Friedman JJ JR! To BOOST Or Not To BOOST? (Feat. EHX Soul Food & OD808)

Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
02:07 Friedman JJ JR No Boost
04:21 Friedman JJ JR w/EHX Soul Food
06:16 A/B Back To Back Comparison (JJ JR w/o boost vs Soul Food)
07:33 A/B Back To Back Comparison (JJ JR w/o boost vs Soul Food) ISOLATED
09:22 Soul Food vs Maxon OD808 (Isolated A/B Comparison)
10:32 Conclusion
Thanks for watching this new episode of 'To BOOST Or Not To BOOST?' featuring the Friedman Amplification JJ JR/Junior (Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains). This amp has plenty of gain for a good chug but can we make it sound even more aggressive with a boost pedal up front? Perhaps! This time we try the Electro Harmonix Sould Food (Klon clone) and I also compare that to the Maxon OD808. Which one sounds better and did you prefer the amp with or without a boost? Let me know in the comments!
RedSeven Amplification Amp Central Review & Demo: • AMAZING Reactive Load!...
York Audio Impulse Responses: www.yorkaudio.co/
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#friedmanjjjr #jerrycantrell #boostpedal #toboostornottoboost #electroharmonix #soulfood #klon #pedal #boost #overdrive #chug #rock #gain #tones #guitar

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Does the JJ JR need a boost, or not? (For metal) Let me know!

[@frnkytherockstar7760]

I’m a fan of Alice In Chains and damn a love the Cantrell amp, but this time it’s more heavy boosted, I love both: maxon and soul food, man on ether great job I love your videos

[@SonicDriveStudio]

@@frnkytherockstar7760 thanks! I agree on this one...

[@emiliano9321]

Is it me or with the Soul Food it sounds quite like the Ironheart Gain type?

[@ImmyT89]

im also here for the riffs

[@OTCRock4one]

I would rather listen to the amp without the impulse loader or whatever it's called, I'd like to hear the true tone without anything changing the tone?

[@deepghetto8968]

Better with a boost, but almost every amp is better with an extra something behind it. Doesn't matter though, the main attraction here, as always, are the riffs.

[@ringforthrev]

No doubt about that

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Not true but ok

[@tshiota]

Best review that I have seen of this amp yet! Thank you!

[@markmcgibbon2101]

Love the jjs tone on its own. The changes were subtle and definitely affected the overall tone. I wouldn’t say it was better with a boost just different. The Soulfood definitely gave it a more metal edge. Great riffing incidentally 👍🏼.

[@R.Stridstrom]

Different is a great word.

[@progpogs]

Your drive choice makes a lot of sense, that's why friedman made the golden pearl, I think Dave likes transparent overdrives for his amps going into gain channels.

[@mountainofsound]

I swear this is the most underrated Gear channel ever. \../, as always keep up the excellent work!!!

[@mountainpeakcloud8442]

I think that the boost works well for that modern metal tone, but I got the JJ Jr for more of the AIC, Tool, stoner rock/metal sound. If I wanted to get an amp for playing modern metal, I would have probably gone with something like a mesa, Peavey…

[@progpogs]

I like this series man, its just good vibes and good tones.

[@thedeadseasons9934]

All sounded great. I have a jjjr so I love these videos.

[@electricmeatpuppet]

Awesome, loving the Soul Food too :) I might have to check one out, im a fan of those style of pedals for sure.

[@borhksalduero9259]

Right, since I got it I haven’t used any boost at all, I love the character of this amp on its own, but boosting this beast with the soul food has added more aggression which I must say it works AF!!! Thanks buddy!!!

[@ricardobrasil20]

The soul food give a brighter sound… I think make the sound more live, but the amp is already a monster! Great video!!

[@gibs8412]

yup, I am one of those guys who now uses boosts all the time, and the transparent ones are my fav, great choice!

[@MrUmandMrEr]

I just got the Soul Food pedal. Sounds great with my Hayden Mofo 30, used like this; as a clean boost; or as a higher, smooth OD. Great pedal. Love that Friedman!

[@nj1255]

The Soul Drive (or any Klon type pedal) will pretty much only work as a extra gain stage. It does sound good, but it sounds just as good without it. Depends on what tone you are going for; If you want the extra saturation and a more high gain tone out of the JJ it's perfect! I think it works better than a TS.

[@stephenatgraceland]

Thanks for the well done comparison. The Soul Food definitely enlivens the sound, adding higher frequencies to my ear. I love the SF for livening up a dull sounding amp. In this case, a track might or might not sound better with the SF. It would definitely bring the track forward, but might add a little too much bright sheen. Depends on the settings and the desired tone.

[@devinj]

Definitely enjoyed the chugs with the boost, but the Arpeggiated notes sounded better with it off. I’d say if you’re recording, do one track with and one track without for a nice blend.

