I've finally had some quality time with the friedman smallbox 20, and I've got to say, it's one of the most fun pieces of gear I've plugged into in years. If you've ever lusted after that classic British "Plexi" sound but don't feel like shattering your windows or annoying the neighbors three houses down, this little lunchbox head might just be your new best friend. It's essentially a scaled-down version of its 50-watt big brother, but don't let the smaller footprint fool you—it packs a serious punch.
Dave Friedman is pretty much a legend in the amp world for a reason. He's the guy who spent years modding amps for the biggest rock stars on the planet, so when he puts his name on a production model, you know it's going to have that "modded vintage" vibe. The Smallbox series has always been about that specific balance between vintage Plexi crunch and a more modern, high-gain roar. Bringing that down to a 20-watt format makes it way more accessible for those of us playing in clubs, home studios, or even just our spare bedrooms.
Why the Size Actually Matters
We've all seen those massive 100-watt stacks at shows and thought, "Man, that looks cool." But let's be real—trying to use one of those in a modern setting is a nightmare. Most venues won't let you turn them up past two, and if you can't get the power tubes cooking, a lot of that "magic" just disappears. The friedman smallbox 20 solves that problem by giving you all that delicious tube saturation at volumes that won't get you evicted.
It's built around two EL84 power tubes. Now, some purists might turn their noses up at EL84s because they think they sound "thin" compared to the EL34s found in larger British-style amps. But Dave has done some wizardry with the transformers here. When you play through it, it feels much bigger than a 20-watt amp. There's a weight to the low end and a "thump" in the chest that you usually only get from much larger heads. Plus, at about 20 pounds, your lower back will thank you every time you have to load out after a gig.
The Two Faces of the Smallbox 20
The layout of the friedman smallbox 20 is refreshingly simple. You've got two channels that share a three-band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble) and a Presence control. While sharing an EQ can sometimes be a pain, these channels are voiced so well that I didn't find myself constantly reaching for the knobs when switching between them.
Channel 1: The Vintage Roar
This is the Plexi-voiced side of the amp. It's designed to go from a beautiful, slightly dirty clean to a classic rock crunch. If you're a fan of AC/DC or early Led Zeppelin, this is where you're going to spend most of your time. What I love about this channel is how it responds to your guitar's volume knob. You can crank the gain on the amp, then roll back the volume on your Strat or Les Paul to get a glassier, cleaner tone. It's incredibly touch-sensitive. If you pick lightly, it stays polite; if you dig in, it barks back at you.
Channel 2: The Brown Sound
Then you flip the switch (or hit the footswitch) to the gain channel. This is the "Brown Eye" side of things—Friedman's signature high-gain sound. It's thick, it's creamy, and it has just the right amount of compression to make lead lines feel effortless. It doesn't get fizzy or mushy like some high-gain amps do. Every note in a chord still rings out clearly, even when you have the gain pushed. It's that classic "Van Halen on steroids" tone that so many players spend their whole lives chasing.
The Secret Sauce: The Structure Switch
One of my favorite features on the friedman smallbox 20 is the little three-position "Structure" switch on the front panel. This might seem like a small detail, but it completely changes the gain character of the amp. It basically lets you choose how much "drive" is available on the second channel.
One setting gives you a lower-gain, more vintage-voiced overdrive. The middle setting kicks it up a notch, and the third setting goes full-on aggressive. It's like having three different versions of the amp in one box. I found that I liked the lower structure setting for bluesy licks where I wanted more clarity, but for those big, chugging metal riffs or soaring solos, the higher structure setting was an absolute blast. It makes the amp incredibly versatile regardless of what genre you're playing.
Recording and Silent Practice
Let's talk about the back of the amp for a second, because that's where some of the most modern "quality of life" features live. Friedman included an internal load box and a balanced XLR out with a cab simulator. This is huge.
If you've ever tried to record a loud tube amp at home, you know the struggle of trying to mic a cabinet without the cops showing up. With the friedman smallbox 20, you can actually run the amp without a speaker cabinet connected. You just plug the XLR straight into your interface, and you're good to go. The built-in cab sim sounds surprisingly organic. It's great for laying down tracks late at night when the rest of the house is asleep.
Of course, if you have your own favorite IRs (Impulse Responses) on your computer, you can turn the cab sim off and use those instead. Having that flexibility in a 20-watt head makes it a powerhouse for home studio owners.
The Legendary Friedman Loop
I can't write about this amp without mentioning the effects loop. Dave Friedman is famous for his transparent series effects loops. A lot of amps—even expensive ones—have loops that suck the life out of your tone or make your pedals sound weird. Not this one.
I threw a bunch of different delays and reverbs into the loop of the friedman smallbox 20, and they all sounded fantastic. It's a series loop, meaning your entire signal goes through it, and it handles pedals perfectly. Whether you're a "pedalboard warrior" or just like a little bit of plate reverb to soften things up, you're going to be happy with how this amp interacts with your gear.
Is It Loud Enough for Gigs?
The short answer is: Yes.
Don't let the "20 watts" label fool you. Tube watts are different from solid-state watts. Through a 2x12 or a 4x12 cabinet, the friedman smallbox 20 is more than loud enough to keep up with an aggressive drummer. In fact, in most small-to-mid-sized bars, you'll probably still find yourself being told to turn down.
The beauty of it is that even if you have to play at lower volumes, the master volume on this amp is incredible. Some amps sound like a swarm of bees until you hit a certain volume threshold. The Smallbox 20 stays full and rich even at bedroom levels. It's one of the few amps I've played that feels just as good at volume 1 as it does at volume 6.
Wrapping Up
Is the friedman smallbox 20 perfect? Well, it's not exactly cheap. You're definitely paying a premium for the Friedman name and the American-made build quality. Some might also wish for independent EQ for each channel, though as I mentioned, the shared EQ is voiced so well it's rarely an issue.
But if you're looking for "that" sound—the one you've heard on countless classic rock and 80s metal records—in a package that you can actually use in the real world, this is it. It's a "no-compromise" amp that manages to be both a vintage throwback and a modern tool at the same time. Whether you're recording your next EP in a bedroom or hitting the stage at the local club, the Smallbox 20 delivers the goods every single time. It's punchy, it's raw, and most importantly, it's just a hell of a lot of fun to play.