Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

I've had mine for close to a week maybe? It definitely delivers a smokin hot Marshall tone. Sounds huge and dynamic. All the knobs react well to adjustments, giving a wide range of motion/delivery. Easy to dial in a great sound. If you're looking for a small footprint MOAB, this one is going to be hard to beat.

Stock out of the box

Very cool! My buddy just texted me that he's dropping one off at my place on his way home from the store tonight. Curious to see how it compares to my Plexitone (that's been sitting in its box for the past year).

[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Spent some quality time with the BE-OD last night. Started with it running into the clean channel of my Smallbox. Took me a few minutes to tweak the settings to my preference (was flipping back and forth between that and the dirt channel of the Smallbox, trying to match tone). At first I was like "meh". But after I got it setup right, I was like "SHYEAH!!!". It flat-out NAILS the Friedman tone. Dunno how Dave managed to cram the BE100 and Smallbox into that little pedal, but he surely did. To give it a real test, I shut-down my Smallbox and plugged into the clean channel of my Roland Cube 80XL. After some tweaking of the tone controls on the 80XL, I had it sounding just like the Smallbox. I've been looking for a setup that will capture my Smallbox tone for daily play, without having to burn tubes... and this is absolutely it! I could put the BE-OD on my small pedal board with my Line 6 M9 and have a fly rig that I would feel comfortable plugging into just about any back line and getting a killer sound. This pedal does what many hoped it would do... it captures the Friedman tone in a pedal. I can see a LOT of guys who can't/don't want to spring for Friedman amps ending up with this pedal. And in my limited experience (so far), they'd be getting 95% of the Friedman tone. I'm VERY impressed so far. And the controls all seem to make a big difference. Plus, there's a trim pot inside for adjusting the gain. I'm going to try turning mine down tonight, as I never had the gain past 9:00 because it's got more than enough.

Best amp-in-a-box I've ever had/tried!

[jeremy]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

great review! hope to get to try one before too long

[YeRedHouseOverYonder]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Yeah, I don't see myself turning up the trim pot either. It's plenty of gain at the 12' clock position. How'd it compare to the Plexitone in your opinion? Haven't played a Friedman, but glad to know its 95% there. I'm willing to compromise that over the price tag lol


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[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Yeah, I don't see myself turning up the trim pot either. It's plenty of gain at the 12' clock position. How'd it compare to the Plexitone in your opinion? Haven't played a Friedman, but glad to know its 95% there. I'm willing to compromise that over the price tag lol


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I haven't had a chance to A/B the BE-OD and the Plexitone yet. Been crazy at home and at work lately. Hopefully I'll get time this week or weekend to try that.

[BloodRose]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

The Brown Eye is an F15E Strike Eagle. Massive power, just destroys everything in it's path and it does it with incredible precision. with a little delay you feel like a certified rock god playing that amp.

The Dirty Shirley is a P51D Mustang. It's just classic and pure and organic, good for just about anything, and very rewarding in the hands of a skilled pilot. It makes you feel things. Things inside. As James May would say... it definitely gives you the fizz, where the BE scares you occasionally.

I don't really know how to explain it. Gain wise it'll do Van Halen 1 on back, but it's one of those amps that's honest and yet at the same time enhances what you're doing - it highlights those subtle differences between guitars and players. It's just tone for days and days and days.

Find the 40W head, plug it into a good cab, and play it. If it's not for you, fine. But once you dial it in (not hard... only 6 knobs on the thing), oh man.

Believe it or not, I get it. Both sound like they would be amazing, but Id have to say Im still wanting the BE. If I had really stellar chops, Id probably be more open to checking out the Shirley. But at my current level, let me sound like a rock God as easy as I can.. haha

Spent some quality time with the BE-OD last night. Started with it running into the clean channel of my Smallbox. Took me a few minutes to tweak the settings to my preference (was flipping back and forth between that and the dirt channel of the Smallbox, trying to match tone). At first I was like "meh". But after I got it setup right, I was like "SHYEAH!!!". It flat-out NAILS the Friedman tone. Dunno how Dave managed to cram the BE100 and Smallbox into that little pedal, but he surely did. To give it a real test, I shut-down my Smallbox and plugged into the clean channel of my Roland Cube 80XL. After some tweaking of the tone controls on the 80XL, I had it sounding just like the Smallbox. I've been looking for a setup that will capture my Smallbox tone for daily play, without having to burn tubes... and this is absolutely it! I could put the BE-OD on my small pedal board with my Line 6 M9 and have a fly rig that I would feel comfortable plugging into just about any back line and getting a killer sound. This pedal does what many hoped it would do... it captures the Friedman tone in a pedal. I can see a LOT of guys who can't/don't want to spring for Friedman amps ending up with this pedal. And in my limited experience (so far), they'd be getting 95% of the Friedman tone. I'm VERY impressed so far. And the controls all seem to make a big difference. Plus, there's a trim pot inside for adjusting the gain. I'm going to try turning mine down tonight, as I never had the gain past 9:00 because it's got more than enough.

Best amp-in-a-box I've ever had/tried!

Sounds Very cool!! much like the reports on the Bogner pedals.. You say its Really close to the smallbox. How close is it to the BE? Still within the 95 percent?

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

I don't need ro rush out and buy more dirt pedals, but Pete loves two new pedals... the BE-OD and the gainy plexi masterpiece, the Ramble FX Marvel 3.

I'm actually more interested in the Marvel 3 than the Friedman or La Grange...... I really would only know by having all three in front of me.

In reality, I dont need anything more. I usually use amp gain, yet I still have a bunch of gain pedals.

Lately, I've been digging my Way Huge Red Llama the most.

[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Sounds Very cool!! much like the reports on the Bogner pedals.. You say its Really close to the smallbox. How close is it to the BE? Still within the 95 percent?

It's been a while since I had the BE100 in my man cave (last May), but based on my memory I'd say that yes... it's 90-95% of the BE tone. My buddy (who owns that BE100, a Smallbox, and Dirty Shirley) agrees... this pedal is the real deal.

[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

I don't need ro rush out and buy more dirt pedals, but Pete loves two new pedals... the BE-OD and the gainy plexi masterpiece, the Ramble FX Marvel 3.

I'm actually more interested in the Marvel 3 than the Friedman or La Grange...... I really would only know by having all three in front of me.

In reality, I dont need anything more. I usually use amp gain, yet I still have a bunch of gain pedals.

Lately, I've been digging my Way Huge Red Llama the most.

Yeah, Pete's been responsible for me buying more than a few great pedals. He makes everything sound good though of course. I had the La Grange pedal at home for a couple of weeks and dug it as much as the Bogner Reds that I used to have. But there was just no need for it and I wanted to try this BE-OD before I decided between the LaGrange and the BE. I should grab another LaGrange from the store and A/B them when I A/B the Plexitone. I prefer amp overdrive to pedal drive as well, but like to have a great pedal that will make a mediocre amp sound like a good/great amp.

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Thanks for the updates. It sounds like I'll end up buying one of these later on.

Has anybody tried it running into the FX loop return yet to see how well the BE-OD works as a stand alone preamp?

[Red_Label]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Thanks for the updates. It sounds like I'll end up buying one of these later on.

Has anybody tried it running into the FX loop return yet to see how well the BE-OD works as a stand alone preamp?

Haven't tried that yet bud. Will have to plug it into the return of my Quickrod this weekend and give you my impression. There's NO doubt in my mind that it'll kick ass though.

[BloodRose]

Re: Friedman BE-OD pedal inbound...

Bump for time passage...

Anyone else with feedback? Anyone recommend starter settings to get to the ballpark?