I Bought A FAKE Friedman Pedal

If you're a pedal enthusiast, you'll enjoy this video.
- Morgan Freedman
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[@onerandombruh]

DemonFX, just like Joyo or Behringer are great budget pedals that are underappreciated very often by the elite guitar community and the fun par is that their clones are not too distant from the originals they're actually copying. That being said, this budget pedals are quite a blessing for beginners and people who want to do heavy experimentation on sound. Thanks for the video, Kaylen.

[@onerandombruh]

@@castleanthrax1833 in my case I have bought & played Joyo, SoniCake, Mooer, Behringer and yes, you can't tell the difference unless you pay attention to certain nuances on the setup because most of them often rely on classic circuits... Other than that, the big difference lies on the fact that some components last a little longer in time.

[@plantain.1739]

I gotta say the U.I on my modulation pedal kinda sucks, but Flamma makes some good stuff too.

[@WilDBeestMF]

​@@plantain.1739I'm sad to hear that, because I was taking a look at it. I have the envelope filter by Flamma, and that thing is actually sick.

[@tomfoolery342]

Because of your slightly sarcastic, almost funny, always entertaining personality, I always forget that you're an awesome guitarist!!

[@sixstringtv1]

Almost funny 🤣 Cheers bro!

[@Metallex]

@@sixstringtv1 You know what they say about German humour, it's no laughing matter.

[@SlyHikari03]

The “off brand product placement” bit was on point, insanely accurate.

[@jordanqueen6897]

While you can argue all day long about the application of single coils in metal, I honestly think Kaylen's use of them speaks volumes for the consistency of his right hand, given how dynamic single coils tend to be. Badass.

[@waynemetallum7623]

I think these pedals are a great alternative for people that cant afford american prices and shipping, especially asian and south american countries

[@onerandombruh]

Indeed... Even Joyo and Behringer are life savers on their own right.

[@Cpmnk]

They do a sick pedal called the dualboost. It's a fortin 33 and xotic epboost all in 1 pedal. Ive had it for quite a while. And it has become my most used pedal

[@AndrewGlitchMasterBalaschak]

They'd be great if they weren't counterfeits that copy all the looks of the original. If the pedal's exterior design was unique I'd feel more comfortable buying one

[@GEX-_-]

Buying the cheap one first? Save up for another month and buy the real one. Means you spend more for the pedal in the end after purchasing the o.g. Ill never understand that bish.

[@louis3085]

​​​@@GEX-_- Except here at least (Brazil), you'd have to save for a long time if you wanted to buy one. Here, the minimum wage is around R$1.300, including food cards and transport cards. An original Friedman Pedal here costs more than 2k. Unfortunately, saving for the original one isn't worth the time and investment. The cost of living here is pretty harsh too, so you can't just exchange months of stuff you need in order to survive for a single pedal. A "Freedman" costs about 500 BRLs. I remember my guitar teacher being pretty protective of his because it took him like a year's salary to be able to afford one.

[@GarthNGuitars]

I was honestly really surprised with the $45 “clone” and how much I preferred it over the Friedman

[@killslay]

If you're ok at soldering I do recommend getting clone kits online of the more expensive pedals. A lot of the ones I've had are pretty much indistinguishable from the real deal, and it's not that difficult to learn how to put em together

[@sixstringtv1]

I'm good at soldering but I still definitely won't start building my own pedals hahah

[@void_snw]

Tried my hand at a BE OD kit and it just won't work, I don't even know where to start troubleshooting tbh. Not my first pedal either, but just like my very first ever attempt, it just does nothing lol :/

[@tommilitello198]

Exactly,it’s like people think theres something “special “ to the real circuit,but that’s the shit show the guitar community is thanks to the internet

[@dindinbre]

I guess that they're very much identical, with the difference in tone coming from the tolerances in the pots, I guess that you could get them to sound the same if you tweaked the pots a bit, instead of having them at the exact same positions. It's cool how analog pedals have 1/1 cheap copies that do the job very well. You can't copyright a circuit LOL

[@dindinbre]

@@castleanthrax1833 yea, I remember when we measured the same resistors in school and they varied in resistances. But yea, you can make them sound almost the same by tweaking the knobs a bit

[@j_c_93]

Exactly. Even two legit Friedmans manufactured on the same day will sound different with the same settings.

[@drydreams8513]

That freeman pedal sounds better than the real thing no one can deny it, the sound quality is richer and full to my ears $50 too what’s not to love

[@Spazioshop]

It's just the same pedal which the real fabricant produces in Asia, rebranded.

