Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Black Friday
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
IK Multimedia Tonex Plug: the new headphones amp is fully compatible with the brand's state-of-the-art modelling platform, giving players the opportunity to play anywhere, anytime, and access thousands of different tones while doing so.
Guitars IK Multimedia unveils the Tonex Plug – is this pocket-sized powerhouse a gamechanger for headphone amps?
MXR Randy Rhoads Special Edition Distortion+: A black and white shot of Randy Rhoads with his Jackson Concorde; on the right, the new signature distortion from MXR in a finish inspired by the guitar.
Artists Good news for Randy Rhoads fans – his MXR Distortion+ is back, and you have got to see its supersonic finish
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ HRG: the reissued high-headroom tube amp is a cult classic that returns here with a heritage finish.
Guitars Mesa/Boogie reissues a cult classic with a design that takes the amp brand back to the beginning
Warm Audio's Tube Squealer is a greatest-hits of Tube Screamer circuits, three-in one, while the Throne Of Tone, the new dual-overdrive twofer from the Texan pedal company channels not one but two classic pedals, which in a way were both inspired by the classic Marshall "Bluesbreaker" amps used by Clapton back in his John Mayall days.
Guitars Warm Audio channels the greatest hits of classic overdrive with the regal Throne Of Tone dual-drive and the 3-in-1 Tone Squealer
The J, from Thorpy FX, is a new collab between the high-end British guitar effects pedal company and boutique amp brand Lazy J, and the amp that inspired it can be seen illustrated in white on. black on the enclosure's front.
Guitars Thorpy FX teams up with Lazy J to give guitarists premium vintage Tweed tone in a preamp/drive pedal
Harley Benton Head Switcher; this black single-footswitch pedal is an affordable switching solution for players with two amp heads sharing one speaker cabinet, and is here photographed against a blue gradient background.
Guitars Harley Benton unveils sub-$100 solution for players with two tube amps sharing same speaker cabinet
A still from KHDK's Instagram reel with the logo emblazoned over one of the stompbox company's new and as-yet-unannounced and unreleased electric guitar designs.
Guitars KHDK Electronics makes pedals for metal's biggest stars; now it's going to make electric guitars too
Fender Hammertone Boost and Breakup Drive pictured in close-up, with the background out of focus.
Guitars Fender adds analogue heat to the Hammertone lineup with the budget-friendly $99 Breakup Drive and Boost pedals
Way Huge Smalls Doom Hammer Fuzz
Guitars Players who deal in big gnarly riffs might need to add the Way Huge Smalls Doom Hammer to their ‘board ASAP
The BEAM SOLO is the new headphone amp for guitar and bass from Blackstar Amplification, and is a compact unit with an integrated jack featuring amp models and effects, and a suite of digital features.
Guitars Blackstar Amplification unveils the BEAM SOLO – has the Fender Mustang Micro Plus found a rival?
Brian Wampler playing his Telecaster
Guitars “It’s analogous to Napster”: Brian Wampler on threat of digital disruption to pedal and tube amp market
IK Multimedia Tonex Signature Bass Collections
Bass Guitars “The ultimate library of bass tones”: IK Multimedia’s Tonex modelling suite and pedals arrive for bass guitar
A Yamaha Revstar electric guitar on a blue background
Electric Guitars Thomann's Guitar Days sale just hit up to 70% off with £474 off an Epiphone semi-hollow, £132 off a Death By Audio pedal, plus loads more massive savings
Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster: the new glitch/synth mini-pedal from the storied NYC pedal brand
Guitars EHX expands its Pico series with the Atomic Cluster Spectral Decomposer – a mini-pedal that sounds so wrong its right
Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster in new limited-edition white, photographed against a pink background with the new guitar strap and – freshly refinished in black – Hello Kitty op-amp fuzz.
Guitars The Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster returns in limited edition white as Fender announces expanded capsule collection
More
  • Charlie XCX + John Cale
  • Lily Allen's songwriting camp
  • Fleetwood Mac for Glasto?
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Simon Phillips
  1. Guitars
  2. Guitar Pedals

Musikmesse 2017: Friedman launches mini combos, tube-driven pedals, pedalboards and accessories

News
By Michael Astley-Brown ( Guitarist, Total Guitar ) published 4 April 2017

Shrunken Dirty Shirley and Pink Taco amps incoming

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

MUSIKMESSE 2017: Dave Friedman's amps are legendary, fuelling the colossal tones of players such as Jerry Cantrell and Bill Kelliher, and now the amp guru has further diversified his catalogue with a host of new additions.

