Friedman PLEX | The Plexi Amplifier Reborn

[@soundstorm9508]

Many vintage Plexi owners (myself included) will say that when cranking the amp, it’s common to keep the bass on 2 or even all the way off. There will still be *plenty* of bass, but it will tighten the amp up considerably. Blend in the normal channel if you need more low end grunt. The two channels in the Friedman Plex are internally jumped so you can blend the channels. Thanks for the great content as always, Bea!

[@bobbyarthur-yf3yf]

Truth 0-2 often 0 ..

[@steve10358]

The truth

[@kevinmurtagh4996]

I agree, but not just with a plexi Marshall- with all cranked amps! I use a 60’s Bassman, and the bass knob stays on 0. Especially with the matching 2x12 cab, there’s so much damn low end just from the cab. Nothing bothers me more than flubby low end. I understand why someone might want more bass if they’re mostly playing single note lead stuff. But I play strictly rhythm guitar, and I’m pretty heavy handed, so bass gotta be barely on.

[@mattlincoln6845]

So true angus young does this with his live rig. I don't think he has a tone setting over 3 besides volume

[@qua7771]

I keeps mine on 2 as well. I wish that weren't the case. I'd like to modify the amp somehow to get a useful bass control.

[@eyedunno8462]

A purposely imperfect, perfect amp. What a time to be alive.

[@PureJadeKid]

I love how the black and gold LP matches the black and gold amp. Extra bonus charm points.

[@LifeHawkeye]

Love your content as always Rabea and bro you’re looking fantastic!!! All of your hard work in the gym and with your food intake is paying off hugely brother! Keep at it and keep doing what you love buddy. It’s great to see you smiling man.

[@markmorrell3494]

Finally, a Friedman I want!! Thank you for the great demo!

[@reddoggie100]

Like most of us gear junkies, I’ve listened to a zillion vids of amps and whatnot. All subjective of course but this is the best sound I can recall hearing on KZbin. Wasn’t planning on getting this but have to go after it after hearing this.

[@gtil8445]

Same here.

[@johnsmothermon6856]

“It’d b rude not to use a Les Paul.” I would hug him if I could. The kids are gonna be alright.

[@jonathanguimond]

actually, a strat with a PAF would have been even better, TBH

[@georgyj111111]

A tight Plexy without the farting mud and a lot of thump. I'm impressed.

[@davidgerlach1132]

Just ordered one, based on this bitchin' guitar expose.

[@marcelonunes3980]

so, its not a plexi lol

[@j.reveille6815]

@@marcelonunes3980 modded plexi

[@hybridnoisebloom]

That smile says it all.

[@youngandrew66]

Boys are back in town/ fooled again from the first A power

[@pascalr.4991]

Everytime i see Rabea i can't keep thinking of the MC5! Lol! Am i the only one to think it's a mix of the MC5 singer Rob Tyner with his guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred Sonic Smith??? Especially in this video because of the sound of RnRoll!!!Nice job Rabea! I Love those classic sounds!

[@WillMoon]

Dude. That’s the sound. That. I want that.

[@johngallagher7884]

Yes the low voltage settings sound very pleasing 🎉

[@dougappel5924]

The voice of Rock. Nothing like that sound. ❤

[@costasavarikas1891]

It sounds like how a guitar should sound, organic and natural

[@Treeepp]

I remeber playing this at namm for the demo this year, it is definitely one of the best amps ive played!

[@MarcosBanus]

Always epic when you take the LP for a ride!

[@michaelmay369]

That is one absolutely killer amp.

[@ioannisstavropoulos4319]

Pressed like button from the intro jam... Damn man, you rule! Oh the amp is nice too :P

[@IamMusicNerd]

I love Friedman amps. The modules Dave made for Synergy are amazing as well. Everything he makes sounds great.

[@joewolf-xq7lv]

I really digg it !!!! The jake e lee model is wicked too !!! Killer tone.dont tell george lynch !!!! Lol

[@stevensonnewberry8724]

Has that attitude. Late Jeff Beck & Leslie West had same feeling. Amp sounds good too.

