This review just helped me choose the 5150 over the BE-OD. They both sound amazing. The MXR has the noise gate, boost and to me sounds a little better.
I just got a BE-OD sent over from the U.S (entirely because of the Pete Thorn review. what an awesome player and reviewer and cool dude). i'm not a big gear guy. i've been gigging with my jcm800's and an od pedal since i started playing but i couldnt help myself. i used it at a gig last night, set my amp up just on the edge of breakup and ran thru the BE. i had a bunch or regulars tell me its the best ive sounded. really love the pedal. Thanks Pete Thorn for some awesome reviews and thanks Phil for a great comparison vid.
I had the 5150 pedal. I did not feel it made my blackstar amp sound like a 5150iii. So I returned the pedal and sold the amp and bought a used 5150ii 1x12. nothing compares to the real thing. Love your videos! keep up the great work.
I haven't recorded with it, but I will tell you I love the sound. You don't really get a "clean" sound, but that is what I am not about. so it fits me like a glove.
I feel like certain types of amps work better than others when having a distortion pedal going into the amps clean channel. The 5150 pedal sounds pretty bad going into my Blackstar HT club 40 but great into the clean channel of my Fender Bassbreaker 15. I suspect the pedal might sound better in the fx loop of the Blackstar, bypassing the clean channel preamp
Just got my BE-OD. Played it through my Tiny Terror and it really breathed new life into the amp. What a dynamic, punchy, raw little powerhouse. I may have to check out the Dirty Shirley as the gain (I would never said this in my teens) is way too over the top for me.
I A/B'd these about a month ago - both good - after about a half hour of testing - the 5150 won by a slim margin - for two reasons - the low end sub is more resonant (more bass) which I need, with a tele style axe & the smart gate knob (a game changer) ! Both killer boxes though.
@@Mist_R Yes, high gain settings, plus active pickups, you will still get some noise. I am currently awaiting the Cock Blocker noise gate from SMG to add to my chain.
Hi Phil, I am still using my rig that I bought from your shop, 5150 mxr into a 68 custom deluxe as you just demoed. I also added a TC spark boost after the mxr. Run the amp at 3, then I tend to use the 5150 for crunch, and the boost for leads. Anything after 5 on volume, I pretty much just use spark booster for leads, and the amp does the rest. It's a wonderful sounding amp in a band, it cuts great. I had a band playing before me borrow the rig and I could not believe how good it sounded live. Thank you!
Im glad you like it. I ended up following you and got the 68 Deluxe as well and love it. I drove my self crazy with six diferant Fender amps before I killed them all and got the 68. LOL
Yo hago lo mismo, hermoso sonido usando el 5150 como mid gain + 1 pedal de booster // I do the same, beautiful sound using the 5150 like a mid-gain + a pedal boost
Great demo! Surprisingly rad in equal amounts. I'm still biased towards the MXR because 1) I love Dunlop and their pedals and 2) the noise gate and boost are priceless. MXR says the latter button adds more compression but it just doesn't feel like compression and more like a button that gets everything in your tone to click.
First, thank you for your time and effort on doing a demo. I got some affirmation on the MXR 5150, it is a cool pedal. I was interested on hearing the Friedman as well. I don't think I got a chance to hear either one to their full capacity, it would be nice to actually hear the differences on the pedals options, keeping everything straight up is ok for ONE example. You have a great mic and the quality of the sound comes through good on YT,. In saying that, some guitarists would appreciate a more in depth sound review on each, hard to hear a real difference when you limit the levels greatly. just my two cents...thanks again.
I did an extended head to head comparison with the Friedman vs. The 5150 with my Tele. Both good. The 5150 won the shootout for me because - A) more low end overall. B) a wider sound - fuller C) the noise gate is a game changer overall D) MXR build quality I trust.
Good comparison. I agree, I think the BE-OD sounds a bit better, a bit fuller and more open than the MXR. But that's taking nothing away from the MXR, which is an excellent sound in its own right. The two are a very close match. Compliments on getting the EQs on the two pedals matched up just right. Well done.
i just bought the BE OD last week. It's a beast. It works best on a super clean amp. I've been using mine through a Strymon Iridium set up on the Chime setting w/ a 4x12 cab. The mix of the VOX and Marshall tones are pure heaven. I find the petal seems to compliments my PRS McCarty 594 better than with my Les Paul. (The Les Paul seems to work better with the Strymon Sunset in my opinion) I play it through my Marshall amp too, but it can be little much running a Marshall pedal through a Marshall amp in my opinion. I'm going to pick up a VOX custom AC30 head and VOX 2x12 cab very soon. Can't wait to run the Marshall and VOX in a wet / dry set up.
UPDATE: Bought the AC30 Custom Head and Cab. Had it for 1 month. Couldn't get the sound I was after. Turns out I prefer the AC30 in the Iridium more than the actual amp. Took the AC30 back to Guitar Center and bought another Marshall and a Helix LT. I also bought a Friedman Dirty Shirley pedal. After some tinkering, if you run the Dirty Shirley though one amp and the BE-OD through the other amp (connected with an Orange Detonator) then you get a glorious monster tone that will shake the walls. Rock On!
