romanianreaper
Well-known member
I finally got my Friedman ASM-12 (after a night of torture because I wasn't home yesterday when they tried to deliver) 
Just made me look forward to it more. Right up front, just want to say that I'm extremely satisfied and I think my FRFR G.A.S. is solved.
BACKGROUND:
I have had the Axefx for several years and currently just play thru my cheap computer monitors. I've tried several other solutions and never felt completely satisfied with them for whatever reason. I do want to mention that I have not played everything out there and everyone has different tastes. I also want to mention that I'm primarily a hard rock/metal guy so that is my primary tone. I do like clean and mid gain tones though and need those as well. Here is what I've tried in the past:
- Mosvalve MV-962 and Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs
- Matrix GT-1000FX into two Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs
- Matrix GT-1000FX into one Xitone 1x12 passive wedge
- Matrix GT-1000FX into Matrix NL12 1x12 passive cab
I liked all of the solutions above but felt like I was missing something. I wanted something that translated the tones I heard with computer monitors right over into a FRFR solution.
PACKAGING:
If you get one of these, don't worry about it being dropped. The packaging is so solid that I don't see how it would even slightly do anything. The outer box is solid and there are these two solid cardboard inserts on the ends. I was pretty impressed. Nice to have a box that is so solid that if you had to send something back, you wouldn't worry.
CONSTRUCTION:
This cab kicks ass. When I pulled it out of the box, I felt like a guitarist and not a D.J. Without the pole mount and controls on the back, you would probably not even know this wasn't a regular guitar cab. It reminds me of a mini Mesa Recto 2x12 cab. The tolex feels similar and just reminded me of it for some reason. It really feels solid. It is heavy, but has the handle and also is more compact than a 2x12 cab so not bad. Wouldn't be horrible taking to gigs, etc. Like someone mentioned before, the only thing that I didn't understand was the handle being beneath the cab when it is setup like a wedge. I don't know if Dave did that for a specific reason but just unusual. Not a huge deal but could get scuffed up over time.
EASE OF USE:
The cab is extremely easy to use. You have a switch to turn off some of the bass and a ground switch. That is it and that is all you need. To be honest, I liked the bass switch both on and off. Both sounded outstanding to me. I could tell the difference when using it but it was subtle. Plug and play.
SOUNDS:
From the first note, I knew I was going to be happy with this cab and had found my FRFR solution. I don't feel I NEED another one, but I'm probably going to eventually get one so I can take full advantage of stereo. It sounded fine with just one so I know two will be unreal.
If you are a hard rock and metal player, this is a great cab for you. The low end is right where it needs to be without being flubby and it just has a nice, tight sound when you hit palm mutes. Just outstanding. You forget you are playing thru essentially what is like a P.A. speaker. I really felt like I was playing thru a guitar cab. Clean stuff sounded great as well but the metal riffs, which seems to be harder to nail with FRFR is where it shines IMO.
Not surprisingly, the Friedman amp presets sound great without touching a thing. My modern Van Halen tone sounded great too. The only preset I need to tweak is probably my old Van Halen tone as it is just over the top with treble and presence. That is one thing I love about this cab. It is not trebly, ear piercing, harsh, or like a laser beam to your ears. That is where it is a lot like a guitar cab. I had it pointed right up at me in a wedge configuration and never felt like I was getting a piercing sound.
I set the Friedman upright to see how it sounded and was just as awesome as when I had it setup like a wedge. I don't have a pole to mount it on (insert joke here) but I'm sure it sounds just as great up in the air. It is hard to say what that "it" is regarding the Friedman and why it works but it is just hard to explain. It just does a great job of capturing that palm mute "chug" that sometimes you don't feel with some other solutions. I will say that cab IRs are really important and some are obviously going to translate better than others.
CONCLUSION:
I know a lot of folks are going to wonder how this compares to a CLR or some of the other cabs, etc. I've never heard a CLR so can't compare. As far as some of the others go, they all are great and everyone heard different things. It really depends on your needs. I do think that cleaner tones are easier to achieve across the different solutions. The heavier stuff is where I think some people have struggled to capture the heavy palm mutes, tight low end, etc. The Friedman does it!!!
