Which one did you like the most? The Friedman IR-X or the UAFX Lion 68’?

As someone said.. It seems the irx IS a Friedman! And the Lion IS a Marshall. And the Brown IS the perfect modded Marshall. Here’s the thing… The Friedman is modern and what we tend to like when just playing in our rooms. However the heavier, tighter, MORE gain sound isn’t what’s on the songs we love. It’s been interesting to really REALLY listen to more and more Van Halen and AC⚡️DC and realize that those guitars aren’t as heavy and overdrive/distorted/gain as our memories tell us they are. They’re rather “clean” compared to the modern Friedman/Engl/5150 type amps. I’m a big fan of heavy, but with the lion I’m realizing that less heavy is more good…and it doesn’t give my all that room to hide.

@HamsterSpanks

2 ай бұрын

Friedman is good at giving you a big amp feel feel at lower volumes, this is key, and Mr. Friedman understands this very well. This in turn, makes his products, alot of fun, when play at home and small venues. I thought this was a great unbiased review.

The Lion sounded so much fuller and present. The IRX sounded a little cheap in comparison.

Question✋ The Uafx lion has that sensation of an amplifier and Power amp and speaker air movement already confirmed...! But it seems that Freadman doesn't have this Power amp response and the air displacement of the speakers!?

Thanks for comparing these two

What is the feel experience? Its tough to hear how it feels under the fingers. Sounds like the lion compresses a little more but maybe not in a way I want. Maybe IRX would behave more amp like with a volume / low gain OD boost going in?

I have the Friedman IR-X. How can I hook it up as my main rig going into a half stack and a combo amp with a chorus and delay pedal hooked up to get that stereo effect utilizing all 3 amps. (All have rx send and receive) functions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thats a great idea. You’d have to send out of the IR-X into a the chorus pedal. Then stereo out of that into the delay, stereo out of that into the return of each of your amps ! 🤘

Lion sounds like an actual Marshall recorded. IR-X sounds like it’s missing the cab and air before the mic

@sixslinger9951

3 ай бұрын

IRX sounds very thin, almost tinny...yep like missing the cab. horrible sounding imo

haven't tried either but on all the videos i've seen with the lion that first cab setting sounds muffled and lacking in upper mids, maybe would be better to use the second cab setting to compare it to the IR-X?

@JordanSteele

4 ай бұрын

It was difficult to find a similar sounding speaker to compare. The Lion has good speaker options but very limited. I like the second speaker on the Lion but I found it quite scooped in the mids and very bright. Overall in my opinion they both sound quite different

Awesome comparison. Both sounded great in their own capacity. IMO IRX sounds more open but lacks a bit of bottom end. I have the IRX and pretty happy with it.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I agree, coulda been that particular IR or just needed some more bass

Nice comparison. I like the IR-X because it can be used straight into the effects return of any tube amp you already own. Then, you essentially have an all-tube amp with the crushing Friedman tone

Nicely made video. The noise floor seems much higher on the Lion, also I agree with you on the missing 3-5k region on the Lion.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Apparently there’s something in the app that allows you to turn the noise down but I wasn’t aware at the time of shooting the video.

Friedman sounds like a Friedman Lion sounds like a Marshall. It just comes down to personal preference.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

You should have tried the Lion on the Variac position! And the boost makes a big difference. I had two plexi's and the Lion is closer.Friedman sounds awesome, but it is a real pre-amp, and Friedmans can sound good at lower volumes, so I have always thought they had different tone values! I got the Lion so I can keep it on my board as a backup!

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Oh wow! The Lion definitely gets the different vintage Marshall sounds really well. I find the Friedman always sounds like a Friedman which is either the sound you want or not. The Lion as a backup sounds like a great setup though 🤘

@colinjames7765

5 ай бұрын

The super bass is closer to the Friedman clean, and the brown with the volume 2 on zero and volume 1 up to about 3/4 or so with the bass low and treble and mids cranked with the presence high is closer to the irx in channel 2. The lion has more compression under the fingers, which makes the irx seem to have more depth. With a comp it’s closer when added to the irx. I don’t think the irx power amp sim is compressing much. It’s like the master is fairly low. I think the lion sounds better at low volume but tends to be dark sounding and would benefit from another higher bright cap setting. The lion sounds exceptional with strats. The irx sounds great gained up with singing single note playing. I feel like it needs more volume in the room to sound right, it sounds anemic at lower volume. I think the lion sounds like a guitar on an old great recording(AC/DC, Hendrix, zeppelin, vh) really great edge of breakup and classic riffs and solos especially when boosted- sounds great pushed with a Klon. Where the irx sounds like what you’d hear at a guitar based concert for sounds from the 80s onward (journey, bonamassa, Alice n chains, early metallica, etc.) more dense weighty tone. Personally, I think the lion has more character/ vibe, the irx has a crushing tone in comparison. They do have some overlap. But even Friedman just released a vintage plexi amp. Because while they can sound similar the feel and vibe is different. I’d choose based on the goal sound, or keep both for different flavors.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

