Benson Preamp Pedal
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We call this our Preamp because it is! The circuit is based on the our Chimera 30 watt guitar amplifier, but substitutes FET transistors for the vacuum tubes. The result is an extremely amp-like and versatile clean boost/overdrive/fuzz pedal that imparts rich harmonics and a very musical EQ to your signal chain…truly a Chimera in a box!
Power requirements:
9VDC Boss style adapter or battery 50ma
Controls: Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass.
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Benson Chimera Head & Cabinet - Night Moves W/ Wheat
$2,898.99
CHIMERA 30 WATT GUITAR AMPLIFIER
Night Moves W/ Wheat Grille
This 30 watt head and 2x12 companion speaker cabinet is for players who love the unique tone and bread-and-butter simplicity of the Monarch, but need it in a louder package for the big stage. Like other Bensons, it is fully hand-wired point to point on terminal strips using premium components and Mercury Magnetics transformers. Instead of a British-American switch, the Chimera has a bass control that takes the differences between the voices of the Monarch and makes them variable. The tone controls are musical and versatile… it is hard to find a harsh sound!
Specs
- 4 x JJ 6V6, 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 5AR4 rectifier
- 30 watts
- Speaker outputs: 1 x 8 ohm, 1 x 16 ohm
Dimensions/weight
- Head 18.5”W 8”H 8”D 22 lbs
- Cabinet 18.5”W 34”H 10”D 35 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips *no circuit, eyelet or turret board*
- Mercury Magnetics transformers
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Jupiter Capacitors
- DC filments for low noise
- Dovetailed pine speaker cabinets
- Baltic birch head cabinet
Speaker
- Celestion G12H Well-balanced…a good choice for most Chimeras
- Weber 12A125A Darker, less efficient AlNiCo for a tweed sound
Benson Vinnie Head & Cabinet- Night Moves W/ Wheat
$1,223.99
VINNY 1 WATT GUITAR AMPLIFIER
Night Moves W/ Wheat Grille
THIS LITTLE ONE-WATTER IS NO TOY. CHRIS SPENT SEVERAL WEEKS ON THE DESIGN SEEKING A GIANT SOUND IN A COMPACT PACKAGE EQUALLY AT HOME IN THE LIVING ROOM AND STUDIO. BEAUTIFUL CLEAN AND DRIVEN SOUNDS ARE ACHIEVED AT CONVERSATIONAL VOLUMES. THE VINNY HEAD IS THE SIZE OF A SIX-PACK OF TALL BOYS. THE SINGLE VOLUME CONTROL IS ALSO A TONE CONTROL: VINNY STARTS OUT BRIGHT WHEN THE CONTROL IS SET LOW AND CLEAN, AND GETS DARKER AS IT IS TURNED UP AND DRIVEN INTO COMPRESSION, OVERDRIVE, AND EVENTUALLY DISTORTION. THE KILLER FEATURE OF THIS TINY AMP IS AN INTERNAL LOAD AND POST-OUTPUT-TRANSFORMER LINE OUT… VINNY MAKES A KILLER PREAMP! PLUGGED INTO ANOTHER AMPLIFIER, OR EVEN A RECORDING CONSOLE, REAL POWER TUBE DRIVE SOUNDS ARE AVAILABLE AT ANY VOLUME! VINNY’S COMPANION SPEAKER CABINET IS 1X10 BALTIC BIRCH PLY LOADED WITH A JENSEN C10R DRIVER.
Specs
- 1 x JJ EL84 power tube, 1 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tube
- 1 watt into 8 ohms
- Post-output-transformer preamp level output
- Built in load resistor for silent preamp operation
Dimensions/weight:
- Head 8.5”W 7”H 6”D 5 lbs
- 1x10 Cabinet 13”W 13”H 8”D 11 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Mallory 150M tone capacitors
- Baltic birch cabinets
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Benson Monarch Reverb 1x12 Combo - Stripes W/ Oxblood
$2,599.99
MONARCH REVERB 1X12 COMBO
Stripes W/ Oxblood Finish
The Monarch amp in convenient combo form with Tall Bird-style reverb.
The Monarch Reverb features a unique British-American switch, simple yet highly versatile controls, and perfect range of power to be used both cleanly and pushed on the stage and studio without wearing out its welcome, and incorporates tube driven spring reverb in a completely transparent no-compromises fashion into the classic Monarch circuitry.
