Guitar Gear Forum

I got mine about 3 weeks ago, and it's an absolute little beast. It's more traditional Marshall sounding than any Friedman I've owned, and definitely my favorite of the bunch. It's more aggressive, indeed, brighter, and gainier. Killer, killer amp. Loud AF too. I'm not usually fond of EL84's, but believe the hype, it's VERY big sounding for a "lunchbox" 20 watt.

I'm more impressed every time I plug into it. So's my SG.

I hear really good things about the amp so far but....

....No pics and no clips either?

What is the difference between the V1 and V2? I liked the V1 quite a bit but it was a bit dark for me.

GuitarBilly wrote:What is the difference between the V1 and V2? I liked the V1 quite a bit but it was a bit dark for me.

Voicing is more aggressive, and more traditional Marshall sounding. Brighter, no dark here. More gain. More pissed off, not your typical Friedman polished tone.

3-way gain structure switch, sat switch, and a fat switch, (which is really only useful to thicken up clean tones).

It's a completely different animal than the V1, tone/voicing-wise.

I had a Runt on and off for 2 years, and sold it when the PT showed up.

I'm going to look into this. I have 2 Runt 50s so maybe I'll replace one of them with this.
I wish they made a 50w version but the 20w is fine for studio use.
Live, I had issues with the 20w Friedmans. They do get more than loud enough, but the power amp distorts early. Which is not a bad thing per se, but it makes harder to run delays in the loop at stage volumes.
But maybe this one is different. I'll need to try it out and see.

GuitarBilly wrote:I'm going to look into this. I have 2 Runt 50s so maybe I'll replace one of them with this.
I wish they made a 50w version but the 20w is fine for studio use.
Live, I had issues with the 20w Friedmans. They do get more than loud enough, but the power amp distorts early. Which is not a bad thing per se, but it makes harder to run delays in the loop at stage volumes.
But maybe this one is different. I'll need to try it out and see.

Do you have a Power Station Billy? If so, have you tried that with the 20w amps live?

GuitarBilly wrote:I'm going to look into this. I have 2 Runt 50s so maybe I'll replace one of them with this.
I wish they made a 50w version but the 20w is fine for studio use.
Live, I had issues with the 20w Friedmans. They do get more than loud enough, but the power amp distorts early. Which is not a bad thing per se, but it makes harder to run delays in the loop at stage volumes.
But maybe this one is different. I'll need to try it out and see.

You'll off a Runt after you try one. It sent mine packing pretty quick.

It's definitely more Marshall than any Friedman I've played. It's more high mid focused. And, if they made a 50 watt, I'd be first in line too. I'm hoping they give the Runt a tune-up, or do a PT-50. Many people have said the same thing after getting one. We all want those EL34's.

I had a Smallbox too, for reference. Many are praising Dave for this new voicing.

Hipster Salad wrote:

GuitarBilly wrote:I'm going to look into this. I have 2 Runt 50s so maybe I'll replace one of them with this.
I wish they made a 50w version but the 20w is fine for studio use.
Live, I had issues with the 20w Friedmans. They do get more than loud enough, but the power amp distorts early. Which is not a bad thing per se, but it makes harder to run delays in the loop at stage volumes.
But maybe this one is different. I'll need to try it out and see.

Do you have a Power Station Billy? If so, have you tried that with the 20w amps live?

Not anymore but I did have one and tried with a lot of different amps including the 20w Runt. It works really well, both to make a small amp bigger or to attenuate a large amp.

The downside is it's like gigging with 2 amps. (Well that's exactly what it is, really) With all the pros and cons of that. More stuff to carry around, hook up etc.. But it does sound great.

Kanigget wrote:
You'll off a Runt after you try one. It sent mine packing pretty quick.

It's definitely more Marshall than any Friedman I've played. It's more high mid focused. And, if they made a 50 watt, I'd be first in line too. I'm hoping they give the Runt a tune-up, or do a PT-50. Many people have said the same thing after getting one. We all want those EL34's.

I had a Smallbox too, for reference. Many are praising Dave for this new voicing.

I don't have a problem with the Runt voicing tbh. It's actually one of my favorite tones.. I do prefer the Runt over the Smallbox or the BE, it seems a bit more raw sounding.

But I asked my SW guy to let me know when they get the PT V2 in stock again and I will order one. We'll see. I would really like to see a PT50 for sure. It's not so much about EL34s but I need the power amp headroom. Every 20w I've tried (including ones with EL34s/6L6s) gets post loop distortion when I get it to the level I like. Which makes the loop useless for my needs (delay and volume boost). Let's see if this one is different...

I think a 50 watt PT V2 would be perfect. I see a lot of comments on the YT vids asking for something like that. Having a single channel 50 watt amp like that likely wouldn't cut in or compete with BE100 or Smallbox sales, so could be a good business move if that's something Dave would do.

I mean, a juiced up 2204 is something everybody should have, right?

Hipster Salad wrote:I think a 50 watt PT V2 would be perfect. I see a lot of comments on the YT vids asking for something like that. Having a single channel 50 watt amp like that likely wouldn't cut in or compete with BE100 or Smallbox sales, so could be a good business move if that's something Dave would do.

I mean, a juiced up 2204 is something everybody should have, right?

I'd do it.

The lack of snarl has kept me away from Friedman stuff in the past (as well as the cost, lets be real here). I would rather have something that gets too bitey and I have to dial it back than have an amp that I'm running at its limit to try to get the sound I want.

MacaroniSalad wrote:

Hipster Salad wrote:I think a 50 watt PT V2 would be perfect. I see a lot of comments on the YT vids asking for something like that. Having a single channel 50 watt amp like that likely wouldn't cut in or compete with BE100 or Smallbox sales, so could be a good business move if that's something Dave would do.

I mean, a juiced up 2204 is something everybody should have, right?

I'd do it.

The lack of snarl has kept me away from Friedman stuff in the past (as well as the cost, lets be real here). I would rather have something that gets too bitey and I have to dial it back than have an amp that I'm running at its limit to try to get the sound I want.

That's what you get with the PT V2. Plenty of bite and snarl. Some are bitching it's too bright, after bitching the original was too dark. There's a simple fix for the brightness, the treble knob.


Here's a good example of how expressive and knarly it gets. Guy gets kind of erratic though..


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-V1OOthEuA

Kanigget wrote:

MacaroniSalad wrote:

Hipster Salad wrote:I think a 50 watt PT V2 would be perfect. I see a lot of comments on the YT vids asking for something like that. Having a single channel 50 watt amp like that likely wouldn't cut in or compete with BE100 or Smallbox sales, so could be a good business move if that's something Dave would do.

I mean, a juiced up 2204 is something everybody should have, right?

I'd do it.

The lack of snarl has kept me away from Friedman stuff in the past (as well as the cost, lets be real here). I would rather have something that gets too bitey and I have to dial it back than have an amp that I'm running at its limit to try to get the sound I want.

That's what you get with the PT V2. Plenty of bite and snarl. Some are bitching it's too bright, after bitching the original was too dark. There's a simple fix for the brightness, the treble knob.


Here's a good example of how expressive and knarly it gets. Guy gets kind of erratic though..


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-V1OOthEuA

Do you still have it?

Have you tried the Jake E Lee 20?

I have heard really good things about the V2 and have heard some cool clips. I actually came pretty close to pulling the trigger when a good deal popped up not too long ago. I just don't really want a 20 watt amp. I don't want a 100 watt amp either. 50 is just right for me.