[@jonscudder759]

I am liking this new flavor of Bea with LP and Friedman! Sounds great!

[@justbob242]

Chuffed to see you enjoying yourself. Thank you for making your content.

[@jaredriley4071]

Dave knocked it out the park with this.

[@TheMickyAngus]

Great test, for a great amp. We need part 2 with strat, super strat and modern axe 🤘

[@davidmultimedia2024]

Sounds KILLER! Goshhh I love a good Plexi tone! Thanks for the review Bea!

[@heyitsmekid]

It just sounds good! Never sounded bad. Every turn of the knob, low voltage, high voltage, cab with mics, load box and IR etc.. It just sounded sooo good! Due in no small part to your guitar playing skills!

[@afterstars]

I’ve always been a Mesa guy but an older friend got me to appreciate Plexis more. I’ve always respected them for the classic records they’ve been on but it was never my own personal tone. Finally I decided I needed one plexi style amp in my collection and I pulled the trigger on this amp in purple levant. It’s phenomenal. Volume knobs work wonders with these amps. Beautiful cleans, classic rock tones and even jcm800 territory when pushed. I’m even getting great metal tones with just a simple OD pedal. Tons of character and dynamics.

[@AndyK.23]

Great demo! Proves that a bright cap is mandatory for 'the plexi tones'!

[@joker6388]

I think this might actually be the best sounding amp of all time.

[@josephleiva880]

VHT Pitbull 50 CL Head.

[@K3v0P3N80]

This amp sounds really good. I really like the careful thought that was given for the different tweak-able tone options. This amp sounds mean but I think I would like to get my hands a Jake E Lee model.

[@kentjackson3830]

Always a treat too hear your play. Think this must be the 5th review of the Plex I watched today. Interesting how each reviewer goes about covering an amp. I may have missed it but I didn't see you blend volumes 1 and 2 to get a tone. Since its internally jumped I would think that's most commonly done. You certainly got some great tones out of channel 1 even without blending though .

[@Taricmusic]

Sounds good! AC/DC style. ❤

[@ShinKuro99]

so versatile love it !

[@billhannum4117]

Dave is gonna sell alot of these for sure .Bea has the coolest hair on utube .

[@johngallagher7884]

At time 9:09 that nice wooly tone amen

[@Leo_nbd]

8:03 sounds like a fuzz, amazing

[@CarloRegadasGuitar]

Sounds absolutely killer. All that bite and spongey Plexi saturation. Great playing too of course, Bea. Carlo 🎸👍🏼

[@StevenWatson-tw5wb]

That’s the best that amp will ever look!

[@HolseTown82]

that LP is a beast......

[@johnstitt2615]

Pete Thorn tried this, now you. It is an amp worthy of “Clear my schedule, hold my calls”.

[@Tonskiislegit]

Please captor this beast

[@maksymbubyrievofficial]

Crystal clear sound! Hey dude, please tell us how organized grounding in your studios. You always have a very clean sound with no interference. And new tours of your studios would be nice to see too! Thanks in advance!!! And maybe someone else knows whether a DI Box (passive or active) for example Radial J48 or other, can help reduce noise & interference? Thank you in advance!!!

[@ericfuhrer2013]

Love that LP. My favorite guitar you have.

[@ianmartens5286]

What an amazing piece of gear. Thanks for another great video

[@bobbyodell8676]

My gosh that sounds good!!

[@dalejacksonmo]

Sweet Tones of Rock n Roll....just smooth

[@TheGetawayMan]

Hyped you brought out the LP!

[@johngallagher7884]

Man I hope to hear your signature model guitar through this amp

[@stevenbird1431]

Awesome demo🎸👍

[@vdeakins]

Fantastic demo.

[@dougnation985]

Love the Darkness riffs! Sounds awesome!

[@PurposefulPorpoise]

Ur favorite settings riff made me make a frowny chug face and im not even a metal guy

[@scotdvorak8861]

100% Once again always know when that killer snotty Custom is spewing its goodness. Great interview! Gotta wait til end of June BUT…. Mine’s on the way

[@SlimeyGuitarStrings]

I like this. I really like this...

