Digital amp modelers simply DON’T do this

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-----------------------------

Hey everyone! If you've been following my channel for a while, you probably know that I'm a huge fan of tube gear. There's just something about the feel and response of tube amps that digital modeling can't quite replicate. While I acknowledge the convenience of digital amp modelers and modeling amps—especially for traveling musicians who don't want to lug around heavy tube amps and 4x12 cabinets—I just love the tactile satisfaction that comes from playing through tubes. It's not just about the sound; it's about the push and pull, the give and take that tubes provide.

In today's video, I'm exploring some incredible new tube-based pedals from Friedman Amplification: the IR-X, IR-D, and the brand-new IR-J (Jake E. Lee Signature model). These pedals have literally left me speechless, and I can't wait to show you why. Whether you're into electric guitars, guitar pedals, or tube amps, you'll love these tones.

Why Tube Pedals Over Digital Amp Modelers?
While digital amp modeling has come a long way and offers incredible convenience, there's still a noticeable difference in the feel and response when compared to tube gear. These Friedman pedals capture that elusive tube amp experience, providing the dynamic response and touch sensitivity that digital platforms often lack. They're an affordable and portable solution for gigging musicians who crave authentic tube tones without the hassle of heavy equipment.

Friedman IRX Tube Pedal
The IRX is a two-channel tube preamp pedal that's somewhat "plexi-ish" but not overly high-gain.
I ran the IRX directly into the FX send of my Bravado amp, bypassing its preamp and using the 6L6 power section. This setup showcases the pedal as the primary preamp, delivering authentic tube amp tones.

Friedman IRD Tube Pedal
Personally, the IRD is my favorite because it allows for different flavors of the same sound, making it incredibly flexible for live performances and studio recording.

Friedman IRJ (Jake E. Lee Signature) Tube Pedal
The IRJ is the newest addition to the lineup and brings even more gain to the table. The built-in Tube Screamer circuit effectively gives you a pedal within a pedal, offering classic overdrive tones and the ability to boost for solos.

I didn't just stop at running these pedals through my Bravado amp. I also tested them with:
Solid-State Amp (Peavey Bandit): Running the pedals into the power amp section resulted in surprisingly tube-like tones and responsiveness.
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Known for its less-than-stellar distortion channel, this amp was transformed when using the Friedman pedals, delivering rich, dynamic tones that were previously unattainable.

High-Voltage Tubes: Unlike many tube pedals that run at low voltages and use tubes more like clipping diodes, these Friedmans operate at high voltages for genuine tube amp feel.
Versatility: Whether you're into clean tones, classic rock crunch, or high-gain metal, these pedals cover it all.
IR Loading: The ability to use built-in impulse responses or load your own adds another layer of flexibility, especially for direct recording or live performances without a traditional amp.
MIDI Control: Full MIDI implementation means these pedals can integrate seamlessly with modern digital rigs.
Portability: Get authentic tube amp tones without the back-breaking weight of traditional tube amps and cabinets.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:56 Overview of IR-D, IR-X, and IR-J
03:46 What’s the IR-X all about?
08:56 Let’s dig into the IR-D
12:57 Deep diving into the IR-J
14:42 The Tubescreamer circuit buried within
17:35 Why run this into a tube amp? Why not solid state?
18:21 Running these into a Solid State Peavey Bandit Amp
20:46 Running these into Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[wampler_pedals]

Links:
*FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!*
🟠 Halloween Special: Get all of our courses at one low price!
🔴 Includes "How to design guitar pedal circuits", "Wampler Blueprint", "Guitar Pedals 101", "How to modify the Boss DS-1" and more!
Go here:

*PRODUCT LINKS*

*Special thanks to:*
Rattlesnake Cables
BTPA Cables
Hosa Cables
Porter Pickups
Tonal Concept Pickups
Fender Guitars
Whitfill Guitars
Epiphone Guitars

[khalilhabib]

I love that you showcase other pedals on your channel. Your pedals are still the best though

[rangerdoc]

I absolutely love my irx. After 20 years of fighting the volume Beast and trying to find a pedal solution, the only commercial one I found that did it for me was that Friedman

[endtimeguitarist]

A tube amp is like butter vs margarine. When you’re eating the margarine you say “I can’t believe it’s not butter” but the moment you eat the butter you know you’re eating real butter.

[giovannielixir]

If you have the X or D I recommend to connect to the latest software at least once and it will automatically update the firmware on the pedals.

It should improve the IR/power amp simulation and latency. It also includes some ownhammer IR's to choose that imo are much better than the default one's.

[Ottophil]

My entire rig is built around an IRX. Been gigging it for almost a year. It sounds feels. It is a real amp. People compliment my tone and ask where my amp is all the time.

[guitarpunkcovers]

Brian I'm gonna stop believing a word you say, cause you make everything sound good!

[Mister_Greg]

Assuming it is the same as the Twin Sister, the IR-D topology is that of the Marshall 2203 Master Volume minus the 470p treble peaking cap before the final gain stage and minus the bright cap on the gain control which is shunted by 220k. The Bright/Tight switch either bypasses the 820 ohm cathode resistor on the final gain stage with 680nF (bright) or reduces the coupling cap after the first gain stage (tight). The structure switch switches the cathode resistance on the second gain stage between 10k, 5k, or 2.7k with a 680nF bypass cap. There is likely also a snubber on the cathode resistor of the cathode follower feeding the tone stack.

[CliveBarnesMusic]

I started dipping my toe into modelling in 2018 with the Fractal Ax8. By 2021, I was playing some shows with Amps and pedals and others with the Fractal.