[@zloboslav_]

yes, that is exactly what i wanted to type too

[@jt5326]

Lights and the Windows: very accurate assessment IMO. I play this amp live, and I’ve found that single notes are VERY full without the boost. When I add a boost the single notes thin out, but can be satisfying depending on what your going for.

[@TavaresProject]

This amp has more than enough gain for chugging... And more importantly the open ringing of the notes is bliss without the boost pedal. BTW the riff was awesome!!!

[@isatariq7533]

That boost surprisingly added some needed low end resonance and punch, i really like that

[@12breacher82]

Works well both ways. Basically, 6 string stuff tuned C and above sound fine by cranking the gain. Anything below that and extended scale guitars needs a boost to tighten the low end. And if you have a proper OD with it’s own EQ, you can add heft back to the bass lost from that (Burning Spirit, Direwolf, etc.).

[@kutnersuicide]

Sounds awesome. It's all about pairing the right boost pedal with the right amp. With my 6505 or my Ironheart 60, I always come back to the OD808 and some magic happens. With my JCM900 SL-X or my Bedrock 600, I much prefer the MXR GT-OD and with my Sovtek Mig100, I really like the Marshall Drive Master (which is pretty much an original Guv'nor sans the loop circuit).

[@GearStuffandThings]

Don't know if it needs it but it certainly works. I suppose it comes down to whatever tone you need for the project

[@volkerlinzer844]

Great Video - Great Channel. It seem to really depend, if you want the dark AIC grunch sound - where you may not need to max out the gain - or want this amp to sound more ‘Metal’ (brighter, aggressive). For the later I wonder how the SD-1 would have brought even more aggressiveness into the highs. The amp fully saturated gives a very mellow - sad - sound, on purpose! Something 5150 or PRS MT15 cannot offer. This makes this amp more versatile imo. But not everybody likes that, actually do not appreciate grunch sounds at all. P.s. Noticed the lower gain setting on the amp with the SoulFood. This is how I would set the amp to start with.

[@ral8031]

They both sound great! \m/

[@tjborekvideo]

The EHX Soul Food is underrated as a boost pedal for high-gain tones. Once it made my cheap Bugera G20 Infinium sound good, I was hooked. Can't go wrong with an OD808, but I like the thicker effect of the Soul Food.

[@jettsom]

Just bought a soul food for my JJ amp. Really worth it!

[@mrchrisbeaver]

Every piece of gear I think I'm interested in, I type into KZbin and there's a video by John 😅 Love the videos, the web would be a worse place without you

[@ttbean9491]

Soul Food for the Win! As always, best riffs on KZbin. Keep it Metal.

[@gastonpossel]

I love not to boost (high gain) amps and manage the aggression with the proper pressure and location of my palms, with the least gain reasonably possible for heavy chugging. I feel that retains clarity and the spirit of the amp. One can get a diverse palette of sounds if attention is paid to the actual hand execution and interpretation. Great playing and sound, like always! Cheers

[@Asyouwere]

Wow, do you have multiple right arms?

[@riomecil]

damn, dude you're a real-life riff encyclopedia!

[@ampeguy]

The Maxon kind of muffles the tone. But damn I forgot how great soul food sounds. It definitely gives the tone life. I have it somewhere in my collection. I gotta dig it out and fool around with it this weekend. Thanks for this 🤙🏾.

[@sneakynation1414]

My god that amp sounds amazing. Boosted or not. it really doesn't need it imo, but adding a boost just adds versatility.

[@MrCshmn]

If you want a super transparent boost with an adjustable mid frequency control, the JHS Haunting Mids is a fantastic tool for tweaking your boost to perfection.

[@picksalot1]

I liked the sound of the Amp. The Soul Food added some clarity to the top end, but at the expense of the Amp's low end. Actually, everything sounded good, and to boost or not, and which pedal to use, comes down to personal taste and the tune. Thanks

[@TheDeedeeFiles]

Awesome amp man

[@thomascoolberth2648]

This is the only good reviewof the JJ Jr. out there. Everybody else is doing a disservice to this amp.

[@jaredkemp1379]

The amp alone sounds great, but me being a metal head, I think the Soul Food kicked it into more metal territory, so I think the tone benefited, plus it sounded better than the other pedal. 🤘🏽😈🤘🏽

[@BrandonBames]

To my ears, the Soul Food is a bit more percussive and has some more low end, and the OD-808 is more saturated in the high end but perhaps a bit smoother overall? Great comparison! I think now it's time for the Revv G20 to be put to the Sonic Drive test!

[@AmdusciasBaal]

It's definitely cool with the Soul Food. It keeps the vibe of the amp. OD 808 is really cool as well but the sounds breathes more with the Soul Food.

