Friedman Custom Smallbox 20W

[Ufoscorpion]

I'll keep my Marshall. I just can't get into Friedman and I did try. They are too spongy ...like a Marshall/fender to me.

Try a standard runt 50 , absolutely no sponge , definitely tighter than any 800 I’ve owned for example , and there’s been a few of those come and gone .

 

[Del Rei]

Sounds dam good man!

Thanks man! \o/

I'll keep my Marshall. I just can't get into Friedman and I did try. They are too spongy ...like a Marshall/fender to me.

At first, I thought they were almost the same. But today I feel they are in same “family” tone but different characteristics.
I love both.
By ‘spongy’ you mean what, exactly? (Sorry I’m from Brazil, don’t know some meanings). Is it the opposite of tight?

Try a standard runt 50 , absolutely no sponge , definitely tighter than any 800 I’ve owned for example , and there’s been a few of those come and gone .

Never played a Runt. But from what I see in YouTube, they sound really good.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

Thanks man! \o/


At first, I thought they were almost the same. But today I feel they are in same “family” tone but different characteristics.
I love both.
By ‘spongy’ you mean what, exactly? (Sorry I’m from Brazil, don’t know some meanings). Is it the opposite of tight?


Never played a Runt. But from what I see in YouTube, they sound really good.

I think spongy means soft with lack of aggression, the opposite to tight would be loose . Correct me if I’m wrong .

 

[Sapient]

Thanks man! \o/


At first, I thought they were almost the same. But today I feel they are in same “family” tone but different characteristics.
I love both.
By ‘spongy’ you mean what, exactly? (Sorry I’m from Brazil, don’t know some meanings). Is it the opposite of tight?


Never played a Runt. But from what I see in YouTube, they sound really good.

They are in the same family, I agree completely. I'm not trying to dog your amp either at all, bro. It's just up for comments in its context in the thread. Friedman to me sounds mildly "boingy" and even at low gain they have the razor sharp metal tone that I personally dislike. David Grohl use them and to me his sound has no signature other than that of a general metal amp. Marshall is like no other (a good one) that has a tangy "growly" vintage twang that just cannot be beaten. All these amp maker guys try, but all they get is a "next best thing".

To me (my opinion) the opposite to tight is floppy, not spongy. It can still be tight, which that Friedman is. Spongy is a sound that in another way put feels like you're standing in the center of a trampoline. Marshall has the perfect amount of "in your face" stiffness. To go a little deeper it seems it's in the 3d element of the sound - some sounds are encased in sponge and some are encased in a harder yet soft enough element.

I didn't mean to go that far with it but it seems you may be looking for some information.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

All I know is my newly acquired Friedman Runt 50 is tighter and more percussive than any Marshall I’ve played ( admittedly not tried a jvm.) Runts are not high gain ( have more than say a Jubilee which are very dull sounding to my ear ) but take boosts/overdrives so well and will get as heavy as fuck ( still maintaining amazing clarity ) if required.

 

[Del Rei]

They are in the same family, I agree completely. I'm not trying to dog your amp either at all, bro. It's just up for comments in its context in the thread. Friedman to me sounds mildly "boingy" and even at low gain they have the razor sharp metal tone that I personally dislike. David Grohl use them and to me his sound has no signature other than that of a general metal amp. Marshall is like no other (a good one) that has a tangy "growly" vintage twang that just cannot be beaten. All these amp maker guys try, but all they get is a "next best thing".
To me (my opinion) the opposite to tight is floppy, not spongy. It can still be tight, which that Friedman is. Spongy is a sound that in another way put feels like you're standing in the center of a trampoline. Marshall has the perfect amount of "in your face" stiffness. To go a little deeper it seems it's in the 3d element of the sound - some sounds are encased in sponge and some are encased in a harder yet soft enough element.
I didn't mean to go that far with it but it seems you may be looking for some information.

Hey, man!
Interesting... I'm not a metal fan, but like the Friedman tone so much and never made this association. In fact, what I really like about Friedman, is how good it can sound without needing to crank, and also the tightness in the perfect amount... It's a "modern tone" feel, I guess, but nothing to do with gain amount. Maybe what I'm calling "modern" is what you're calling "metal", is it?

This weekend I was trying to record a comparison between my SC20H and my 20W Friedman's... It's hard to get a fair comparison because they have different brightness... Using all EQ at noon, they sound very different. I have to tweak the EQ to make them sound close, and I don't know if using very different EQs is a fair way to compare. But, after matching the EQ and gain, I can tell that Marshall is the less tight of all - and it also sounds very good. Probably will never sell this amp. But I like how Friedman have a modern feel as well.

All I know is my newly acquired Friedman Runt 50 is tighter and more percussive than any Marshall I’ve played ( admittedly not tried a jvm.) Runts are not high gain ( have more than say a Jubilee which are very dull sounding to my ear ) but take boosts/overdrives so well and will get as heavy as fuck ( still maintaining amazing clarity ) if required.

I really love this tight tone, man.
Never played the Runt but I believe it must be very good.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

Hey, man!
Interesting... I'm not a metal fan, but like the Friedman tone so much and never made this association. In fact, what I really like about Friedman, is how good it can sound without needing to crank, and also the tightness in the perfect amount... It's a "modern tone" feel, I guess, but nothing to do with gain amount. Maybe what I'm calling "modern" is what you're calling "metal", is it?

This weekend I was trying to record a comparison between my SC20H and my 20W Friedman's... It's hard to get a fair comparison because they have different brightness... Using all EQ at noon, they sound very different. I have to tweak the EQ to make them sound close, and I don't know if using very different EQs is a fair way to compare. But, after matching the EQ and gain, I can tell that Marshall is the less tight of all - and it also sounds very good. Probably will never sell this amp. But I like how Friedman have a modern feel as well.



I really love this tight tone, man.
Never played the Runt but I believe it must be very good.

I think it’s all in the way Dave Friedman tunes the Pre amps . I’ve heard him say in interviews that he does it at low volume keeping the bass to the minimum amount possible.