BLUEPRINT
Dave Friedman has been building boutique amps for more than two decades – we joined him to learn more about his design process
Over the past 25 years, DaveFriedman has built, tweaked and modded amps for some of the world’s most renowned players. A quick glance through the extensive roster of Friedman Amplification reveals a who’s who of musicians from Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Jerry Cantrell, to Richie Sambora, Joe Bonamassa, Dave Grohl and Bill Kelliher.
Although known mostly for his modded Marshall-style high-gain tones, Friedman is no one-trick pony. In fact, his impressive line of combos and heads has plenty of tonal light and shade. Dave joins us to discuss the incredible journey that elevated him to the status of amp guru.
How did you get started in the business?
“Well, I’m a guitar player – originally from Detroit – and I aspired to be a professional player in a touring band with a record contract and so on. I got into gear at a young age and was obsessed with guitar tone. I always wanted to know how to get that tone. At some point, I got in contact to ask a question of a guy named Andy Brauer in LA whose name I’d seen in a guitar magazine; he was putting together rack systems for a lot of top players and he also had a gear rental business. After that, we kept in touch and around 1987 I told him I was moving to Southern California. He told me to look him up, so I did.
“He gave me a job carting for Andy Brauer Studio Rentals where I would help deliver and pick up rental gear. Brauer had every vintage and modern amp that you could think of: [‘black panel’] Fenders, Tweeds, Hiwatts, Marshall ‘Plexis’, modded Marshalls… I became very familiar with all the gear. When Andy’s main rig builder decided to leave, I was confident I could step in and take his place so they gave me a shot. That was the beginning of my career as a rig builder.
“Andy eventually partnered with Greg Bales who had a music store in Chicago called Make’n Music and they opened a Los Angeles store where we set up shop. While I was there, I got involved with [amp maker] Bruce Egnater. One of our clients brought in a Soldano preamp that Bruce had modded and it sounded fantastic.
“I contacted Bruce and told him if he made a four-channel preamp, I could easily sell it to our clients – so he did. He built it, but we tweaked it together. It became hugely popular with the studio guys and everyone had one in their rack. This is when I really started learning electronics and Bruce became my mentor.”
When did you actually start building amps?
“By 1993, I had left Make’n Music and got involved with a couple of other companies. I designed the front-end of the Budda Superdrive