I have both pedals and A - B them thru my 50 Watt Marshall plexi, I have to say the Friedman doesn't come close, its more dirty/mushy sounding gain, thinner sounding, no punch compared to the 5150 which is a tighter distortion pedal, gain is nice and tight besides having all the gain you want, makes my amp sound warmer and harmonics sing thru better, I vote for the 5150 overdrive, if you want a 60's sounding distortion pedal go with Friedman otherwise 5150 overdrive thru a clean Marshall type power amp sounds amazing, this also depends on if you use the boost,, on the 5150 for Heavy Metal with the boost on the 5150 leaves the Friedman behind!
I agree. Evh nails that tone but is also a much more versatile pedal. It's low to mid gain tones are its superior advantage and it has that perfect mid Eddie tone. I've had both and the mxr is a better built pedal too imo.
Great,, iv just orderd a 5150 mint $140 shipped from reverb, thx phil. U hit it square with pete thorn, a guitar players guitar player and a gentlemans gentelman .
The BE is a monster, the secret to this pedal is the internal dip switch, you have to bring way down on that ( some will prefer the more saturated tone ) but bringing the inherent gain into a amp on the edge of break up is just monster tone without losing control of the gain.
It's never the same when you take a pedal to mimic an amp. What you DO get is an interesting sound. I love the tone I get from running my Vox AC15 channel from my Digitech through my Fender 63 Bassman. Actually sounds a lot like a Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic...lol
Thank you for the video sir, it's pretty awesome to see your reviews on gear and the like, I've enjoyed your vids for some time and have always found them helpful
I was intrigued by the Fender Bassman portal when it came out but didn't get one. Then the EVH Overdrive that was recently released really piqued my interest; it sounds amazing. I agree that it's something we'll probably start seeing more of; cloning is so common digitally, but pedal versions of amp clones are still coming into their own. Great vid!
I've had the 5150 for over a year now and it is awesome, but just ordered the BE-OD deluxe as I feel it get's my marshall sounding a bit better than the 5150. For just balls to the wall gain, I use the 5150 and helps that it has the NG built in....
agreed. they are remarkably similar in basic tone. the friedmen did seem to have a bit more liquid spice and clarity on the lead tone and 5150 a bit more pleasant warmth on the staccato riffing....having more gain dynamics and a boost tho....kinda leans it toward the 5150
The BE-OD is extremely noisy--it generates tons of background hiss. You need a good noise gate to make it useful. It also has a internal gain knob not discussed here. The 5150 has both a noise gate and boost built in.
Having a pedal that sounds more like an amp is a huge difference vs. a cheap pedal. It is a great idea. A better player will shine even more when they have great sounding gear that they can afford. I prefer rack gear, but my preamp is too noisey for me to use and it costs a lot to have it repaired. I am achieving great tones with out having to spend $3,000- $4,000!
Friedman is mind blowing in person, especially when paired with a good clean channel. I ended up buying without ever seeing a review and just playing it myself
Wow, 2 unbelievable good sounding pedals. I'm no pedal guy whatsoever, but these two, wow! In my eyes (or ears...) the Friedman gets more of the typical British JCM 800 sound, while the EVH gets the searing high gain of the amp it's representing prefect! I probably would prefer the Friedman! BTW, I love that you don't play for minutes and minutes (more to show skills than sound 😉) but give a short but accurate representation of the sound! Love your videos!
I've had both, I still have the Friedman. I run in the front of my DSL40 and got it dialed in for that 80s Hair Metal sound. Very cool. I use the MXR Metal Muff for modern gain tones. Both of these pedals will live on my board forever!
I have a Fender Super Reverb and the BE-OD "Marshallizes" this non-master volume amp pretty convincingly I think. Recently I bought and returned the Friedman JJ 100 Jerry Cantrel & then a Small Box 50 (niether of which were non-master volume type amps). Both of the Friedman amps had this terrible buzzy type of distortion that I just couldn't like. I also have a Marshall 1959 SLP Plexi head non-master volume head and cab. Obviously the non-master volume amps I've mentioned (i.e. Fender Super & Marshall Plexi) make great pedal platforms which is why I liked the BE-OD pedal so much through either of my non-master volume amps. This pedal through those two amps just scorched the JJ 100 & Small Box Friedman amps so I determined. Also just to mention that the BE-OD footpedal has an internal trim pot that can and probably should be dialed way way back down otherwise it's hard to get rid of the excessive amount of gain it has on tap. Additionally the "Tight" control knob can make the bass really tight or more loose sounding depending on what you're wanting. Although I have never played the 5150 pedal I suspect that you can get the BE-OD Pedal to tighten up more like the 5150 for that tigher more modern metal sound. The cool thing about the BE-OD pedal is that dialing the knob back to be loose can yeild a more traditional old school looser bass sound as well IMHO. Maybe this makes the BE-OD more versatile? 🤔
If you haven't already, check out the AMT line of preamp pedals. I personally use an R2 and P2 (Recto and Peavey voiced). Now, my choice backfired a little as they're very ( VERY) similar, so, I'll be trading in one for something of a lower gain crunch voice, possibly the M2 (JCM800 voice). I personally think they're really cool little units with a lot of features ( separate pedal, preamp and cab emulated outs?) for not a lot of cash!
