Friedman IR-X - Tube preamp & IR Pedal

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnnyGtar
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Fiesta Red said:
I would pay this guy not to make videos about my products

That tone isn't selling anything except earplugs
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He really does make it sound lousy. I only listened to that one for about three seconds before I posted it. My bad. Sorry!
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JMP2203 said:
analog preamp with ir sounds and feels much better that 100% digital
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I always feel like this is true but Im not so convinced these days.

If I use my BE100 as an example - I think that Fractal, Line 6, Neural DSP, ToneX, NAM all offer REALLY accurate models of that amp, to the point where I cant hear or feel a difference.

I love the concept of this pedal but I'm not really hearing that low end chunk that the big amps have. Guessing the "power amp modelling" in there isn't really doing too much besides some EQ curves. All the models I listed above have the means to model the poweramp much better than this pedal does. Curious to hear how it fares through a proper poweramp and cab, because I'd love to "expand" my BE100 with other Friedman preamps.
 
griff10672 said:
Is this another sign that gear is trending to " not having a real amp onstage "
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Once a band goes in ear monitors, the next step is to go direct to the PA.

I don't see this trend in bar bends in my area, but its big in church's. I have been really happy with my Kingsley preamp into CabM+ setup. Before that it was a tube amp into a Suhr RLIR and before that it was in a tube amp into a mic'ed cab behind the wall.

I am seriously interested in this friedman IR-X preamp, it would simply my rig if the cioks Dc7 can power it.
 
Apex1Rg7X said:
You haven't tried the right Friedman then, haha.
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I’ve played a bunch- I’d assume the custom 50 would be what I was looking for but idk about the other stuff- I like super tight modern stuff
 
I need to stay off the internet. Gonna give the IR-X a go... should be here Tuesday. Curious to see how it works as just a preamp using various real amps and cabs. 800, Bassman AB165 , Mk IV, XTC and PS2. Could be some interesting results.
 
Wow... really interested in this. Seems super well thought out. I like the idea of not having to menu dive. If I were to absolutely nitpick, I'd say I wish it had a stereo FX loop and two XLR outs, but those are relatively minor gripes.

Does anyone know if this is made in the US or I'm guessing China based on the price?

Bad.Seed said:
Finally got my video up after a bunch of editing and rendering delays (and still has fucked up b-roll and a bad edit in the first 90 second. Lol)

Really cool pedal, that I can see appealing to someone who wants a direct FOH solution but is afraid/confused by the more complex modeler stuff.
Sounds very Friedman, whether you like that or not will probably be the deciding factor on if you think this sounds good. I still prefer the sounds from the BE-OD deluxe for the heavier stuff, but this pulls off the clean plexi/crunchy stuff much better while still copping the signature Friedman high gain tones. Takes boosts like a champ, too.

If you watch, be prepared for talking. If you don't like talking, don't watch.

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Kyle, I'm not sure if this is an okay place to ask, but I remember watching your preamp pedal shootout from a couple of years ago and I was curious if you've had a chance to try a couple of the other kind of Marshall in a Box preamp pedals such as the Origin Hot Rod Compact and the Kingsley Constable and if so how they compare the Friedman IR-X. Thanks!
 
scottosan said:
I don’t get the benefit of mixing tubes preamps just to wrap it in and IR in the end. If you decide to go the IR route, you might as well just go the profiling or modeling route for the entire chain. Just my 2cents
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A lot of people don’t like fucking around with menus, so something like this is appealing. Dave says that’s the whole point. I use modelers but they do get annoying when you want a tactile “amp-like” experience. This is a less digital experience despite having some digital tech incorporated.
 
Akira said:
If I were to absolutely nitpick, I'd say I wish it had a stereo FX loop and two XLR outs, but those are relatively minor gripes.
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I mentioned that it would nice to have multiple/XLR outputs on another board, and Dave himself was very quick to say it was size that determined that non-headphone output would be limited to one, 1/4". That's cool, but one of the things that makes Fractal stuff so great, IMO, is the routing options with the outputs...that the newer units have mulitple outputs with both 1/4" and XLR AND easy-to-use levels controls for all. May seem like overkill, but I've experience lots of variation when production is provided at venues and lots of options really comes in handy, without the use of splitters and adapters and whatnot.

Aside from that, for me, this seems like a very cool unit for part of a compact, direct rig.
 
He should come out with something like this but with a built in power amp so you can go into a cab.
 
why are some guys obsessed with XLR connectors?

TRS to XLR will literally do the same thing. it can be 100m in length if you need it.
most pro festivals/sound guys will insist on using their DIs anyway
 
Looks pretty cool. I can see one of these in my future
 
Have mine ordered, should be here wed or thur.

I spend 6 months a year on the road for work. I bring a Strandberg, small interface, and my MacBook. And then past that I've tried the Quad Cortex, Fractal FM3, half a dozen Neural DSP suites, Bogren plugins, and a number of other emulators. They always left me wanting. I was always tweaking knobs, fucking with settings, trying different IRs endlessly. So I came full circle and started bringing a tube preamp with me, but I still had the issue of not having power amp emulation. So I think this is the solution I've been looking for. Even though I'm a Diezel guy these days, Friedman was my main sound for years (especially the JJ-100) so I'm very comfortable with those sounds and will happily go back to that. I hope to see more companies follow this format of tube front end/digital back end in one compact device.
 
blackba said:
Once a band goes in ear monitors, the next step is to go direct to the PA.

I don't see this trend in bar bends in my area, but its big in church's. I have been really happy with my Kingsley preamp into CabM+ setup. Before that it was a tube amp into a Suhr RLIR and before that it was in a tube amp into a mic'ed cab behind the wall.

I am seriously interested in this friedman IR-X preamp, it would simply my rig if the cioks Dc7 can power it.
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I see both here in DFW.
This one guy uses both, sounds great regardless of what he's using.
I've seen bands with 2 guitarists, one direct, one amped. These guys usually have their stuff dialed in. It's still funny to me when I see the sound guy walking around with an IPad, making adjustments on the fly.

I'm interested in the IRx, too. I'm curious if it would sound similar to the Phil X going into the SLO effects return.
Going direct to MacBook for recording, and headphone out for silent playing @ home and traveling are bonuses. I'm headed out of town Friday, and would buy one right now if available locally, so I could play my guitar on the road. Also, using it as a hardware IR loader means I can utilize any of my amps with the Suhr RL, and have no need for IR software. Pretty cool.

It can be powered off 9 or 12 volts, no change in sound. Dave said on the Friedman FB page that 12v pulls less current, so if going that route, use a cable doubler coming off the 2 highest current providers of a power supply. Seems to me that'd be enough reason to use 9v from a power supply? I believe it ships with a 12v adapter.
 
Just saw Pete Thorn's demo of the irx. Ran into the music room to see if I could get kinda close with the riff and tone. Literally turned on the camera and played whatever came out. I'd say the tone is there. Phil X through a Marshall 4x12 with GBs and a Soldano 4x12 with V30s.
@scottosan Sunset pickup is soooooo good for these tight 80s sounding hair metal type riffs. Named appropriately I guess. It makes the $400 Squier 70s CV sound as good as my Gibsons and Suhr. Crazy!



I'd be super stoked if the IRX could get that sound thru the effects loop of the SLO, or straight into my MBP.
 
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