Friedman Amplification has expanded its Jose Arredondo tribute series with a 20-watt head and combo that makes the legendary amp-modder’s hot-rodded Marshall tones more accessible than ever.
This is a big one. A BFD. A Marshall tube amp modded by the late great Arredondo is a rare and precious thing indeed. Those with an ear attuned to his super-hot twists on the classic recipe will speak of their magic, and of how they kick-started a revolution in high-gain tone.
Arredondo took that classic Plexi sound into a new era. Players such as Steve Vai, Metallica’s James Hetfield, John Sykes of Whitesnake, Peter Frampton, George Lynch, and Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe were all clients of his, or players who used his modded guitar amps.
Indeed, the latter’s work on Dr Feelgood is a good example of the Arredondo sound – though with all that layering it might be eaten up a bit. Hetfield made full use of his on Metallica’s 72 Seasons. In fact, Dave Friedman actually worked on that amp to get it in good shape for the sessions.
“There were all sorts of weird things with that amp, and some broken things,” said Friedman, speaking to Total Guitar in 2021. “One thing I had to do is there was a 200-watt output transformer in it, which isn’t stock to the amplifier and I’m not sure why it was ever there. I don’t know why it was ever put in there. So we changed it to a 100-watt output transformer, one of mine.
“And I went through the circuit and went through everything and I made it sound good. It’s still the mod, I didn’t sit there and alter the thing – I just made it the best it could sound. And it did sound really good.”
In terms of electric guitar tone tastes and their penchant for hot-rodded vintage Marshall sounds, Friedman and Arredondo were very much cut from the same cloth, and for this series he has collaborated with Marisol Arredondo, Jose’s daughter, on the amp’s design.
As per the Friedman design aesthetic, we have gold-on-black. As per the Friedman design ethic there are a host of player-friendly features.
The vibe here is a tighter low end, more sustain and harmonic volatility – it’s a more Friday night treatment of the archetypical classic rock tone. There is an additional gain stage accessible via the Plexi/Gain switch. There is a Fat switch that adds weight and thump to your low end.
The channels are internally bridged so you can blend bright and normal inputs via the Volume I and II dials. There is a three-way gain switch that adds diode clipping to give the gain a more contemporary feel.
These updates are all in tribute to those original Arredondo mods. These amps feature custom-built transformers. Unlike old Plexis, these do have a series effects loop – integrating your pedalboard is easy. There is also a System Master Volume. These updates speak to practicality as much as they do to the modernisation of the Plexi as a high-gain platform.
Under the hood there are a pair of EL84 power tubes and a quartet of 12AX7s in the preamp. Friedman makes these by hand in California. The combo houses a single 12” Celestion G12M-65 Creamback, and it’s priced £/$2,099, while the head is priced £/$1,799.
For more details, head over to Friedman Amplification.