These both do what they're meant to really well, and paired with the right speakers I'm sure you could hardly tell the difference between them and the real thing. I'd say these would be super great for gigging, if you dont wanna haul around/buy such an expensive amp, but for recording I'd even rent out the real deal just because. But that's just me
Waiting on my Be-Od to show up. Can't wait! As far as amp in a box pedals go, Amt Legend pedals are fantastic. I have the P2 pedal and it emulated the Peavey 5150 extremely well. They have a whole series that emulate Mesa's, Fender, Marshal, Bogner, Vht, Orange, and others. You should check them out.
question have you ever thought about emailing a pedal straight into the power amp return so you can really hear what the pedal sounds like? not digging it you I love your channel man you're one of the best reviewers I have ever seen! from building amplifiers I learned about the EQ sweeps on them and how much each stage really affects the tone
The Friedman works perfectly with my orange rocker 15 clean channel, my tube amp did not like my MXR 5150 a bit, sounded hollow. I traded towards the Friedman and couldn’t be happier!
Bought the BE OD pedal over a month ago and the Volume knob has never worked like it should. Gonna exchange it for a new one, although i might just return it as i expected better from a company like Friedman.
Joyo makes some modeling pedals also. They have the ac tone that is a ac 30, American sound is a fender 57 deluxe, california sound is a Mesa Boogie MK, and the british sound that is a JCM 800. For only 39.99. Their chinese made but i have some joyo pedals and they sound really good. I could never afford my favorite amp a Marshall jcm 800. So i bought a clone by Ceriatone for 1,300 bucks. Turret board point to point hand wired. It's truly an awesome amp. So that can be a option too. There are alot different companies that make all kinds of different clones.
The 5150 had way more saturation in the gain. The Friedman seemed to have more punch in the mids making it clearer and a bit more pleasant to the ears. It's surprising most are saying they sounded the same. Maybe they had the volume up too high on their devices. That could cause speakers to clip making everything shrill and less pronounced.
i had a marshall jackhammer, it was supossed to emulate the sound from a jcm800 and jcm2000... it actually worked amazingly and i think costs like 80 bucks
Hey Phillip. Just a quick question. How are you recording your videos? It seems that you are not directly micing the cabinet which can give the viewer a slightly different tone. Let me know, just curious. Keep up the great videos.
This video was perfect for what I was needing know .. I have the EVH 5150 pedal and love it, but was still thinking about buying the Friedman .. Just because it sounds great .. and is there really such a thing as having too many OD pedals ??.. Great review ..
i have a BE-0D on order, honestly i was disappointed with the EVH and ultimately sold it as it just didn't do it for me. The EVH was very bright sounding and i couldn't get rid of that sharpness to it... maybe its the scooped bias of the design that i didn't like... i am looking forward to getting the BE-OD in my rig and i will give it a good go before i get too excited. I like that hot rodded Marshall plexi sound more than the newer modern metal sound of the EVH. But thats my opinion. Thanks for the video Phillip... a full demo of the range of the BE-OD would be greatly appreciated.
after playing with the BE-OD i definitely find that it has a more mid heavy sound compared to the scooped sound of the EVH. It is more versatile in terms of EQ'ing. It has a ton of gain however i am going to check out adjusting the inner trim pot to reduce the overall gain... for me with all controls at noon... it sounded really good right out of the box. To be honest i still prefer the sound of my Vox Ice 9 OD and the Suhr Shiba Drive Reloaded stacked together for lead tones.
thank you for the review Phillip. I was wondering about both of those pedals. And it's great to hear it through an affordable amp. not a friedman. those reviews don't say much to the musician with not alot of money. I would even like to hear it through a very cheap amp. just to hear if it would make it a whole lot better. thanks again.
I have both of these, I do agree they do sound similar and are awesome sounding od pedals. I also have a BE100 and has nowhere near the gain available on the pedal, tbh.
Phil, having the 5150 first, when I bought the BE I thought I liked it better at first. But… upon using them both for about 6 months, I realized the 5150 is a much better sounding pedal. Subjectively, of course. Did you have any insights later on?
I had the opportunity to try these two pedals. In my opinion the 5150 wins. The Friedman has a great tone but is too noisy and the Gain doesn't clean up very well.
Would have liked you to let us know which pickups is your guitar loaded with. In fact, I think it would have been better to listen different guitars through those pedals. Different guitars, different kind of pickups, you know? Anyway, thanks for the review, quite useful.
Agreed, Pete's reviews of the Friedman were super detailed and he's such a great player too. I like the noise gate feature when dealing with that much gain... How does the 5150 mxr compare to the LBX or its big brothers?
Both sound great , Phillip I am looking at the beod deluxe or the pedal pal800 gold . Would you please be honest and tell me which you would rather have ? It would be greatly appreciated .