Among these are 20W versions of the Dirty Shirley and Pink Taco, the tube-driven Fuzz Fiend and Motor City Drive, plus a range of pedalboards, the Power Grid power supply and the handy Buffer Bay.

Phewph. All the new releases are shipping from 14 April, except the pedalboards, which head out on 1 May. Read on for all the knowledge, and visit Friedman Amplification for more.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini combo

Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini combo

PRESS RELEASE: Dave Friedman’s Dirty Shirley Mini is a 20 Watt, ultra compact, 1 x 10" version of the popular full sized Dirty Shirley which was designed for guitarists that want a vintage "Classic Rock" tone inspired by British tube amps from the 60’s and 70’s but in a compact size and weight.

The Dirty Shirley Mini is fueled by a pair of EL84 power tubes and includes a three position gain structure switch. This little beast delivers vintage crunch and cleans up nicely by simply backing off the guitar’s volume knob. Extremely versatile, this amp is capable of producing many styles of music from blues to rock and country by adjusting the gain knob, structure switch and master controls. 

The Dirty Shirley Mini was designed to take pedals well and loves boosts, OD’s, phasers, flangers, tremolos and wahs. The brand new ultra transparent series effects loop takes time-based effects pedals and rack units equally well. The handcrafted in USA Dirty Shirley Mini features beautiful black tolex, tongue and groove Baltic Birch construction and built to withstand the rigors of the road.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
Friedman Pink Taco Mini combo

Friedman Pink Taco Mini combo

PRESS RELEASE: The Friedman Pink Taco is the baby sister to the critically acclaimed BE-100, created for the many musicians who have been begging for the Friedman sound in a small, compact, lightweight, manageable format. 

The Pink Taco is a super versatile hand-wired, 20-watt, EL84 powered, single channel fire breather that is capable of producing many styles of music from blues to classic rock to heavy metal by merely adjusting the gain and master controls. Loaded with a Celestion Greenback 10" speaker, recaptures the legendary sound of Celestion's 1970s 10s with a surprisingly meaty tone. The G10 Greenback features a complex, full-bodied tone with creamy mid-range, smooth, vintage top-end and rich in low-end thump.

Many people don’t believe a 20-watt amp can deliver the tight bottom end and midrange that a 100-watt amp can produce. The Pink Taco proves otherwise! Friedman designed this amp to sound like a 100-watt monster, utilizing custom transformers and the cleanest possible signal path. The Pink Taco Mini Combo now features a Three position gain structure switch which lowers the overall gain of the amplifier.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Friedman Fuzz Fiend

Friedman Fuzz Fiend

PRESS RELEASE: If you're addicted to Fuzz pedals, the Fuzz Fiend may be the ultimate fix.

Unlike many pedals that strive to emulate the tone and signal path of a tube using solid-state or digital circuitry, the Friedman Fuzz Fiend has an actual high voltage (220 volt) driven 12AX7A preamp tube. The tube delivers a natural feel, which compresses, clips and has more harmonics than any solid-state signal path pedal in production.

The Fuzz Fiend takes you on journey from light fuzz to all-out mayhem via Dave's unique RAGE switch.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Friedman Motor City Drive

Friedman Motor City Drive

PRESS RELEASE: Many pedals strive to emulate the tone and signal path of a tube using solid-state or digital circuitry. The Friedman Motor City Drive has an actual high voltage (220 volt) driven 12AX7A preamp tube. The result is a true natural feeling pedal, unlike any solid state-signal path pedal in production.

The 12AX7 naturally compresses, clips and adds more harmonically rich tone than most transistor or digital devices. 

Named after Dave Friedman's home town, the Motor City Drive delivers rich tube tone that takes you from light overdrive to rich higher gain tones, that sustains for days.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Friedman Power Grid 10

Friedman Power Grid 10

PRESS RELEASE: The POWER GRID 10 was designed to address all of the deficiencies Dave encountered with power supplies from other brands over his 27 year history of designing and building pedal boards for the biggest touring guitarists and studio producers.

