Thinking a of getting a Friedman ASM-12

  • Play mostly at home through studio monitors, and tgrough a Freyette power station and CAB when I want a bit more volume or playing with others.


    Have been thinking of getting a larger FRFR type cab and the Friedman is what I'm considering. I've had the matrix q12a and clr in the past (although never tried the clr with Kemper, had an axe fx then).


    I seem to remember them sounding a little more hifi (for want of a better explanation) than I'd like The reports of the Friedman sounding a little more or feeling a little mor rike a cab is intriguing


    Love playing the Kemper through a real cab but know I'm missing a lot of the potential. Also only certain amps will sound good with a certain cab, same with a profiles. amps sounds good with a pabticular cab


    would be interested in opinions from people who have used the Friedman and q12a the clr or q13a and what they think. Hoping the Friedman might give me a closer feel to what I get from a real cab


    . Thanks

  • hi bke,


    although this thread will interest many people, I doubt you will get a response to your questions here. Sound is a subjective perception and I've read various topics over the web about people loving the ASM12 and others disliking.


    my suggestion is that you buy one from a website where you can return it if not happy with its sound


    good luck with your search

  • Sound is subjective of course, but thats hardly stopped forum banter regarding it before!, lol, guess if i was asking about buying a kemper having already tried an AXE FX2 and a Helix it would be a different story;-) always buy from places with good returns policy as none of this stuff is stocked in shops where i live so always have to by untried. Have ordered, will see if what i think in a few days.

  • I've heard a Friedman, but can't really give it an honest opinion in regards to sound because it was my first time hearing the Kemper in person, and in all honesty, I wasn't impressed with it. That's not a knock on the Kemper or the Friedman. Since then, I've purchased a Kemper and have found some sounds that I really like it it (specifically, a Friedman Steve Stevens profile and a BE100 profile). As you mentioned, what sounds good to people is subjective and when I heard the Kemper, what I thought as "not sounding good" may have been tones that work well for the person who was demo'ing it for me.


    As far as the Friedman goes, I've heard that it does give you more of an "amp in the room" feel. When I heard it, it was definitely loud enough (and I play LOUD on stage).


    From what I've read, there are a couple of cons to the Friedman. The weight is up there. And the positioning of the handle is a sore spot for a lot of people. But for me, the thing I didn't like about it is the lack of inputs. It only has XLR inputs. So in my case for example, I'm using the Kemper like a lot of people do, in that we use the Main Outs of the Kemper to send the signal to the front of house, and we use the Monitor Out to send to our stage monitor/speaker. The problem with the Friedman, is that it doesn't have a 1/4" input, meaning if you want to use the Monitor Out as I've described above, then you have to also grab an adapter to throw at the end of your 1/4" cable to convert to an XLR end. I don't know if that'd translate to any kind of signal loss or tone change, but my theory has always been to use as little as possible, so that you reduce any chance of those issues.


    I've also read that the Friedman is VERY similar to a B-52 cab with very few changes, other than adding the Friedman name and increased price. I can't confirm that because I decided not to get the Friedman for the reasons mentioned above. But I did read many threads where people said something similar.


    These are the speakers I tried:

    • Yamaha DXR10. The SOUND of this one was awesome, but it couldn't handle the low end at the volumes that I play at. And I'm tuned to standard 440 tuning. The speaker would fart-out on me at high volumes when doing palm muting. This could have been a defective cabinet, I'm not sure. If it was in fact a defective cab, and the speakers could handle the palm muting at high volumes, then I'd go with this because it did sound great. However, it is a 10" speaker, so I may have been asking it to do too much.
    • QSC K12. I tried this and instantly felt like it sounded like crap.
    • Yamaha DXR15. After hearing how good the DXR10 sounded, but needed more volume and low end, I tried this one. It's amazing. It might have a little more low end than some people like, but that can easily be dialed out. I'd rather have a speaker that CAN handle low end on high volumes and dial it out, rather than have a speaker that can't handle it at all. If the Yamaha DXR12 was in stock, I would have tried that and my guess is that it would have been the perfect "meet in the middle" option between the DXR10 and DXR15. However, I got the DXR15 brand new for $500, so I couldn't pass that up. The DXR15 also provides a FAR closer "amp in the room" feel than the DXR10 or QSC12 in my opinion. The Yamahas are also a little more mid-range centered, which in the case of guitar, is helpful. It'll help the signal cut through the mix a bit better on stage. I'm still going to test out the Yamaha DXR12 at some point, but I doubt I'll get rid of the 15 even if the 12 sounds good. I may keep them both and use the 15 behind me facing out toward the crowd, while using the 12 angled up at me. Then I'll be in my own little audio cocoon of bliss on stage.

    Something to also keep in mind, is that Yamaha has a great warranty, and if anything ever goes wrong, you won't have trouble finding an authorized Yamaha dealer that can help you with the issue, even in your local area. From what I've found, Friedman doesn't have as many authorized dealers around. I'm not sure what their warranty is like, so I can't speak to that.


    I'm not shooting down the Friedman. They make GREAT stuff. But even though they do make some great cabs, they're known more for their amps, whereas Yamaha is known for their speakers.

  • I just spent the entire weekend auditing different PA systems with my band.
    Since I have both a CLR and the ASM12, I spent some time comparing the two...
    what I ended up with were the following:


    CLR: most neutral sounding, comparable to the sound I got from the PA system.