I have the BE overdrive. It has an internal gain pot to lower the gain. I set the internal gain pot to about halfway so that the gain all the way down gets some Angus Young tones, in the middle it does Slash pretty well, and the gain maxed (still with the internal gain pot set halfway) gets into the Steve Stevens territory!
I want to get one of these for 2 purposes. 1.To play/practice hard rock/metal a reasonable volume 2. To use is as a solo boost when playing live. I'm running a 79 JMP 2204 thru a 4x12 with V30's. I've got plenty of boosts that sound great with the Marshall but I want something that could take it into modded/metal sounding territory. Which one would be the best option?
Well it wasn't an easy decision but I bought the 5150, that friedman sounded great but the 5150 is a lot easier to find 2nd hand for a decent price. First new pedal in a long time and it's a new year! Cheers
I feel like certain types of amps work better than others when having a distortion pedal going into the amps clean channel. The 5150 pedal sounds pretty bad going into my Blackstar HT club 40 but great into the clean channel of my Fender Bassbreaker 15. I suspect the pedal might sound better in the fx loop of the Blackstar, bypassing the clean channel preamp
Great comparison review. I'm curious as to your comments about amp pedals becoming the future?? Brian Wampler has been the king of amp in a box pedals for years. Others have done it too, from JHS to Mad Professor, carl Martin , to even EHX and many more. So I'm wondering why you think this concept is new ? I personally have gone away from this and gone to modeling for gigs, as it's much improved and much less hassle to go from different venue sizes and get the same sound. These are great pedals but it's more like late to the game, then a new concept.
You mentioned that you'd like to have certain amps as pedals. Check out Mad Professor Big Tweedy Drive and Simble if you haven't before! Great, Great pedals from Finland. Haven't tested BTD myself but I have a nice Dumble clone and when comparing my old Fender Tremolux amp with Simble, it sounds 99% identical!
Phil how would the BE work live? Perhaps great for recording but when playing with a band...isn’t this pretty much a “solid state” type where it won’t cut thru the mix ? I have yet to see a “live” demo with a band hence was curious . Thanks
Hey Phillip, would any of these sound as good through a solid state amp? I can't afford tube amps anymore and I want something that sounds decent . I'm most interested in the Riot distortion you mentioned, but all the reviews and vids I've seen , they are running through tube amps that most likely already sound good.
It seems that when ever a big name pedal comes out, people fawn all over it and act like it's the second coming. It's nice to see a level-headed review for a change. From what I heard in this video, they sounded very similar (5150 is more modern and BE-OD is more 80s in my opinion).
Thanks for the nice comments Phil! :)
Nice reviews by both of you guys. Very helpful. Bought the BE OD and it's GREAT!
You're awesome, Pete!
Pete, just want to say that I love your demos. They inspire me to experiment and play a lot more.
Same here. Great demos Pete and Phil.
Pete Thorn THANKS PETE FOR SHARING YOUR TREMENDOUS ABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF EQUIPMENT
The BE-OD has a Gain trim pot adjustment under the back plate. that adds gain or lessen the gain .
This review just helped me choose the 5150 over the BE-OD. They both sound amazing. The MXR has the noise gate, boost and to me sounds a little better.
AB comparisson by clicking time
*Friedman OB 2:30 / 3:26
*MXR 5150 2:49 / 3:13
I just got a BE-OD sent over from the U.S (entirely because of the Pete Thorn review. what an awesome player and reviewer and cool dude). i'm not a big gear guy. i've been gigging with my jcm800's and an od pedal since i started playing but i couldnt help myself. i used it at a gig last night, set my amp up just on the edge of breakup and ran thru the BE. i had a bunch or regulars tell me its the best ive sounded. really love the pedal. Thanks Pete Thorn for some awesome reviews and thanks Phil for a great comparison vid.
Al Iskandar which JCM800 do you have?
The EVH 5150 Overdrive wins to my ears since I felt the Friedman brighter and dirtier in this comparison. Thanks for doing this video!
I had the 5150 pedal. I did not feel it made my blackstar amp sound like a 5150iii. So I returned the pedal and sold the amp and bought a used 5150ii 1x12. nothing compares to the real thing. Love your videos! keep up the great work.
How are the evh 5150 for versatility and recording in studio?
I haven't recorded with it, but I will tell you I love the sound. You don't really get a "clean" sound, but that is what I am not about. so it fits me like a glove.
Did you run in front of the amp or the fx loop?
I feel like certain types of amps work better than others when having a distortion pedal going into the amps clean channel. The 5150 pedal sounds pretty bad going into my Blackstar HT club 40 but great into the clean channel of my Fender Bassbreaker 15. I suspect the pedal might sound better in the fx loop of the Blackstar, bypassing the clean channel preamp
Just got my BE-OD. Played it through my Tiny Terror and it really breathed new life into the amp. What a dynamic, punchy, raw little powerhouse. I may have to check out the Dirty Shirley as the gain (I would never said this in my teens) is way too over the top for me.
I A/B'd these about a month ago - both good - after about a half hour of testing -
the 5150 won by a slim margin - for two reasons - the low end sub is more resonant (more bass) which I need,
with a tele style axe & the smart gate knob (a game changer) ! Both killer boxes though.
