Benson-AS

stickyfiddle · June 2023

I’m back from our Pacific NW trip and as usual I tried out a bunch of local stuff while I was there. Sadly I didn’t find any Belle Epochs to try out, but did look at a bunch of other Catalinbread & Spaceman stuff.

In Portland I picked up a couple of Bensons, which I’m super happy with. I also tried the new Stonk Box which is fabulous, but not so interesting for me as I already have a Boneyard.

Majorscale · June 2023

Both of those are superb pedals. I have a Benson preamp on all three boards! Loved the tones of the fuzz too although the warm up time didn’t mix well with my impatience!

stickyfiddle · June 2023

Yeah, absolutely. I wasn't expecting o be this impressed with either of them but in the end they beat out some stuff from Spaceman and Union Tube & Transistor.

The preamp is really special - it essentially does what I hoped the Hudson Broadcast might give me but didn't. Choosing colours wasn't easy either - I could've happily had 4 different ones

As for the fuzz, I've never used fuzzes in a band context but I can see this one actually working nicely.

menamestom · June 2023

I had the Benson Fuzz but sold it on, becuase I wanted something nastier and not so low gain.

I subsequently got a Broadcast, but it doesn't sound as good as the Benson in the low gain range. I know the Benson preamp is the closer pedal in design, but there's still overlap between the Broadcast and Benson Fuzz.

The Benson is really dynamic, kind of like a germanium overdrive rather than a fuzz. Sounds great boosted also.
Although it wasn't what I was looking for I probably should have kept it, as it's such a nice pedal, I prefer it to the broadcast to be honest.

stickyfiddle · June 2023

menamestom said:

I had the Benson Fuzz but sold it on, becuase I wanted something nastier and not so low gain.

I subsequently got a Broadcast, but it doesn't sound as good as the Benson in the low gain range. I know the Benson preamp is the closer pedal in design, but there's still overlap between the Broadcast and Benson Fuzz.

The Benson is really dynamic, kind of like a germanium overdrive rather than a fuzz. Sounds great boosted also.
Although it wasn't what I was looking for I probably should have kept it, as it's such a nice pedal, I prefer it to the broadcast to be honest.

Agree with all that. I think the overdrivey feel is probably why I like the fuzz so much. It just reacts how I want it to, which is ace

gatheredinsong · June 2023

I love that preamp colour. Very nice!

What Union T&T pedal(s) did you try?

stickyfiddle · June 2023

gatheredinsong said:

I love that preamp colour. Very nice!

What Union T&T pedal(s) did you try?

I’m not even sure I remember correctly. Definitely the Swindle and Evermore. I think they’re good at what they do but just not what I need.

The preamp colours are bonkers. They also had a shell pink one which was great, plus a bunch of varying silver, gold, black combos. I think if the sonic blue was in stock that would have nicked it but the red is awesome. I can see myself using this on multiple boards so maybe I’ll end up with more than one anyway!!

menamestom · June 2023

stickyfiddle said:

menamestom said:

I had the Benson Fuzz but sold it on, becuase I wanted something nastier and not so low gain.

I subsequently got a Broadcast, but it doesn't sound as good as the Benson in the low gain range. I know the Benson preamp is the closer pedal in design, but there's still overlap between the Broadcast and Benson Fuzz.

The Benson is really dynamic, kind of like a germanium overdrive rather than a fuzz. Sounds great boosted also.
Although it wasn't what I was looking for I probably should have kept it, as it's such a nice pedal, I prefer it to the broadcast to be honest.

Agree with all that. I think the overdrivey feel is probably why I like the fuzz so much. It just reacts how I want it to, which is ace

I might pick up another to be honest. Definitely turns full fuzz with a boost before it.

Not sure on the Broadcast, some good sounds but not as instantly likeable as the Broadcast was and a bit harder to dial in.

stickyfiddle · June 2023

Yeah, I tried with the Broadcast but just didn’t get the love at all. With the gain low it felt really dry and anaemic; with the gain up it was snarly and fuzzy but not in a way I actually enjoyed playing at all.

The Benson by comparison is full and juicy, and the tone controls mean it’s way more tweakable to work with specific guitars & amps

Greatape · June 2023

I'd love to try one of his amps, but of course, ££££. Dan Phelps is a Benson guy always sounds great through his.

stickyfiddle · July 2023

I'm still absolutely *loving* both of these but particularly the Preamp. Funnily enough I actually had the CB Preamp mk2 on the board for a bit of fun in yesterday's band practice and ended up unintentionally setting it perfectly in a way that ignored all added features and identical to how the regular Preamp is set at home. It was 100% guided by my ears, so that feels like I'm in a good place and it makes my Dano Strat in particular just sound magical.

I think I'll see the mk2!

Majorscale · July 2023

Absolutely shameless plug for the Ltd Ed. Benson Preamp that I have for sale on here.....

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/250380/fs-benson-preamp-limited-edition-in-orange-and-white-finish#latest

I have three of these Benson Preamp pedals, absolute tone monsters!

stickyfiddle · July 2023

Honestly I'm tempted myself...!

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