I hope this helps you guys out if anyone is wondering. Dave, you get an outstanding job with this cab. Thanks!
Just made me look forward to it more. Right up front, just want to say that I'm extremely satisfied and I think my FRFR G.A.S. is solved. BACKGROUND:
I have had the Axefx for several years and currently just play thru my cheap computer monitors. I've tried several other solutions and never felt completely satisfied with them for whatever reason. I do want to mention that I have not played everything out there and everyone has different tastes. I also want to mention that I'm primarily a hard rock/metal guy so that is my primary tone. I do like clean and mid gain tones though and need those as well. Here is what I've tried in the past:
- Mosvalve MV-962 and Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs
- Matrix GT-1000FX into two Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs
- Matrix GT-1000FX into one Xitone 1x12 passive wedge
- Matrix GT-1000FX into Matrix NL12 1x12 passive cab
I liked all of the solutions above but felt like I was missing something. I wanted something that translated the tones I heard with computer monitors right over into a FRFR solution.
PACKAGING:
If you get one of these, don't worry about it being dropped. The packaging is so solid that I don't see how it would even slightly do anything.
The outer box is solid and there are these two solid cardboard inserts on the ends. I was pretty impressed. Nice to have a box that is so solid that if you had to send something back, you wouldn't worry.CONSTRUCTION:
This cab kicks ass. When I pulled it out of the box, I felt like a guitarist and not a D.J. Without the pole mount and controls on the back, you would probably not even know this wasn't a regular guitar cab. It reminds me of a mini Mesa Recto 2x12 cab. The tolex feels similar and just reminded me of it for some reason. It really feels solid. It is heavy, but has the handle and also is more compact than a 2x12 cab so not bad. Wouldn't be horrible taking to gigs, etc. Like someone mentioned before, the only thing that I didn't understand was the handle being beneath the cab when it is setup like a wedge. I don't know if Dave did that for a specific reason but just unusual. Not a huge deal but could get scuffed up over time.
EASE OF USE:
The cab is extremely easy to use. You have a switch to turn off some of the bass and a ground switch. That is it and that is all you need. To be honest, I liked the bass switch both on and off. Both sounded outstanding to me. I could tell the difference when using it but it was subtle. Plug and play.
SOUNDS:
From the first note, I knew I was going to be happy with this cab and had found my FRFR solution. I don't feel I NEED another one, but I'm probably going to eventually get one so I can take full advantage of stereo. It sounded fine with just one so I know two will be unreal.
If you are a hard rock and metal player, this is a great cab for you. The low end is right where it needs to be without being flubby and it just has a nice, tight sound when you hit palm mutes. Just outstanding. You forget you are playing thru essentially what is like a P.A. speaker. I really felt like I was playing thru a guitar cab. Clean stuff sounded great as well but the metal riffs, which seems to be harder to nail with FRFR is where it shines IMO.
Not surprisingly, the Friedman amp presets sound great without touching a thing. My modern Van Halen tone sounded great too. The only preset I need to tweak is probably my old Van Halen tone as it is just over the top with treble and presence.
That is one thing I love about this cab. It is not trebly, ear piercing, harsh, or like a laser beam to your ears. That is where it is a lot like a guitar cab. I had it pointed right up at me in a wedge configuration and never felt like I was getting a piercing sound. I set the Friedman upright to see how it sounded and was just as awesome as when I had it setup like a wedge. I don't have a pole to mount it on (insert joke here) but I'm sure it sounds just as great up in the air. It is hard to say what that "it" is regarding the Friedman and why it works but it is just hard to explain. It just does a great job of capturing that palm mute "chug" that sometimes you don't feel with some other solutions. I will say that cab IRs are really important and some are obviously going to translate better than others.
CONCLUSION:
I know a lot of folks are going to wonder how this compares to a CLR or some of the other cabs, etc. I've never heard a CLR so can't compare. As far as some of the others go, they all are great and everyone heard different things. It really depends on your needs. I do think that cleaner tones are easier to achieve across the different solutions. The heavier stuff is where I think some people have struggled to capture the heavy palm mutes, tight low end, etc. The Friedman does it!!!
I hope this helps you guys out if anyone is wondering. Dave, you get an outstanding job with this cab. Thanks!
