Friedman Dirty Shirley with a Solid State Yellow Jacket Rectifier

[@LP_Freak]

I did this years ago in my DS and it definitely tightens up the bottom end much more to my liking.

[@mcmccarthy1873]

you'll notice a big difference when the amp is played at full volume when more juice is needed. it also depends on what type of rectifier tube was stock as they vary greatly in stoutness.

[@MorGuitarz]

I did the same with my DS40 amp too... It still had that tubby low end, but it was a bit better. I believe Friedman has made the bottom end more controllable (or more options) in the Twin Sister (the 2 channel DS coming out soon)... More ability to tighten it up

[@JonBingham]

There's a control for reining in the low end in the power amp on the twin sister. Don't tell anyone -- but Dave installed it on mine as well :)

[@Auen73]

@@JonBingham You have that new Bass control on your DS? I thought it sounded more punchy, crisp, and present than all the others I've heard.....Very cool👍

[@brownsfan7753]

I can hear the difference! The rectifier tube sounds warmer for sure!

[@rmg471]

Cool experiment!

[@squiertelecaster6854]

I would really like to see the inside of that Friedman amp.

[@utubehound69]

Didn't Boss make faux tubes for a min? I have Fender Deluxe Reverb the rectifier is GZ Tube. I wonder is changing it would make much difference? Less Sag / More Sag? IDK sounds bout the same. SS is lil tighter but not that much

[@BenBreard]

I didn't hear much difference but unfortunately I listened on crappy headphones. I recently learned my favorite all time amp, Naylor Dual 60 (which I believe was inspired by Dave's channel switching mod), uses a solid state rectifier. So I can say with confidence that they don't suck. .... but I doubt it's a tone upgrade for an amp that's not designed for it. Might be cool in the gigbag in case that tube fails.

[@scottpeters4401]

I think it was a tad more articulate with the SS recto.....a tad....or a smidge....very small subtle difference.....either way,that’s a great sounding amp...I gotta get one of those...

[@rocket69218]

I don't know about the rectifier thing (meh, shrug) but that amp sounds great as is.

[@mabeltipps4370]

Did you rebias after doing this?

[@jaycee30865]

You would have noticed if you had cranked it up all the way. That rectifier (5ar4?) is the stiffest one in the world of tube rectifiers so the difference is pretty minimal. It starts showing its face when you crank it up. But it’s very slight. You can get other rectifiers that sag more deeply.

[@chanceterrill5346]

Yes, believe me I know That amp in n out...... Here's what came across from a self proclaimed DS40 expert lol...... Tube rec yielded a bit more of a wooly sound (think bassman cranked) maybe a touch less mids...... The ss rec. Yielded more gain, but the gain is smoother, and it is a bit brighter..... Might be an upper mids bump I'm hearing..... But I bet if u bumped gain up and mids up and treble up, then cut bass a little bit with the tube rec, u could get the two very very close..... The biggest difference to me other then the increase in gain and upper mids(brighter), is the character of the breakup.....tube was a little more raw and rough around the edges despite it having less gain, the break up with the ss rec was smoother and more focused to my ear.....I may try it in mine to maybe achieve a black flag jtm 50 vibe (the amp that Angus used to record most of the back in black Album)

[@chanceterrill5346]

Also if u do it with a les paul then I can more accurately assess...... My ear is trained to deconstruct les paul tones, other guitars, especially single coils and fender types throw me off, if u have an sg or les paul (preferably lp) I can accurately destruct, then analyze, every minute characteristic of each tone....... I've done it every night for a over a year with my lp and DS40, just turning knobs and listening intently, same with raising pups, swapping tubes etc...... BTW the winning tube was a short plate blackburn mullard i61 circa 1960.... Get one.... Put it in v1 of ur shirley and thank me later

[@youscreamiscream]

Change those shitty 5881's for NOS EL-34's...MASSIVE difference in my twin sister...ordered a solid-state recto...

[@roncarter2188]

I had the same experience until I tried this in a vintage amplifier and it was more of a noticeable difference than it was from my modern tube amp, in which it seemed a little more punchy and a little better on the low end.

[@earworm]

I don’t think you would notice much difference unless you really crank it and play some high gain low tuned drop d riffs or something.

[@greevar]

It sounds like the Yellow Jacket has more output than the tube. Beyond that, I can't really detect any difference that would stand out in a mix.

[@rocker8692]

Sounded better with no tube rectifier to me

[@chrisgrabowski2678]

Man Jon, the difference is minimal at best to me at the end of the video. I'll need to listen with earphones. I almost feel like you're putting one over on us, but I'm sure you're not.

[@JonBingham]

Not intentionally! Maybe the industry is?!

[@voxpathfinder15r]

You won’t know the difference in sag between tube rectification and diode rectification if you’re a bedroom player. Sag only happens when you push the power of the amplifier to its upper limits. And lower wattage amps are less susceptible to power sag than higher wattage amps

[@JonBingham]

That's right. I was turned up half way recording through a torpedo live. It was definitely juicy enough.

[@EdBenji]

All those Friedman amp are overly compressed to start with!

[@jordantee2383]

What speakers are you using?

[@jamesflack8624]

No difference at all. Did it change the "feel" of the amp at all?. IMHO I think the feel difference argument btwn SS recto vs tube recto is bullshit...

[@rockeye]

That’s because you have no sense of touch.