@@colinjames7765Definitely. I should used the brown for the higher gain comparison. The plexi is very sparkly and dynamic not as smooth and compressed

@alguitarchristie

5 ай бұрын

@@colinjames7765 there is a bright cap, if you go into the settings on the app. Haven't tried it yet, but James Santiago does a great video at Sweetwater. Get's an awesome tone.

Lion all the way! I have found the UAFX pedals to be the only modelers to react to live situations like the real amps, some people love that fact, others do not.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

Maybe this has been covered in the past but what model and color is that les Paul? It’s awesome.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! It’s a 59 reissue washed cherry burst.

I bought both and I definitely agree with your review. The Lion doesn't pair well with other pedals, which is weird because the UAFX Ruby 63 pairs amazingly well with all pedals I've tried with it. Thank you for your review

@enricodedios3702

2 ай бұрын

I had a problem pairing my reverb and delay pedal to Lion. It doesn’t take well but my other OD pedal takes it well.

Friedman for me! Thank you for the very good and honest review!

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! The Friedman is super cool🤘

Strangers in the night, i love it!

the only problem with the friedman is that the pedal is always engaged (no bypass mode as you mentioned) ...I use it with other amp pedals and the jhs switchback unit. so I can change between the friedman and the other amp pedals...

I love the UFO strangers in the night double album in the back ground. Michael in the man. B T W I really like your demo's 👌

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Haha thanks dude! Michael is my fave 🤘

@sgmarshall3

4 ай бұрын

Spotify has the expanded version with all of the shows they recorded. I lived in Columbus Ohio for 20 years, so I’m partial to that show. It’s too expensive to buy, but it sounds amazing on Spotify

Lion ❤

The initial tone you got from the IR-X was the winner. Answered some questions for me. Cheers.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Awesome dude! Thanks for watching!

Great vid. Lion sounds warm. I have and love the Friedman but now I want the Lion 😂

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Oh no. I’m sorry😂

Great video! Can you use either one into the front of a clean combo amp? Or does that defeat the purpose?

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Possibly. Definitely would have to turn the speaker sim off. There more of a preamp ready to go into a power amp so the effects loop return would be preferable but maybe with some tweaking it would sound good in front of a clean amp. Not sure

@johannespatzig6218

5 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

@@johannespatzig6218🤘

I have been interested in this and using the Friedman pedal or preamp I should say with my computer is one thing however, after watching this video, and the fact that I have just ordered, it excites me a little more because I knew there was a headphone out, but I had not considered the fact that I could also just put this straight through my amp. I didn’t have to go in the front, but actually it is a preamp man. Sometimes I can really be high lol. Either way Can go into the effect loop of my silver jubilee combo mini and definitely get some nice clean gains sounds and also this does have the vintage channel so certainly there is a lot there and plenty of tone shaping. I can’t imagine that you can’t get some good lead tones out of the plexi side. Thanks for the demo. 10:59

I had both and kept the Lion . Both great though . The IRX I wasn’t able to use it with my Amps since they don’t have Effects Loop

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Awesome! That is definitely a downfall of the IR-X

@CatharticGuitar

4 ай бұрын

@@JordanSteeleyou mean downside. “Downfall” is a noun that means something that leads to the loss of one’s power or status.

I have the Lion so I'm used to that sound, and I must say I much preferred the sound of the Lion over the Friedman in your video. One bad thing of the Lion I found is that I don't like the sound of my Big Muff Fuzz through it. Other overdrives, distortions, chorus and phaser are good, and I put my delay and reverb behind it.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Very cool! The Lion does a great job of capturing the Marshall sound. I honestly kinda wish the Friedman sounded more like the Lion but still with the analog tube preamp. There’s a slight scratchy sound to the Lion that I think if it had a tube would smooth out very nicely 🤘

@vinnyguerriero5150

4 ай бұрын

@@JordanSteelebut that “scratchy” is what a plexi does. I have both units and fractal axe iii turbo and Friedman smallbox and twin sister. All of them are great. Lots of overlap

Just seems like a missed opportunity to really compare. Using the exact same IR would really make a difference. Even IRs if the same cab and speaker can vary wildly.

