, but ill add another - basically being forced to use Mac, lol.

Also, the permanent, uncontrollable attenuation level.

I vastly prefer using a power station and my own effects, but the Ox is a great solution as far as TIME

You can get very good sounds very quickly, which is why all the youtube guys use them

 

[ZEN Amps]

OX...I wonder why they like and use them?

Speed, ease, convenience, 'silent' operation, repeatability.

 

[Corey James]

Is that a mic'd speaker or IR?

Hey Corey can you take a peek and see what brand 12ax7 preamp tube Dave is using in V1?

JJ ECC83S

 

[harddriver]

JJ ECC83S

Wow....I wasn't expecting to see JJ's in any of Daves amps. I guess JJ must have improved the quality after Dave went with New Sensor because of so many JJ issues, but that was a 3-4 years ago when he made that statement. Usually I find JJECC83's a bit dark but they sounded plenty bright in the clips of the Plex for being used in V1.

Thanks for taking the time to look Cory I appreciate it!

 

[LPMojoGL]

i’m not certain the ox is in play here, but he has used it on previous demos with great results.

Amp sounds cool and all but the playing…holy fuck, Doug. I’m about to quit

Doug makes everything sound good. There's a video of him ripping through a POD that I go back to whenever I'm GASing hard.
It's the reality check I need sometimes.

I tried to make a playlist for the first time ever so I could put them in the same spot. Working on MX stuff with my sons this weekend so may not be around much, but I will be retracking a couple River of Thorns tunes this month with the SL67 and the PLEX.

I'll try to put a little effort into those to show the differences between amps, partially because I want to a/b them myself and partially to see if I have the attention span to do a half decent video

I realize how different they are, but I'm curious how close you could dial in the SLO to the Plex.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

Doug makes everything sound good. There's a video of him ripping through a POD that I go back to whenever I'm GASing hard.
It's the reality check I need sometimes.





I realize how different they are, but I'm curious how close you could dial in the SLO to the Plex.

I compared my 71 to the SLO briefly. Plexi had more mids and SLO had more low end and was a little bitier (new word) in the highs. I’ll revisit this comparison at some point for sure and maybe record

 

[Lightning]

I’ve never had a issue with JJ tubes in general

 

[braintheory]

I compared my 71 to the SLO briefly. Plexi had more mids and SLO had more low end and was a little bitier (new word) in the highs. I’ll revisit this comparison at some point for sure and maybe record

I’ve also compared a few times my 72 SuperLead 100 and ‘89 SLO. I found the 72 was more raw, brash, open, punchy/hard hitting, and more mids like you said, while the SLO had more lows, saturation and a unique, pleasing quality in the uppermids that I can’t quite get the same way in others amps. I find SLO’s to be more of a smoother but still bright amp rather than bite-y. I haven’t tried a BAD era version though

Just a terminology thing, but Marshall’s went from plexi to metal panel somewhere in 1969 and seemed somewhere around then to take on that more brash/hard, brighter character. The Plexi’s I’ve had/still have and tried don’t really have that hard Marshall kerrang often talked about on here. The Friedman’s remind me more of the ‘60’s Plexi’s voicing and I always thought maybe why they don’t do that kerrang thing either

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I’ve also compared a few times my 72 SuperLead 100 and ‘89 SLO. I found the 72 was more raw, brash, open, punchy/hard hitting, and more mids like you said, while the SLO had more lows, saturation and a unique, pleasing quality in the uppermids that I can’t quite get the same way in others amps. I find SLO’s to be more of a smoother but still bright amp rather than bite-y. I haven’t tried a BAD era version though

Just a terminology thing, but Marshall’s went from plexi to metal panel somewhere in 1969 and seemed somewhere around then to take on that more more brash/hard, brighter character. The Plexi’s I’ve had/still have and tried don’t really have that hard Marshall kerrang often talked about on here. The Friedman’s remind me more of the ‘60’s Plexi’s voicing and I always thought maybe why they don’t do that kerrang thing either

All of that makes sense to me

 

[Corey James]

Good stuff

Yeah the bright switches on the plex are very bright if selected to the right, may overwhelm any darkness in a JJ

If somebody mixed both channels and had both switches to the right, it would be very silly in my opinion. That bite Is pretty fierce.

