Friedman Runt-20 Settings Guide
The Friedman Runt-20 is a 20-watt, two-channel (Clean and Dirty) all-tube head using EL84 power tubes, built by Dave Friedman — who has modified the personal amps of Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons, and Jerry Cantrell. The Runt-20 distils Friedman's high-gain boutique expertise into an affordable, compact head. The Dirty channel is voiced tighter and more modern than the BE-100, with a tighter low end suited to palm-muted modern rock and blues-rock.
The best Friedman Runt-20 settings start with: Clean Volume at 5/10, Dirty Gain at 6/10, Dirty Volume at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Middle at 6/10, Treble at 6/10, Presence at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues Rock: Clean Volume 5/10, Dirty Gain 5/10, Dirty Volume 5/10, Bass 5/10, Middle 7/10, Treble 6/10, Presence 4/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Volume | 5/10 | Silent → Loud |
| Dirty Gain | 6/10 | Light → Full |
| Dirty Volume | 5/10 | Silent → Loud |
| Bass | 5/10 | Thin → Full |
| Middle | 6/10 | Scooped → Forward |
| Treble | 6/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Presence | 5/10 | Dull → Crisp |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Dirty channel at Gain 5 — the Runt-20's most versatile blues-rock setting. Middle 7 pushes the fundamental guitar character. Presence 4 prevents harshness. The EL84 power tubes produce natural compression at higher output levels.
Higher Gain with balanced EQ. Presence 6 adds definition to the top end without getting brittle. Bass 6 provides weight without muddiness at hard rock tempos.
Tighter, more scooped modern rock voicing. The Runt-20's Dirty channel excels at modern rock rhythm because its EL84 power stage handles the tighter low-end response better than many EL34-based amps.
Clean channel with headroom to spare — a genuinely transparent platform for overdrive and fuzz pedals, letting the pedals define the gain character rather than fighting the amp voicing.
Maximum Dirty Gain with Middle pulled back for a scooped, aggressive rhythm voicing — the tight EL84 low end keeps palm-muted riffing defined even at this much gain.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Runt-20 responds extremely well to a boost pedal in front of the Dirty channel — a transparent boost like the Xotic EP Booster or SP Compressor, or a light overdrive (Tube Screamer at Drive 0, Level max), tightens the character and adds harmonic density without altering the fundamental amp voicing.
- EL84 power tubes produce a different character than the EL34s in most Friedman larger models — more compressed and chimey at the top end, less loose and saggy in the low end. The Runt-20 is therefore better for tight, articulate playing than for open, loose rock riffs.
- Because Bass, Middle and Treble are shared between channels, dial in the Dirty channel EQ first if that is the primary voice, then balance Clean Volume around it rather than the reverse.
- The Presence control has more effect at higher Dirty Volume settings, where the power section is genuinely working — at low bedroom volumes, expect a smaller change from the same knob movement.
- A closed-back 1x12 cabinet suits the Runt-20 tighter voicing better than an open-back design, reinforcing the low-end control that defines this amp relative to Friedman larger heads.
- For home recording, close-mic a single dynamic microphone off-axis from the cone center — this amp responds well to standard rock-recording mic technique without needing an unusual placement to sound controlled.
FAQ
Friedman Runt-20 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Friedman Runt-20: Clean Volume at 5/10, Dirty Gain at 6/10, Dirty Volume at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Middle at 6/10, Treble at 6/10, Presence at 5/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues Rock: Clean Volume 5/10, Dirty Gain 5/10, Dirty Volume 5/10, Bass 5/10, Middle 7/10, Treble 6/10, Presence 4/10. Dirty channel at Gain 5 — the Runt-20's most versatile blues-rock setting. Middle 7 pushes the fundamental guitar character. Presence 4 prevents harshness. The EL84 power tubes produce natural compression at higher output levels.
For Hard Rock: Clean Volume 4/10, Dirty Gain 7/10, Dirty Volume 5/10, Bass 6/10, Middle 5/10, Treble 6/10, Presence 6/10. Higher Gain with balanced EQ. Presence 6 adds definition to the top end without getting brittle. Bass 6 provides weight without muddiness at hard rock tempos.
Clean Volume: Clean channel output level. (Silent to Loud). Dirty Gain: Dirty channel preamp gain. (Light to Full). Dirty Volume: Dirty channel output level. (Silent to Loud). Bass: Shared low-frequency EQ. (Thin to Full). Middle: Shared midrange EQ. (Scooped to Forward). Treble: Shared high-frequency EQ. (Dark to Bright). Presence: High-frequency resonance — affects the bite and definition of the distorted character. (Dull to Crisp)
The Runt-20 responds extremely well to a boost pedal in front of the Dirty channel — a transparent boost like the Xotic EP Booster or SP Compressor, or a light overdrive (Tube Screamer at Drive 0, Level max), tightens the character and adds harmonic density without altering the fundamental amp voicing. EL84 power tubes produce a different character than the EL34s in most Friedman larger models — more compressed and chimey at the top end, less loose and saggy in the low end. The Runt-20 is therefore better for tight, articulate playing than for open, loose rock riffs. Because Bass, Middle and Treble are shared between channels, dial in the Dirty channel EQ first if that is the primary voice, then balance Clean Volume around it rather than the reverse. The Presence control has more effect at higher Dirty Volume settings, where the power section is genuinely working — at low bedroom volumes, expect a smaller change from the same knob movement. A closed-back 1x12 cabinet suits the Runt-20 tighter voicing better than an open-back design, reinforcing the low-end control that defines this amp relative to Friedman larger heads. For home recording, close-mic a single dynamic microphone off-axis from the cone center — this amp responds well to standard rock-recording mic technique without needing an unusual placement to sound controlled.
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