Friedman BE-OD Deluxe Dual Overdrive Pedal Reviews

First of all, I play 70s classic rock and NOT metal. I bought this on a leap of faith that, running at 18v and turning down the internal gain pot on the Blue Channel would get me a clean boost/low gain overdrive. It absolutely worked! Pristine, crisp cleans with plenty of character. Stays clean until about 1 o'clock on the gain knob with single coils, after that it's a nice, gritty crunch that's perfect for classic rock.
I turned up the pot on the Green Channel just a bit to compensate for the 18v but it wasn't necessary. I'll never need to go past noon on the gain knob. The distortion is thick & creamy and is perfect for the soloing that I do. Sustain for days.
Having these two channels completely independent of each other AND fully customizable makes this an invaluable tool for any serious pedalboard. Very reasonable price tag too when you consider that you're getting two premium pedals in one & saving valuable real estate on you board.

I don't own any Friedman amps, never used one but I do own a lot of Boogies and Marshalls. I also own over 75 distortion pedals (I love distortion).

This 2-channel Friedman Overdrive is one of the most fun pedals I've ever bought, it sounds and "feels" great. I've been playing guitar for 60 years and this pedal really speaks to me.

It has tons of adjustments, two full preamps, no shared controls.

The most important thing about this pedal is the sound, it can go from light Marshall-style bark to full-on shred metal and everything in-between. The "Presence" controls are really useful.

This pedal turns my Fender Deluxe into an open back Marshall. Plugged into a real Marshall running a clean tone the Friedman OD changes it into a can of "whoop-a$$" crunchy deliciousness.

The construction appears to be heavy duty. It looks a lot like the work of "BAD" (Boutique Amp Distribution in LA). I'm not sure how much Dave Friedman has to do with making these but it's got his fingerprints all over the tone (which is epic).

This pedal is worth its purchase price (unlike a lot of other supposedly boutique brands). Buy this one, it's worth the price and the tone is golden.

Good music to you!

This overdrive can go from silky smooth to full on metal tones. I've used other brands including Ibanez tube screamer, Boss super overdrive pedals, and Rackmount Marshall JMP-1 for many years, touring the U.S. and Canada and in the studio. The Friedman BE OD has amazing tones and easy to use controls to perfect the sound. I love having 2 channels so i can set rhythm and lead tones with this model. Thanks to Ryan Gregory and Sweetwater for getting this out to me in time for an upcoming show.

Absolutely the best distortion pedal I've ever owned! Period.

Absolutely no regrets. Wonderful pedal that I will never sell. Cheers !

High gain and medium gain. Two channel pedal. Internal trim pots for gain adjustment. Toggle switches on both channels for loose, medium or tighter feel.

I used 2 original BEODs on my pedalboard for quite awhile and was pleased, but not totally satisfied with the results I was getting, and did on occasion swap them out for other options. The BEOD DELUXE is definitely an improvement over the standard unit. It stays on my board all the time now and I have no desire to seek another distortion unit because I can't imagine a better tone. I have several and this one wins out hands down. I do, however, find that the BLUE channel sounds much better than the RED channel and that no adjustment of the internal trim, EQ or tightness can make the red channel approximate the blue channel. The blue channels tone IS very much nicer than the original BEOD, and I can get ANYTHING I want from it. So what I'm saying is that if both channels were the same as the blue channel, I could set them up with different levels of drive, volume and tightness for a truly "to dye for" distortion duo, but I find the red channel disappointing, so I seldom use it. FORTUNATELY, because I run my OD pedals in front of it, and DELUXE takes pedals so well, I find that using them to kick the blue channel is just as satisfying. The Blue channel alone is worth the price of admission if you're using the original BEOD now (or any other distortion pedal for that matter), so I highly recommend this unit. Don't get me wrong, many may be totally satisfied with the red channel, but as a pro player and tone freak my tastes are very focussed, possibly more than most, so just GET ONE. You'll be very happy with it :)

The best preamp/distortion pedal I've ever used. Has a perfect texture and grain to it, and can be shaped to almost any distorted sound you can imagine. Tightness control and presence knobs are amazing, and can go from bluesy vintage vibes to modern, face-melting chugga chugga that makes any amp sound like an absolute monster. This thing sounds like an amp too, not a pedal. Blown away.