I own both, and they are both great. Very similar sounding. But love the noise gate in the MXR.
The 5150 is like having an extra pedal because of the noise gate. A win/win
I just received mine and that was exactly why i bought it.
It is a great pedal
@@PapaSancho666 I heard it doesn't entirely get rid of the noise at a high gain setting. Have you noticed?
@@Mist_R Yes, high gain settings, plus active pickups, you will still get some noise. I am currently awaiting the Cock Blocker noise gate from SMG to add to my chain.
I own a 5150 and it’s my favorite overdrive ever. I still have an OCD that I keep on a lighter gain setting, but yea, 5150 owns
Hi Phil, I am still using my rig that I bought from your shop, 5150 mxr into a 68 custom deluxe as you just demoed. I also added a TC spark boost after the mxr. Run the amp at 3, then I tend to use the 5150 for crunch, and the boost for leads. Anything after 5 on volume, I pretty much just use spark booster for leads, and the amp does the rest. It's a wonderful sounding amp in a band, it cuts great. I had a band playing before me borrow the rig and I could not believe how good it sounded live. Thank you!
Im glad you like it. I ended up following you and got the 68 Deluxe as well and love it. I drove my self crazy with six diferant Fender amps before I killed them all and got the 68. LOL
Yo hago lo mismo, hermoso sonido usando el 5150 como mid gain + 1 pedal de booster // I do the same, beautiful sound using the 5150 like a mid-gain + a pedal boost
5+ years after this review and Phil's prediction that pedals replicating amps becoming common has come true. Nostradamus of gear!
The 13 year old in me cracked up when you said "First, let's go for the brown eye" LMAO
Great demo! Surprisingly rad in equal amounts. I'm still biased towards the MXR because 1) I love Dunlop and their pedals and 2) the noise gate and boost are priceless. MXR says the latter button adds more compression but it just doesn't feel like compression and more like a button that gets everything in your tone to click.
First, thank you for your time and effort on doing a demo. I got some affirmation on the MXR 5150, it is a cool pedal. I was interested on hearing the Friedman as well. I don't think I got a chance to hear either one to their full capacity, it would be nice to actually hear the differences on the pedals options, keeping everything straight up is ok for ONE example. You have a great mic and the quality of the sound comes through good on YT,. In saying that, some guitarists would appreciate a more in depth sound review on each, hard to hear a real difference when you limit the levels greatly. just my two cents...thanks again.
Better, clearer and direct guitar sound on your videos now. Thank you Phil. Very enjoyable to see your videos now.
I was looking for reviews of this pedal and you just upload this video , thats why we need to subscribe to good channels like yours..
well if I owned either of these I wouldn't be disappointed at all!
I did an extended head to head comparison with the Friedman vs. The 5150 with my Tele. Both good. The 5150 won the shootout for me because -
A) more low end overall.
B) a wider sound - fuller
C) the noise gate is a
game changer overall
D) MXR build quality I trust.
They sound remarkably similar and I wouldn't have necessarily thought that going in. Both sounded great though
I personally own the EVH and it far exceeds my expectations!
Good comparison. I agree, I think the BE-OD sounds a bit better, a bit fuller and more open than the MXR. But that's taking nothing away from the MXR, which is an excellent sound in its own right. The two are a very close match. Compliments on getting the EQs on the two pedals matched up just right. Well done.
i just bought the BE OD last week. It's a beast. It works best on a super clean amp. I've been using mine through a Strymon Iridium set up on the Chime setting w/ a 4x12 cab. The mix of the VOX and Marshall tones are pure heaven. I find the petal seems to compliments my PRS McCarty 594 better than with my Les Paul. (The Les Paul seems to work better with the Strymon Sunset in my opinion) I play it through my Marshall amp too, but it can be little much running a Marshall pedal through a Marshall amp in my opinion. I'm going to pick up a VOX custom AC30 head and VOX 2x12 cab very soon. Can't wait to run the Marshall and VOX in a wet / dry set up.
UPDATE: Bought the AC30 Custom Head and Cab. Had it for 1 month. Couldn't get the sound I was after. Turns out I prefer the AC30 in the Iridium more than the actual amp. Took the AC30 back to Guitar Center and bought another Marshall and a Helix LT. I also bought a Friedman Dirty Shirley pedal. After some tinkering, if you run the Dirty Shirley though one amp and the BE-OD through the other amp (connected with an Orange Detonator) then you get a glorious monster tone that will shake the walls. Rock On!
I have both pedals and A - B them thru my 50 Watt Marshall plexi, I have to say the Friedman doesn't come close, its more dirty/mushy sounding gain, thinner sounding, no punch compared to the 5150 which is a tighter distortion pedal, gain is nice and tight besides having all the gain you want, makes my amp sound warmer and harmonics sing thru better, I vote for the 5150 overdrive, if you want a 60's sounding distortion pedal go with Friedman otherwise 5150 overdrive thru a clean Marshall type power amp sounds amazing, this also depends on if you use the boost,, on the 5150 for Heavy Metal with the boost on the 5150 leaves the Friedman behind!
A - B them thru my 50 Watt Marshall plex? What for?
