Question for Friedman asm-12 owners

Ben Randolph said:
I'll be returning home to Dallas tomorrow where my ASM-12 is waiting for me. I'm selling off my 2 Atomic Reactor FRFR powered cabs, so that should pretty much pay for the Friedman. How is the ASM-12 heatwise? Is it okay to leave on for long periods of time?
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Yes, it should be fine. I've left mine on for long periods and it doesn't get hot at all....
 
Ben Randolph said:
I'll be returning home to Dallas tomorrow where my ASM-12 is waiting for me. I'm selling off my 2 Atomic Reactor FRFR powered cabs, so that should pretty much pay for the Friedman. How is the ASM-12 heatwise? Is it okay to leave on for long periods of time?
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Nice!! I think you'll really like it. Somewhere he on the forum I posted some "suggestions" to get the best sound out of the ASM-12 but to be honest, with Cliff's firmware updates, I find that those suggestions are less of a "need". I like a slight EQ mid-dip and slight adjustment to the cab IRs with hard rock/metal tones, but other than that it is plug and play!
 
Ben Randolph said:
I'll be returning home to Dallas tomorrow where my ASM-12 is waiting for me. I'm selling off my 2 Atomic Reactor FRFR powered cabs, so that should pretty much pay for the Friedman. How is the ASM-12 heatwise? Is it okay to leave on for long periods of time?
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I leave mine on all day about five days a week and it just gets warm. I have my band practice spot right behind me at work so I crank it up when its slow between customers.
 
mmpete said:
Really - dude where do you work ?
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I own a pawn shop. I toured the States in the late 80's and early 90's playing clubs. When we all went our separate ways and got families and real jobs I started a pawn shop. Its great! I own two buildings that are connected so we have plenty of room.
 
REDD said:
I own a pawn shop. I toured the States in the late 80's and early 90's playing clubs. When we all went our separate ways and got families and real jobs I started a pawn shop. Its great! I own two buildings that are connected so we have plenty of room.
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Wow - that's a great gig by the sound of it. My mates owns his own business and pretty much does what he likes there with his employees ... as in playing things like guitar, and other (not so) indoor sporting activities such as cricket and footy (I live in Oz - the land down under :smiley:) Me on the other hand work in IT ... so that means I am 100% owned by someone else. Oh well - I make the most of down time at home with my toys ... and the family of course :smirk:.

I do have to say that 2 weeks in to owning my first piece of fractal equipment, and there is not enough time in the day. I am a bit obsessed at present.
 
REDD said:
I own a pawn shop. I toured the States in the late 80's and early 90's playing clubs. When we all went our separate ways and got families and real jobs I started a pawn shop. Its great! I own two buildings that are connected so we have plenty of room.
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I'm a coming to Missouri big boy!!!
 
I've played my Friedman for a couple of days. Other than the silly placement of the handle, which is a well-known quibble, it's hard to find fault. It is on the heavy side, which makes the handle placement all the more annoying, but sonically it's right on the money. Nice, rich, big sound. Feels like a tube amp without being a tube amp.

It get the impression that it does add it's own dash of color to the sound, being a tad midrange and bass heavy, but nothing that can't be easily EQ'd out. But I think that if you want something that's clinically neutral, you probably wouldn't be looking at the ASM-12 in the first place. It really gives that amp in the room sound and feel that I miss with studio monitors.
 
Ben Randolph said:
I've played my Friedman for a couple of days. Other than the silly placement of the handle, which is a well-known quibble, it's hard to find fault. It is on the heavy side, which makes the handle placement all the more annoying, but sonically it's right on the money. Nice, rich, big sound. Feels like a tube amp without being a tube amp.

It get the impression that it does add it's own dash of color to the sound, being a tad midrange and bass heavy, but nothing that can't be easily EQ'd out. But I think that if you want something that's clinically neutral, you probably wouldn't be looking at the ASM-12 in the first place. It really gives that amp in the room sound and feel that I miss with studio monitors.
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+1 completely agree with everything you've written man..

That was the reason why I offloaded the CLR.. I could NOT for the life of me dial out that spikey core sound that it just seems to have.. It still bedazzles me how some guys swear by it.. but then again, some like vanilla ice cream.. I like chocolate ice cream; so who cares, right?!
 
Georgy said:
+1 completely agree with everything you've written man..

That was the reason why I offloaded the CLR.. I could NOT for the life of me dial out that spikey core sound that it just seems to have.. It still bedazzles me how some guys swear by it.. but then again, some like vanilla ice cream.. I like chocolate ice cream; so who cares, right?!
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I like the idea of a coaxial solution. My own Equator D8 monitors are coax and they sound fantastic, but theyr'e still studio monitors. I just missed that feel of a real cabinet. It just goes to show how much the cab itself contributes to the tone and feel. If I had my back turned while playing, I would think I was playing out of a fantastic boutique amp, not a modeler. The Deluxe Reverb model sounded and felt like a real Fender amp, whereas the Friedman BE model absolutely crushes for metal tone.

