# Fryette Power Station (quick review)



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Hey, I got a couple of pms/emails about the Fryette purchase, so I thought I might post a quick review after my first real go at it. FYI, I'm playing though a 1977 Marshall JMP 2204 that has been modded by Friedman Amplification.

For those who don't know, the Fryette Power Station is an attenuator that not only brings down the volume of your amp to manageable levels, but it can also increase the volume of low watt amps. It boasts an effects loop among a few other features.

The primary reason I bought it was for the *effects loop*. As some know, my big issue has been has been running a delay out front of my vintage amp. Awful sounding, imo.

How did it do? Awesome....problem solved. Is it the _exact_ same as having a delay in the loop? No. Is it close enough? Totally. You get a hint of that delay out front flavour, but it is completely manageable.

Another concern is *transparency*...

I'm not fully sure I understand the definition, but I'll simply explain my experience and you can figure out if it is "transparent".

Distortion:

I found that the _tone_ of the amp was completely in tact; however,

1) there was a notable loss in the low end. Fortunately, there are switches that allow you to make up for this loss. Moving the switch to 'warm' compensated for the loss, moving it to 'deep' over-compensated.
2) there was a difference in the nature of the saturation. I don't have a word for it. It reminded me of a quality in the 'burn' channel on a fender supersonic. Ultimately, this is an enhancement. I preferred the FPS on versus off.

Clean:

The FPS didn't have a noticeable affect to my clean tone. I had my son flick the bypass on and off while I played, and couldn't tell the difference.

Now for the* attenuation*:

I found that bringing the volume down on the cranked amp, I needed to compensate for loss/addition of certain characteristics. Nothing major, but it wasn't perfect. It is very good though, and there was no squishiness or that feeling that the amp needs to be opened up.

After 2nd day:

I notice that the above noted loss in the low end occurs when attenuating down. When bringing the volume up there can be a significant added brightness.

*Reverse Attenuation*?:

This was cool. A clean tone is a scarce thing on my amp. I have to drop the preamp to 1 and bring up the master to about 4 and then drop the guitar's volume knob by about 50%. Ouch, right?

Well, now I can increase the PS's volume and get that clean nice and loud. Add the warm and bright switches, and I have a great clean tone. It's like having the Friedman 'Clean Channel' mod without a footswitch. Very nice.

Summary:

This unit is perfect as an effects loop. You certainly have to adjust the dials and switches to dial in the bypassed tone, but you _can_ dial it in. Kick on the modulation effects and you're laughing.

Attenuate the clean and it's virtually unnoticeable. Thicken your thin tone easily with the switches.

Attenuate the distortion and you need to tweak - in any direction.


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## 9volt (Oct 12, 2013)

Great and honest review Adcandour!
I know there's a lot of reviews on the P.S and they seem to be one sided. 
But still sounds like the best solution for now until someone comes out with something even better and you know that will happen soon!
Looking forward to some more of your thoughts on it.
Thanks


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

Great review. How does it clean up with the guitar's volume knob? I found that the Bad Cat Unleash I had (similar concept as the Fryette) did an awful job at this. It became gated once you brought the volume down on the guitar. The Unleash needed a certain level of signal entering it to work best. This level, in my experience, needed to be consistent. Therefore, I found that if you wanted dynamics, you did not want an unleash.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Nice review adcandour. I was waiting for you to get it and post your thoughts. I look forward to more experimentation - while I do more of my own of course. I've been busy building cables to run 4CM at various stages (different lengths so I don't have bulky coils to deal with). 

To respond to your question, isoneedacoffee, in my experience it is more how the amp in front of the PS responds to rolling back the guitar volume knob. If the amp is responsive, the PS just allows that dirty-to-clean range to be amplified or attenuated. I find, with the amps I'm using (primarily a 5E3 and a TC-15), running these amps harder and using the PS to tame or amplify that sound the amps respond better to the guitar's volume control. With the 5E3 at about 3 o'clock, I can wind the guitar volume to 2 or 3 and get a cleanish sound that isn't much quieter than the full bore rage with the guitar at 10. But this I'm sure varies from one amp to another. I look forward to addies' comments regarding this.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Update re the clean channel added plus a little on the distortion


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

I wanna plug in a my 12 watt Ampeg and run it at 50 watts through that doohickey.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Good review. This unit was recommended to me by Dave Friedman and I have not purchased one yet. Would you please tell me where you purchased it and how much paid?


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Direct from Fryette or used may be your only options. I'm not aware of any retailers in NA. 

US$600 + shipping, duties, brokerage, etc. I think mine came to ~CDN$900 - could be more now. Still the best gear purchase I've made in years, maybe decades.


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