The EVH Sounds better. The BE-OD is a good pedal but it lacks the Mids that are surely present in the EVH.
Nice demo Mr. Phillip !
There's already a BE-OD deluxe with 2 channels and mid knobs :)
I agree. Evh nails that tone but is also a much more versatile pedal. It's low to mid gain tones are its superior advantage and it has that perfect mid Eddie tone. I've had both and the mxr is a better built pedal too imo.
The more I hear the 5150 pedal here and there, the more I want one. So far I didn't hear anyone making it sound bad.
ROG has been doing this for decades, not really a new idea at all but it's cool that you like it. Thanks for the demo
Hi Philip, great review! And an honest comparison. I was quite surprised to hear so little difference between them! Thanks.
Through my speakers,the E.V.H. was the winner hands down!
I have the 5150. I like it. Thank you for your excellent video reviews!
Great,, iv just orderd a 5150 mint $140 shipped from reverb, thx phil. U hit it square with pete thorn, a guitar players guitar player and a gentlemans gentelman .
The BE is a monster, the secret to this pedal is the internal dip switch, you have to bring way down on that ( some will prefer the more saturated tone ) but bringing the inherent gain into a amp on the edge of break up is just monster tone without losing control of the gain.
I used to think the wampler euphoria was the best OD pedal I ever heard, but now I'm going with the 5150. Ed's exact tone in a box.
I own the 5150 pedal and it's absolutely killer
It's never the same when you take a pedal to mimic an amp. What you DO get is an interesting sound. I love the tone I get from running my Vox AC15 channel from my Digitech through my Fender 63 Bassman. Actually sounds a lot like a Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic...lol
Glad you did the comparison between the two. It helps.
Thank you for the video sir, it's pretty awesome to see your reviews on gear and the like, I've enjoyed your vids for some time and have always found them helpful
I have both. The Friedman just crushes the evh in tone. It sounds Way better in the brown sound contest for sure.
Did you find that the gain adjustment in the Friedman wasn't noticeable as described in the video?
Thanks.
I was intrigued by the Fender Bassman portal when it came out but didn't get one. Then the EVH Overdrive that was recently released really piqued my interest; it sounds amazing.
I agree that it's something we'll probably start seeing more of; cloning is so common digitally, but pedal versions of amp clones are still coming into their own.
Great vid!
I've had the 5150 for over a year now and it is awesome, but just ordered the BE-OD deluxe as I feel it get's my marshall sounding a bit better than the 5150. For just balls to the wall gain, I use the 5150 and helps that it has the NG built in....
I must be going deaf, they sounded identical to me. o.0
Me to
TheButcher6969 the only difference I personally heard, was that the Friedman had more Treble range than the EVH.
agreed. they are remarkably similar in basic tone. the friedmen did seem to have a bit more liquid spice and clarity on the lead tone and 5150 a bit more pleasant warmth on the staccato riffing....having more gain dynamics and a boost tho....kinda leans it toward the 5150
Very similar
The BE-OD is extremely noisy--it generates tons of background hiss. You need a good noise gate to make it useful. It also has a internal gain knob not discussed here. The 5150 has both a noise gate and boost built in.
Nice comparison demo. Thanks!
Having a pedal that sounds more like an amp is a huge difference vs. a cheap pedal. It is a great idea. A better player will shine even more when they have great sounding gear that they can afford. I prefer rack gear, but my preamp is too noisey for me to use and it costs a lot to have it repaired. I am achieving great tones with out having to spend $3,000- $4,000!
Friedman is mind blowing in person, especially when paired with a good clean channel. I ended up buying without ever seeing a review and just playing it myself
Wow, 2 unbelievable good sounding pedals. I'm no pedal guy whatsoever, but these two, wow! In my eyes (or ears...) the Friedman gets more of the typical British JCM 800 sound, while the EVH gets the searing high gain of the amp it's representing prefect! I probably would prefer the Friedman!
BTW, I love that you don't play for minutes and minutes (more to show skills than sound 😉) but give a short but accurate representation of the sound! Love your videos!
I've had both, I still have the Friedman. I run in the front of my DSL40 and got it dialed in for that 80s Hair Metal sound. Very cool. I use the MXR Metal Muff for modern gain tones. Both of these pedals will live on my board forever!
up front on the clean channel or fx loop?
