You can buy a Friedman amp for $99 in this bonkers Black Friday deal – so you can harness the sounds coveted by Eddie Van Halen and Steve Stevens even on a tight budget

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Dave Friedman’s amp sorcery was long a closely guarded secret for many of the world’s top players, but the BE-Mini Head brings it to the masses – and at $99 this Black Friday, those mythical tones have never been cheaper

A Friedman BE-Mini amp head
(Image credit: Philip Barker/Future)

Dave Friedman is one of those “if you know you know” guitar guys, an amp magician to the stars who, over the decades, amassed a client list that's included the likes of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Stevens. The Friedman BE-Mini Head, however, brings his sorcery to a price point that's doable even for those on tight budgets, and this Black Friday, that price tag has been brought down by a whopping $150, down to a scarcely believable $99 at Sweetwater.

Inspired by both Friedman's BE-OD pedal and the lead channel of his much more expensive and coveted ‘Brown Eye Deluxe’ all-valve head, the BE-Mini Head packs a lot of gain and overdrive into a package that weighs a mere 4 pounds but roars with 30 watts of power.

Friedman BE-Mini Head
Save $150
Friedman BE-Mini Head: was $249 now $99 at Sweetwater Sound

Friedman's BE-Mini Head makes the coveted, roaring tones of an amp-magician-to-the-stars available to all. Weighing in at a mere 4 pounds and roaring with 30 watts of power, the BE-Mini Head is pure, back-to-the-basics rock tone, personified. At $99 this Black Friday, you can get boutique, hot-rodded Marshall tones at a belt-tightening-friendly price.

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Dave Friedman's specialty was tweaking the equation of Marshall amps, specifically tailoring his mods to the needs and desires of each client. This versatility was something he brought over to his own company.

In our four-and-a-half star review of the BE Mini-Head, we used a regular ol' Strat and Les Paul, plugged into a 2x12 open-back cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s – and with both single-coils and humbuckers the amp sang beautifully.

As you might imagine, if you're chasing the beefiness of the golden era of British blues-rock (your Creams, your Zeppelins), you'll be well-served, with even moderate gain doing the trick – turning it up, meanwhile, can comfortably get you into the territory of your favorite Ozzy Osbourne guitarist.

Friedman BE Mini

(Image credit: Future / Olly Curtis)

There are knobs for gain, bass, middle, treble, presence, and a master volume. Two three-position mini toggle switches called ‘Cut’ and ‘Tight’ add further tweakability to the table.

The amp's dynamics are vivid, and its series effects loop works well with your reverbs or delays. The lack of a clean channel may irk some, but come on, that's not what you're reading this for. Plugging in and turning up is what this was made for, and at an absurd $99 this Black Friday, you're getting boutique tones at a belt-tightening-friendly price.

Oh, and if this isn't quite your speed, do be sure to have a gander at our full Black Friday guitar deals live blog, where we've compiled sales on electric guitars, acoustic guitars, guitar plugins, and everything in between.

Shop more Black Friday sales

Jackson Maxwell
Jackson Maxwell

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.

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