Friedman Small Box 1x12" 50-watt Tube Combo Amp Reviews

This amp was a perfect fit.I needed something you can crank and get what you want and not have to put it on 6 or 7 to get that tone you need without half dozen pedals. My amp of choice was Marshall until I met Dave. He knew what a cat needed to get the job done. I feel like there was time and thought put in to each and every amp. I used my Marshall with the Small box but I hate to say it, I have to tell the ole lady, she is gonna have to wait for the vacation I promised her. I'm getting another Friedman combo and call it heaven. I don't know which one I'm going to pair the Small box with but they are all so good it won't make much difference. Using just your guitar knobs is the coolest way to get your true tone. It only took me 30 years to find this companion.

The most responsive amp I've ever played through. I've owned MANY amps over the years, grew up playing through a 69 Marshall jump channel, I've owned Boogie's, Marshall's, Genz, Fender, Gibson, Duncan, GK, Roland, Vox, Orange, Bugera and NOTHING does what this amp does. Period. Just do it. You won't regret the purchase.

So the Friedman Small Box 50 combo is kind of the end all be all amp. It has a fantastic clean channel and a beautiful dirty channel. It"s great for all kinds of music. The dynamics of the amp are superb! If you roll off a little volume on the dirty, you can get a great clean, even just playing really soft you can change the gain on the dirty channel. Their are a couple things that I"d prefer on this amp that it doesn"t have. One is an over all master channel. It has a master volume for each channel but not a global master. It would be nice so then you can get your clean and dirty volumes set and bring it up or down evenly. Also it is a top load head, so your dials are on the top, which means your effects loop is on the bottom of the amp. It"s kind of a pain to plug in your effects loop. It"s not as easy as a front loaded amp with your dials in front and speaker and effects inputs in the back. You can get massive amounts of treble, so I don"t use that boost. Friedman offers a synergy cap mod that kind of dials back the treble and gives you a hair more mid range. Also there is a Wildwood mod if you are looking to basically give the amp more hi gain. That basically is a third channel which is a boost on the dirty channel. In the end it"s a great amp with great options and mod possibilities. It"s loud too!

Does the Marshall thing better than Marshall IMHO. Just plan awesome live. Sounds good on 2, sounds good on 5, sounds good period. Tons of low end for an open combo. Takes pedals in front well, and the FX loop is absolutely brilliant. I have long cable runs and there is no loss at all. Loud for at home but what 50w amp isn't. EQ is shared and can be a problem for some. EQ knobs work and you get a lot of range. I had Dave mod my BE side to be more like the Plexi side. Retains the lows and a tad bit less gain. Works for me. I use mostly a CS Strat with CS Texas Specials, or a PRS SC245 with it. Stout is one way to describe the feel. If you are sloppy it will not hide it at all. Never used the Line out. For loud outdoor shows this thing kills.

First Of All, I Want To Thank You So Much Sweetwater For Offering Finance And Making This Possible For Us. I Did So Much Research Before Buying This Amazing Amp. It Is Very Expensive, But At Least I Am Going To Keep This Till I Live. I Live In Los Angeles 23 Minutes Away From Dave Friedman Amps, And Today I went There And They Helped Me So Much And Taught Me Things About This Amp. Thank You So Much To Sweetwater Engineering RYAN CLAPPER For Helping Me With This Purchase And My Previous Purchases As Well. Sweetwater Is My Number 1 Music Store. I LOVE MY FRIEDMAN SMALL BOX 50 Combo. :)))

This is it. They tone chasing ends.
Very simple amp but sounds so good. You haven't lived until you jam on a plexi style clean channel with the gain cranked.
And to be able to go for some higher gain and searing solos with the 2nd channel is a bonus!
This amp is so quiet, no hum or hiss, and my pedals in the loop have never sounded better.
No more overdrive or distortion pedals needed. Maybe just to hit once in a while for a solo .
Don't know what else to say , but like most people I've been through many amps which makes it easier to know when you've found the one. This is it!
Expensive ? Yes. But if I found this years ago it would have saved me a ton of money.
Go for it !

Ok so over the years I have played a lot of amps and have recently settled on playing combos under 20 watts as I am mainly a basement player. More recently I have been buying so many upper end guitars such as Gibson's Historic line and a few Fender CS Strats that I wanted to try something that would really rip and instead of skimping on an amp and buying another guitar I decided to drop the coin on one of these bad boys. I couldn't be happier. I'll be honest, they're not cheap. I usually wouldn't spend this much on an amp. However this was 100% worth it. Classic Plexi tone on Clean and crunch on gain. Bright switch can make it sound like a Fender or VOX. The gain is what you've come to expect out of Friedman. The amount of tone control you get my actually using the volume and tone controls on the guitar is unmatched. Never experienced such a change in tone. Loud as all hell, built like a tank and great looking. I put it on a tilted stand to get it off the ground and it sounded even better. By far the best amp I have ever played and would buy another if I needed to, however I won't since Friedman has a lifetime warranty. Props to Dave for building quality amps and to Chris Carter my rep for getting me one. If you're looking at this and thinking, don't hesitate and just go buy it. Worth every penny.

Only the price knocks this down 1/2 point in my mind. It may be a bit early for me to rate this amp, as I am still in the romance stage of the relationship, but I love this amp. The plexi/clean chanel gets plenty clean, but like another review I saw, I like the gain cranked and if I a need bit cleaner tone, I roll off my guitar volume a bit. The higher gain chanel is great too, but the plexi with a simple tube screamer in front of it works great for classic rock. I haven't tried all my other overdrive pedals yet. The effects loop works well, and this amp has all the volume I will ever need at any gig I will play. At 52 lbs, it isn't too heavy. I play bars and parties /classic rock, and i'm 55, so I've got plenty of experience with lots of gear throughout the years. Never had an amp this expensive, but I had a Boogie Mark II C plus, 68' Fender Vibrolux, Bassman's, 70's Marshall 50 watt combo (which is closest to the Friedman) etc. This Friedman is keeper, and will likely be my go to amp till death do us part. The note articulation is superb. As long as you play cleanly, it sounds great. Mistakes are amplified/stick out more too though. I record my band rehearsals, and I notice just how consistent/pure my tone is vs my other rig. You get what you pay for with this amp. When i'm on, I sound better with this amp and it motivates me to want to play. If I'm not feeling it, or sloppy, it is also apparent. Can't have too many beers at the gig!