FEW TUBE-AMP MAKERS have embraced the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” ethos like Friedman, which notably allows use of its brand name in Fractal’s amp models, among others. Founder Dave Friedman and his team have already proven their ability to design and market traditional all-tube guitar amps that address guitarists’ needs for classic sounds wrapped in contemporary performance capabilities, and now the IR-X preamp and IR pedal finds the maker elbowing sideways into the digital amplification realm, while still working to its established strengths.
The IR-X is a dual-tube, two-channel, amp-voiced preamp that loads three speaker-cabinet impulse responses (IRs) per channel to enable a fully miked-up stack sound that can be DI’d to the front-of-house or your recording setup. Two 12AX7 tubes running at high voltage deliver all the gained-up goodness you’d expect from the
