NAD - Friedman Smallbox 50

[BlueParfait]

Thanks guys

Yeah overall I'm enjoying it a lot. For some reason it sounded better today than it did yesterday too.

 

[DanTravis62]

Congrats on your NAD!

As far as the darkness and smoothness, that's friedman amps "thing" and if you don't like it, idk if there's any overdrive that's really going to fix it.

That's why all the youtuber and home hobbyist types like friedmans, because they sound good by themselves and at low volumes, because of the lack of aggression and high end.

Even so, you can get really nice lead tones out of them, especially the small box with the right OD

I would suggest an SD-1 or maybe a VFE standout or something

It's funny because the JEL and the Plex don't have this voicing.


But the BE family definitely does.

I haven't played either of the first two, but i've played a bunch of the others, and they all have this voicing

It's kind of a courses for horses thing, they sound fantastic for certain use cases and are utterly unusable for others

 

[napalmdeath]

Thanks guys

Yeah overall I'm enjoying it a lot. For some reason it sounded better today than it did yesterday too.

I actually loved the Smallbox. I put KT77's in mine, and it made it a bit more aggressive. I believe I put a Tungsol in V1 & V2, and a Sovtek LPS in V3. Sounded killer.

I've said it a gazillion times.. I wish Dave would update the Runt 50 to PT-20 V2 voicing, single channel, 3-way gain switch & 50 watts and a thump knob I'd be all over it. That would be my ideal Friedman.

 

[guitarded_1]

Congrats on a great amp. I have the Wildwood version and after trying it side by side, I think it's a touch more open sounding that the original SB. The difference is minimal, and both sound killer. I use a Buxom Boost sometimes with mine and it sounds awesome with the SB.

 

[tallcoolone]

As far as the darkness and smoothness, that's friedman amps "thing" and if you don't like it, idk if there's any overdrive that's really going to fix it.

That's why all the youtuber and home hobbyist types like friedmans, because they sound good by themselves and at low volumes, because of the lack of aggression and high end.

IME that isn't the case. For some reason I don't have many good clips of the SB but this is the Twin Sister/Dirty Shirley. A much darker, softer amp than the SB (I've got them both right here). A good EQ/OD box in front (I've never jiv'ed with the loop/EQ thing at all) can do a ton. Pretty sure this is just the Team Medic EQ in front with a little goose--I hear lots of kerrang:

 

[DanTravis62]

IME that isn't the case. For some reason I don't have many good clips of the SB but this is the Twin Sister/Dirty Shirley. A much darker, softer amp than the SB (I've got them both right here). A good EQ/OD box in front (I've never jiv'ed with the loop/EQ thing at all) can do a ton. Pretty sure this is just the Team Medic EQ in front with a little goose--I hear lots of kerrang:

The dirty Shirley has more aggression and top end than the SB

I've played them both and I'm sorry, but youre just not correct on it being a darker, softer amp

I don't know if it's the speakers or whatever but the DS has much more kerrang than any of the standard BE based Friedman's

 

[rushcentrale]

That's a beauty man congrats!

 

[tallcoolone]

The dirty Shirley has more aggression and top end than the SB

I've played them both and I'm sorry, but youre just not correct on it being a darker, softer amp

I don't know if it's the speakers or whatever but the DS has much more kerrang than any of the standard BE based Friedman's

I’ve got them both right here

 

[BlueParfait]

I mean they could be a bit different internally.

I messaged Dave about my SB50 and he asked to see gut shots because he wasn't sure "which era" my amp was.

And so he could tell me which parts to remove if I wanted it to be brighter

 

[mentoneman]

my friend had an older BE-100 he struggled with. i convinced him that an SS V1 would make him happy. it did and he sold the BE.
later got SS V2 and Twin Sister.

of the ones i’ve played for raw marshall my fave is the JEL 100. also loved the clean on that amp.

runners up in order are SS V1, SB, and DS.
haven’t tried PT, Runt or Plex.

 

[Crunchity]

Congrats! Great amp. I had a lot of nice results using a Timmy Boost and running through 55hz H30 Blackbacks (talk about adding some teeth). The Plexi channel and a great boost pedal can get you some killer brown sound vibes.

 

[Juliad]

I

The problem is the low mid voicing for me. thats why I had my BE dlx modded by Dave. He truly does not know 90% of people who have sold their Friedman amps did because there are no mid mids. turn up your presence and treble all you want and it's still not mids, just spikey top end

I dont know why manufacturers don't put a hi mid and low mid knob on their amps. You would be able to change the mid character of the amp easily. I use an ebony or maple fretboard guitar with a JB in the bridge and an original Floyd Rose to give me more upper mids.

 

[BlueParfait]

I guess there's an argument to be had that you'd change the topology and add an extra component to the tone stack.

 

[Zado]

Most Friedman are inherently smooth and polished in the upper end, which makes em very pleasing (for most folks) when played alone, but not as cool when playing in a band.

IME a V1 swap can help but not make a world difference (and no, don't trash JJs as they are reliable - which is something you may need - and dont sound that bad), a speaker swap can be better but you're gonna change your amp sound drastically.

An Eq stomp can prove being very effective, but you gotta try as many don't love the results. A front OD/EQ... Worth a try. If the amp is very smooth, you may wanna check some treble booster, handled with care

 

[BlueParfait]

speaker swap can be better but you're gonna change your amp sound drastically.

Yeah that's the last thing I wanna do because the cab and speakers sound perfect with the 6505+

 

[GuitarGuy08]

I'd bet a Griffin Analog Super Drive would ramp it up to what you are looking for. Definitely can add some growl and top end if that's what you are after.

 

[Zado]

Yeah that's the last thing I wanna do because the cab and speakers sound perfect with the 6505+

You don't have to, if your cab is the Marshall in your signature (GB X EVH) you're not gonna find many speakers with MUCH more bite than that (there are, but neither the EVH or the GB RI are super smooth). Going stomp might be the best choice. This one's a fine ass pedal

 

[itsme]

Presence and treble on 10 and still not enough bright ? Unfortunately there is no EQ which can fix that and it is probably wrong amp for You. I had SB and it was rather darker amp but I cant imagine these settings. I used Friedman Boxom boost to tighten up. Something like Fortin Hex shoul add the agression.

Yikes, that's what I was thinking. On my BE100, I have Presence and Treble on 4 and it's plenty

 

[BlueParfait]

Some gut shots because why not

 

[BlueParfait]

Yikes, that's what I was thinking. On my BE100, I have Presence and Treble on 4 and it's plenty

It actually sounds better backed off.

I guess my ears just weren't working properly either