I have a Fender Super Reverb and the BE-OD "Marshallizes" this non-master volume amp pretty convincingly I think. Recently I bought and returned the Friedman JJ 100 Jerry Cantrel & then a Small Box 50 (niether of which were non-master volume type amps). Both of the Friedman amps had this terrible buzzy type of distortion that I just couldn't like. I also have a Marshall 1959 SLP Plexi head non-master volume head and cab. Obviously the non-master volume amps I've mentioned (i.e. Fender Super & Marshall Plexi) make great pedal platforms which is why I liked the BE-OD pedal so much through either of my non-master volume amps. This pedal through those two amps just scorched the JJ 100 & Small Box Friedman amps so I determined. Also just to mention that the BE-OD footpedal has an internal trim pot that can and probably should be dialed way way back down otherwise it's hard to get rid of the excessive amount of gain it has on tap. Additionally the "Tight" control knob can make the bass really tight or more loose sounding depending on what you're wanting. Although I have never played the 5150 pedal I suspect that you can get the BE-OD Pedal to tighten up more like the 5150 for that tigher more modern metal sound. The cool thing about the BE-OD pedal is that dialing the knob back to be loose can yeild a more traditional old school looser bass sound as well IMHO. Maybe this makes the BE-OD more versatile? 🤔
If you haven't already, check out the AMT line of preamp pedals. I personally use an R2 and P2 (Recto and Peavey voiced). Now, my choice backfired a little as they're very ( VERY) similar, so, I'll be trading in one for something of a lower gain crunch voice, possibly the M2 (JCM800 voice). I personally think they're really cool little units with a lot of features ( separate pedal, preamp and cab emulated outs?) for not a lot of cash!
These both do what they're meant to really well, and paired with the right speakers I'm sure you could hardly tell the difference between them and the real thing. I'd say these would be super great for gigging, if you dont wanna haul around/buy such an expensive amp, but for recording I'd even rent out the real deal just because. But that's just me
Waiting on my Be-Od to show up. Can't wait!
As far as amp in a box pedals go, Amt Legend pedals are fantastic. I have the P2 pedal and it emulated the Peavey 5150 extremely well. They have a whole series that emulate Mesa's, Fender, Marshal, Bogner, Vht, Orange, and others. You should check them out.
man the BE OD sounds good,even distorted you could hear the definition in all the notes
question have you ever thought about emailing a pedal straight into the power amp return so you can really hear what the pedal sounds like? not digging it you I love your channel man you're one of the best reviewers I have ever seen! from building amplifiers I learned about the EQ sweeps on them and how much each stage really affects the tone
The EVH is warmer and full, the Friedman is more bright and tight
Thanks for this comparison. Great video as always!
The Friedman works perfectly with my orange rocker 15 clean channel, my tube amp did not like my MXR 5150 a bit, sounded hollow. I traded towards the Friedman and couldn’t be happier!
Great video. I think the Mxr is better. more dynamic range. not convinced either are relevant tones.
John's Arcade Game Reviews & Tech cam you recommend me a relevant distortion pedal
Bought the BE OD pedal over a month ago and the Volume knob has never worked like it should. Gonna exchange it for a new one, although i might just return it as i expected better from a company like Friedman.
Joyo makes some modeling pedals also. They have the ac tone that is a ac 30, American sound is a fender 57 deluxe, california sound is a Mesa Boogie MK, and the british sound that is a JCM 800. For only 39.99. Their chinese made but i have some joyo pedals and they sound really good. I could never afford my favorite amp a Marshall jcm 800. So i bought a clone by Ceriatone for 1,300 bucks. Turret board point to point hand wired. It's truly an awesome amp. So that can be a option too. There are alot different companies that make all kinds of different clones.
Had the BE OD twice and love it but after selling my pedals/board and going basic, I'm ready to try the 5150 pedal (I need a metal distortion) :)
I enjoy both, thank you for the excellent review!
Thank you Phillip for your honest review! I was tempted to buy the Friedman BE OD but now I will probably stick with my Angry Charlie.
Thanks for the review l already have the 5150 so I'll stick with it!
Thanks again!!
Too late. I got both. Love both. Will not give up both.
What do you want for them?...haha
The 5150 had way more saturation in the gain. The Friedman seemed to have more punch in the mids making it clearer and a bit more pleasant to the ears. It's surprising most are saying they sounded the same. Maybe they had the volume up too high on their devices. That could cause speakers to clip making everything shrill and less pronounced.
i had a marshall jackhammer, it was supossed to emulate the sound from a jcm800 and jcm2000... it actually worked amazingly and i think costs like 80 bucks
Hey Phillip. Just a quick question. How are you recording your videos? It seems that you are not directly micing the cabinet which can give the viewer a slightly different tone. Let me know, just curious. Keep up the great videos.
This video was perfect for what I was needing know .. I have the EVH 5150 pedal and love it, but was still thinking about buying the Friedman .. Just because it sounds great .. and is there really such a thing as having too many OD pedals ??.. Great review ..
I found this to be a very informative video. Thanks for making this.
i have a BE-0D on order, honestly i was disappointed with the EVH and ultimately sold it as it just didn't do it for me. The EVH was very bright sounding and i couldn't get rid of that sharpness to it... maybe its the scooped bias of the design that i didn't like... i am looking forward to getting the BE-OD in my rig and i will give it a good go before i get too excited. I like that hot rodded Marshall plexi sound more than the newer modern metal sound of the EVH. But thats my opinion. Thanks for the video Phillip... a full demo of the range of the BE-OD would be greatly appreciated.
after playing with the BE-OD i definitely find that it has a more mid heavy sound compared to the scooped sound of the EVH. It is more versatile in terms of EQ'ing. It has a ton of gain however i am going to check out adjusting the inner trim pot to reduce the overall gain... for me with all controls at noon... it sounded really good right out of the box. To be honest i still prefer the sound of my Vox Ice 9 OD and the Suhr Shiba Drive Reloaded stacked together for lead tones.
