"...for red is the color that my baby wore, and what's more, it's true" – The Beatles
Just when you think it's all been solved. Just when you think every stone's been turned. Everything's in a box. Everything's been remade, reimagined, rebooted, revamped, repackaged, and now really getting on your nerves. How about something new?
We find that, commonly, it's up to the forward-thinking minds, like those at Benson Amps, that really give us something cool, new, and exciting to chew on. When they've got something pretty on the platter, it's best to dig in. We're here today to talk about one of the most thrilling additions to the Benson Amps lineup we've seen in quite some time. Won't you join us?
This is the Benson Amps Redland 15 Series amplifier.
Turning Red
Introducing the Benson Amps Redland Reverb 15 Combo Amplifier
For a brand like Benson, in between producing handmade, custom-designed, all-tube amplifiers, there comes a time when you've got to try something new. Benson tube amps are among the world's favorite boutique pieces for a good reason. Fully fitted with authentic tube power and preamps with some awesome custom speakers thrown in here and there, if you're finding yourself itching for an amp experience that really brings something charmingly vintage but undeniably modern to the table, Benson's an excellent pick.
After years with their standby tube amps like the Vinny, the Nathan, and the Monarch, Benson's turned their sights on a new pasture of tube amp design. This direction is directly inspired by – what else – American tube amp tones. Though, let's get a little specific.
Today's soup of the day is Benson's new Redland amplifier series. Inspired by the extended canon of American tube amplifiers (I.e: Those not made by Leo Fender), the Redland Series shares love for the timeless, coveted tones of names like Peavey and Dumble and celebrates their contributions to the overall story of American tube amps. These amps, known more for their powerful, full-bodied tube cleans rather than their tube saturation, served as something of a "square one" for the Redland Series to kick off from.
Let's get into it.
Red (Benson's Version)
Benson Amps Redland Reverb 15 Combo Amplifier Design
The Redland 15 is Benson's fifteen-watt, twelve-inch-speaker-fitted, all-American-clean combo amp. At the heart of the Redland 15 is an all-tube pre- and power amp design that utilizes 12AX7 preamp tubes and 6L6 power tubes – a pretty classic combo, if you ask us. These two iconic tubes are accompanied by a 6L6GC voltage regulator and a 12DW7 reverb driver, more on those in a second.
Benson Amps Redland 15 Amplifier Controls
What comes from this tube configuration is buckets of tube-born heft that truly fills a room and moves quite a bit of air. Benson's custom ceramic twelve-inch speaker projects the amp's tube tones out as they are gussied up through custom Soursound transformers, Mallory capacitors, and terminal strip point-to-point construction.
The Redland series' tube design is incredibly simple with intuitive master volume, reverb level, and EQ controls at the helm for a combo amp experience with truly no strings attached and no further questions. Fifteen watts on tube tap means the Redland 15 is unafraid to turn up and make itself known. Palpable tube force makes itself known quickly for a humble combo amp that isn't shy about elbowing its way into the proverbial conversation.
One of the biggest stars making its debut with the Redland 15 is Benson's new EQ stack. Two EQ controls – your classic Treble and Bass – land with this new Redland series entry for a highly responsive and interactive tone-shaping experience. Benson went ahead in this redesigned tube amp tone stack to incorporate a steeper treble drop-off that presents more dramatic EQ shaping opportunities than your average tube amp. This steeper swing spectrum is also peppered along the way with more EQ sweet spots from Benson designed for a variety of guitars. Let's talk some tones.
Into the Wild Red Yonder
Benson Amps Redland Reverb 15 Combo Amplifier Tones
As we said at the jump, the Redland Series acts as Benson's tribute to the legacy of American amplifiers that may have proved less present than others, but nonetheless remain enduring and impactful. We get quite a bit of this in its vanilla tube tone, where we're brought an enormous amount of tube muscle that, in a lot of places, stays clean as a whistle without compromising on a room-filling feel.
The Redland 15 carries with it some classic Benson finesse. Onboard, a voltage control switch swaps the Redland 15 between a few different variable voltage levels, of course maxing out at fifteen. Click into the Redland 15's full fifteen watt power output or lower it down all the way to a half watt. Wherever you land, you get a loving scoop of Benson's spin on classic American cleans.
A Loving SpoonfulPart of what you may be thinking with all this talk of variable voltage and a half-watt tube amp is of course, tube saturation. Grab any other of Benson's voltage-lowering combos and feel some real tube breakup on lower wattages, right? Well, yes and no. The Redland 15 is partly so impressive for its dedication to full-bodied American tube cleans and its simultaneous ability to deliver on such cleans at each level of attenuation. If American cleans are your thing, then you're in luck with the Redland's capacity to keep things full, forceful, and clean one half watts or its full fifteen.
In addition to the Redland's gorgeously punchy cleans, a tube-driven spring reverb lands with the amp, like many other Bensons. This authentic reverb delivers enormous personality and character to the overall experience of the combo for an effect that quickly swings from splashy to cavernous. If you’re in the mood for surf rock leads, not for nothing, but Benson's offering an authentic yet alternative take from your usual Bassmans and Showmans. Just sayin'.
Benson Amps Redland 15 Reverb Combo Amplifier Final Thoughts
As a push into new, exciting tube territories that feel fresh yet familiar, it's no surprise that Benson would have something impressive. The Redland fulfills its task of reviving and commemorating some maybe more unsung American amps with a tone and feel that is reverent but absolutely original. The amp's quality build only allows for its musical experience to be all the more effortless as, like Benson amplifiers across the board, it makes way for unbridled inspiration. Fans of historically clean tube amps truly have something to keep busy for at least a little while as they explore every nook and cranny of the Redland's blissfully simple but endlessly deep sound.
It's not easy being clean. Or maybe it is?