[@fisiosaiter]

It is not fake. It is a copy.

[@stefanokrivtzoff1593]

Best review I seen about this pedal. Thanks a million!

[@mvyper]

This one is awesome. I've got the bigger brother and it sounds great as an OD as much as a preamp straight in the loop. Totally worth it.

[@Ninjamime56]

They sound so close that it's hard to tell there was even a change sometimes. I think the Freedman definitely makes a great alternative.

[@sixstringtv1]

They sounded wayyy too similar in the recording hahah

[@marvinrockon]

The copy is less muffled, which I always disliked about the original. Pretty solid. The hum should be not hard to be handled, if you have a noise gate. I have their Gstring noise gate and I ran it's loop through many distortions in series, and it just was the stock, normal guitar sound, which was just an experiment and the ideal outcome. Super impressed how solid they are.

[@UCS0608]

3:03 I think that's a mistake. What you should do is dial in the best tone you can get from each pedal and see if the copy is still close to the original. The same position of the pots does't mean they will sound as close as possible.

[@riangarianga]

Exactly, it's one of the problems I have with the review.

[@zxexrxox]

Friedman amps are still expensive in the US. Some marshall's are actually cheaper then certain Friedmans.😭😞😭

[@onionheadguy7094]

I'd rather see you match the sound on with the cheapo pedal rather than just match the settings. Given that there are differing potentiometer values, even matching the settings on two identical pedals can get you two different sounds.

[@Achtbanaan]

great video, i am loving the wind in the hair effect🤣

[@worhed3722]

i couldnt at all tell when you switched, i had to go back and check the text on screen. i typically just listen to these and i was waiting for the change and then the video ended lol

[@omarheavy2009]

Nice demo man, i might pull the trigger to buy the demonfx!

[@blokkadeleider]

Last time I was at Musikproduktiv I saw quite a few Friedman amps. Stacks in fact.

[@mattz1686]

I have the demonfx tone king pedal and it’s awesome!

[@markpell8979]

Gotta say, although they're not doing exactly the same thing, I like the overall sound of the the Freedman better too. The little bit of hum is just harmonic distortion from the gain, it's no more objectionable than what you sometimes hear with single-coil pickups, and would not be noticed in a live performance mix with a band playing loud. Interesting find there Kaylen. And definitely more within my budget! I bet your Marshalls hum that much in the room, just idling with hot tubes.

[@lukaslmguitarcorner]

Surprisingly good budget BE-OD

[@Anton-pw8vk]

Thank You for your help.

[@williamphillips24]

The schematics for these have been in the wild for years, thanks to tracing efforts by sites like freestompboxes and diystompboxes. Schematically identical pedals are going to sound virtually identical with any differences being due to value tolerances and pot taper/size (if changed).

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

Great demo! FYI Dave freedman says that this pedal was designed to and works best going in front of a completely clean fender style amp👍🏾

[@dimebagtribute]

Did you adjust the internal gain pot to match the 2 pedals?

[@tedmich]

I've had a Freedman for months and its solid, Mine feeds a full on Invective 120 into 4x12 V30s (2001)

[@jcwoodstl]

Excellent playing

[@Lomni]

I preferred the "knock off," but I'm a sucker for mid-heavy tones!

[@brutalbasspro]

I have the darkglass b7k clone they make. It’s pretty close to the real thing. No cab sim is the only real difference I’ve used it over a year in my band running direct from my board it’s great.

[@Rowe4900candymachine]

"Friedman sounds like it would be the name of a guy who makes really good donuts." -Homer Simpson probably

[@user-ky3gm3gq2n]

That strat is damn nice 👌

[@SlavSquatSenpai]

I got myself the "based on the Alpha Omicron" from Demon FX and compared it to the Darkglass... They sound practically the same. The only discernable difference is that the growl switch has more boost on the DemonFX. And the DemonFX has no noise like the original does. Weird.

[@void_snw]

There's an internal gain trim that has huge impact on the amount of gain, I'm guessing that was set the same too? Or is it not even there on the chinese version?

[@robbah9939]

Exactly this! Know your pedals! Also get the deluxe friedman with a tight switch so it cam be modern too.

[@radiocontrole]

The chinese version has it too lol it's the exact same circuit

[@taxationistheft2.0]

@3:39YOU GOT THAT ALIEN STRETCH FINGER AHAH

[@ayeapprove]

I have a Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra copy by DemonFX and I freaking love it on bass - It's a good quality pedal.