Thanks for another great video Jordan! After owning several high-end digital amplifier types (Kemper, Helix, Quad Cortex, UA Dream '65, Ruby and Atomic Amplifire) I then found the Friedman IR-X...for me personally the tube-driven IR-X has a harmonic quality and dynamic feel the others are not capable of. Although all the aforementioned devices sound fantastic and certainly have their place I chose the IR-X for sound quality and feel;)

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I definitely agree! I’ve tried many different amp modeler type products my favorite of the digital modelers being the fractal products. The IR-X for feel is completely unmatched. It reminds me of running a great tube amp into a loadbox like a captor x or something similar.

@777strat

5 ай бұрын

@@JordanSteele Great points made by comparing the IR-X to an amp and loadbox! I have a Bogner Goldfinger SL45 I run into an Ox Box and I'm able to dial the IR-X into similar tonal territory.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

@@777stratvery cool. I’ve heard great things about the ox box would love to try one, one day. But yeah the IR-X is like a $500 Friedman amp with a load box and IR loader all in one

I like the IR-X better here, but I'm now curious and want to hear the IR-X into a UAFX ox stomp

The IR-X sounds spot on!!!

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

Have you seen the Lion video by Pete Thorn and the designer? It’s a Sweetwater video

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Oh no I haven’t. I’ll have to check that out🤘

@LuisHernandez-dy1rq

5 ай бұрын

@@JordanSteele kzread.info/dash/bejne/dX1tl5J6k73ThKw.htmlsi=FPuUXE5ekRYUOQtZ

Friedman IR-X sounds more full 👌 You should do a comparison between the IR-X and Bluguitar Amp1 Mercury Edition 😁

why wouldn't you use the exact same IR for both pedals.

You’d be better comparing the lion with the new IR-D. It’s based on a modded jtm45

The IRX is the real deal but I’m struggling to find the tone I’m looking for. More tweaking required.

The Lion is absolutely astonishing, for what it is supposed to be. Nothing on the current market offers better Plaxi sounds than the Lion.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

I’d have to agree. It nails the plexi sound very well

Not sure about the IR-X, but the Lion is the best plexi pedal I've heard. I almost sent the lion back because the bluetooth connection sucks, sometimes wont even connect. But it sounds so good and the app is kind of a set it and forget thing for me, so I kept the Lion.

I’m sorry, you have the irx bright switch on all the time, which is making it sound thinner.

Strangers In The Night is the best live album ever!!!!!!! I have both of these pedals and I’m just gonna keep them both just for the hell of it but I mainly still use my fractal FM3

As you correctly pointed out, the Friedman is being a Friedman tube amp. It’s not trying to be a Marshall or a Fender. So depends on what sound you’re after. It’s Friedman all the way imo, and it fits on a pedalboard well enough.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Definitely! I really enjoy the Friedman sound, it maybe could be a little bit more tonally flexible but it’s great for me and has a great feel.

the Lion sounds like theres a blanket over it? just something messing with the sound? friedman sounds more "3D". Good comparison

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

Thanks! I feel the same way. It’s subtle but definitely there. There’s a depth the the IR-Xs sound

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11:00 agree

Friedman IR-X !

Lion kills💪

The Friedman IR-D is more like a Marshall than the IR-X.

IR-X all the way! It sounded like an amp to me, the Lion sounded cool, but also sterile. An actual preamp compared to a pedal, there is a difference. I think you can get great tones from both, but the feel/sound goes to IR-X. Cheers!

I have both.Friedman wins hands down.

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

IR-X wins all the way. You can also turn it out from your signal chain if you use a loop footswitcher on your pedalboard. If the loop footswitcher also has midi, you win all the way😊 that way you can change channels, boost, etc. on IR-X with the footswitcher

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

That’s great! The IR-X has some awesome possibilities 🤘

Friedman IR-X KILLS

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

Irx sounds kind of much broader and overall more like a real amp

IR-X all day long!

@JordanSteele

5 ай бұрын

🤘

The Friedman sounds more like a real Marshall The lion sounds nasally.

Wow, that’s a bloodbath. The Friedman is drastically better although it got a bit harsh at higher gain. Well worth the extra money.

A big disadvantage for the Lion is you can't use your own IR's in it... It's the same with the Ox Stomp. Don't know why they didn't give that option, every modeller these days allows for that.

Going in, I wanted to like the Lion better, but I just don't. The Friedman for the win!

Your wording is confusing sometimes... like you change subject constantly, and name a list of qualities, then you say the model. Not so useful .

This is just garbage

The Lion is NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!!!! Send it back to Sweetwater!! Junk!!! DAVE DESTROYS EVERYBODY!!

The lion for sure