The Power Grid 10 was designed to meet the demands of any player who wants a dead quite pedal board, that can be taken anywhere and is tour ready. Some of the key features include:

1) Universal power from 100-240Vac meaning you can plug it in anywhere in the world. You will never have to flip switches or worry about a step up or step down transformer.

2) ZERO field hum, which plagues many other power supplies with traditional toroidal transformers.

3) The Power Grid 10 will power virtually any pedal (350mA each per 9V output)

4) 10 isolated outputs and all the cables needed to power your pedals.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Friedman Buffer Bay 6

Friedman Buffer Bay 6

PRESS RELEASE: The Friedman Buffer Bay is a simple solution that incorporates Dave's wealth of experience and knowledge providing players an innovative tool which can be easily implemented to ANY pedal board or easily mount into any Friedman branded pedal board.

The Buffer Bay accomplishes two basic things.

First - it is an ultra transparent, natural and musical sounding buffer, which can be turned on or off using the provided switch. The buffer solves the fundamental problem of loading loss caused by interconnected cables and some pedals. This "loss" siphons your guitar of fidelity, tone and volume level. This problem occurs even if all the pedals used are true bypass and the more pedals and longer the cable runs, the greater the losses.

The Buffer Bay 6 circuitry, when engaged, sounds identical to your guitar straight into the amp! You can access the buffer using the buffers IN connector on one side of the Buffer Bay and Buffer Out on the other side.

Second- the Buffer Bay is a patch bay with the following benefits:

• Cleans up all of the connections on your pedal board.

• Allows for tighter pedal placement on the board (you no longer need to access the jacks on certain pedals).

• Lets you have all cables from your board in the same location allowing neater chord runs on stage.

• Your pedal chain in permanently connected making setup and takedown quick and painless.

• Saves the life of the jacks on your pedals by not plugging in cables ever y time you play.

• Easily configure your input or output in hard to reach places.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
Friedman Tour Pro Series Pedalboards

Friedman Tour Pro Series Pedalboards

PRESS RELEASE: Dave Friedman has been building pedal boards for over 27 years. From the fancy, ultra complex, to the simplistic pedal boards, Dave has seen and designed them all for the who's who of the industry.

When it came time for Dave to design his own line of pedal boards, everything a touring or home guitar player actually needs was meticulously thought out and addressed. 

First and foremost, like his amps, guitars, cabs, pedals and monitors, Friedman pedal boards are MADE IN USA. Why? Because it matters to us and the quality and manufacturing consistency of the TOUR PRO boards is what makes a Friedman a "FRIEDMAN!"

While most pedal boards have either a flat or a slanted surface, the TOUR PRO boards are designed with two tiers, a bottom section that is flat and a top section that is angled (with all the holes needed for easy cable routing). 

This two tier design allows a guitar player to have access to all pedals on the board, without ballerina style, toe-extending dance moves. And, to address the need for Wah and/or Volume pedals, the TOUR PRO 1530 includes two detachable risers, which can be mounted in various locations on the bottom tier (yes - we thought of left footed guitar players too).

There are 3 sizes available and 3 options for each size

TOUR PRO 1520 is 15" deep x 20" wide 

TOUR PRO 1525 is 15" deep x 25" wide

TOUR PRO 1530 is 15" deep x 30" wide

Standard Package includes Board, Bag & Mounting Accessories.

Gold Package includes Board, Bag, Buffer Bay 6 & Mounting Accessories.

Platinum Package includes Board, Bag, Buffer Bay 6, Power Grid 10 & Mounting Accessories.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Michael Astley-Brown
Michael Astley-Brown
Social Links Navigation

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.