[@glezmen]

MY absolute favourite pedal so far is the Joyo Uzi, which is AFAIK a BE-OD clone. I never tried the original Friedman pedal, but this Uzi is a real beast, I love it :)

[@pokezodia]

DemonFX does an excellent job on cloning other pedals. The brand is well known in places like Brazil where I live.

[@kevinainscough6839]

Just as good as the original man. Yes!. I have a few demonfx pedals and haven't disappointed me yet

[@alaricpaley6865]

This is what happens when values are just slightly off. You could probably get them to sound exactly the same, but the knobs would need to be at different positions and it'd need a lot of tweaking. It definitely sounds like the EQ is different, and with the gain being sensitive, its probably a different taper on the pot like one using a linear vs a log (Or even just a log pot that has a bad slope to it, they're all different.)

[@Neelo5000]

The clone is less muffled at that particular setting, which is probably due to slight differences in pots. I suspect that with a bit of tweaking they could be made to sound near identical. I expected you to put this pedal on blast, but it actually sounded remarkably good.

[@Cpmnk]

I have to say, im not a fan of the design copies of some of their pedals. I have to admit, i love demonfx pedals. I got a dualboost (fortin33 and ep boost). And its amazing, it was fairly cheap and meant i didn't need to pay 300€ for a real fortin. And it sounds identical to the real thing. And the design is completely unique thanks to it being a dual pedal

[@Rick_Erickson]

I have not researched this particular pedal yet, but in other "cheap" pedals I have found minor circuit or component value errors that can often be corrected, but only if you have the ability to find and correct them yourself. Otherwise you might be better off getting the real deal. Another thing with various clones / rip-offs etc., is that even if the circuitry and values are identical, the clone will often have different taper pots than the original. This will change the way the pedal sounds at a given setting. The only way to really evaluate two different but supposedly identical pedals is either to map out the resistance of each pot in both pedals so they can be set identically, or turn the gain and tone pots all the way up and see if they now sound the same, (even if they both sound horrible this way) then do the same with those controls all the way down. Full up and full down are the only two positions where different taper pots will have the same resistance. Setting all controls to the midway setting tells you nothing about two pedals when comparing them. If they sound the same with the controls at max and at min settings, then they can sound the same at any other setting. You will need to either find the sweet spots on the pedal you own, or change the pots to the correct taper. [Audio / Linear / Reverse Audio etc. ] This is somewhat simplified as even Audio pots can have different tapers. 5% Log, 10% Log, 15% log etc.. So blueprinting a cheap pedal can get expensive real quick. Then we could talk about the quality of the components, particularly jacks and switches. And that many cheap pedals do not have a solid ground connection to the case. This can and will increase noise level, especially at high gain and volume levels.

[@jamesmarkham7489]

That off branding is called Greeking. I actually bought the cali compressor. It’s surprisingly good. Not sure how it truly compares to the real thing but for less than 1/4 of the price it was a great purchase.

[@fisiosaiter]

Running the same settings will never give the same tone.

[@acexxxoasis]

There's an adjustable gain pot in the back as well ;-)

[@olebrumme6356]

Cheap pedals usually don't have true bypass and adds amp noise. Build quality can be so so as well, tho they can sound great.

[@23skidoo46]

I have DemonFX's marshall in a box and king of tone clone and they're pretty darn good for the $.

[@gratefulpipeandcigar3239]

I have a demon tube screamer, and I think it sounds great.

[@tophatgaming3856]

This is beautiful

[@ehsanhaq155]

I forgot to read the pedal description and was wondering when you're gonna crack out the china one. Says A LOT.

[@sixstringtv1]

Hahahah yeah, definitely a killer addition to the board

[@noahMrkz]

Did you happen to open the Friedman and adjust the internal dip switches? Opened that pedal up for me quite a bit. In fact, it took the BE-OD from the “forgot I impulse bought this” stage into a useful pedal I reach for when I want to prove you can play metal through a fender tweed

[@sixstringtv1]

The comments under this video have made it clear to me that I've missed out on that, but really. If I need to unscrew the lid on a ped and go fucking around on the inside of it to make it as good as a 50€ knockoff, it's not that good is it 🤣

[@noahMrkz]

@@sixstringtv1 who said it would make it better? It just made it good enough to stop me from drunkenly buying the freedman

[@riangarianga]

Both pedals, Friedman and DemonFx, have the trim pot.

