Dave Friedman is set to pay tribute to the late José Arredondo with a definitive “end-all-be-all” creation that will honor the legendary amp modder’s legacy.
Arredondo is one of music’s most revered guitar amp builders, famed for his modded Marshalls that were championed by electric guitar icons Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and James Hetfield.
During the latter years of his life and career, Arredondo’s stock rose considerably after Van Halen mentioned his name in the 1980s (though there is debate over the extent to which his mods influenced Eddie’s tone).
He is widely considered to be among the league of early “amp wizards” – a tag given to the first class of amp modders – and, according to Friedman, was responsible for building a one-off signature amp for Van Halen that has since disappeared off the face of the earth.
As noted in a piece from 2010 by Guitar WorldArredondo is both one of the most well-known and elusive amp makers in history. While his mods are the stuff of legend, he didn’t document any of his work, so his secrets have been lost.
Well, almost lost, because fellow amp wizard Friedman – who knew Arredondo and is highly familiar with his work – is set to build and launch an amp that harnesses the Arredondo spirit with the blessing of his family.
Speaking in a new interview with Guitar WorldFriedman confirms, “One other thing we’re doing – which is a reasonably big deal for people who are into this stuff – is, if you’re familiar with the old amp modder José Arredondo… well, I always thought, ‘Hey, it’d be really cool to come out with an amp that has all those features in it.
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“I’ve kind of become an expert on those amps after having worked on literally hundreds of them – but I wanted to do it with his daughter and family. I wanted them to be involved because I don’t feel right about just taking it and releasing it like so many people do.
“We’re going to release a 100-watt Jose end-all-be-all amplifier with his name on it. So, we’re giving back to his family and his legacy.”
Friedman spoke more of the upcoming launch in a recent episode of the Tone-Talk podcast, for which he was joined by Arredondo’s daughter, Marisol.
“He was the high-gain pioneer, and this is in the heyday of all those bands from the late 1970s through all the 1980s,” Friedman reflects of the amp builder’s influence. “With Marisol’s blessing we are going to be doing a José tribute amplifier under the Friedman brand name, with his signature on the amp – and his last name will be there.
“I want to make sure every amp lives up to what it should be. It’ll have all the bells and whistles and most of the mods I’ve ever seen from José, and it should be really awesome. My favorite take on all the ones I’ve ever seen.”
“More might come later, but this particular amp has all the gain styles he ever did. Jose was an amazing person. I want to give back to the family.”
The amp is set to be unveiled at NAMM 2025 later this month.
Visit Friedman for more in the mean time.
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