For far too long I was using two different pedals for my low and high gain overdrive. The biggest problem: two vastly different tones no matter how much I tweeked. Searched and played around with several two-channel pedals before I landed on this one. Now I can keep the tone identical while changing the gain. And of course I could make each channel's tone miles apart if I'd like. From an REM jangle to a Filter drone. From the Stones to Pantera and every OD/Dist in between, this is it!

Right to the point. Great pedal. You can't lose. Slightly lower gain and higher gain 2 channels. Toggle switches for tight medium or looser feeling. I literally have this and the single version and the smallbox amp. All Friedman products are top notch imo.

First of all, I have owned and been playing a BE100 amp for the past 5 years, so I am very familiar with its tones. This pedal gets very close to the original tone of my BE100 but has more gain and aggression if I want it. I have this pedal so I can use it with a clean amp when I don't want to lug my precious BE100 out of the house. Both channels sound pretty much the same and can be dialed in for almost any tone. With some tweaking I can get it very close to my real BE100. Excellent lower gain tones too. Highly recommend this pedal, it's one of the best sounding and feeling gain pedals on the market, made by a guy who knows incredible tone.

This pedal has a lower gain channel with toggle switches for tight, loose etc and high gain with the same toggle switches and little knobs for different sounds If you can't get the BE amp this should hold you over. Turns any amp into a BE amp. Quiet too as all Friedman products seem to be. Great pedal.

The range of this pedal is great. It's very versatile from light overdrive to full on crunch.

I bought this hoping I could build a pedal board amp with no tubes, cabs, or really much anything else. I paired this with the Two Notes Cab M and love the setup! The pedal truly acts as my amp in this case. Although, a clean tube device does add more character, this thing could be your preamp all on its own.
It came with the internal gain trim pots set to halfway. This had a great tone. But when I turned them both up full, the pedal came to life. It gave it an extra layer of creamy gain that made it really easy and fun to play and sounded excellent with all knobs at 12 o'clock and the tight switch in the down position. Again, no other amp was used apart from the Cab M and effects in this scenario.
Now I have it paired with my Rocker 15. While I have to approach the tone a bit differently because of the amp, I love the fact that this pedal can be tweaked making it even more versatile!

I've already found drive tones that I like and a few that I love. The problem to me is when I nail the rythm drive tone I can find the solo one and vice versa. I've heard some musicians saying that if you find a good solo tone you jsut have to back off the guitar volume and you get the rythm tone, but to me, that doenst work all the time. So, until now I had a drive pedal (OCD, TS9, Brute Drive) that I find the rythm tone and I push it with an Xotic EP Booster after it. It's ok but not exactly what I wanted. The thing is, most of the time I need a crunch overdriven sound with some bass and clarity, and for solos I need more volume, more mids, more gain and a tighter bass. So that pedal does exactly it. I still have the same sound, but I shape it different for rythm and solos.
The gain trim pot is very useful. I keep the high gain as it comes from the factory but I am using less gain then factory deffault on the rythm channel. Suits me perfect. I am using it with 18 Volts and looks to me that the quest for the drive pedal is over.
I must add that Robby Resnick helped me a lot as always. Definelty I recomend that pedal, Robby and Sweewater

This pedal blew me away. The low gain side is perfect with the versatility of the tight switch. The high gain side is the well established original tone. Usually don't like amp in a box pedals, but this one is perfect.

I've been through a ton of OD pedals over the years and I believe me search is over. The EQ controls are very responsive and the drive quality is outstanding. Very easy to great lead drive tone from both channels depending on what you desire. I love the low-end thump and the highs are very sweet. Very good sustain and clarity. This one is a Keeper.

I also have the original single channel version of this pedal which is what inspired me to buy this one. Yes, it sounds terrific and all the things the previous reviewer mentioned I fully agree. Some things I might add after working with it for a bit is that this pedal, like the original, has a lot of gain. You will probably want to adjust the internal trim pots down a bit. My observation, confirmed by others on youtube is that if you turn the trip pot all the way down, you will get a pronounced increase in mids and the bass seems to decrease just a bit. I also am thinking that aside from the obvious use of having two different gain settings for lead or rhythm, I'm experimenting with setting one channel for single coil guitars (strats, teles) and the other for humbuckers. I am really not a pedal person per say but I usually left my original one on all the time and adjust the gain with my guitar volume. This is particualarly effective for smaller venus when even a 15 watt amp driven into power tube distortion will get nasty looks from club owner. I've also heard that it can work quite nicely in the loop section which I have not tried but depending on the settings and how your entire rig is set up, I can see that it might be ok. I am running at 18 volts although I cannot verify the claim of increased headroom over 9 volt power supply. Again, I haven't had it long enough to put it through the paces but wow, what a pedal. I don't see how, if you are a pedal person, you cannot have this or the original on your board. It's that good. Excellent service, as always from Sweetwater. Fast ship.