For me, it was as much about wanting to "de-tube" my AxeFX rig as it was anything else. The Atomic Reactor FRFRs sounded great, but in this day and age with the AxeFX II at it's current firmware, there should be no need to add tubes to warm up the sound. I've already got tube amps, and I'd just as well get rid of them in my Fractal rig. Who needs the hassle of tube amp maintenance with an AxeFX?

I've read where some people say that the ASM-12 is simply a rebadged B52 monitor. I believe it actually just uses the B52's power amp, and the Celestion speaker and the cabinet are totally Friedman.
 
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I've mentioned this before here on the forum but in my opinion the Friedman ASM-12 is primarily aimed at hard rock and metal players. It covers a lot of other ground obviously, but with other solutions I've tried the clean tones were always there. The head-scratcher for me was always when I went for the heavy stuff. I would always hear "boxy", "middy", and/or "harsh". I'd always be dialing, playing, dialing, playing and never ended up satisfied.

I like to do a mid-dip with mine but I really don't think that is necessary. I haven't heard the "spikey" core sound. If anything, I noticed that with some of the other solutions I had.
 
Georgy said:
+1 completely agree with everything you've written man..

That was the reason why I offloaded the CLR.. I could NOT for the life of me dial out that spikey core sound that it just seems to have.. It still bedazzles me how some guys swear by it.. but then again, some like vanilla ice cream.. I like chocolate ice cream; so who cares, right?!
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Georgie, I love my pair of Friedman's and thanks for contacting me and giving me your opinion and them. I did however order two Atomic CLR powered wedges yesterday after conversing with Tom King via email. I asked him about some of my concerns and he was very nice and informative. I wanted something coaxial and smaller/ lighter and if I have the same experience as you then I can always send them back. I have two Axe Fx units and I can have two different Riggs now for when I jam with another guitarist which happens when me and my old band do reunion shows. The other guy won't have to bring an amp.
 
REDD said:
Georgie, I love my pair of Friedman's and thanks for contacting me and giving me your opinion and them. I did however order two Atomic CLR powered wedges yesterday after conversing with Tom King via email. I asked him about some of my concerns and he was very nice and informative. I wanted something coaxial and smaller/ lighter and if I have the same experience as you then I can always send them back. I have two Axe Fx units and I can have two different Riggs now for when I jam with another guitarist which happens when me and my old band do reunion shows. The other guy won't have to bring an amp.
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Nice man! All good all good - you gotta grab what works for you man, I get it.

I'll be curious to get your thoughts and opinion on the CLR (lucky you - you'll have stereo so I'm guessing it's gonna sound good either way).. They just didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean you won't love them.. I hope you do mate.

I actually just took a slight gamble and bought an ENGL valve power amp E840/50 (50w x 2).. Plugged it in yesterday, made up some patches, and it sounds pretty good. That way, if/when I buy another 2x12 (hopefully a matching Friedman), it's gonna be a damn good 'nasty' stereo setup.. Can't wait! You gotta give things a try sometimes!
 
Georgy said:
Nice man! All good all good - you gotta grab what works for you man, I get it.

I'll be curious to get your thoughts and opinion on the CLR (lucky you - you'll have stereo so I'm guessing it's gonna sound good either way).. They just didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean you won't love them.. I hope you do mate.

I actually just took a slight gamble and bought an ENGL valve power amp E840/50 (50w x 2).. Plugged it in yesterday, made up some patches, and it sounds pretty good. That way, if/when I buy another 2x12 (hopefully a matching Friedman), it's gonna be a damn good 'nasty' stereo setup.. Can't wait! You gotta give things a try sometimes!
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Heck yeah! I love Engl stuff.
 
Georgy said:
Nice man! All good all good - you gotta grab what works for you man, I get it.

I'll be curious to get your thoughts and opinion on the CLR (lucky you - you'll have stereo so I'm guessing it's gonna sound good either way).. They just didn't work for me, but that doesn't mean you won't love them.. I hope you do mate.

I actually just took a slight gamble and bought an ENGL valve power amp E840/50 (50w x 2).. Plugged it in yesterday, made up some patches, and it sounds pretty good. That way, if/when I buy another 2x12 (hopefully a matching Friedman), it's gonna be a damn good 'nasty' stereo setup.. Can't wait! You gotta give things a try sometimes!
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Hey Georgy, what are you plugging the ENGL into ?
 
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