Thinking about pulling the trigger on a Friedman 4x12

Sorenspete

Sorenspete

Inspired
My local has offered to order one in for me at the cost of a deposit. You may have heard me rant about and question my Yamaha HS8's and how I want to try power amp + cab instead of FRFR's. These cabs are expensive to order into New Zealand, so I might have to say goodbye to the HS8's and thus my stereo image which has been the best part about playing through my Axe-Fx III Mk II.

Axe-Fx III Mk II > Fryette 2/90/2 > Friedman 412 sounds great on paper but I want to be sure it'll be worth it. I've been building presets using the TriAxis amp models lately which I tend to pull a lot of mids out of, so I think the Greenbacks might sound great as they have pronounced mids. No big deal if I feel I need to switch them out - I've always wanted to try a bunch of different speakers.

Looking to hear all your experiences with the Friedman cabs.
 
I think you'll find that Friedman cabs have a very good reputation for build quality and tone. The Boutique Amp Distribution (who make Friedman amps and cabs) does very high quality work on the cabinetry and tolex application. As I'm sure you are already aware, the classic cab to get for a Triaxis rig would be a Mesa oversized straight 4x12 with V30s. Greenbacks may not be the classic pairing but they will probably sound great too since that is such a classic speaker.
 
1. I'd want such a 4x12 for that rig to have a mono/stereo switch.
2. On that note, switching from HS8s you would probably enjoy a pair of 1x12s or 2x12s. Do you need all of the bigness of a 4x12?
 
Admin M@ said:
1. I'd want such a 4x12 for that rig to have a mono/stereo switch.
2. On that note, switching from HS8s you would probably enjoy a pair of 1x12s or 2x12s. Do you need all of the bigness of a 4x12?
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I tried a 1x12 mini recto cab and it just didn't have the balls that I'm used to. I owned a Rivera Knucklehead 4x12 for years and that thing sounded huge.
 
The Friedman cabs are great. You might actually be able to contact Friedman and ask to have a stereo jack installed. I'm not sure about that but Dave is pretty good about customer service and he does all of it himself. Email Friedman support and ask.

I use a Mesa 4x12 from the early 2000s and it's glorious. I never really use it in stereo as I have a pair of 2x12s sitting along side it (wet/dry/wet is incredible) but maybe I should just try that sometime per the comment bt @Admin M@
 
Deadpool_25 said:
The Friedman cabs are great. You might actually be able to contact Friedman and ask to have a stereo jack installed. I'm not sure about that but Dave is pretty good about customer service and he does all of it himself. Email Friedman support and ask.

I use a Mesa 4x12 from the early 2000s and it's glorious. I never really use it in stereo as I have a pair of 2x12s sitting along side it (wet/dry/wet is incredible) but maybe I should just try that sometime per the comment bt @Admin M@
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This,
Dave does also a lot of custom Shop stuff.
When I ordered my BE100DLX I want a special Tolex and some changes to the circuit.
Dave was great and he answered all my questions.
It was no problem even to ship the Head tinny Dealer in Germany. Everything went perfect and he didn’t charge me more.
 
Deadpool_25 said:
The Friedman cabs are great. You might actually be able to contact Friedman and ask to have a stereo jack installed. I'm not sure about that but Dave is pretty good about customer service and he does all of it himself. Email Friedman support and ask.

I use a Mesa 4x12 from the early 2000s and it's glorious. I never really use it in stereo as I have a pair of 2x12s sitting along side it (wet/dry/wet is incredible) but maybe I should just try that sometime per the comment bt @Admin M@
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What I should have said in the original post is that I intend to eventually run two of the same cabinet, whether it's two Friedman 412's or whatever MESA / Boogie is sending to NZ just before Christmas. The stereo jack isn't a bad idea though.
 
Just FYI- the 4x12 Synergy cabs are identical to the Friedman cab and has the stereo inputs. I run 2 Synergy 4x12’s in stereo and it’s amazing… but it stays home and the Axe III goes to gigs!
 
Bryanman37 said:
Just FYI- the 4x12 Synergy cabs are identical to the Friedman cab and has the stereo inputs. I run 2 Synergy 4x12’s in stereo and it’s amazing… but it stays home and the Axe III goes to gigs!
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That's interesting! Unfortunately I don't believe Synergy products are being distributed in New Zealand. Will try to confirm.
 
Been there done hat with a Mesa 4x12 oversized…
Switching from studio monitors running good stereo image with full FRFR to a trad' cab running mono and Cab Sim Off, 1st question is, what are you trying to achieve / what do you miss?

These 2 setups have nothing in common, meaning they are totally deferent from each other.
Now, considering the 4x12:
Sound? Yes, it will sound nice, but you are limited to one cab sound and don’t even think of gigging with that beast (unless you have a roddie)
Stereo image? Nope, even if there was a Mono / Stereo switch on the Friedman and you connect it L+R, still you will not "feel" the stereo effect as you would feel it with the studio monitor because you have no space between L+R speakers.
To really feel the stereo, you need some decent space between the 2 sides.

As mentioned, I had a Mesa 4x12 in stereo for some time + studio monitors + 2 NL212 also for stereo, all sound very good but the 4x12 eventually was collecting dust and was eventually sold and im not regretting as I kept the 2 NL212 and the monitors so whenever I feel like "moving air" I use the NL pair which are spaced and have the stereo effect.

I don’t recommend a 4x12, it looks nice, but it "takes" some of the Axe befits.
My 2 c
 
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