The circuit design is 100% original, or actually maybe just a combination of 30 different amps Chris likes plus a few ideas of his own. Either way, the resulting amplifier could be, and often is, the end of your search for perfect guitar tone.
The Monarch was designed to make you consider ditching your drive pedals (though it takes pedals like a winner). It was designed to have harmonics when clean, and clarity when it’s pushed. It is designed to transition from clean to compressed to distortion with a complete lack of harsh harmonics or weird resonances. The cabinet is open backed and pine to project sound in all directions like an acoustic guitar…a true tone wood that lends it’s own musicality to the guitar’s sound. The build and finish quality is second to none.
We get asked constantly "What is the Monarch based on?". Translation: "Which 60s/70s amplifier did you clone and tweak when you developed your product?". It's a fair question...most builders do this, and that is fine. We did something new, so there isn't a simple answer. However, we can tell you where the Monarch falls in terms of sound and feel compared to existing amplifiers.
The Monarch was designed to fulfill the needs of players who:
- Enjoy a Tweed Deluxe but find it could be lacking in punch and versatility
- Enjoy a Top Boost AC15 or 30 but find the upper frequencies a little quacky and grating
- Enjoy a Supro Thunderbolt but want more clarity and better harmonics
- Think some boutique amps they have tried are too bright and/or lacking a certain something…what is it called…tone that satisfies.
Specs
- 2 x JJ 6V6 power tubes, 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 5AR4 rectifier
- 12-15 watts (depending on rectifier)
- Speaker outputs: 1 x 8 ohm, 1 x 16 ohm
Dimensions/weight:
- 23.5”W 17.5”H 10”D 39 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Mercury Magnetics transformers
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Jupiter capacitors
- DC filaments for low noise
- Dovetailed pine speaker cabinets
- Baltic birch head cabinets
Customizations (selectable on order form
Speaker
- Celestion G12H Well-balanced…a great choice for most Monarchs
- Weber 12A125A Darker, less efficient AlNiCo for a tweed sound
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Benson Monarch Head & Cabinet - Stripes W/ Oxblood
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MONARCH 15 WATT GUITAR AMPLIFIER HEAD & CABINET
Stripes W/ Oxblood Finish
“A BIG PART OF THIS LITTLE AMP’S SONIC BEAUTY CAME FROM THE WAY IT ACHIEVED A GENTLE COMPRESSION AMID CLEAN TONES, WHICH BECAME MORE TOOTHSOME AND TOUCH SENSITIVE AS IT SEGUED THROUGH CRUNCH AND INTO FULL-ON LEAD VOICES—ALL WITHOUT A HINT OF HARSHNESS AT THE ONSET OF DISTORTION, YIELDING AN EXTREMELY DYNAMIC INTERACTION BETWEEN PLAYER AND AMP.” DAVE HUNTER, GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE, JAN 2016
The Monarch is the flagship Benson Amp. It features a unique British-American switch, simple yet highly versatile controls, and perfect range of power to be used both cleanly and pushed on the stage and studio without wearing out its welcome.
The circuit design is 100% original, or actually maybe just a combination of 30 different amps Chris likes plus a few ideas of his own. Either way, the resulting amplifier could be, and often is, the end of your search for perfect guitar tone.
The Monarch was designed to make you consider ditching your drive pedals (though it takes pedals like a winner). It was designed to have harmonics when clean, and clarity when it’s pushed. It is designed to transition from clean to compressed to distortion with a complete lack of harsh harmonics or weird resonances. The speaker cabinet is open backed and pine to project sound in all directions like an acoustic guitar…a true tone wood that lends it’s own musicality to the guitar’s sound. The build and finish quality is second to none.
We get asked constantly "What is the Monarch based on?". Translation: "Which 60s/70s amplifier did you clone and tweak when you developed your product?". It's a fair question...most builders do this, and that is fine. We did something new, so there isn't a simple answer. However, we can tell you where the Monarch falls in terms of sound and feel compared to existing amplifiers.
