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NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

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  • NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

    Got my Wildwood Taco several days ago. Such a rich, complex, musical, singing tone. DAYUMMM!!! I was convinced that my BE100 was my holy grail and nothing could touch it. But after spending several hours a night with it this week, I'm just in love with it.

    My first Friedman (of five) was a regular Taco a couple of years ago. It was pleasing to the ear, but had zero bottom end grunt or girth. Sounded small to me. So I looked for more wattage, and was much happier with the Small box, Dirty Shirley, and BE100. The BE has been my holy grail of all amps that I've owned. I also demoed a Mini Dirty Shirley for a couple of weeks that was great, and the biggest sounding 20-watter I've ever heard. But Shirleys big and small tend to be spongier than I like. The Smallbox and especially the BE are tighter, but still big sounding.

    Well, the Wildwood Taco has girth like the Mini Shirley, but the tight BE sound. It really is a small head, single channel BE. In A/B'ing it with the BE100... It's got nearly the bottom and girth of the BE, as well as similar volume below 10:00 on the master. Dunno yet what happens above that volume because that's ear plug loud. It's a bit spongier, but still dead-on BE-like. And because of its lower wattage rating, I think that it's sweeter sounding. If this thing had the amazing clean channel of the new BE50, I'd sell everything and just rock a pair of Wildwood Tacos. It really is in the top two or three Marshall-flavored amps I've ever owned or played. Right up with the BE100 and BE50.

    Sorry about no pics. I haven't uploaded any yet.
    "Always remember... all you do in life, comes back to you" - Roy Kahn, formerly of Kamelot, during the intro to "Karma" on their One Cold Winter's Night DVD

    http://www.soundcloud.com/jwflamenco

  • #2
    Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

    Originally posted by Red_Label View Post
    Got my Wildwood Taco several days ago. Such a rich, complex, musical, singing tone. DAYUMMM!!! I was convinced that my BE100 was my holy grail and nothing could touch it. But after spending several hours a night with it this week, I'm just in love with it.

    My first Friedman (of five) was a regular Taco a couple of years ago. It was pleasing to the ear, but had zero bottom end grunt or girth. Sounded small to me. So I looked for more wattage, and was much happier with the Small box, Dirty Shirley, and BE100. The BE has been my holy grail of all amps that I've owned. I also demoed a Mini Dirty Shirley for a couple of weeks that was great, and the biggest sounding 20-watter I've ever heard. But Shirleys big and small tend to be spongier than I like. The Smallbox and especially the BE are tighter, but still big sounding.

    Well, the Wildwood Taco has girth like the Mini Shirley, but the tight BE sound. It really is a small head, single channel BE. In A/B'ing it with the BE100... It's got nearly the bottom and girth of the BE, as well as similar volume below 10:00 on the master. Dunno yet what happens above that volume because that's ear plug loud. It's a bit spongier, but still dead-on BE-like. And because of its lower wattage rating, I think that it's sweeter sounding. If this thing had the amazing clean channel of the new BE50, I'd sell everything and just rock a pair of Wildwood Tacos. It really is in the top two or three Marshall-flavored amps I've ever owned or played. Right up with the BE100 and BE50.

    Sorry about no pics. I haven't uploaded any yet.
    Hold on a second... A Pink Taco with "....zero bottom end grunt or girth. Sounded small to me?" Sorry man but that's not the Pink Taco. The only thing different about the Wildwood PT is 3-way gain stage switch, a gain boost, and a fat switch. There wasn't any modification to the actual tone or most basic circuitry. I owned a Pink Taco before the 3-way switch was added, and it sounded nothing like you described. I own a Smallbox with the Wildwood mod by the way, but I've also played the Wildwood PT. The fat switch is cool and does add girth, but that really only seemed useful to me when getting more scooped sounds or cleaner tones. Other than that, the PT didn't lack any low end. Yes, the midrange is dominant, but it's kind of like the JB, you hear all mids, but the low end is there. I've got a little demo I recorded with one somewhere. I could dig it up. All controls were straight at noon except the volume, and the gain was maxed. Let me see if I can find it because I'm convinced there was something wrong with your first one.

    Anyway, congratulations. People don't realize the Friedman minis are not toys. They push a 4x12 with some authority and have outstanding tone. I usually don't like EL84 tubes, but the Pink Taco and DS mini are two of the rare exceptions I make. Dude, let me tell you to get a couple of extra tubes because you can do some pretty neat little tweaks to get your Pink Taco perfect, like if you want to get cleaner tones for humbuckers or if you want to get more gain without too much compression. I've done some extensive experimenting with tubes on that amp. PM if you care to hear about it.

