Friedman Amplification Cali – 2018 Winter NAMM

The Philosophy of Shred

Shredding isn't something you do--it's a way of life. No one understands that better than our friends at Friedman Guitars, and no guitar suits The Philosophy of Shred like the Friedman Cali. The three cornerstones of this totally-real philosophy are simplicity, having a bad attitude, and complete dedication to speed and precision. The Cali embodies all three of these tenets of The Way of the Shred by taking the spirit of the hot-rodded S-style guitars from the big hair era and updating it in a tasteful modern package with a host of convenient features.

Seek and Destroy

Walking down The Path of Shred requires that you arm yourself with a powerful weapon to protect yourself during the dangerous journey, and I cannot think of a better companion than the Friedman Cali. Thanks to its stripped-back electronics and aggressively voiced pickups, the Cali is capable of melting faces and vaporizing posers day in and day out. Nevertheless, any true Shred Warrior knows that there is a time and place for sensitivity and tenderness, and the Cali is able to smoothly transition between blistering Sunset Strip sounds and prettier, more melodic tones because of its wide dynamic range and full frequency response. In a way, it's almost like a classic vintage guitar that decided to buy a leather jacket with spikes and a motorcycle!

Though it may have classic roots, the Cali's fat bass response, snarling midrange, and sizzling high-end does practically force you (and anyone close enough to hear you) to headbang. Your palm-muted chunks will shake the Earth to its core, your power chords will carry the mass of a thousand mountains, and your trebles will burn like a dragon's breath! For all who yearn to seek and/or destroy, the sound of the Friedman Cali will lead you down The Path of Shred to Valhalla and beyond!

Translate the Shred in Your Head

Of course, an ax that wreaks sonic mayhem does a Shred Warrior no good if it is difficult to wield, and our friends at Friedman have spent untold hours laboring in their fiery guitar forges to ensure that the Cali's playability matches its capacity for tonal devastation. After hours of blood, sweat, and toil, Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson have crafted necks that feel like an extension of your hand by marrying fast neck profiles with a flat 14" radius. When you find a great-playing guitar, it’s common to say that it “practically plays itself.” The Friedman Cali practically melts faces all by itself!

The flatter radius is what really makes this guitar fit for speed demons, because it allows you to set the action incredibly low and still have every note ring out clearly during even the most blistering 32nd-note runs. It also makes bending notes a breeze! With the Friedman Cali, there is nothing that gets in the way of your ability to translate what you hear in your head to reality. With an ax that bends to your will as the Cali does, there is no stopping you from flying to new heights in the shred stratosphere.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Henry David Thoreau would probably be aghast if he heard a Van Halen record, but one quote from Walden makes me think he would have been a one-knob kind of guy just like Eddie had he been born a little later: “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.”

To truly shred, one must simplify; after all, who can concentrate on sweep picking when you have a bunch of knobs and switches getting in the way? It's just easier to play a thousand notes a second if you only have to worry about one volume knob and one three-way switch. Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson stripped these guitars down to the barest essentials, and in doing so they have imbued the Cali with the concentrated, distilled Essence of Shred (when Wildwood gets into the cologne game, that will be the name of the first fragrance!). Whenever you need to win a drag race, you start by reducing the weight of your car, and when you need to walk The Path of Shred, you simplify your guitar!

The Wildwood team believes that these guitars embody The Philosophy of Shred completely. Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson have given these guitars the spirit of a Viking, the strength of a giant, and the magic of an evil warlock. We are so excited to see what adventures our exceptional customers get into while walking with us down The Path of Shred with these axes in hand.