The Monarch was designed to fulfill the needs of players who:
- Enjoy a Tweed Deluxe but find it could be lacking in punch and versatility
- Enjoy a Top Boost AC15 or 30 but find the upper frequencies a little quacky and grating
- Enjoy a Supro Thunderbolt but want more clarity and better harmonics
- Think some boutique amps they have tried are too bright and/or lacking a certain something…what is it called…tone that satisfies.
Awards
- Guitar Player Magazine Editors Pick January 2016
- Premier Guitar Premier Gear December 2015
- Larry Crane's Best of NAMM Jan 2015
Specs
- 2 x JJ 6V6 power tubes, 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 5AR4 rectifier
- 13-18 watts (depending on rectifier)
- Speaker outputs: 1 x 8 ohm, 1 x 16 ohm
Dimensions/weight:
- Head 13.5”W 8”H 8.25”D 16 lbs
- 1x12 Cabinet 17”W 18.5”H 10”D 20-23 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Mercury Magnetics transformers
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Jupiter capacitors
- DC filaments for low noise
- Dovetailed pine speaker cabinets
- Baltic birch head cabinets
Speaker
- Celestion G12H Well-balanced… a great choice for most Monarchs
- Weber 12A125A Darker, less efficient AlNiCo for a tweed sound
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Benson Vinny 1 Watt Guitar Amp
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VINNY 1 WATT GUITAR AMPLIFIER
THIS LITTLE ONE-WATTER IS NO TOY. CHRIS SPENT SEVERAL WEEKS ON THE DESIGN SEEKING A GIANT SOUND IN A COMPACT PACKAGE EQUALLY AT HOME IN THE LIVING ROOM AND STUDIO. BEAUTIFUL CLEAN AND DRIVEN SOUNDS ARE ACHIEVED AT CONVERSATIONAL VOLUMES. THE VINNY HEAD IS THE SIZE OF A SIX-PACK OF TALL BOYS. THE SINGLE VOLUME CONTROL IS ALSO A TONE CONTROL: VINNY STARTS OUT BRIGHT WHEN THE CONTROL IS SET LOW AND CLEAN, AND GETS DARKER AS IT IS TURNED UP AND DRIVEN INTO COMPRESSION, OVERDRIVE, AND EVENTUALLY DISTORTION. THE KILLER FEATURE OF THIS TINY AMP IS AN INTERNAL LOAD AND POST-OUTPUT-TRANSFORMER LINE OUT… VINNY MAKES A KILLER PREAMP! PLUGGED INTO ANOTHER AMPLIFIER, OR EVEN A RECORDING CONSOLE, REAL POWER TUBE DRIVE SOUNDS ARE AVAILABLE AT ANY VOLUME! VINNY’S COMPANION SPEAKER CABINET IS 1X10 BALTIC BIRCH PLY LOADED WITH A JENSEN C10R DRIVER.
Specs
- 1 x JJ EL84 power tube, 1 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tube
- 1 watt into 8 ohms
- Post-output-transformer preamp level output
- Built in load resistor for silent preamp operation
Dimensions/weight:
- Head 8.5”W 7”H 6”D 5 lbs
- 1x10 Cabinet 13”W 13”H 8”D 11 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Mallory 150M tone capacitors
- Baltic birch cabinets
Benson Tall Bird Reverb Unit
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TALL BIRD TUBE DRIVEN SPRING REVERB
AN ORIGINAL ALL-TUBE STANDALONE REVERB UNIT.
The Tall Bird features DC filaments for a noise floor second to none, and is just as at home in the studio patched into a console as it is sitting on an amp in a crowded venue. The Tall Bird especially excels at percussive guitar playing, filling in the gaps of notes with a haunting swell.
Part of the unique design is that, rather than a single mix knob, there are dedicated dry and wet volume knobs. With the dry knob at 12 oclock (5 on the dial), the dry signal is at unity gain, but if dialed higher you can use it to push an amplifier! Or you can turn it all the way down and use the Tall Bird all wet on a mix buss, or send it to another amp for weird spatial effects.
The dwell control controls how hard the reverb tank is hit with signal; turned up to a certain point it can overdrive the reverb tank for euphonic, cavernous reverb, or set halfway it can do a polite clean reverb that can still completely overwhelm the dry signal if you want it to with a simple twist of the wet knob.
Another unique feature of the Tall Bird that is begging to be used creatively is that when the footswitch is clicked off, the tail of the reverb still rings out, a benefit of the uncommonly quiet reverb return circuitry.