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    • #3
      Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

      Originally posted by SavageRiffer View Post
      Hold on a second... A Pink Taco with "....zero bottom end grunt or girth. Sounded small to me?" Sorry man but that's not the Pink Taco. The only thing different about the Wildwood PT is 3-way gain stage switch, a gain boost, and a fat switch. There wasn't any modification to the actual tone or most basic circuitry. I owned a Pink Taco before the 3-way switch was added, and it sounded nothing like you described. I own a Smallbox with the Wildwood mod by the way, but I've also played the Wildwood PT. The fat switch is cool and does add girth, but that really only seemed useful to me when getting more scooped sounds or cleaner tones. Other than that, the PT didn't lack any low end. Yes, the midrange is dominant, but it's kind of like the JB, you hear all mids, but the low end is there. I've got a little demo I recorded with one somewhere. I could dig it up. All controls were straight at noon except the volume, and the gain was maxed. Let me see if I can find it because I'm convinced there was something wrong with your first one.

      Anyway, congratulations. People don't realize the Friedman minis are not toys. They push a 4x12 with some authority and have outstanding tone. I usually don't like EL84 tubes, but the Pink Taco and DS mini are two of the rare exceptions I make. Dude, let me tell you to get a couple of extra tubes because you can do some pretty neat little tweaks to get your Pink Taco perfect, like if you want to get cleaner tones for humbuckers or if you want to get more gain without too much compression. I've done some extensive experimenting with tubes on that amp. PM if you care to hear about it.

      Hmmm... you may be right about there being an issue with my first Taco. Because it was all midrange and treble, with zero bass. I got a Ceriatone Chupacabra 50-watter on the same day and it destroyed the Taco, so I let the Taco go the very next day. And the Chup was anything but girthy. So your statement bears consideration. I may have to try to track down the original Taco if it's still in town and find out.

      The addition of the gain structure switch on the Wildwood is nice though, just like on the Mini Shirley.
      "Always remember... all you do in life, comes back to you" - Roy Kahn, formerly of Kamelot, during the intro to "Karma" on their One Cold Winter's Night DVD

      http://www.soundcloud.com/jwflamenco

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

        I keep telling people there is just something special about Dave’s amps
        -Chris

        Originally posted by John Suhr
        “Practice cures most tone issues”

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        • #5
          Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

          Originally posted by Ayrton View Post
          I keep telling people there is just something special about Dave’s amps
          Yup. I've never been more satisfied with my tone. Will I guarantee that my tone chase is officially "over"? Doubtful. But I will say this... I simply cannot imagine finding an amp builder who builds more satisfying amps for me. I just can't see how that would be possible. When I had my Bogners and other boutique brands... there were always little niggles here and there. "It's an awesome amp, BUT...". There just aren't many "BUTS" for me with Dave's amps. I had honestly figured that the BE100 was the end of my tone chase. BUT... the new BE50 and the Wildwood Taco have opened that door that I thought was slammed shut. Having said that... my BE100 isn't going anywhere. Especially if Dave can mod the clean channel to be more glassy like the BE50's is.

          I can see eventually picking up a Buxom Betty though (which is what the BE50's clean channel is based on). It would be great to have a pure circuit to use as a pedal platform. I have the Dirty Shirley pedal and I think that it would be awesome into the Betty. It sure does my Super Champ FSR wonders! I A/B'd the Shirley and BE-OD pedals into the Champ, and IMO the Shirley can do everything the BE-OD can do... and so much more. It would be cool to have the Betty in a 1x12 combo or a head and 1x12 cab setup.
          Last edited by Red_Label; 01-27-2018, 02:50 PM.
          "Always remember... all you do in life, comes back to you" - Roy Kahn, formerly of Kamelot, during the intro to "Karma" on their One Cold Winter's Night DVD

          http://www.soundcloud.com/jwflamenco

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

            The Pink Taco is an amp for pu****s.



            Comment


            • #7
              Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

              Originally posted by Darg1911 View Post
              The Pink Taco is an amp for pu****s.



              Indeed!

              I'll never understand why a genius like Dave would use such juvenile names for his amazing creations. Reminds me of Nigel Tufnel's name for his haunting piano song (in the saddest key of Dm) in Spinal Tap... "Lick My Live Pump". HA HA HA!!!