    ASM-12: sounded more like a real guitar cabinet, not as neutral. More bassy.


    i decided to use the Friedman at rehearsal since I do not run the KPA thru the PA there.
    the CLR are perfect at home when I need to adjust my profiles for PA use.
    Just my 2 cents though...


  • looking forward to reading your perception about CLR vs ASM as you own both, if you can give it a comparison in identical conditions. or better a video as Ingolf did on the CLR vs Q12A
    cheers

  • As I said earlier, (bear in mind that English isn't my mother language) I found the Friedman to color the actual sound. But, to the positive for use at rehearsal without running thru the PA. It gives me a fuller, thicker sound that sits well together with my bandmate's tube amp/4x12 setup.
    In the past my rehearsal sound has been criticized for being thin sounding compared with his.
    This due to the fact that the other band members are more used to the famous "amp in the room" sound than what a miced cabinet sounds like...
    well, the Friedman gives me back that feeling at rehearsal.
    But, when I've struggled finding the right PA sound in the past, I'm now confident that my CLR will deliver the correct sound for my performances.
    It's pretty much identical sounding compared to how the KPA comes thru the PA...


    So, for me, they are both excellent monitors. I just choose to use them for different purposes that's all..,

    Edited once, last by einnyste ().

  • I don't really need a totally flat monitor, I love playing through a real cab but that's kinda limiting as my cab, which I like is not best suited for all amps. My ideal, I think, is a Monitor/cab that is flat enough that you can keep cabs on buy feels more like a can. Sounds like the Friedman may be what I'm looking for. Will be here Wednesday so not long to wait.




    Thanks for the comments all


  • i decided to use the Friedman at rehearsal since I do not run the KPA they the PA there.
    the CLR are perfect at home when I need to adjust my profiles for PA use.
    Just my 2 cents though...


    I agree! Best way to use those speakers!


    The more linear one, the CLR (I personnaly use a AccuGroove Latte) is perfect for tailoring your rigs at loud volume for the FOH and, as monitor, a Friedman or a DXR10 or whatever you like will be perfect for hearing yourself and get a good feel on a noisy stage.

  • I agree! Best way to use those speakers!


    The more linear one, the CLR (I personnaly use a AccuGroove Latte) is perfect for tailoring your rigs at loud volume for the FOH and, as monitor, a Friedman or a DXR10 or whatever you like will be perfect for hearing yourself and get a good feel on a noisy stage.


    I agree completely!

  • So it arrived today. Had only a small amount of time before I had to go out. Quickly unpacked, and plugged in. As reported its heavy but that doesn't bother me. Went to a profile that I was using, plugged in guitar and... What the hell, that's really bright and nasally. Tried another profile, a little better but still not impressed at all. Messed with eq, no great progress, checked settings no good Thinking this may be going back very soon feeling pressure as I need to go out soon and I'm feel a bit distressed about the whole thing


    Pause, deep breaths, chec full signal chain... k full signal path. Dopey me had left my wah pedal engaged the night before so it was on, toe down lol felt like such a dumb ass...



    far far to early to call it but I had another half an hour and was really happy with the sound and feel I was getting Will see how the next few days go



    Lesson learnt Don't rush when checking out new gear!!

  • I reached out to Friedman to see the difference between the B-52 and the ASM. They said it was the same licensed amplifier however the speakers and the obvious cab design were different.


    Either way, it looks really cool!
    Not sure what other FRFRs have but this is what the ASM has.
    Low Frequency Transducer: Celestion - 12” speaker with 2.5” edge wound voice coil
    High Frequency Transducer: Celestion PETP film compression driver with 1.75” voice coil


    Thanks for the updates.

  • Got a good few hours with it today. The only downside can see (hear) is that there is an audible hiss constantly coming from it. You only notice when playing very low volume and close to the speake. That's not a deal breaker for me but I could see it being for others


    Other than that, it's exactly what I was hoping for, much more of a cab feel from it, sounds great, played with several guitars and several different types of profiles from more vintage plexi to higher gain Marshall and all sounded better/gave better enjoyment to play than any other solution I've tried. I'm a hobbyist, play mostly at home and was looking for the best solution for me I'm that environment, so take my PoV for what it is.

  • Let us know if you get one and how you like it. I'm really enjoying it. I've spent 1000's of euro over the last few years trying to get the best tone at home.


    Original axe fx, 2 fx2's, small watt amps, large watt amps with attenuators (I like the Freyette power station station) have tried real cabs, matrix power amp, q12a and the Clr, two notes torpedo etc.


    Am on the waiting list for an ax8, but the Kemper (my third) through the Friedman is the best tone I've been able to get at home so far. Just sounds and feels great, dialling in using the definition, with minor tweaks to the eq in the amp settings getting great results. Thinking of cancelling my ax8 as for the first time I think finally happy!!

  • Picking the right speaker is exhausting, since I only play at home I am looking at studio monitors. Maybe Focal.


    My only concern with it was the Celestion speaker. I was afraid it would color the tones as it is not a true FRFR.


    Glad your happy with it though.

  • it sure is, especially if your not able to check them out in store in a decent room. Got a pair of focal alphas around xmas which I really like! If you get a chance try the Friedman, best of look with your search!!