Just when you thought the original BE-OD was the bee"s knees....(it is!) - Enter the BE-OD Deluxe Dual Overdrive! (Now, the original isn"t anymore!) This guy!

I had the original BE-OD after lusting after it for a while, and finally broke down - my first pedal since 2004. I was completely blown away. It is so organic, and amp-like - the hype is real. There is a reason that this is talked about as much as it is. As soon as I had heard that Dave was coming out with a Deluxe model (originally dubbed the "DP", I believe?! but renamed, probably for reasons you may guess...), I had to get my hands on it. Got it in this week and haven"t stopped playing with my Brown Eye! The MID knob, after a lot of requests, has finally been added, and truly rounds out the sound. The top channel is exactly like the original. The bottom channel seems to be voiced a little different, and is a lower gain, but still has the Friedman sound, and with a boost or a tube screamer, is capable of getting to the hi-gain, territory. Of course, this model also has an internal gain trim pot for their respective channels.

I am also a fan of the tight switch that replaces the knob - it seems to feel a little better, response wise. My Brown Eye is kept TIGHT on top for the hi-gain, and I also keep my Brown Eye a little on the LOOSE side on the bottom channel. It rips!

I mainly play with active pickups, specifically the EMG 57/66 set, which isn"t as *harsh* as the 81/85, and is a bit warmer, but this amp responds SO WELL to a variety of pickups - from the 81/85, all the way to passive humbuckers and single coils. My Strat through the bottom channel is second to none.

Bottom line - amazing pedal, and another amazing addition from Dave Friedman - I am convinced this guy knows what the heck he is doing. I truly couldn"t live without this pedal, especially since it has replaced my EVH 5150 as my primary tone. If you liked the original, you will LOVE this! Getcha" some Brown Eye!

Seriously though, all puns and innuendos aside, Call Matthew LeMarche, or any of the great reps here at Sweetwater and Getcha" Pull on one of these pedals!

Well, what can I say about it that you don't know? It's much more versatile than I expected. I was looking for a high gain pedal and boy this does it very well. What I didn't know is that it can do soft overdrives very well too. With the internal trim pots it became my go-to distortion pedal. Didn't touch the green channel's trim pot, but set the blue's one very low, so it's just perfect for my live needs.
I gave it a 4 1/2 star because sometimes the green channel is too noisy.
Big thank you to Robby Resnick who is always guiding me to get the best gears for the money

I've been looking for a true 2-channel overdrive. While I like the sound and has all the gain you need, I was seriously disappointed in its lack of low end thump. I compared to my EVH 5150 pedal and it is much thinner. Maybe 2 EVH?!

This is a great overdrive pedal with some awesome heavy tones, but to me it definitely seems to be a one trick pony and lacks the versatility you should be getting with a dual overdrive pedal.

I had the opportunity to play the regular BE-OD. I opted for the deluxe when ordering because it was described as being the exact same pedal but with the added addition of secondary lower gain channel AND a mid-boost, which eased the only real concerns I had about the BE-OD. I do like the pedal. But I found the TIGHT knob on the regular as opposed to the TIGHT switch on the Deluxe to be superior. Being that it was a big reason I purchased the pedal, I was a bit disappointed. Riding that TIGHT KNOB toward the almost OFF position created a trashy sustain that I loved. Can't quite get there with the DELUXE. But the lower gain 2nd channel does produce some great tones and I've found that I get some great punch and unique overdrive with the mid-boost that I wasn't expecting. All said it gives me some tones that I can use on rythym I didnt expect, but does not quite deliver the lead times I bought it for. I would grab the non deluxe version if I had a do over. Not a knock on the pedal. Its a fine piece. Just not why I bought it

I am in love with the sound of this pedal, so much gain. I recommend adjusting the interior trim pots, different amps and guitars will accept that much gain in different ways. THE BAD: the input / output jacks are absolute sh!t, they WILL break and the company will offer no help other than the suggestion, "they need to be replaced when broken." Terrible customer service from Friedman Amplification. So much for their reputation for being "overbuilt"