JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
I got my own box of fun…..
JackBootedThug
MURDERATOR
How would your two channel pedal compare to this one Wayne? Of course it’s a Friedman with built in ir’s but kinda curious? Yours is the thruxom? Can’t remember…
LPMojoGL
Well-known member
AMS selling at a discount:
https://www.americanmusical.com/friedman-irx-dual-tube-preamp-pedal/p/FRDIRX
https://www.americanmusical.com/friedman-irx-dual-tube-preamp-pedal/p/FRDIRX
griff10672
Well-known member
that was just a BE Deluxe clone ....this is a totally different thing . I actually really haven't watched any vids of this thing yet ..... it strikes me as someone mentioned before ... basically a Synergy Module with built in IR's .... it's a great idea ... it fills a void in the market to a degree .... but I don't think it's breaking any new ground . It does save you from having to buy multiple pieces of equipment to get the same result .
the conveniency is the sell .....
LPMojoGL
Well-known member
It's more versatile than the Synergy modules, I think. Not too familiar with them.
It's a tube preamp with bypassable IR, effects loop, headphone out, and power amp sim. Can be an IR loader when bypassing the preamp. Able to work in many different scenarios. I think it's a well thought out piece of gear, and won't be surprised when we start seeing other companies coming out with something similar.
Convenience and versatility, it's gonna be a hit.
G
gtr31
Well-known member
I could see Bogner doing one , this seems like it would be something Reinhold would be interested in 2 channel per . with bright and schizo switches from his Synergy line and the adjustable boost
C
cragginshred
Well-known member
We need live clips. super interested. I feel the same way about the FM9 -so close but so far away. Great for rehearsal but no inspiring live .gif "guitar :m17:")
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I think I mentioned it as being a cheaper Synergy module packaged in with IR's because that's what it is.. it takes away the need for a SYN1 that you throw into your loop and this thing can go into your FX loop to use the output stage. Then you still have to buy the module. Most will just use the built in power amp sim and go straight to the house board or console/comp for recording. Down side is.. everyone and their dog will use the IR's on this pedal and everyone will sound the same. Good thing tone is in the hands
Other companies should definitely do this and I can see Soldano doing it next. If you like your power amp or it is neutral enough, this is a no brainer.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
We need live clips. super interested. I feel the same way about the FM9 -so close but so far away. Great for rehearsal but no inspiring live
Is part of that lack of inspiration because we tend to go direct with boxes like these vs pushing air behind us? When I go to shows, an amp and cab on stage seems to be the biggest difference in how a band sounds and plays. They feel it in addition to hear it from the board.
D
DanishDon
Banned
Active member
Why are the power amp sim and the cab tied together? Was thinking about running one of these through the power amp of the Boss TAE and into a guitar cab.
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MikeEast
New member
New to the board. I just finished this pedal board just because I wanted to use pedals and not my Helix, for a change of pace and a project. After getting up the learning curve, and figuring out how to set it up for success, I really like the Friedman IR-X.
Things I've learned;
- Make sure the fan vent on the left side has some room to move air. I fixed this since the pic.
- Don't forget about your gain boosts on that are on the side of the unit. I had to crank these up to get the best tone possible through our PA.
- To avoid PA hiss, have your sound man adjust the PA gain to deliver the volume you need in the house, don't try to control it at the IRX by cranking up the gain/volume. Set your gain and volume at about 50% and let them set it in the house. It required WAY more gain than my line 6 helix does to achieve the same volume. To give you a relative change, we went from -3dB gain on the sound board with the Helix to +12dB with the Friedman to get the equal volume and fullness in the house.
- If you are using a ES5, 8 or comparable, remember the IR-X is like an AMP... its not a pedal, you dont put it in the pedal chain on a 1-8 slot, the IR-X goes at the end of the chain EXACTLY like your amps does, and even if you are using the effects loop. I actually put splitters on the outpput to the amp and ran short cable to the Friedman so that I can either switch on the friedman for a given patch, OR switch it off and plug the amp cables into the side of the pedal board and use an amp. I attached a sketch so you can see what it looks like.
- I saw discussion above about the 1/4" balanced out. I am using a 1/4" TRS to XLR splitter to get out with Stereo Delay/Reverb. I DO NOT LIKE that huge 6" x 1/4" protrustion sticking out of the back of the IRX. Its just begging to cause damage. I am going to get a soft right angle 1/4" male to XLR splitter even if I have to make it myself. It'll be done this week.
