Friedman Amplifiers Collection
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Two flavors of classic British tones
from a boutique icon.For over 20 years, Dave Friedman has been a gear guru to the stars, designing rigs and modifying amplifiers for the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Jerry Cantrell, Guns N’ Roses and more. When Friedman began building his own amps, he gleaned inspiration from high-powered British tone machines of yesteryear that have become the defacto sound of rock.
Developed by Brainworx, the Friedman Amps Plug-In Collection for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces features two stunning emulations of Friedman’s high-end, boutique masterpieces, each with its own take on god-like British tube tone — the BE-100 for the ultimate “hot-rodded” Plexi-style amp, and the Dirty Shirley DS-40 for dynamic clean tones and powerful, punchy crunch.Re-amp your tracks through Friedman's classic, vintage-flavored DS-40 and fire-breathing BE-100 amplifiers
Shape your guitar sounds further with built-in FX Rack and Recording Chains
Track through either amp in real time, with near-zero latency, on your Apollo audio interface via Realtime UAD Processing
Enjoy quick, precise guitar tuning with the included bx_tuner plug-in
Take A Listen
The Friedman BE‑100 — Modding a Classic
The Friedman BE-100 amplifier is the result of years of experience Friedman amassed performing tone mods on his various clients’ 1959 Marshall plexis. The BE-100 amplifier plug-in for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces expertly captures Friedman’s jaw-dropping evolution to the classic plexi DNA — but with smoother treble, tighter bass response, and increased gain capabilities for more sonic versatility.
Old School Cool — The Friedman Dirty Shirley DS-40
Taking its cue from Marshall’s earliest production amp — the venerable JTM45 — Friedman’s dual 6L6-based Dirty Shirley DS-40 amplifier is renowned for its rich, bell-like clean tones, ultra-dynamic cleanish tones, and ability to conjure more aggressive textures while retaining musical touch sensitivity. The Friedman DS-40 Amplifier plug-in for UAD-2 and Apollo interfaces perfectly captures the DS-40’s regal raunch as well its clean tone complexities, making it a slam dunk classic rock amp that can also deliver blues, jazz, and country tones with ease.
Over 60 High-End Recording Chains
Both the Friedman BE-100 and DS-40 plug-ins offer an onboard FX Rack feature that gives you potent tone sculpting ability — adjust lows and highs with Tight and Smooth filters, create crushing rhythm tracks by artfully tweaking the onboard noise gate, or enhance solos with a chewy, host-syncable, lo-fi delay. You can also use the FX Rack’s Recording Chains feature to audition your tones through 66 different signal paths, featuring various speaker cabinets, high-end mics, preamps, and EQ emulations.
Brainworx bx_tuner
With the Friedman Amplifier Plug-In Collection, you’ll also receive Brainworx’s bx_tuner plug-in — an intuitive, easy-to-use, chromatic tuner that can be inserted into a channel or bus to keep your tracks sounding their best. The bx_tuner offers spot-on chromatic tuning with a couple of clever additions. Dim mode offers tuning with sound, albeit at a reduced level, while a Ballistics feature lets you customize the action of the tuning LEDs and how fast they track pitch changes. Everyone needs to be in tune. The bx_tuner allows you to do it elegantly and accurately within your workstation.
“A lot of amp plug-ins seem to smear the image slightly and not be as present in the final mix. The Friedman Amplifier plug-ins sound fat and keeps its presence.”
– Jeff Balding (Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill)Customer Reviews
P. Bulyaki
October 13, 2024
Best amps for distorted rock sounds
There isn't really too much to say about these, they are very faithful emulations of the original, I love them both.
Read MoreD. Psachoulias
September 13, 2024
One of the best amp plugins on Apollo
This is one of the best sounding plugin bundle.
Read MoreF. WIOROWSKI
July 14, 2024
Very useful
I was sceptical, because i own many real amps, but after demo i was sure this one would be very useful !!! I m plugin my guitar to it very often.......
Read MoreA. Pashka
July 10, 2024
The best guitar emulation I have ever used
I am reviewing the Dirty Shirley only. This is hands down, the most incredible amp emulation if you are looking for mean, in your face tones. Sent this off for mixing and two engineers...
Read MoreT. Hodson
January 7, 2024
Both good
both of these amps are useful for rhythm tracks for sure
Read More -
Key Features
Faithful emulation of two modern boutique amps inspired by classic British tube amps, designed by legendary amp guru David Friedman
FX Rack features lo-fi delay, noise gate, and filter controls
66 impulse responses for each amp, with multiple speaker cabinets recorded in a state of the art room with stellar gear
Feels like a real amp when played through Apollo’s Realtime UAD Processing
Re-Amp less than perfect DI guitar tracks, previously recorded with other guitar-amp simulations
Enjoy quick, precise guitar tuning with the included bx_tuner plug-in
Requires UAD-2 DSP Accelerator Card or Apollo Interface, available from authorized dealers worldwide
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Customer Reviews
Friedman Amplifiers Collection
P. Bulyaki
Best amps for distorted rock sounds
There isn't really too much to say about these, they are very faithful emulations of the original, I love them both.