[@lunaa4203]

It sounds great

[@benleese7297]

DemonFX are making some really great pedals. I use the Fuzz Works 7 (Fuzz Factory 7 clone), the Mini Chorus (Analogueman clone) and have the Tape Echo (Mag Echo clone) on order. There’s no way I’d ever be able to justify the genuine pedals for how much I actually use effects so they’re a great wallet-friendly alternative. To me the OBX sounds much clearer and more precise, especially on lower down the neck.

[@rickcrotts6673]

Both sounded decent but in some spots where the Friedman sounded like a fat tube amp, the fake changed the tone to solid state fizz

[@tomotrop]

A genuine BE-OD does the same thing on my Marshall style amp. It's just not vibing, as you stated.

[@FrankGio-nd5rr]

I have a demonfx precision drive and it kicks ass

[@Livelaughlimpbizkit]

God strats/single coils sound so so good in metal/heavier music

[@acexxxoasis]

I love my freedman! It's a great pedal!

[@moreblack]

Would've been interested in how it sounds with humbuckers also.

[@SoBoringOfficial]

Best solution ever for a broken LP headstock! 😆

[@dutch_urth]

I think you may have put in the wrong link for the Thomann affiliate thing, it just sends me to a login page...

[@mrcoatsworth429]

I've definitely seen Friedman amps at Just Music in Berlin.

[@LucasMastropasqua]

Just an FYI the Friedman pedal has a trim pot inside to adjust the maximum gain level. Assuming you looked at the instructions you may already know that. 🤘

[@riangarianga]

The DemonFx has it, too. You have to match the level of that pot first, it changes the gain and bass so much.

[@blokkadeleider]

It actually doesn't sound bad, a little thinner than the original but not bad at all.

[@ryothalka373]

did you delete the listening to deicide short?

[@user-tz8wt8fy5c]

tbh. They are really simmilar. This differnce is ok, because there cant be simmilar components in (like there cant be 2 simmilar resistors or capasitors. They will be a bit different). So this is really good thing to buy

[@justsomedude5727]

If I had to pick them out in a blind test I would have said the odx was the name brand.

[@Don_of_the_Dad]

They’re pretty damn close. I think just a hair of eq, and they’d be identical. I think any two pedals, even if the exact same brand and model would do the same thing.

[@VN9001]

If I am not mistaken, I believe that the "distortion/OD" effect circuit is THE most simple circuit of all in terms of design - ripe for relatively cheap and accurate knock-off cloning. I think the gap between OEM Boutique and Chinese knock-off widens as the effect becomes more complicated in circuit design (compressor, chorus, etc.). Notwithstanding the component quality difference, I'd still take the cheaper clone any day if it was relatively close in sound and function to the original. IMO, Boutique pedals are such a rip-off cost wise. 🙂 If I earned my living as a studio musician or touring professional (I am a rank amateur hack), I would have a different opinion though as reliability matters.

[@Miasma666]

You should try the nux fireman

[@Izztana666]

That freedman pedal sounds much hotter….I’m heading to Aliexpress now….

[@Guitarsgunsandghosts]

I have a freedman pedal. I bought it because I buy weird pedals and it does sound good.

[@mrnorbotron3308]

0:16? What?????Just Music in Berlin, Session (Frankfurt a. Main, Walldorf, Musik Priduktiv (Ibbenbürgen, Thomann, Pro Music Tools (München) ... everywhere you can play, buy and test Friedman Amps, Guitars and pedals.

[@1989eol]

Man I love this pedal. (BE-OD) Also for the "heavy must be expensive/quality". Many of those cheap products that are heavy have a literal piece of steel in it to make it heavy. You should open it. Also also, really good quality products are very light, because you can build things like a tank with very high quality plastics which will be better tan anything else you could use. They just would not be perceived as high quality, because we have a bias towards heavy stuff. Like we have a bias towards bass heavy headphones. They sound like shit, but your first reaction is "oh it has bass, must be high quality", at least if you are of a certain age, because early cheap headphones had no bass.

[@jacobbockover1628]

Hmm so they have the fakes here but they have the controls of the dirty shirley pedal tight toggle on the side and stuff oh and where it should be yellow its white. They were unable to sell them for a while i guess thats why the changer here

[@burnoutzzz]

Woah the "copy" is definitely way better, the real one sounds muffled in comparison

[@napesdrk1174]

For $40 thats still a deal

[@johnwayne9103]

You should try the Klon-Variant from Demonfx also.