- The Friedman is on its own dedicated power supply in the compartment. It is not powered through the VooDoo. And a little extra detail. The power supply you see couldnt keep up with the BigSky and Timeline demands. Its got 300mah outputs and it still overamped and cutoff. So I replaced with a VooDoo Power 3 plus, problem solved.
As far as the tone. It's great. While I was alone in the house(venue) setting it up, it was not as warm as an amp would be, especially when you are a critical audiophile listening to your own isolated sound in an otherwise dead silent room. However, nothing is as warm and pleasant in an isolated room as a real amp. In a live venue with a band playing around it it sounds excellent. I asked our paid professional college grad sound technician how it sounded to him in the mix yesterday both in the house and on our live stream and he said " it said it sounded warm, crisp and chunky, I really liked it we need that kind of warn tone in the mix because we have been missing it". His words, that was a good thing.
Things I've learned;
- Make sure the fan vent on the left side has some room to move air. I fixed this since the pic.
- Don't forget about your gain boosts on that are on the side of the unit. I had to crank these up to get the best tone possible through our PA.
- To avoid PA hiss, have your sound man adjust the PA gain to deliver the volume you need in the house, don't try to control it at the IRX by cranking up the gain/volume. Set your gain and volume at about 50% and let them set it in the house. It required WAY more gain than my line 6 helix does to achieve the same volume. To give you a relative change, we went from -3dB gain on the sound board with the Helix to +12dB with the Friedman to get the equal volume and fullness in the house.
- If you are using a ES5, 8 or comparable, remember the IR-X is like an AMP... its not a pedal, you dont put it in the pedal chain on a 1-8 slot, the IR-X goes at the end of the chain EXACTLY like your amps does, and even if you are using the effects loop. I actually put splitters on the outpput to the amp and ran short cable to the Friedman so that I can either switch on the friedman for a given patch, OR switch it off and plug the amp cables into the side of the pedal board and use an amp. I attached a sketch so you can see what it looks like.
- I saw discussion above about the 1/4" balanced out. I am using a 1/4" TRS to XLR splitter to get out with Stereo Delay/Reverb. I DO NOT LIKE that huge 6" x 1/4" protrustion sticking out of the back of the IRX. Its just begging to cause damage. I am going to get a soft right angle 1/4" male to XLR splitter even if I have to make it myself. It'll be done this week.
- The Friedman is on its own dedicated power supply in the compartment. It is not powered through the VooDoo. And a little extra detail. The power supply you see couldnt keep up with the BigSky and Timeline demands. Its got 300mah outputs and it still overamped and cutoff. So I replaced with a VooDoo Power 3 plus, problem solved.
As far as the tone. It's great. While I was alone in the house(venue) setting it up, it was not as warm as an amp would be, especially when you are a critical audiophile listening to your own isolated sound in an otherwise dead silent room. However, nothing is as warm and pleasant in an isolated room as a real amp. In a live venue with a band playing around it it sounds excellent. I asked our paid professional college grad sound technician how it sounded to him in the mix yesterday both in the house and on our live stream and he said " it said it sounded warm, crisp and chunky, I really liked it we need that kind of warn tone in the mix because we have been missing it". His words, that was a good thing.
Attachments
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Akira
Member
Thanks for the detailed post on your thoughts and experiences with the unit so far! I appreciate the tips on what's worked out well. Just picked up one myself to build a fun fly rig when I can't have my amp.
Can I ask, if I wanted to go stereo to FOH could I just run a stereo effect like the Strymon Timeline after the 1/4" balanced out and then into something like this:
https://www.walrusaudio.com/products/canvas-stereo-dual-line-isolator-d-i?variant=42416441688299
or this:
https://pinstripepedals.com/product/diso-plus-dual-line-isolator-dlx/
M
MikeEast
New member
M
MikeEast
New member
I don’t think you need any other pedals to get stereo out. You’d treat it (Friedman IR-X) EXACTLY like a regular amp.
Without a midi controller I’d do this
Guitar> noise gate > overdrive>distortion>To Friedman INPUT.
Then, run a 1/4” trs From the Friedmans “send” jack out to> delay>phaser>reverb> (whatever) 1/4” trs back to the Friedman “return”.
Then balanced out to a 1/4” TRS split to two separate outs that matchup with you PA stereo input fittings (1/4”, XLR or whatever). No direct box needed, just go straight in.
Important Notes.
1. Again, crank the boost screws up that are located on the right side of the unit.
2. Make sure that you don’t have the FX loop bypassed (on/off hold down middle foot switch) . When you are looking at the front of the IRX MAKE SURE the loop bypass is not active. If it is, nothing will come out of the balanced out, the FX loop only works when it’s activated.