[@rozhkovmusic]

Like your amps without any boost, you just mixing it up excellent without any pedals upfront

[@mountain7777]

That JJ Jr. sounded lilke it had plenty of gain...the boost also sounded great as well....wonder why people say it don't have enough gain?

[@charlescollison9207]

Love it w/the OD808

[@rezakhan8290]

I liked the unboosted tone within or without the mix.

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

Off topic: could you try to replicate Iron Maiden's "Piece of mind" tone? You're the right person to ask since you have a lot of amps and ir. From what I know they used jmp 1987 boosted by a ts9 (Smith) or mxr 10 band eq and boss FA1 (Murray); the mxr dist+ was actually turned on only for solos. Speakers should be Celestion g12-65 being the sound very woody and dark imo.

[@ronniewebster4365]

I use a TImmy on mine. Its nice to dial back the gain for some crunch and then boost for some good chugging :)

[@dutchyfresh1]

That’s a good sounding amp. It sounds good both ways.

[@Eric_01]

I liked the Soul Food add. It was subtle but had a little "edge" that sounded good. Between the two boosts, the SF stayed crisp while to my ear the Maxon lost a little clarity.

[@titahibayflier3160]

A bit tighter with the boost pedal but it's fairly subtle overall. The Soul Food sounded clearer than the maxon which had muddier upper mids.

[@skrabio]

I think that modern tighter amps (like most Friedmans) benefit the most from a light drive like the Golden Pearl. But I’m not into super heavy chugs, so that’s me!

[@rangerdoc1029]

OMG... The TOAN! I need a tissue.

[@ChadJensen]

Most underrated amp on the market.

[@nikolasmatviko4700]

What cab+mics/IR are used? Sounds awesome. Boost please!

[@krailanuar]

Love it if boost with Maxon OD808... If OD9 Plus For Sure Brutal A.F

[@tasfa10]

Definitely without boost for me. Sounds much more precise and not just on the arpeggiated part but also the palm muted open string "galloping" parts. And the tone itself just sounds better too without the boost.

[@thelowlifex9437]

Talking about controls going up to eleven , hellooooo clevelaaaaaand 😂

[@xthexadvantagex]

I can see why you might pick the souls food over the 808 but that chummy chewy mid is why I would choose the 808

[@stevemoore6349]

Well played sir.boost I shall

[@colewarweg8594]

How are you getting sounds like that with the master so incredibly low?

[@florisbackx1744]

The boosted sound is a bit to compressed and nasal sounding for my liking, but hey too each their own : ). Maybe it would work in a left/right scenario where you use both and pan them to opposite sides to create a bit of depth.

[@lesterksi4521]

I thinkb boost it's sounds slightly better saturation, but not much. Unless the guitar used a much lower output pickup, then the boost will definitely helps

[@slippy8813]

Could you do a video using the original evh lbx to play van halen riffs

[@jconner3891]

Would you recommend that guitar.? Bad ass

[@mjlagerwerf]

I'm surprised by the EH! It really does keep the character of the amp and does add some subtle extras. Maybe I should pick up that pedal 🤔

[@SonicDriveStudio]

It's cheap and awesome!

[@lexvogelaar834]

Jon..... That was AWESOME! Tones, gear, riffs and playing top notch 👍 I would use any of these tones in a production in a heartbeat. Personal taste: liked the soul food boosted tone best. Thanks for comparing the soul food with the 808. Very interesting. The 808 suddenly sounded a bit flat and compressed compared to the soul food 🤔 Thanks for another great video, your tones are getting better and better. Cheers!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks Lex!

[@cragginshred]

Cool! How do you compare the Jr with the gen 1 EVH Lbx? Mainly to produce killer mid based gain that cuts in a classic hard rock band? Thanks!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I prefer the JJ for classic rock

[@cragginshred]

@@SonicDriveStudio any clips of regular tuning classic metal riffs with preferred boost?

[@ashleyjackson8538]

The soul food , had something different too the 808 , For me, I would have to be playing to get the feel .

[@mjtan6787]

@sonic drive studio hello John, just a question...out of all the lunchbox amps that you have tried...which one has the most balls? Which one would sound near its 100 watt counterpart? For bedroom or basement practice purposes...

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Hmmmm they all sound good but in terms of loudness and headroom: MT15 and Fireball 25 perhaps. Although many of my other lunchbox amps sound amazing!

[@mjtan6787]

@@SonicDriveStudio thanks for the reply John! I am thinking of getting a lunchbox but I also want the balls of a 100 watt head...engl fireball 25 would be the best?

[@heavymetal11]

Is it good with other pedals?

[@slappywag7210]

Boost EVERYTHING 🤘🤪

[@idanshahar]

I like to soul food over the 808!