C. Britos
Really great! Very close!
Works absolutely fine!
D. Psachoulias
One of the best amp plugins on Apollo
This is one of the best sounding plugin bundle.
F. WIOROWSKI
Very useful
I was sceptical, because i own many real amps, but after demo i was sure this one would be very useful !!! I m plugin my guitar to it very often....
A. Pashka
The best guitar emulation I have ever used
I am reviewing the Dirty Shirley only. This is hands down, the most incredible amp emulation if you are looking for mean, in your face tones. Sent this off for mixing and two engineers didn't believe it was emulation. A colleague has a Dirty Shirley and this is spot on!
T. Hodson
Both good
both of these amps are useful for rhythm tracks for sure
S. Tanner
Also a very nice Amp to have in the Collection
For some special clients I own this Plug-In as well.
J. Mateo
Pretty good but i feel like UAD would make a better version
This is made by Brainworks the same people at plugin alliance.
the stuff they make is great but I find the way they capture IR's tends to give every capture a annoying ringing or resonant tone in the upper mid range. once you find it you can easily kill it using the cambridge eq or sonnox eq but it sucks that I have to do that every time i go for this amp. unlike the UAD made fender amp where it literally sounds just like my fender amp. I use a axe fx for amp sims nowadays but the UAD fender amp still gets used more than my axe fx 3 for those tones. while this is often used as a tracking bassis when I dont have my axe fx with me. Keep in mind this is still much better then using a cheap amp that the band has because those always sound like crap but when I have the option to I will always mic up a real amp and cab. again unless its the UAD fender that thing is literally perfect.C. Samayoa
I
Great sound !
T. Nobles
Great Amp Sim
The Friedman amp bundle is a great tool to simplify the work flow of getting musical ideas to tape with guitars. It has the sounds of the amp miced up through studio speakers. So it takes saved a lot of work and time. It does not sound and feel like standing next to a 100 watt half stack fully cranked. Buy the amp if you want that experience. But it is very close to the sound and feel of an amp and cab in a different room than what your in and the cab is miced and your monitor your playing through studio monitors. So yes it is a great tool, to skip a lot of work, to get a recordable guitar part before you lose your inspiration and mojo.
A. Jepson
now i cant be ars*d to plug an amp in and mic it up
I use a Friedman JJ100 in the studio, carefully mic ed, pedals in the loop, tim or a DS-1 up front. I replaced that with this plug in for tracking at home. It is brilliant, responsive, realistic, reactive. I tried the tweed and it sounded a bit like all the other plug in amps out there. this sounds like my amp.
A. Kolomvatsos
BE-100 is a beast
Well if you want the plexi sound (as close as it can get in a plugin) this is the one to go. I own a handwired JTM 45 and I can tell you that there are characteristics of the plexi sound in BE-100. Really happy I got this one. For me it's the best plexi plugin compared to the other amp plugins.
A. Nemeth
Great stuff
I have tried all kinda guitar amps, but the BE-100 is one of me go to
J. Neves
Absolutely Stunning
I own quite a few amp sims and the Friedman Buxom Betty has always been one of my favourites. However, after trying out the whole collection I was sold! It sounds so close to the real thing it’d be a shame not to have. I also own the ‘competitor’s’ ‘version’ of it but for some reason (upsampling maybe’ the UAD ones leave the others in the dust.
J. Metzger
The Best uad amp sim !
I own a friedman be-50 deluxe , and the be-100 plug sounds very similar . I uad a lot of different tones and I’m able to get most of them using the be100 plug . The clean sounds full and articulate , mild break up retains the dynamics without losing definition , while the hbe channel has the bite needed without ever needing to use a single od pedal , plenty of gain on tap . I especially love the diff speaker cab and mic combinations . Great job on this one !
P. Jerksten
If you could use your own IR’s it would be a better plugin
Sounds good and I like the dui. If you were able to load your own IR’s it would make the plugin twice as good. No pedals included which is a big minus.
If these updates were made I would give it a 5 star review.h. hyakkoku
Satisfied because the sound is Nice!
I don't have the actual device, but I tried using it on my DAW and thought it sounded good.
Especially the sound between clean and crunch is wonderful!!M. de Koning
Just bad
I really wanted to like this bundle and I'm not sure how it can be that other people thought it was great. I own a Friedman Twin Sister, which is very similar to two Dirty Shirleys. Problem is the DS sim sounds like garbage compared to my actual TS. In actuality, the bottom end should be significantly bigger. I've never played an actual BE 100 but the sim would make a person avoid it I I believed this is what it actually sounds like. Super boomy bottom end that makes you think all your bass levels must be cranked, and the overall tone sounds too much like my old line 6 spider trying it's best to sound mocho, only to sound like a box of bees when compared to the amps it's claiming to model.
Because I love my actual TS, I put too much trust in a product with Dave's name on it. I should have demo'd it before opening the wallet. My bad.R. Lamison
Power and versatility
These amp sims are a great addition to my collection since they provide so much muscle and versatility. I highly recommend this bundle.
J. garcia
excellent
very good and realistic