Friedman Small Box Overdrive Pedal Reviews
With the Friedman Small Box distortion pedal, now you can put the responsive, harmonically rich tone of Friedman's acclaimed Small Box amplifier on your pedalboard. A 2-way gain structure switch offers big tonal versatility: use high-gain mode for searing lead distortion tones, or switch it to the lower-gain mode and dial back the Gain knob for a dirty boost that melds perfectly with your amplifier's front end. The Small Box distortion pedal's punchy, tubelike tone can be shaped for practically any combination of guitar and amplifier with its Bass, Mid, Treble, and Presence controls.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Best Marshall-in-a-box On the Market!
It does everything from gentle breakup to the brown sound!
Chimey, chirpy classic sparkle with more than enough gain.
Seriously— this thing gets you from Van Halen 1 to Aenima. It has to be heard to be believed.
The best of the best of the best of the…
This is genuinely the best distortion pedal I've ever owned. Single coils, humbuckers, P-90's, you name it- and this pedal will make them sing.
Works wonders in front of a clean amp. So versatile, it's insane. Plenty of gain on tap. I don't think this pedal is capable of producing a bad sound.
Friedman Smallbox Pedal
Great little pedal that makes any amp sound a bit better. Like adding gravy on mashed potato's.
The sound I was looking for from a dirt pedal.
Thanks again Ben !
Favorite pedal
I have a lot of distortion and overdrive pedals. The harmonic content of this pedal and the feel of individual notes is superior to pretty much any other pedal. I was disappointed with the extra voicing control at first but I like it better than standard mode when being stacked with other pedals.
A Small Box but some Mighty Tones
If you're in the market for a plexi-style pedal would highly recommend this one. Calling it a distortion pedal is slightly misleading but is probably one of the most versatile and flexible plexi style pedals on the market. The gain on tap is not as much as expected, and I have it running at 3 o clock in order to get it at a level I prefer. However, it is very sensitive to picking dynamics and can even sound better than some Marshall amps. This circuit does seem a bit brighter than the BE-OD and less gain but the brightness is easy to fix with the treble knob and the presence knob adds to the dynamics of the tone. The glassy high end of this pedal is very recognizable and sounds incredibly realistic; however, if you're looking for more lead tones, I would recommend having a boost to accompany this pedal. The design of this pedal is also a nice touch. Friedman had a great design for this pedal with all gain being controlled externally and a full 4-band EQ meaning it can pair with any setup as well as be a great foundation pedal for your tones while gain stacking.
Overall highly recommend and another great pedal in the Friedman line up.
Best Sounding Plexi Pedal Ever
This pedal has amazed me more and more, since the first time I plugged it in. It goes great in my BE-50 Deluxe, and Twin Sister. I haven't tried it yet on my other amps. If this is what the Smallbox Amp sounds like, as they state on the box, then that is one amazing Amp. If an Amp isn't a Plexi, or Modded Plexi Style Amp, with a Master Volume, I really don't pay much attention to it, since my Favorite Style tones, are those of the late 60's, 70's, and 80's. Great Job Sweetwater, and Dave Friedman, all of your products that you make, all amaze me, from your pedals, to your amps and guitars. Sold for life!
My favorite of the Friedman dirt boxes
I own the Friedman BE-OD, the Dirty Shirley and the Small Box. They are all great pedals, but I think I like the Small Box the best. To me the BE-OD is really high gain with a lot of low end- think a Mesa Boogie type of sound. The Dirty Shirley is medium high gain with less lows and more mids, like a modded Marshall. The Small Box can do lower gain Marshall Plexi sounds up to the JCM 800, maybe 900 level. The Small Box is brighter than the other two. In the low gain mode, you get this great fat clean with a bit of edge on it. I love both modes and between the two, you could cover everything from country to R&B to classic rock to early metal. The only possible improvement would be to have a jack to toggle between the two modes with an additional footswitch like some of the JHS and old Boss pedals have.
Mid gain on parade
Maybe the best low to mid gain pedal I've owned. Works well with a clean or a slightly crunchy amp. There is a small mini switch on the side of the pedal to choose between low and higher gain . Very easy to dial this pedal in.
Great pedal.
Highly recommend.
