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THE TRUTH ABOUT: Dave friedman - The Untold Story

“Our amplifier learns your cabinet’s impedance through controlled sweeps and continues to monitor it in real-time”: Synergy’s Power Amp Machine-Learning tech could be 'revolutionary'

NAMM 2026: Rise of the robots! Synergy’s latest amplifier uses cutting-edge Machine-Learning tech to fuse punchy tube tones with solid state conveniences

MusicRadar

“Rule number one: When you’re notusing a pedal, your guitar must sound like your original guitar sound”: Steve Stevens on the pedalbord the guru Dave Friedman made him, his favorite Klon klone and why he can't use chorus anymore

The effervescent Billy Idol guitarist reveals the secrets of his pedalboard

Guitar World

“Modeling is just not fun. It doesn’t give you any sort of feeling. You gotta shake the pant legs and feel that air”: Dave Friedman, who’s built amps for Jerry Cantrell, Steve Stevens, and Chris Shiflett, is not ready to hop off the tube train

The amp guru looks back on a career of modding Marshalls, building rigs for Eddie Van Halen, and developing his most simple product ever – and looks forward to the future of NAMM and boutique tech

Guitar World

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“Friends texted me saying, ‘I wish Taylor Swift would dance to my music.’ I’m like, ‘Put a good song out and she actually might!’” Justin Hawkins on the Darkness going viral, the return of virtuosic playing – and why he finally switched from Les Pauls

The Darkness frontman details his journey to Friedman amps via a freaky Laney experience, the success of his musicology podcast series, and the jealousy his band have caused by crossing over to pop

Guitar World

“We’re going to release an end-all-be-all amplifier with his name on it”: Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Metallica are among the rock royalty who used José Arredondo’s legendary amps. Now Dave Friedman is honoring his legacy with a definitive model

With the blessing of Arredondo’s family, Friedman will build a highly limited amp that encompasses most of the late amp guru’s elusive mods

Guitar World

“Muscular, articulate rock tones were the tones I always sought, but I made a name for myself in the ‘80s when you needed a little more aggression”: Friedman unveils the Jake E. Lee signature IR-J dual-channel tube preamp pedal

The former Ozzy guitarist’s tone is all about ‘70s hard-rock and the box-office hard rock and metal of the ‘80s, and this fully featured, IR-equipped tube preamp pedal nails it all

MusicRadar

“I had a ridiculously long, complex chord and key change solo section. And who comes to mind? Steve Vai!” How Billy Morrison assembled a guitar lineup that includes John 5, Steve Stevens and Steve Vai for his triumphant comeback solo album

Inspired by a basic signal chain and the “simplest guitar album on the planet”, Billy Idol’s right-hand man feels vindicated with the unplanned success of The Morrison Project

Guitar World

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“The realization of a lifelong tone quest”: Friedman's PLEX is a “sonic twin” of the amp that kickstarted Dave Friedman's tone obsession – with a sneaky modern twist

The 50-watt, two-channel amp head is a meticulous recreation of Friedman’s favorite amp, which kicks off the firm's new Vintage Collection

Guitar World

“A verbatim sonic-twin of Dave’s all-time favourite amplifier”: Friedman Amplification’s Vintage Collection debuts with the PLEX – a 50W tube head based on Dave Friedman’s legendary ‘68 JMP

If you are looking for tones inspired by the vintage Marshall that started Friedman’s obsession with amplifiers, the PLEX has you covered, and it has some modern refinements too

MusicRadar

"This is sort of blasphemous and sacrilegious… I might have fibbed a little bit and said 'never' with the digital modelling s***": Jim Root reveals he's using the Neural DSP Quad Cortex live with Slipknot, and adding his old PRS guitars to the rig

Root plans to bring out his 1999-2000 era Slipknot guitars for the band's debut album anniversary dates – including Jackson Soloists and Custom 24s

MusicRadar

“An entire Friedman rig in a compact pedalboard-friendly package”: Friedman’s expanded IR-D puts a cult classic amp mod into a tube preamp pedal without breaking the bank

Two independent channels, genuine tubes and state-of-the-art digital tech come together for another neat release from the boutique amp specialist

Guitar World

“Two glowing hot 12AX7 preamp tubes, running at the proper high voltage, are this pedal’s beating heart”: Friedman unleashes the IR-D, a twin-channel boutique fire-breather inspired by a modded JTM45

The IR-D preamp pedal takes those Friedman's high-end amp sounds and puts them in a tube-driven pedal, with dual boosts, onboard IRs, MIDI control and effects loop

MusicRadar

"I know in my heart, I want to hear that sound in my head" – Joe Satriani is having a custom 3rd Power amp built for the Van Halen tribute tour and it's based on Eddie's 1986 live choice

"But the main thing will be, can you have that one sound that will carry you through?"

MusicRadar

"If it gets mushy at all, he's out" – Metallica producer Greg Fidelman confirms James Hetfield used a very specific blend of four amps together in the studio for the 72 Seasons album

Best of 2023: "It gets pretty hairy" says the producer on the volume levels

MusicRadar

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MusicRadar

"If it gets mushy at all, he's out" – Metallica producer Greg Fidelman confirms James Hetfield used a very specific blend of four amps together in the studio for the 72 Seasons album

"It gets pretty hairy" says the producer on the volume levels

Guitar World

“Dave Friedman has done it again”: Friedman unveils new Jake E. Lee signature amp head – and it combines 2 specific eras of classic rock tones

The 20-watt head – which has separate Plexi and JEL channels – is accompanied by a matching cab

Guitar World

The guitar gear secrets behind James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett’s tones on 72 Seasons

Metallica co-producer Greg Fidelman reveals how the new album was made with the help of a Marshall modded by Eddie Van Halen’s amp wizard and a rack full of battle-hardened guitars, including one that makes Hetfield “immediately want to play fast riffs”

Liverpool Echo

Liverpool owners FSG set for major boost after landmark $141bn decision

Betting on sport is to be legalised in the state of Massachusetts, the home of FSG

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