Specs
- Tubes: 2x12AX7s 1x12AU7
- 3 spring 9" Jensen Mod reverb tank. Yes, it is a short tank. This particular short tank sounds better for guitar with this particular circuit. Tip for recording engineers: if using on vocals or drums, run the RCA cables out to a Jensen Mod 9EB2C1B...sound like a plate!
Dimensions/weight
Head 13.5”W 8”H 8.25”D 13 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Mallory 150M tone capacitors
- DC filments for low noise
- Baltic birch head cabinet
Benson Monarch Reverb Combo
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MONARCH REVERB 1X12 COMBO
The Monarch amp in convenient combo form with Tall Bird-style reverb.
The Monarch Reverb features a unique British-American switch, simple yet highly versatile controls, and perfect range of power to be used both cleanly and pushed on the stage and studio without wearing out its welcome, and incorporates tube driven spring reverb in a completely transparent no-compromises fashion into the classic Monarch circuitry.
The circuit design is 100% original, or actually maybe just a combination of 30 different amps Chris likes plus a few ideas of his own. Either way, the resulting amplifier could be, and often is, the end of your search for perfect guitar tone.
The Monarch was designed to make you consider ditching your drive pedals (though it takes pedals like a winner). It was designed to have harmonics when clean, and clarity when it’s pushed. It is designed to transition from clean to compressed to distortion with a complete lack of harsh harmonics or weird resonances. The cabinet is open backed and pine to project sound in all directions like an acoustic guitar…a true tone wood that lends it’s own musicality to the guitar’s sound. The build and finish quality is second to none.
We get asked constantly "What is the Monarch based on?". Translation: "Which 60s/70s amplifier did you clone and tweak when you developed your product?". It's a fair question...most builders do this, and that is fine. We did something new, so there isn't a simple answer. However, we can tell you where the Monarch falls in terms of sound and feel compared to existing amplifiers.
The Monarch was designed to fulfill the needs of players who:
- Enjoy a Tweed Deluxe but find it could be lacking in punch and versatility
- Enjoy a Top Boost AC15 or 30 but find the upper frequencies a little quacky and grating
- Enjoy a Supro Thunderbolt but want more clarity and better harmonics
- Think some boutique amps they have tried are too bright and/or lacking a certain something…what is it called…tone that satisfies.
Specs
- 2 x JJ 6V6 power tubes, 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 5AR4 rectifier
- 12-15 watts (depending on rectifier)
- Speaker outputs: 1 x 8 ohm, 1 x 16 ohm
Dimensions/weight:
- 23.5”W 17.5”H 10”D 39 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips - no circuit, eyelet or turret board
- Mercury Magnetics transformers
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Jupiter capacitors
- DC filaments for low noise
- Dovetailed pine speaker cabinets
- Baltic birch head cabinets
Speaker
- Celestion G12H Well-balanced…a great choice for most Monarchs
- Weber 12A125A Darker, less efficient AlNiCo for a tweed sound
Benson Chimera 30 Watt Guitar Amp
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CHIMERA 30 WATT GUITAR AMPLIFIER
This 30 watt head and 2x12 companion speaker cabinet is for players who love the unique tone and bread-and-butter simplicity of the Monarch, but need it in a louder package for the big stage. Like other Bensons, it is fully hand-wired point to point on terminal strips using premium components and Mercury Magnetics transformers. Instead of a British-American switch, the Chimera has a bass control that takes the differences between the voices of the Monarch and makes them variable. The tone controls are musical and versatile… it is hard to find a harsh sound!
Specs
- 4 x JJ 6V6, 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 5AR4 rectifier
- 30 watts
- Speaker outputs: 1 x 8 ohm, 1 x 16 ohm
Dimensions/weight
- Head 18.5”W 8”H 8”D 22 lbs
- Cabinet 18.5”W 34”H 10”D 35 lbs
Build
- Point to point construction on terminal strips *no circuit, eyelet or turret board*
- Mercury Magnetics transformers
- Carbon Comp resistors
- Jupiter Capacitors
- DC filments for low noise
- Dovetailed pine speaker cabinets
- Baltic birch head cabinet
Speaker
- Celestion G12H Well-balanced…a good choice for most Chimeras
View full product details
