Friedman IR With Marshall Artist 3203

Charvel1975

New member
So I have a variety of high gain amps and I also have a vintage Marshall Artist 3203 head & matching 1965A cab that's just been sitting for years and lately been researching Friedman amps and just came across their IR line and wanted to know if any of them would sound great running through the front of the Marshall Artist as I'd like to start enjoying it & playing through it again here at home.

There is something that just doesn't inspire me with the Marshall Artist and wondered if one of these tube Friedman pedals would help?

I play classic rock/hard rock/80's to 2000's and beyond. Thanks in advance!
 
This sounds similar to my setup and musical taste. I bought a Friedman Smallbox pedal to run into the front end of my Origin 50 into a 2x12 with Greenbacks, and it does all those tones very well. There's way more gain than you need, and it sounds great and inspires. I turn the volume on the pedal way up and keep the gain pretty low, and it gets a convincing compression to the feel with the classic Marshall tones we know and love. I can't speak to the Friedman IR per se, but the Smallbox is great.

I also use a Revv G4 into the effects return of the same amp for more modern, higher gain tones. Also an excellent option.
 
You run those through the FX loop, straight into the poweramp, not into the front of the amp. My guess is if you tried to run one into the front end of the amp, it would sound so bright and harsh and not as intended.
 
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Smallbox sounds best into the front end, but the G4 sounds absolutely awful if it’s not doing the entire preamp’s job, i.e. into the effects return.
 
Smallbox sounds best into the front end, but the G4 sounds absolutely awful if it’s not doing the entire preamp’s job, i.e. into the effects return.
Yeah, but the Smallbox is kind of like an overdrive pedal, isn't it? The IR stuff is more akin to the G4 in that it's meant to be a preamp, except the IR stuff is tube.
 
Yeah, but the Smallbox is kind of like an overdrive pedal, isn't it? The IR stuff is more akin to the G4 in that it's meant to be a preamp, except the IR stuff is tube.

I think you're right, although the Smallbox is supposed to function as a standalone preamp also. In my exeperience, though, it's not very good at it.
 
I will say that the Dirty Shirley pedal in the front end of a dead clean amp like a Deluxe or Twin is glorious.
 
What about the Friedman BE-OD Deluxe through the front end of my Marshall Artist 3203?

I bought one, tried it in front and in the loop, tweaked the internal trimpot, and immediately sold it. WAAAAY too much gain at any position on the knob even into the front of a very clean amp. Revv seems to do everything better.
 
I used a Small Box when I couldn't play my big Marshalls for a while. Used it in front of a Katana. Worked well. Would love to try the IRX or JEL sometime. I now have a smaller amp with an effects loop to try it both ways if I ever go there (Mini Warhead, it's cool, but does 1 thing only lol)
 
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