New Jose/Friedman type build.

[evh0u812]

Little Christmas break project I thought some might like to see.
I haven't built myself an amp in well over a year so I thought it was time to get back into it.
I get the chassis custom made from a local machine shop when they have time to do little jobs.
Faceplates are designed in photoshop and reverse laser engraved also by a local contact.
2 x el34's and Heyboer Iron should make for a nice little package.

[waggclan]

Nice. Photoshop eh...

[neikeel]

Cool project - look forwards to seeing it develop.

[Thiez]

Thats looking pretty good. Looking forward to the result.
Is this the friedman schematic from SLOclone forums?

[evh0u812]

Not sure. I was given it by a mate but Ive cross checked the basic topology with some gutshots and it looks to be on the money. Ive got a friend with a Marsha so Ill trace it out to double check component values when I get time.
Ive heard clones using the same schematic and they sound close enough to by right as far as Im concerned. Component choice and xformers are always going to add their own flavour to the mix anyway so Ill build and tweak to taste once its fired up and biased.

[Thiez]

Allright, i'm curious about the results. Could you maybe PM me the schematics?

[evh0u812]

Just checked the SLO forums, that's the schematic I have.

[Thiez]

allright, the handdrawn schematic?

[evh0u812]

Actually no, its not hand drawn. pm me your email.
Borrowed the Marsha and cracked it open last night for a look. Didn't trace anything out yet but....
I now know why there aren't any gut shots online. Id be too embarrassed to put them up if I owned one.
Hot glue city.

Theres no denying it sounds killer but I wont be the one to post gutshots or schematics online as I really dont think that's fair to Dave. Also this was a fairly early amp so Im sure the new ones arent like this.........I hope the new ones aren't like this.

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Well early one had all sorts of custom stuff. Yes not the neatest but every amp was different. New amps are not like that. It's all standard now. There are gut shots out there though. In fact one was in a magazine.

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Try first page of google images. Search Friedman BE-100

[Thiez]

The first friedmans were indeed a bit of a mess. It is allways hard to do a clean modding job. Especially when it's a PCB amp.
Besides that friedman (and other modders in the 80's) often used dark hot glue. This wasn't to keep components in place, but also to protect their mods from being copied.

The BE-100 is a quiet good looking amp inside. But i don't see any transistors inside there for the clipping, curious if he still uses that. He now puts an extra gainstage in for the HBE.

[evh0u812]

HBE always was an extra gain stage.
Im sure Dave can confirm, but I believe the clippers are 4 x MPSA06's and a 1m resistor through the middle of the bridge setup.
This Marsha has the package covered in heatshrink and sealed with hot glue either end.
The Atomica uses 2 x 20v zenners or 2 x MPSA06's which are on a 3 way switch. I like the MPSA06's as the volume drop makes for great saturated playing a wife friendly volumes if you don't compensate with the master volume.

What I meant by no pics online was refering to detailed up close shots. I can appreciate that owners that spent hard earned money don't want to pimp the amp out to all of us backyard builders. Its actually pretty amazing that the Friedman brand is one of the few out there that commands that kind of respect from its owners. Kudos Dave.

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Personally, I hate the diodes or transistors. I have it in there only on my sat switch, just for the guys that want it. I like the BE Chanel with the gain backed off a little. I'm a plexi guy. I don't derive my od from clipping diodes or transistors. What I can say is my amps are really the sum of all parts. Meaning everything is selected for its sound down to brands of caps and kinds transformers etc. Everything is in there for a reason and has evolved over time. When I say everything,I mean even down to the brand of shielded wire. I'm a bit obsessive

[Thiez]

Dave, your amps sure ar an amazing piece of engineering. All the parts are well choosen and you can hear it in the sound.
If i had that amount of money to spend on an amp, no doubt it would be a friedman HBE for sure.

It's funny how you dislike the diode/transistor clipping while a lot of people really love it. I love the hotrodded marshall sounds of the 80's and you pretty much get there with the diode clipping. But for low to midgain things i dont like the clipping in there.