              Regardless... Dave is the man in Marshall flavored amps these days, so I'll overlook the silly product names and just enjoy and be inspired by them!
              "Always remember... all you do in life, comes back to you" - Roy Kahn, formerly of Kamelot, during the intro to "Karma" on their One Cold Winter's Night DVD

              http://www.soundcloud.com/jwflamenco

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: NAD... Friedman Wildwood Pink Taco.... WOW!!!!

                Originally posted by Red_Label View Post
                Indeed!

                I'll never understand why a genius like Dave would use such juvenile names for his amazing creations. Reminds me of Nigel Tufnel's name for his haunting piano song (in the saddest key of Dm) in Spinal Tap... "Lick My Live Pump". HA HA HA!!!

                Regardless... Dave is the man in Marshall flavored amps these days, so I'll overlook the silly product names and just enjoy and be inspired by them!
                Agreed, his naming conventions are a bit disturbing. Ironically I heard he used to be a policeman in California. Either way, it reflects nothing about the man I believe because I've spoken to him on the phone a couple of times about my amps, and through many emails addressing issues and getting mods done. He even helped me do a mod myself. He's a super cool dude, really supportive of customers, and he actually listens to us. That's why he comes out with new models or adds features that people ask for. Marshall wouldn't do that. Bogner wouldn't do that. There are some good benefits to buying Friedman amps.

                By the way, don't make the same mistake I did and get rid of your PT just because you get a bigger Friedman. The PT is very much like the Smallbox channel 2. I say that because to me, the Smallbox mids are more up-front and uncompressed than the BE100. It does some really, really great sounds you can't do on any other Friedman and most any other EL84 amps. He seems to have tuned the amp perfectly for those tubes. I've never heard EL84s sound so powerful. Set a PT on top of a 4x12 cab and you can put it up against a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25, which is an impressive amp, and a dozen other EL84 amps, and none of them will have the same punchy, singing tone. I really regretted getting rid of my PT.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I just got a PT20 and WOW!!!! I want a WW one to have the clean ch. To me it's way smother than my Small box yet still rude and plenty aggressive!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    People talking about their Taco is cracking me up.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by cragginshred View Post
                      I just got a PT20 and WOW!!!! I want a WW one to have the clean ch. To me it's way smother than my Small box yet still rude and plenty aggressive!

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ippUKtgwZ0U
                      How does this compare to a JCM800?

                      Found this... answered my own question.

                      Can the small pitbull Friedman PINK TACO handle my exceptionally aggressive JCM800 2203 'Bad Boy' from 1984? And the JCM800 2203 Zakk Wylde signature.Thanks ...

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                      • #12
                        @Top_L that comparison makes no sense. A 100w head compared to a 20w head. A better comparison would be the SCH 20w Marshall felt cheap and only sounded ok at full volume. Very generic in comparison. The pink taco is classic in tone but is very rude and snarls when needed!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by cragginshred View Post
                          @Top_L that comparison makes no sense. A 100w head compared to a 20w head. A better comparison would be the SCH 20w Marshall felt cheap and only sounded ok at full volume. Very generic in comparison. The pink taco is classic in tone but is very rude and snarls when needed!
                          I have learned that I don't like EL84 amps. IDK if the PT is an EL84 amp, but the power section determines so much of how it sounds and feels.

                          A 20Watt amp, while it can get crazy loud, doesnt have as much clean headroom and won't punch like a larger amp.

                          Then I looked up the price of a JCM800 reissue. NFW!!

                          That said, I would pick a cheap DSL over any 20 Watt mini marshall (even boutique ones) any day of the week.



                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by cragginshred View Post
                            @Top_L that comparison makes no sense. A 100w head compared to a 20w head. A better comparison would be the SCH 20w Marshall felt cheap and only sounded ok at full volume. Very generic in comparison. The pink taco is classic in tone but is very rude and snarls when needed!
                            My experience with the PT20 vs. the Marshall Studio Classic was the exact opposite. The Studio Classic absolutely blew the PT20 out of the water. The PT20 sounded like a generic high-gain tone; the SC20, with the master volume up (just like the big 2203/2204 heads, it doesn't really sound great until the MV is high), sounded incredibly close to a 2203/2204. The SC20 was also quite a bit louder when cranked than the PT20.

                            (In fairness, I'm not a huge fan of Friedman amps in general. The PT20 is probably the best one I've played TBH, but that's not saying a whole lot...)
                            Last edited by Cynical; 04-19-2021, 02:21 PM.

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                            • #15
                              I thought the PT was the worst amp in the Friedman lineup. Very underwhelming IMO. YMMV
                              The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

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