Suhr SL-67 vs Friedman Small Box

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Doughboy

Doughboy

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I'm looking to get a 50watt Plexi head & am torn between these two. However, I'm just going by clips & have never played either side by side.

Does anyone have 1st hand experience with these 2 amps?

Any other 50 watt plexi's anyone wants to throw in is welcome. :thumbsup:
 
Yes, I am pondering this same quandary.

The wildwood special that Reza mentioned almost had my card out.

Pete's demo on the suhr is cool. But it seemed he had to dime it to get honey.

And has no loop. Not a deal breaker but.....
 
Doughboy":3h5h6wsf said:
I'm looking to get a 50watt Plexi head & am torn between these two. However, I'm just going by clips & have never played either side by side.

Does anyone have 1st hand experience with these 2 amps?

Any other 50 watt plexi's anyone wants to throw in is welcome. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


I like the fact that the Friedman has an FX loop, but I also really like the variac switch on the Suhr.

Also, imo, all plexi type amps have to be cranked to get THE plexi tone, which usually means using an attenuater, some of which have an FX loop.

I'd love to try them side by side through the same cab to know for sure. I hate ordering high priced items without having ever played them.

Pete Thorn & Al Estrada's Suhr demos are awful convincing though. :yes:
 
Doughboy":3bre5dti said:
Doughboy":3bre5dti said:
I'm looking to get a 50watt Plexi head & am torn between these two. However, I'm just going by clips & have never played either side by side.

Does anyone have 1st hand experience with these 2 amps?

Any other 50 watt plexi's anyone wants to throw in is welcome. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


I like the fact that the Friedman has an FX loop, but I also really like the variac switch on the Suhr.

Also, imo, all plexi type amps have to be cranked to get THE plexi tone, which usually means using an attenuater, some of which have an FX loop.

I'd love to try them side by side through the same cab to know for sure. I hate ordering high priced items without having ever played them.

Pete Thorn & Al Estrada's Suhr demos are awful convincing though. :yes:
Click to expand...

Actually the smallbox does not have to be cranked, it is a plexi inspired amp but not actually a plexi circuit. I've owned the smallbox but not the Suhr but have had several 50 watt plexi's and currently have some 100 waters and the smallbox is a great amp that does not need near the volume of an actual 50 watt plexi to get the goods, nor does it benefit from an attenuator imho. Has more gain available than a plexi. Can cop some plexi like tones but the BE or plexi channel will never sound spot on to an actual cranked plexi. Depends how close you want to get to plexi or if looking for hot-rodded plexi the smallbox is your amp. Now the Suhr does come with a post phase inverter master volume to control the overall volume of the amp so you can bring the volume down to tolerable levels without going deaf or using an attenuator (the master on back is your attenuator in a sense)
If spending that much money I'd keep researching the smallbox and plexi's.
 
Here's my Germino Lead 55LV. Killer amp. Plug straight in an go or boost it with an overdrive. It cleans up really, really good with the guitars volume too.



 
There are a couple vintage Marshalls on GC.com, a '75 1987 and a 73 1959 for less than 2K. Metal face not true plexi, but they might be worth trying out. Good return policy too.
 
I'll second that.
I was looking for the same thing and the Helios 50 got my money.
The others have their sound - one is a compressed version with lots of lows, the other more authentic.
The Bogner switching options give you the choice of all that, and anything in between.
It is also not just a smaller version of the 100. It has a sweetness all of its own.
 
Yeah, I would for sure take the Helios 50 over the Suhr or the Friedman. The SL-67 and the Smallbox are certainly fine amps, but I liked the Helios better.

And, since you asked for other suggestions, I would consider the Morris GCM 008. I prefer that one to all of the ones mentioned above.
 
littleguitars":3fj9jmtm said:
Yeah, I would for sure take the Helios 50 over the Suhr or the Friedman. The SL-67 and the Smallbox are certainly fine amps, but I liked the Helios better.

And, since you asked for other suggestions, I would consider the Morris GCM 008. I prefer that one to all of the ones mentioned above.
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What about the Morris did you prefer to the Helios?
 
braintheory":3kvvmw65 said:
littleguitars":3kvvmw65 said:
Yeah, I would for sure take the Helios 50 over the Suhr or the Friedman. The SL-67 and the Smallbox are certainly fine amps, but I liked the Helios better.

And, since you asked for other suggestions, I would consider the Morris GCM 008. I prefer that one to all of the ones mentioned above.
Click to expand...
What about the Morris did you prefer to the Helios?
Click to expand...


The Helios is great, no doubt, but the Morris is at another level in terms of touch response. When I play, I mess with the guitar's volume knob constantly, and the Morris is just more dynamic, touch responsive/sensitive to changes in pick attack and the guitar's volume. I played the Morris and the Helios both back to back over a number of months. And I love them both, but the Morris is just in its own league as far as touch response. A lot of it is a feel thing -- I don't really know how to explain it, but that amp just breathes in a way I have never heard before.

This is not to suggest that the Helios does not respond well to your pick attack or volume knob; it just doesn't do it to the degree that the Morris does. I would say though that the mid range on the Morris is not voiced as close to classic Marshall as the Helios, but I kind of like that about it as well.
 
Friedman Smallbox over the Suhr SL-67. Second best in this class is the Bogner Helios.
 
I've got one of the Wildwood Smallbox 50's and it is just a joy to play! Has that Marshall tone we all love from Plexi to modded Marshall and it has three separate footswitchable master volumes. Little more gain and wee bit tighter than the standard Smallbox. Call Steve S at Wildwood....you'll be happy you did! :thumbsup:
 
I'd get the Wildwood version Small Box in a heartbeat if I had the dough
 
I own the small box and i love it. The plexi ch does not get you into the suhr territory at high gain though. the sl68 is high on my list of amps to own someday.
 
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