AOTW 4 Friedman (H)BE

Fabio KTG

Fabio KTG

Fractal Fanatic
Week 4's poll was a landslide victory for the Friedman (Hairy) Brown Eye. When I think of this amp myself, I imagine it to be a hot rodded Marshall. YMMV.

The Friedman Brown Eye in the Axe Wiki [courtesy of Yek) Amp: all models - Axe-Fx II Wiki

Friedman Amplification | The Brown Eye

19515_Used_Friedman_BE_100_Amp_Head_0169_800.jpg


Below is a clip of the hugely talented Mark day, who coincidentally has his own factory preset 122 "Mark Day's HBE". He is playing the real deal playing into a Torpedo load box.



Below is the Axe in a Matrix power amp and NL212



As you can hear for yourself, the Axe nails the real deal.

Please share your experiences, tips, tricks and audio clips.

Have a happy Easter, everyone!

PS: I'm a little busy today, so I'll do the poll for week 5 tomorrow. Feel free to PM me with suggestions for AOTW 5.
 
My favorite "dirty" amp model.
Have been using it for years now and I'm not tempted to switch to something else.

I like it because it's so thick and its well-balanced bass.

Practically default settings, Presence at 5, and gain ranging from 3.5 tot 7.5. G12M or G12H. Done.

Engage FAT for an excellent lead tone.

The HBE mode(l) has additional gain but I rarely felt need for it.
 
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I actually turn the Master Volume up on this one, despite the fact that it defaults to a lower setting. I find it best around 6, or 1 o'clock. I always use the scumback m75 speakers with this model, tried the H75s but prefer the M75s for whatever reason. Like Yek said, super easy to dial in, just enough gain and tone that you don't need anything but the amp and the cab really. Every so often I try to mess with a stock Marshall and make it sound like someone hot rodded it for me, I get it to where I think it sounds great, then switch to HBE patch and realize I just wasted my time. The HBE is that modded Marshall sound for me!
 
I remember when I first got my AXE FX II. I patched it into my studio board and plugged in my Les Paul, then went thru the first 100 or so presets. When I got to the Friedman I was blown away! I didn't change anything except the level of the preset. Never heard anything about them before. It was a has been my favorite for all things rock! I love the cab its matched with too. The bw tv mix. Just great man!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I577 using Tapatalk 2
 
I've played with Mark Day's patch on this. He has it dialed in WAY too big since I suppose it fits in best with a 3 piece and needs to cover alot of sonic ground. I took off the boost, and pulled back on the gain, and it sounded great.

Edit:

After Laresse's post, I bypassed the drive block too. It's just unnecessary for me.

The BE and HBE I come back to time and time again. BE for old skool metal, and HBE for that lovely Marshall love. I find (more than other models), the IR can make it sound radically different when changed.
 
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Dizamn, Son. That sounds sweeeet.

iaresee said:
The HBE can get a little intense as the gain rolls up. I do love it though. This is the HBE, based of Mark Day's HBE but without the drive block on in front of it -- rings on and on and on and on and on and on...

Click to expand...
 
mrstrat said:
I'd love to hear folks suggestions on their favorite IRs with this model. (I'm having a heck of a time trying to duplicate my real BE 100)
Click to expand...

Pre-UR I was loving it with the 4x12 Basketweave TV Mix -- that mix is just mmmm perfect for Marshall tones IMO.

That clip I posted above was done with the Taf_Mars4x12 Mix UR IR from The Amp Factory bundle.

Mark Day has his patch setup with the 4x12 Slm H75 (OH) factory IR and sounds pretty awesome. Motor drive at 0.25 on that and proximity at 2.50.
 
I tend to use it as a metal amp. Sounds great. Not as aggressive as real modern metal amps, but does the job for me. I use it with my go-to hi gain IR, "ThisOne" by guitar hack, but it works with all good hi gain IRs, like the latest cabs from Ownhammer. If I had to buy a real amp, and had the money, it would be this one or the Bogner XTC
 
I love this model! It's gainy without being washy, with quite a bit of clarity. I never drove it with a TS808, but can imagine what it would be like. :)
 
It´s also my favourite amp for hi-gainish tones, perfect balance between old school and modern type amp IMO.
 
The BE/HBE is my go-to amp for 99% of my tones in my classic rock band. Even clean. It matches the tone in my head for that kind of work with dual humbucker guitars. If I could stand the volume and the weight, I'd own a real one. No real desire for that, though, when I can have it with a 2U rack unit and a CLR.
 
yek said:
The BE and HBE are so simple.
Everything default, Gain as desired, maybe Cut switch engaged when playing through FRFR, and a greenback IR.
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Agreed, I find the Friedman's to be perfect in their stock form, you just have to pair it with the right cab, as stated so far Greenback seem to capture this amp the best.
 
And for something a little more vintage, less boomy bass, but still flat-out "rock", don't overlook the Dirty Shirley model.
 
I need to revisit this guy, one of the best models IMO and I haven't even touched it in months.

I want to say I remember having trouble pulling the HBE into more "modern" territory and ended up back at the Triptik for that. Definitely time for a refresher.

Side note, GREAT to see AOTW posts near the top again!
 
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