One day, I came to the realisation that I actually much preferred the Fractal. The creativity of the editor to build any sound I want. How it sounded live, how it felt.

Every show I had been playing with my Amp setup had become a chore due to the house engineers constantly needing me to turn down and ultimately barely running me in the PA at all.

I very slowly began selling all my amps. I was scared shit less as I spent years accumulating them. After a few months, I was 100% on the modelling train.

I absolutely love pedals and amps. That's ultimately what modelling is all about. But I've never felt better on stage than I do now. The versatility, the sounds, the clarity, the balance, the ease of setup and transport, and the enjoyment of building your perfect rig for each show, for me, easily trumps the obvious beauty of a traditional amp and pedals.

I still love amps and pedals, and I love Wampler and Brian's unending pursuit of great tone. Everyone will have a different opinion on this subject. And that's OK..!

Long live Wampler

[fritzhieke]

IR-X = BE-100
IR-D = Twin Sister/Little Sister (Dirty Shirley)
IR-J = JEL-20/50/100

[MRxr]

I have just got my IR-D and a fender fr10. It sounds good, but so much bass in the fender fr10 that I'll dial out. but the send DI to desk is important too. I've got a bit of work to do to get it to where i really feel comfortable gigging it. But, so impressed with the unit and its amp like set up, feel, for an old valve amp guy like myself. i hate menus and too many options/voices found in modelers. Pretty excited to have such a versatile thing where i can go DI and receive it back through a fold back in a mix, into a amp on stage behind for more rock feel or take my mesa and quad to shake the room properly. you did a great job of getting great tones out of it.

[frankenstein]

Thanks Brian for this video! Just ordered the IR-J and planned on running it into the power section of my Mesa Fillmore 25.

[joelspaulding]

Brian giving much praise to other manufacturers- Honest and class take.
Now I HAVE to get some of your pedals- not that I haven't wanted several, previously.

Great vid!

[jackprice]

Great video Brian! I just ventured into the capture modeling world. While it is somewhat better depending on who did the capture and what they had in their overall signal chain, it's still not like tubes thru a speaker. It probably will never be. Those Friedman pedals sound incredible.

[picksalot]

It would be great if Jim Lill would make a video that quantifies what factors contribute to the "Amp in the room sound" and if Modelers are incapable of replicating it.

[richardnagamitsu]

I have been thinking about making ToneX and/or Synergy purchases, but this totally sold me on this approach! I hope more builders follow suit. Top notch demo information and great playing examples. Bravo!

[pedroroggla]

today ive been around 5 hours trying to get a proper recording sound outta my modelers (and plugins), in the end ive plugged the tube amp, it did sound better, and i got to where i wanted to be faster...

[craigorio]

Awesome Brian, I’m doing this too with my ir-d, but into a fryette ps100 and it’s killer (!!!) especially on the gigs. And the convenience of having just a single cable running from the pedalboard to the amp is the icing on the cake. These are brilliant. Well done Sir, thank u! 👏🏽👏🏾👏🏼

[TyroneLoganMusic]

I run the IR-X with the HX FX and am very happy with the results. I’ve also used the HX FX to send midi commands to the IR-X.

[Kansika]

He makes a good point here. Tube amps are not better amps than SS's as such, in fact quite the opposite by modern hi-fi and circuit design standards. Additionally they are more cumbersome and fragile, less reliable, far less energy efficient and require a lot more care and maintenance.

Cranking one accidentally without a load on either the input or the output can fry the whole thing in an instant. From the moment you turn it on to when you finally turn it off there's a very different level of attention demanded by a tube amp. There's always an element of danger, urgency and anticipation not only bc the high voltages inside can kill you even thru your guitar if the ground connection is faulty and the DC and the input short out, very unlikely but possible. My Roland Micro Cube under my desk stays on all day and once in a while I hot plug pedals and guitars which is something you never, ever do on a tube amp.

I can readily admit I can't reliably tell one apart from the other on a recording. However anyone who's tried to capture the sound of an amplfied guitar knows how different and often more muffled and weaker the recorded sound can be compared to what you hear and feel on the spot. Tube distortion can also sound just as fizzy and shrill as a SS.

There are definitely differences when playing them that don't automatically translate to good tone vs bad tone. Instead of "fidelity" as being true to the source the combination of instrument, amp and speaker form a single instrument. Like he says; the response and feedback, not the squeal but the relationship and interaction of the pickup, the input, the tubes, the transformer output and finally the speaker impedance via inductive loading and capacitive filtering are what make tube amps so special to play. A SS has only the input impedance interaction.

I'm starting to lean more and more towards the idea that a tube amp's character isn't as much about the actual tubes as the output transformer's non-linear mediation of the output tube power and the speaker power. The speaker loads the output tubes corresponding to the transformer's impedance ratio and ithe speaker impedance ultimately determines the power output of the amp. Every stage in the signal path between a steel string in magnetic field to a steel magnet in an electric field actively affects the next as well as the previous stage. Output tubes operating on the edge of break-up and the output transformer going in and out of saturation in a fully cranked amp is what made the sound legendary, not the often thin, hissy and tinny distortion of a hard-driven pre-amp 12AX7 at low output levels.


I'm building my amp with 12AT7's bc I seldom need more than a bit of grit and crunch and I'd rather have 3W roaring than 50W idling. As much as I love tube amps a SS for daily use and DI-recording is just superior, ; inexpensive and robust but lightweight and they can sound just as good.