Not just another distortion pedal
I own 5 distortion pedals including the Friedman Small Box pedal. This one is by far my favorite. It's basically the Small Box amp in a box. The pedal responds well to my guitars and makes my amp sound fantastic.
Smallbox-Must Have Pedal
I buy a lot of OD pedals and am frequently disappointed. This pedal is hands down the best "Plexi" on the market, I have tried so many and ended up returning them. It's very good on high gain, but it does the low gain plexi thing better than anything I have heard. This is a must have pedal!!!
MEGA
From my research, this is the best "Marshall in a box" pedal out there. The switch takes it from classic plexi sounds to more modern jcm800 type sounds. I go jam at my friends house, and they usually have cheap/mediocre/off brand amps. Just by adding this to my small pedal board I can get a killer tone on just about any amp. Saves me from dragging an amp around or playing and being frustrated with a bad tone. Love it!
12 - Noon out of the box....
Just got this pedal tonight, and took it to band practice. I'm using it through a Dirty Shirley Mini for recordings, and it sounds fantastic! Props to Sweetwater! You guys rock! Your customer service is unparalleled!
Amazing
I bought this pedal impulsively on Black Friday since it was on sale without knowing much about it. It's absolutely amazing. You can get so many tones. One slight disappointment is that this is described here as a distortion pedal, but it's really more overdrive - a pretty perfect one at that.
Small box pedal performance
Got my Small box pedal and at the time my tube amp was being repaired, both of them so I plugged it into the input of my first generation 1997 line6 axsys 212. Set to low gain marshall 800 and no distortion or compression on the line6, it sounded great. Quieter warmer more articulate. Love this pedal!!!!! Can't wait to hear it on a real amp!!!! By the way I'll only buy from sweetwater. Sales team and shipping was perfect and the candy was yummy
VERSATILE
This little gem can cover it all. Light crunch Plexi, modded Plexi, JCM800, and even modern high gain. The three-band EQ really helps tailor the tone to your amp. Really a great pedal. I hope Dave does a deluxe small box pedal as it would be nice to have two foot-switchable Tones. Hint hint Dave
Smallbox in a small box!
This pedal is the ultimate pedal in a box! Get those plexi tones with tweakability to get those classic rock/hair metal/grunge tones on a clean channel. I put this on my Mesa Fillmore 25's clean channel, and it sounds as good as my Friedman Pink Taco's tone! Get one!
Heaven!!!
I don't often write reviews because so often products just don't live up to the hype. The BE od pedal for example is very good but for the most part kind of a distortion box not very organic. The Dirty swirly pedal is a bit better than the BE but still is lacking...All that is over enter the SmallBox Pedal . This thing is un Real . Now don't mis understand its not ultra high gain but It actually sounds great over a clean amp that is to say it sounds organic and as though you stepped on the channel with of your amp and went to the od channel really Good. This thing is like a really good dessert thick , Rich and filled with Chocolate a 7 layer cake, a Juicy Steak...You get the picture this is the real deal and the best Od /dirt box EVER!!
Don't wait BUY IT... Ty Mike Weinbrenner for getting this to me so quick ...I am now at peace.
Captain Crunch
A superb low the mid gain pedal. Easy to dial up a low to mid break up crunchy sound.
Great rock tones
Really nice, captures the essence of great Marshall JCM800 and hot rodded tones. Performs very well in front of a blackface Fender style clean amp and can also goose up a good Plexi style amp with gain lower, volume higher.
You have to love the Friedman sound: its ok.
I'm probably in the minority. I found this pedal (and a couple of the Friedman amps) quick to get raspy. Sound is a subjective thing but the Friedman Small Box pedal is closer to a raspy, broken up metal sound that a hard rock. I definitely don't equate it to a Plexi or Marshall sound, which also breaks up but has that "broken glass" crunch to it. But if you love that sound Friedman creates, this pedal will recreate it. It has alot of adjustment, the boost and can be run at 18v.
While it didn't recreate the sound I wanted running through 2 different clean amps or as a second overdrive, maybe you'll love it. I went with a mini plex instead and like the sound it creates much better. I've wanted to love the Friedman sound, but I guess its just not for me--more of a Marshall guy and this is not a MIAB.