[@samsmith5308]

It sounds glorious

[@IngloriousKam]

Greassy and vintage tones feet you well Rab...one of the best tones you ve put out with your 70s custom

[@WeekendWarriorGuitars]

That Les Paul Custom is gorgeous! Love your playing Rabea 🔥

[@gregs8685]

It sounds amazing on my iPad speaker!

[@ampman5863]

Reducing incoming voltage reduces all voltages in the amp. Mostly, it causes lower plate voltage on the power tubes, causing them to distort earlier. That and earlier breakup of the preamp causes both to distort earlier. This combination causes the rich overdrive/distortion everyone loves. With the normal voltage, the power tubes don't contribute to the distortion until you crank up the amp to almost full. Old Plexis are NOT the high gain monsters everyone thinks they are.

[@RG-yz8ov]

Are you better off reducing the incoming voltage or just turning it up and then using a quality attenuator?

[@ampman5863]

@@RG-yz8ov There are several attenuators on the market and not all are created equal. Some say it's fine to use them and some say they are hard on a real Plexi. Dave Friedman is a wealth of knowledge, so I would start with his opinion to see if there are videos of his on this. Also to consider is if you use a variac, then you will also reduce the 6.3 volt heater supply. I'm sure Dave accounted for this in his design of the Plex. Visit his channel since he designed this amp.

[@RG-yz8ov]

@@ampman5863 thank you for the reply. Guess I'm really just wanting to compare this amp with say a marshall sv20h and ironman-ii-mini-attenuator. I'll check out Dave's content seems like an interesting amp few more $$ however

[@andremouracosta]

This is just amazing.

[@nathantardrew7068]

Think the word you're looking for at 10:40 is 'sag' ... squishy spongy goodness from the amps power section collapsing on itself

[@bigchrisgulley66]

Bro great demo of this amp! But honestly bro you could plug into a cardboard box and make that sound badass!

[@acynecki]

i think it sounds great

[@rmedzoyan]

Sounds exactly as intended.

[@Terry_Aki]

I want a cleaner FRIEDMAN PLEX-JTM 45 for blues rock! 🔥🎸

[@rlm4471]

The Friedman Dirty Shirley is based on a JTM 45.

[@Joey.Darkwoods-Studio]

That LP, The Amp.... good lord!

[@LeeKAspinall]

13:47 I'm sure Justin and Dan approve

[@Fail7515]

I would have liked to hear this with a boost to see if you can get more modern tones with it. I know a lot of bands were known to use plexi amps with a boost to get heavier tones.

[@RabeaMassaad]

You can definitely get more modern tones with it. I tried it with a Maxon OD808 and it gave the modern tones easily. I just decided to skip it in the video due to how long the video had ended up being

[@Fail7515]

@@RabeaMassaad Good to know. Thanks for the reply. I'm always really impressed with how versatile you are as a player.

[@CollinPeterson615]

the idea is to blend the channels and create the eq that way, one bright and one dark channel. Surprised you didn't try this, but otherwise excellent tones!

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

Thats a good plexi Amp. marshall was hit and miss with the differant parts used, but this is all the good part values, and some selection between some values. me new favorite Freedman amp.

[@terryshrk]

Great review,.the amp sounds really good. However for the money I am curious as to how it compares to a PRS Tremonti or a 5150 or even an original vintage Plexi.

[@afterstars]

How/why would you compare a plexi to a 5150? That would be like comparing a ‘69 mustang to a ‘92 Supra

[@julianlopez85]

love on the rocksssssss!!!!!!!!

[@stolenguitar1988]

I swear I can smell tubes through the video. 😂

[@blakefisher6614]

Damn that sounds good!

[@mathias_411]

The LP looks really good on you. I could well imagine a Rabea les Paul signature. I would buy it immediately. 😊😅

[@Alegua7]

A les paul custom x Friedman... What a combo!!!

