Plugin Alliance Friedman BE-100 and DS-40: Boutique Plexi tones for your DAW

20 Feb 2020 by Jef | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Plugin Alliance Friedman BE-100 and Dirty Shirley · Source: Plugin Alliance

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Plugin Alliance introduces two new boutique amp emulations: The Friedman BE-100 and DS-40. Both are all about that authentic British tube amp tone we all know and love. They are based on US amp guru Dave Friedman’s boutique high-end, all-tube amps and cost a fraction of the cost of the hardware. Sounds like a bit of a bargain…

Friedman BE-100

Dave Friedman has made a name for himself as an expert in modifying classic vintage Marshall Plexi amps, improving them with modern hardware and high-end components. Friedman amps are all handmade in the USA – and are built to rock. The BE-100, or Brown Eye as it is known, was one of the first modded Plexi circuits that made Mr Friedman widely known as an amp builder. Now you can own a version in your DAW as a plugin.

Plugin Alliance Friedman BE-100 in your DAW

This virtzual amp comes with an EQ section for Bass, Middle and Treble as well as BE and HBE channels. The Clean Channel offers volume, treble, bass and a three-level brightness switch. You can get different sound textures by using the SAT, FAT, C45 and VOICE switches. The plug-in also offers an FX rack including a Lo-Fi delay that can be synchronised with the tempo, a noise gate, tight and smooth filters, a power soak and a bypass function.

Friedman DS-40 plugin with FX rack view

Friedman DS-40

If the British sound of the 60s and 70s is more your thing, take a look at the DS-40. It’s an emulation of the Dirty Shirley amp, in turn based on the Marshall JTM-45. That sound that can be heard on early recordings by Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top. Again, you get 105 recording chains, a chain on / off parameter and a scalable interface. Other features include controls for Presence, Bass, Middle and Treble, as well as Gain and Master volume control. As with the BE-100, you also get an FX rack above the amp(see above).

Specifications and prices

Both plug-ins run on Mac OSX 10.9 to 10.14 as well as Windows 7 to 10 as AU, AAX, VST2 and VST3. You’ll need the free installation manager software to install and authorise the plugins. A demo version is also available for download, so you can check them out in your own setup first. For the launch, you’ll pay USD 129 each instead of USD 149. This is a fraction of the cost of an original and you get the added bonus of being able to do everything in your DAW. No hassles with mic’ing a 100-Watt or 40-Watt amp at full tilt!

The plug-ins are, of course, also included in the MEGA bundle that including all of the provider’s other products. Pricing starts at USD 24.99 a month.

RRP – USD 149 with introductory price of USD 129 each