3. The balanced out is a single 1/4” cable, but it’s a TRS output. If you use a 1/4” TRS cable that splits into two separate channels (L/R) and you plug them Into the PA left and right in, it’ll deliver excellent stereo sound for delay and stereo reverb.
If there is something else you are trying to accomplish with those devices, I have to honestly plead ignorant. Im not super knowledgeable about effects, just the ones that I personally use and have studied up on.
I will tell you this just this evening, I added a pair of MXR Duke Of Tone OD/Boost/Dist pedals rigged in series and with second one switched off, and the first one in boost mode with the drive turned down and the volume and tone cranked the sound EXPLODED from the Friedman. It brought the fullness of tone to a whole new level. i paired the DOTs to try to replicate the Original King of Tone sound and yes, they do it, but I'm even more excited about HOW MUCH they made the overall tone and authority of the Friedman improve. When i stomped on the first DOT button with it switched to boost mode it was a WOW moment.
Without a midi controller I’d do this
Guitar> noise gate > overdrive>distortion>To Friedman INPUT.
Then, run a 1/4” trs From the Friedmans “send” jack out to> delay>phaser>reverb> (whatever) 1/4” trs back to the Friedman “return”.
Then balanced out to a 1/4” TRS split to two separate outs that matchup with you PA stereo input fittings (1/4”, XLR or whatever). No direct box needed, just go straight in.
Important Notes.
1. Again, crank the boost screws up that are located on the right side of the unit.
2. Make sure that you don’t have the FX loop bypassed (on/off hold down middle foot switch) . When you are looking at the front of the IRX MAKE SURE the loop bypass is not active. If it is, nothing will come out of the balanced out, the FX loop only works when it’s activated.
3. The balanced out is a single 1/4” cable, but it’s a TRS output. If you use a 1/4” TRS cable that splits into two separate channels (L/R) and you plug them Into the PA left and right in, it’ll deliver excellent stereo sound for delay and stereo reverb.
If there is something else you are trying to accomplish with those devices, I have to honestly plead ignorant. Im not super knowledgeable about effects, just the ones that I personally use and have studied up on.
I will tell you this just this evening, I added a pair of MXR Duke Of Tone OD/Boost/Dist pedals rigged in series and with second one switched off, and the first one in boost mode with the drive turned down and the volume and tone cranked the sound EXPLODED from the Friedman. It brought the fullness of tone to a whole new level. i paired the DOTs to try to replicate the Original King of Tone sound and yes, they do it, but I'm even more excited about HOW MUCH they made the overall tone and authority of the Friedman improve. When i stomped on the first DOT button with it switched to boost mode it was a WOW moment.
M
MikeEast
New member
Interesting. I read up on the second device you shared. At church plugged i to our $85k PA system, there is a VERY SLIGHT hum coming through the PA even with my system muted when it’s attached. Maybe that little box would eliminate that hum altogether. You wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t paying attention but it is there, our sound technician said it disappeared in the mix and is inaudible unless it’s dead silent in the house.
Attachments
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MikeEast
New member
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Akira
Member
Hi Mike, thanks again for the response. You'll have to pardon my ignorance, but after watching the Friedman tonetalk on youtube and going thru the IR-X main thread on thegearpage forums I thought the only way to maintain the stereo signal was by putting stereo effects after the balanced out. I thought since the fx loop on the IR-X doesn't have two returns (L and R) that stereo would be impossible thru the FX loop. May I ask, is the TRS cable from the FX loop allowing a stereo signal to be carried to the single FX return on the IR-X?
Also, I didn't know about the MXR Duke of Tone pedal. I'll have to check that out! I had no idea Analogman did a collab with MXR! Do you have any clips or videos of your setup and with the IR-X boosted by the Duke of Tone?
M
MikeEast
New member
First. I’ll try to post a video asap of the difference with/without the DoT Boost. In the chain. I am ashamed to take a pic at this moment because I’ve got the pedals (2 DoTs) in the chain with long cables because I’m waiting on another pack of solderless right angle 1/4” plugs to arrive so I can makeup the new custom length cables.
. But I’ll take a pic video asap .On the stereo thing, you may be right? I thought I was hearing good stereo in the PA system speakers at church but maybe it was just the ping ponging illusion but not really stereo. If that’s the case, I think I can see how to adjust the cabling to get that to work with the ES8, I’ll have to piddle with it and see if I can make it work! THANKS for the heads up..
E
Econ
Well-known member
Will the boost take channel 2 to HBE territory?
R
robertkoa
Member
I wonder if this unit would have more bass and clarity and less grainy gain - with JJ803s tubes ?