I think the presence knob should be turned down with the bright switches on anyways, listening back to my video from knight, number one it’s very bright in comparison, to what kind of settled into. Doug had has bright engaged and presence turned down and that’s a good choice.

Regarding the slo, I think the crunch channel maxed to 11 is similar to the Friedman Plex but I haven’t recorded them back to back. Maybe I will do that when I record the SL 67 as well.

Y’all are giving me homework but it’s something that I want to do anyways!

 

[CarlF]

Having owned over a dozen SLO 100's since 1990, and uncountable Marshalls as well, I can't help but chuckle. Every time a new amp comes out, guys have to know if their " " amp will get similar sounds as the new one. In this case, a 50 watt Marshall clone.
The answer is NO. NO channel on an SLO will get those tones.

Save your $$$ and get a Ceriatone. My old Ceriatone 50 watt w/ 6550's was as good as this thing.
The Origin head shell is cheap-looking as well.

 

[LPMojoGL]

I compared my 71 to the SLO briefly. Plexi had more mids and SLO had more low end and was a little bitier (new word) in the highs. I’ll revisit this comparison at some point for sure and maybe record

I would love to hear that. And maybe with an eq in the effects loop of the SLO to dial it closer?
I noticed in your JCM video you had the presence way up on the SLO. I did the same thing when I compared mine to the JCM, to get the same bite(ier) and mids. I typically run it and treble 6-7 on the dial, mids 3.5-4, depth 3-4. Cranking the presence and depth seems to affect the overall tone of the amp, more than just adding highs and lows.

Anyway.........sorry for the SLO hijack. Back to your regularly scheduled Friedman fodder.

 

[Corey James]

Or just get old(er) and buy one of everything.

 

[harddriver]

Good stuff

Yeah the bright switches on the plex are very bright if selected to the right, may overwhelm any darkness in a JJ

If somebody mixed both channels and had both switches to the right, it would be very silly in my opinion. That bite Is pretty fierce.

I think the presence knob should be turned down with the bright switches on anyways, listening back to my video from knight, number one it’s very bright in comparison, to what kind of settled into. Doug had has bright engaged and presence turned down and that’s a good choice.

Regarding the slo, I think the crunch channel maxed to 11 is similar to the Friedman Plex but I haven’t recorded them back to back. Maybe I will do that when I record the SL 67 as well.

Y’all are giving me homework but it’s something that I want to do anyways!

If a modded 2203 circuit could exactly reproduce how and what a plexi does then Dave Friedman and John Suhr would have stopped at the BE100, Smallbox 50 and the Suhr OD, PT 100, these can get close and provide people with those gained out Marshall tones with a LOOP and alot of guys want the modded gained out tones and there is a place for those amps.

I think Dave spent alot of time spec'ing out parts and values to get a reproduceable copy of his 68 plexi... that might be worth it to some and to others a Ceriatone will do. I'm sure Nick is ordering a Plex right now.......

Yet..... still the plexi circuit still does things the 2204/2203 circuits can't quite capture. Two gain stages into overdriving of the Phase Inverter and a distorted signal hitting the power tubes just right while they are clipping or on the edge of clipping and the NFB of a plexi all add up.

That's why when you play a good plexi you want to here that from other amps. I am Marshall guy what can I say.......

 

[harddriver]

The Origin head shell is cheap-looking as well.

I think alot of people are wanting smaller headshells because of weight and size and Dave is just catering to what he sees in the market.

 

[itsme]

Good grief. How many more plexi recreations do we need? Can’t anyone develop an interesting new circuit design?

 

[Chubtone]

Good grief. How many more plexi recreations do we need? Can’t anyone develop an interesting new circuit design?

Interesting new circuit design? There are plenty of those out there. You weren't expecting a thread with the words "Friedman Plex" in the title to be about an interesting new circuit design were you?