Friedman Amplification BE-OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal

Normally a tube amp guy but recently bought an Orange solid state amp for lower volume practice. The native distortion channel wasn't quite the sound I was looking for so researched modern distortion pedals to use on the clean channel. The Friedman pedal came up on nearly every "best of" list, along with a few others. Based on reviews mentioning the gain levels, articulation, tone shaping and tone itself, i went with the Friedman BE-OD. Incredibly pleased with this purchase. Was everything positive reviews said it was, and more. This can do some serious chug! Can be fat and full, or sharp and articulate. The "tight" control makes the difference. Works great for leads and rhythm and gives some great tone itself. It doesn't sound like pedal and does mimic a tube amp pretty well with its responsiveness to controls on the pedal, amp and guitar. it sounds really good on the clean channel of the solid state amp but sounded absolutely amazing through the clean channel of my Marshall DSL20 head and V30 speakers, as well as on the low input of my JCM800 with Classic lead 80 speaker. Worth every penny.

Ive been ordering and returning boutique dirt pedals for months now. Finding that perfect distortion pedal: its difficult if your a tone snob such as I. There are people that can get off on generic Boss or Electro Harmonix distortion/OD pedals, and then there are people who have a higher attention to musical detail and aren't satisfied with substandard.This is the pedal for people seeking the ultimate boutique quality distortion pedal. I went through most of Wamplers dirt pedals, which have a near mythic level of gravitas in the industry, and didn't find any that were truly superb. The BE-OD is an incredible pedal, and dare I say an "amp in a box."It has a roaring yet smooth tone, is capable of obscenely high clipping levels for even the heaviest metal, and is extremely versatile due to a functional presence and tight knob. For classic rock/metal like Zeppelin, Hendrix, Steppenwolf or Iron Maiden it is KING. I cant recommend this pedal enough. After playing dozens of dirt pedals, and half a dozen boutique dirt pedals, this is the ONLY one I found to be truly incredible. The tone is sexy and sweet, and can be shaped to fit almost any genre. Theres even an "internal gain trim pot" which means there is a dial on the inside of the pedal that can be turned for more or less gain. This unique and almost unheard of feature is brilliant and should be a standard for dirt pedals. Lucky it does have it, because ho boy does it have a LOT of gain. Even with gain knob ALL the way down to nothing, its still a strong overdrive soft clipping sound. With the gain maxed, and the tight knob turned you can get the sweetest palm muted E chugging, great for Metallica and Slayer style thrash metal.10/10 - literally perfect score, I cant think of a criticism for this beauty. Its very cheap for a boutique distortion pedal too, the other heavyweights like Wamplers Deluxe pedals, Revv, Bogner and Diezel pedals cost $70-200 more. $200 for this pedal feels like a steal.

I really wanted to like this unit, however, I had to send it back. Why? Because no reviews mentioned how noisy it is because of so much gain. It excelled at much gain but comes at an inconvenience. No matter what I do, I cannot get rid of the noise. Remove the bottom plate and there is a gain control setting, but even setting it to its minimum, the noise will still be there. That and all, it is not as dynamic as I thought it would be. It just lack of pick attack. I would say it's decent enough but I expected more for a pedal thar cost this much.

This pedal is fantastic. Covers the Friedman tone in one pedal. And used in front of an amp or through an effects loop, both sound good. I recommend this if you like the Friedman tone, or want a Friedman amp but need to get the sound on a budget.

Without a doubt, this is the best overdrive pedal I've ever owned. I've been a fan of Friedman's amps for a while now, and when I heard this pedal in demos, I figured it was right up my alley. I've owned countless petals since the 80s and most were very mediocre. The BE OD is literally a Friedman in a pedal. No matter what amp I run it through, it always enhances the sound. I use it with an array of Fender amps and it's just outstanding. It can do anything from light gain to extreme. The EQ settings are extremely useful and help add real texture and clarity to your tone. I play jazz fusion, which requires a much lighter level of overdrive, and this pedal delivers it. I also play classic rock and British style late 70s to early 80s metal and this pedal nails it to the wall. It is so badass. I know this isn't the cheapest pedal out there, but when consider the tonal excellence in this little metal box, it is worth its weight in gold and will save you money, because your search for tone is over: it's the BE OD. Get one!

Don't do a lot of reviews but I had to on this product. I finally pulled the trigger for the Friedman Amplification BE-OD Overdrive pedal and I'm glad I did. I'm running it through the clean channel of a Stage Right SB-20 50 watt tube head with a Celestion V-30 1x12 cab. If anyone wants to get that Alice in Chains tone this pedal does it. I've got the inside trim pot set at 7 a clock and I can dial in anything from A in C to Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, all the way to modern metal. It basically turns my SR tube head into a hot rodded Marshall. By far the best OD pedal I've used in my 40 years of playing a guitar. Try it you want be disappointed.UpdateI've had this pedal for a little over a year and I'm happier with it now than when I first purchased it. I've added a simple Joyo Deluxe Overdrive in front of the BE-OD and I can get a near perfect jacked up Marshall JCM800 tone. Anything from AC-DC and Led Zeppelin to Alice in Chains, God Smack and Zack Wyld. Glad I brought it and reconnected it to anyone looking for that sound.