[@Outdoorshuntingshooting]

oh great, just what I need another friedman amplifier

[@ianmcfarland512]

Hmm... It seems that ever since George Metropoulos of Metropoulos Amplification cracked the nut on the ultimate '68 Plexi amp, the Metro-Plex MKII, other high-end builders are on the band wagon. You GOTTA try something killer! Try a Metro-Plex MKII! I've got 6 Metro amps. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[@ampturcoguitarwerks]

💯 🎯

[@johnnyt3676]

thanks for the great demo and all the work u put into it. my question is, im hearing a delay effect and a processed tone. but u dont have an effect listed. what effects are u using in this demo?

[@Metallica02111988]

I'm curious what it sounds like with the gretsch electromatic hanging in the background there. Is that a baritone?

[@rexiereyes8018]

SICK!!!

[@bm7760]

Enjoyed that but was hoping you'd reach for your black Strat. I have the Smallbox 50. Same tone family I guess. All the best for 2025 everyone.

[@cbeserra]

Sounds great with a Les Paul!

[@bobbyarthur-yf3yf]

What year custom is that .. I see that smoked out binding that’s just lovely ..

[@DanielGötsch-d6w]

Nice guitar too!

[@rhkendall]

The folks that buy these thinking they will sound like you, still it makes the second hand market better for the rest of us!

[@louderthangod]

Doesn’t that also make you one of those people?

[@Dr.Jekyll]

@@louderthangodlogically, I don’t think it does. I’m not siding with either of you. I’m just not sure how what he said leads to your implication.

[@louderthangod]

@@Dr.Jekyll When I buy gear based on a demo video it’s typically because I hear the kind of sounds in the demo that I want for my songs. Seems to me that this guy liked the same sounds Rabea got and wants to get them except that he’s going to wait till there are plenty of used ones to be at a discount.

[@Isaac-Draper]

Must I turn to a life of crime to fund my GAS? What a sound!

[@ctpmark]

The best Marshall is a Friedman

[@stevelove597]

Great video Rabea! How would you compare the Vintage Plex to the clean/plexi channel of the BE100 Deluxe? I know you really enjoyed the clean channel on the BE100 Deluxe. Cheers, Steve

[@fullmetalsal]

What is the low voltage rated at? 80, 90, 100v?

[@mikebernstein4095]

I think it is 90. On the 1st VH Album, Eddie said He had his voltage set through his Variac at 89 volts.

[@joserdiazalmodovar1898]

Also last year November I bought a Runt 50 Head new and sadly it came with some issues. Brand new the bright switches were useless and very bass heavy some issues I had to get a replacement but they were not available at the time so I had a decent replacement so to speak, but it was very nice the lead channel had a very nice crunch so I still have my 1994 plexi head but this one is gonna be a winner way cool

[@Michael-bm8hi]

That is the problem with Dave Friedman and BAD. Great in marketing and probably design, but in regard to quality at max average with a tendency to poor.

[@Kevin.Gassner]

How does it compare to a JVM 410 OD 1 Orange mode , same sound right ?

[@afterstars]

Any idea where I can find those particular lights?

[@chickimac1]

You remind me of Neal Schon in his younger days

[@jonscudder759]

I think Dave owes you a Bea-Plex model! How many of these did you just sell for Friedman???

[@jmsamborski]

Can’t stand Gibson as a company, but that is the one guitar in their history I’ve always wanted. Amp sounds good too, but I’m waiting on the second one Dave’s working on, his Vox AC30 interpretation.

[@darrenc8776]

So, with the post master is this amp like a jcm 800?

[@seba.locrio4801]

If you lower the voltage you can get the "same" tone out of the amp with a low volume, for instance volume at 8 with high voltage, should be like volume 4 with low voltage (according to the ratio that it is used). I remember seen an interview of EVH saying that he used that trick to get nice tones with low volume in some small venue gigs. Am I right? I'm open to hear if someone knows more about this hehe

[@SlimeyGuitarStrings]

My understanding is that the low voltage sounds and feels different than the normal voltage. It's a little more aggressive, compressed, etc. and a lower volume.

[@davidgerlach1132]

28:39 laudable advice! ;) 🤠