[@orionwarren4244]

Pedals give live performances the little extra grit they need. In the studio? Eff it, use a Kemper and call it good! LoL

[@TheGunmac10]

Whats the tunning? Drop c#? You riffs and production are amazing makes me want a les paul

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks! Drop C.

[@MrCshmn]

It will be down to the pick-up. He’s playing an Eclipse not a Les Paul. It’s a way lighter and brighter guitar (I have both. They sound nothing alike). You could get this tone from most guitars with a BKP Aftermath fitted. Expensive but cheaper than a new guitar. I try to have BKPs in all my gear.

[@TheGunmac10]

@@MrCshmn Bought a lp style (hb sc-dlx) since then sounds great, plays decent but thick neck and shorter scale dont really work for me. I've no idea how in flames and trivium can go even lower (myne is in drop b)

[@oldguyjammin9732]

Love my Soul Food for ‘certain’ things :) let me ask you “JJ Jr or Marshall DSL20”? For more modern tightness. Thank you

[@SonicDriveStudio]

JJ

[@philfrank5601]

Absolutely no need for the boost, sounded wicked alone. But the feel may have been better, more responsive, and that would make it worthwhile. Only playing will prove it.

[@djentleman5129]

I love the sound you get out of the Friedman. Another video on youtube one opens the amp and is shocked by it's poor quality ... 🤷

[@SonicDriveStudio]

It's great quality tbh

[@djentleman5129]

@@SonicDriveStudio I trust you, thanks for feedback.

[@jcwear89]

I preferred without the boost sounded less closed in 🙂

[@joemasse4568]

Only boost if you need to? I hardly use my boost, I’ll tell you why? When my tube amp is cooking it sounds better then a boost more heft, and less fuzz? But some songs need a bit of boost to get what you want sound wise, then you use it but make sure the settings are what you want before just stepping on it, to get the best sound possible.

[@edwardcullenhotass]

The Maxon thinned it out too much, IMO. The Soul Food sounded killer.

[@jconner3891]

Boost the boost. 🤘❤️❤️💯

[@MrScrab13]

Hi! is 20 watt enogh to play in the band with drummer? it will be loud enogh?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I think so

[@MrScrab13]

@@SonicDriveStudio ok) thank you

[@jconner3891]

Wonder if the dirty tree would be too much? I believe your getting one.!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Getting one soon!

[@jconner3891]

I am the booster your talking about. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@phoenixyz]

Hey man, which plugin are you using for your fat metal drums?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Steven Slate Drums 5.5

[@phoenixyz]

@@SonicDriveStudio thanks!

[@patriknessboLemoran]

Do the mark V!

[@ringforthrev]

Yes, Soul Food wins

[@Assetsio]

Gast, Je hele zolder staat gewoon vol met versterkers. Bizar! Je hebt er vast 1 dubbel? Die gun je dan vast aan een landgenoot toch?;)

[@groopuskul]

Better with soul food, I am pretty sure that it feels better to play tight metal using that boost.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Yup

[@shorerocks]

Yeah, whatever. Now to the important question of the day - where did you get that awesome t-shirt (yeah, I am that old)? Thx.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

You can get it here I believe: www.qwertee.com/product/never-forget-422

[@shorerocks]

@@SonicDriveStudio Ha ha, you were waiting for me to ask something important, right? Have a nice evening!!

[@MrJHate]

I love your videos, but I really wish you’d actually mic an amp. I know people will say “IT’S THE SAME!!” but I dunno… obviously, choosing the right IR is definitely a skill, but I feel like it’s significantly easier to do than actually throwing a mic on a cab. My $.02 that nobody cares about anyway lol

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks but that's just not going to happen anytime soon. I really like this workflow and sound for many reasons!

[@MrJHate]

Sonic Drive Studio I’ll enjoy your content either way!

[@garyz0611]

If you truly want to hear with a JJ Jr. in all her glory hook it up to a 4 x 12

[@Timothy0430]

JJ jr or PRS mt15 which is better????

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Depends on the genre. For metal I'd say MT15

[@Timothy0430]

@@SonicDriveStudio got another comparison.. PRS MT 15 or REVV g20?? I play a lot of hard rock/metal also 80s metal, ZZ Top. I mainly play in drop D and standard tuning some drop C.. which amp is better for everything I mentioned.. I see you own both.

[@craigosborne3260]

It is more of an eq change

[@JulianDaniels]

Not to boost in my opinion! This amp has very unique tone which will be lost a bit with a boost.

[@thracian2072]

Soul Food conquered and humiliated the Maxon.

[@97warlock]

dont hear any difference. are you an amp collector or do they send you them free?

[@KeepTheGates]

ALWAYS BOOST

[@vicnest]

The pedal gives nice mid and weight.

[@KB_Joys]

Off

[@goranmarinic2923]

Without for my taste.

[@2901were]

no boost, for sure.