The 5150 is an amazing pedal
thank you for the review Phillip. I was wondering about both of those pedals. And it's great to hear it through an affordable amp. not a friedman. those reviews don't say much to the musician with not alot of money. I would even like to hear it through a very cheap amp. just to hear if it would make it a whole lot better. thanks again.
What a coincidence. You happen to be playing through the amp that I'm trying to find a good overdrive pedal for haha, thanks!
I have both of these, I do agree they do sound similar and are awesome sounding od pedals.
I also have a BE100 and has nowhere near the gain available on the pedal, tbh.
Phil, having the 5150 first, when I bought the BE I thought I liked it better at first. But… upon using them both for about 6 months, I realized the 5150 is a much better sounding pedal. Subjectively, of course. Did you have any insights later on?
Bogner did the same thing with the "cloning" the Ecstacy Blue and Red Channels of the Ecstacy head into pedals.
Amp the size of a pedal. Phil you're a visionary. Stamp now out in 2020.
I had the opportunity to try these two pedals. In my opinion the 5150 wins. The Friedman has a great tone but is too noisy and the Gain doesn't clean up very well.
Would have liked you to let us know which pickups is your guitar loaded with. In fact, I think it would have been better to listen different guitars through those pedals. Different guitars, different kind of pickups, you know? Anyway, thanks for the review, quite useful.
Agreed, Pete's reviews of the Friedman were super detailed and he's such a great player too.
I like the noise gate feature when dealing with that much gain... How does the 5150 mxr compare to the LBX or its big brothers?
You should check out Voron Guitar channel. He made a good shoutout between the Mxr, the EVH Lunchbox and the 50 watts version.
Both sound great , Phillip I am looking at the beod deluxe or the pedal pal800 gold . Would you please be honest and tell me which you would rather have ? It would be greatly appreciated .
Sweet, not sure I ever need that much gain but they both sound cool.
I have the BE overdrive. It has an internal gain pot to lower the gain. I set the internal gain pot to about halfway so that the gain all the way down gets some Angus Young tones, in the middle it does Slash pretty well, and the gain maxed (still with the internal gain pot set halfway) gets into the Steve Stevens territory!
+Brian M No problem! You just have to keep playing with the internal gain pot until you're happy!
the friedman sounds like a diode clipping od pedal...the 5150 like an amp
5:46 - THAT is the tone I want. Sold
EVH. Is happening.Brown eye sounds good too..I own the evh...very happy
I want to get one of these for 2 purposes. 1.To play/practice hard rock/metal a reasonable volume 2. To use is as a solo boost when playing live. I'm running a 79 JMP 2204 thru a 4x12 with V30's. I've got plenty of boosts that sound great with the Marshall but I want something that could take it into modded/metal sounding territory. Which one would be the best option?
Well it wasn't an easy decision but I bought the 5150, that friedman sounded great but the 5150 is a lot easier to find 2nd hand for a decent price.
First new pedal in a long time and it's a new year!
Cheers
Great job Phillip!
I agree 100% I like the Friedman's tone just a tad bet better, in this video at least.
I feel like certain types of amps work better than others when having a distortion pedal going into the amps clean channel. The 5150 pedal sounds pretty bad going into my Blackstar HT club 40 but great into the clean channel of my Fender Bassbreaker 15. I suspect the pedal might sound better in the fx loop of the Blackstar, bypassing the clean channel preamp
The MXR edges because of the cool noise gate.
Great Video as always Phillip. Would you say running this through a solid state would still sound like the 5150?
Great comparison review. I'm curious as to your comments about amp pedals becoming the future?? Brian Wampler has been the king of amp in a box pedals for years. Others have done it too, from JHS to Mad Professor, carl Martin , to even EHX and many more. So I'm wondering why you think this concept is new ? I personally have gone away from this and gone to modeling for gigs, as it's much improved and much less hassle to go from different venue sizes and get the same sound. These are great pedals but it's more like late to the game, then a new concept.
You mentioned that you'd like to have certain amps as pedals. Check out Mad Professor Big Tweedy Drive and Simble if you haven't before! Great, Great pedals from Finland. Haven't tested BTD myself but I have a nice Dumble clone and when comparing my old Fender Tremolux amp with Simble, it sounds 99% identical!
Phil how would the BE work live? Perhaps great for recording but when playing with a band...isn’t this pretty much a “solid state” type where it won’t cut thru the mix ? I have yet to see a “live” demo with a band hence was curious . Thanks
Hey Phillip, would any of these sound as good through a solid state amp? I can't afford tube amps anymore and I want something that sounds decent . I'm most interested in the Riot distortion you mentioned, but all the reviews and vids I've seen , they are running through tube amps that most likely already sound good.
I can hear the acoustic pick attack in these clips. What do they sound like with the amp turned up to gig volume?
thank you bro for your badasses demos :)
It seems that when ever a big name pedal comes out, people fawn all over it and act like it's the second coming. It's nice to see a level-headed review for a change. From what I heard in this video, they sounded very similar (5150 is more modern and BE-OD is more 80s in my opinion).