[@skyrocketautomotive]

What little difference I can hear in them actually has me leaning towards the Demonfx pedal, great review dude! I've followed on Instagram (must admit I didn't know you had one or I'd already be there!)

[@scientificuppercut]

the off brand sounds a little more sparkle and clarity to my ears. the real one, sounds a little muddy... could just be pot tolerances!

[@ThatkidSquid]

I see you play guitar, and I think about the video where the guy from Bc Rich was talking shit about your playing and think to my self how stupid that guy was, your playing is great.

[@supreme_klon]

shocking similar

[@diabeticmonkey]

I quite liked the Freedman actually.

[@brozio77]

i have the demon fx r-4 and is identical to the revv g4. just said.

[@orpheus1340]

I preferred the Demonfx too...

[@CoyleCustoms]

i have a few demonfx pedals - copies of an origin cali76, analog man mini chorus, and darkglass harmonic booster. i love them all, tbh, and the harmonic booster has a permanent spot on my bass board. my number's almost up for a real king of tone, might have to shoot it out with the demonfx copy

[@CoyleCustoms]

@@J.C... good to know. still surprised at how much i'm enjoying them

[@stephane406]

It"s not a fake , it says demonfx, not a fake but it can be discussed ... Got one, sounds as good as the original.

[@bryanhegarty]

The thing about real and copy pedals or guitars is they are never a 1-1 copy. Someone’s take on it always bleeds through. It’s always considered cool when a small boutique pedal builder does their take on a well known pedal but when I mass produced company from china does it it’s often frowned upon, but realistically it’s it’s the same thing and less gate keepy. Boutique copies are usually 150-200 dollars depending on the builder, but mass produced in a factory in china are 30-40 dollars meaning actually affordable for average people v

[@94SexyStang]

china junk, these people are delusional thinking it's Better, LMAO.

[@riangarianga]

Also most «original» pedals are based on previous circuits. JHS himself speaks openly about how that works, and why no effect company is really bothered about copies, because that's the nature of the business.

[@MegaGuitman]

I own the Friedman Pedal and it's super noisy..a gate is essential when using it..the freedman demon seems to be less noisy...you should have used a guitar with a humbucker, strats sound anemic and don't do justice to those Pedals.

[@sixstringtv1]

Thanks, I like the way I did it.

[@JoeCostantini74]

Respectable Shirt

[@ultravirez]

DemonFx sounded just a fraction better to my ears.

[@thaedleinad]

The cheap copy sounded better to me as well.

[@masterofreality230]

My brother in Christ, Friedman Amps are not cheap anywhere.

[@sixstringtv1]

Didn't say cheap, but considerably cheaper in the US than in Europe lmao

[@masterofreality230]

@@sixstringtv1 Ok man, my fault lol Man I wish though....guess I will have to get by with my $900 Mark V 25. I can not believe that is over $2k on Sweetwater these days. I did get my Mesa used for $900, but it was in mint condition. I do order some electronics from Thomann though, got an ID14 mk2 for about $90 less than in the States even after shipping.

[@philipm4585]

I have a BE-OD Clone best fucking Distortion i ever owned...also made by my Buddy Dave and not by some Kids and or underpaid Workers so that's neat

[@Smart-Alex]

I love my BE-OD. Knockoffs won’t get my money.

[@Alfgunnarp]

I think the Friedman is over priced tbh. Would also recommend checking out the Joyo Uzi.

[@riphopfer5816]

JOYO Uzi is good; however, I think the DemonFX Freedman beats it by a couple of kilometres with its VERY broad EQ suite and the ‘looser/tighter’ switch on the side that it copies from the Friedman. I love that switch! In fact, in general, I just love this pedal; at minimum gain, I ran a G&L HSS Legacy Tribute into it after some minor compression and gain boost from a TC Hypergravity Mini, and got great, bluesy tones from the neck pickup. In fact I have a pedalboard with 21 pedals on it, 10 of which are ODs or distortions-most of them optimised for my purposes (dark psychedelic, blues-based hard rock, inspired mainly by Blue Öyster Cult, Pink Floyd, and Alice In Chains)-and the Freedman gets as much use as my Crowther Hot Cake clone or my TC MojoMojo.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

Actually, I liked the DemonFX one better. The real Friedman just sounded way too dark, no matter the setting. Thanks for saving me alot of money!