The magazine for serious players image
The magazine for serious players
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
MXR Randy Rhoads Special Edition Distortion+: A black and white shot of Randy Rhoads with his Jackson Concorde; on the right, the new signature distortion from MXR in a finish inspired by the guitar.
Good news for Randy Rhoads fans – his MXR Distortion+ is back, and you have got to see its supersonic finish
 
 
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ HRG: the reissued high-headroom tube amp is a cult classic that returns here with a heritage finish.
Mesa/Boogie reissues a cult classic with a design that takes the amp brand back to the beginning
 
 
Warm Audio's Tube Squealer is a greatest-hits of Tube Screamer circuits, three-in one, while the Throne Of Tone, the new dual-overdrive twofer from the Texan pedal company channels not one but two classic pedals, which in a way were both inspired by the classic Marshall "Bluesbreaker" amps used by Clapton back in his John Mayall days.
Warm Audio channels the greatest hits of classic overdrive with the regal Throne Of Tone dual-drive and the 3-in-1 Tone Squealer
 
 
The J, from Thorpy FX, is a new collab between the high-end British guitar effects pedal company and boutique amp brand Lazy J, and the amp that inspired it can be seen illustrated in white on. black on the enclosure's front.
Thorpy FX teams up with Lazy J to give guitarists premium vintage Tweed tone in a preamp/drive pedal
 
 
Harley Benton Head Switcher; this black single-footswitch pedal is an affordable switching solution for players with two amp heads sharing one speaker cabinet, and is here photographed against a blue gradient background.
Harley Benton unveils sub-$100 solution for players with two tube amps sharing same speaker cabinet
 
 
A still from KHDK's Instagram reel with the logo emblazoned over one of the stompbox company's new and as-yet-unannounced and unreleased electric guitar designs.
KHDK Electronics makes pedals for metal's biggest stars; now it's going to make electric guitars too
 
 
Latest in Guitar Pedals
Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster: the new glitch/synth mini-pedal from the storied NYC pedal brand
EHX expands its Pico series with the Atomic Cluster Spectral Decomposer – a mini-pedal that sounds so wrong its right
 
 
Third Man Hardware x JHS Pedals Troika: the new collab from Jack White's gear brand is a "studio-grade" delay designed for vocals, guitars and other instruments, for the stage or studio, and is available in yellow or black.
Jack White used the prototype on No Name and now you can buy it – meet the JHS Pedals x Third Man Hardware Troika delay
 
 
Universal Audio UAFX pedals: the company has updated its amp modelling pedal lineup, adding MIDI connectivity, improved presets and app integration.
Universal Audio gives its UAFX amp modelling and effects pedals an almighty power up, adding MIDI connectivity, improving presets and app integration
 
 
EarthQuaker Devices Barrows Fuzz Attacker
“A feral supernova awaits if you dime those dials”: EarthQuaker Devices Barrows Fuzz Attacker review
 
 
Walrus Audio DFX-1 Percussion Processing Unit next to a cymbal
“For percussionists who want to take matters into their own hands”: Walrus launch the DFX-1, an effects unit built for drummers
 
 
The J, from Thorpy FX, is a new collab between the high-end British guitar effects pedal company and boutique amp brand Lazy J, and the amp that inspired it can be seen illustrated in white on. black on the enclosure's front.
Thorpy FX teams up with Lazy J to give guitarists premium vintage Tweed tone in a preamp/drive pedal
 
 
Latest in News
Alex Skolnick of Testament shows off his signature ESP singlecut as he performs at Belgium's Alcatraz Festival in 2024. On the right, Kiko Loureiro and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth photographed in the corridors backstage at Wembley Arena in 2015.
Alex Skolnick on the time he was on standby for Megadeth – and what to do when you can’t match a player lick for lick
 
 
An Alesis Strata Core electronic drum set on a yellow background
I’ve seen a lot of Black Friday sales, but this one’s next level - Sweetwater just dropped thousands of discounts of up to 80% off guitars, drums, keys, and more
 
 
David Bowie and Damon Albarn sing together
“I nearly made a record with Ray Davies and David Bowie”: Damon Albarn on the dream collab that never happened
 
 
Coldplay Music of the Spheres tour
Coldplay’s live engineers reveal the lengths they go to to record every show on the band’s Music of the Spheres tour
 
 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Charli XCX attends the Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere of HBO Original Comedy Series "I Love LA" at Paramount Theatre on October 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for HBO)
"I sort of felt like I was squeezing blood from a stone”: Charli XCX reveals her post-Brat creative comedown
 
 
Guitar Center Black Friday sale
Guitar Center just dropped its biggest sale of the year, with thousands of discounts and up to 40% off for Black Friday
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...