Benson Amps Tall Bird+
Benson Amps returns to the channel with the Tall Bird+ — their flagship all-tube spring reverb and optical tremolo unit, and a ground-up original design. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the Benson Amps Tall Bird+ Tube Reverb & Optical Tremolo takes center stage — running in the Benson Vincent effects loop, between the Vinny Dirt Channel and the Clean Channel, into the Benson Vincent 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Benson Amps Germanium Preamp, Germanium Boost, and Germanium Fuzz all feature throughout.
Get the EoB x Emerson Custom Les Paul Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/eob-les-paul-prewired-kit-premier-pro?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
In Benson's own words:
"The Tall Bird Plus is our flagship all tube driven spring reverb and optical tremolo. A ground up original design with the goal of attaining the classic 60s sounds but with added functionality and improved noise characteristics.
Independent WET and DRY controls — the dry control can be used to overdrive an amp, or remove the dry signal completely. The ROOM control creates a high pass filter: turn it down for classic drip sounds, or up for cavernous hall style reverb. Three-pole adjustable oscillator drives the neon lamp for extremely slow or extremely fast tremolo settings. Switchable optically driven standard OR harmonic tremolo — true bypass tremolo takes the optical circuitry completely out of the signal path to prevent volume loss issues of the original circuits. Tube driven output buffer for driving long cables. Dual LED footswitch with included TRS cable. A grounding schema lifted from hi-fi stereos that prevents noisy ground loops. The reverb bypass disconnects the send signal to the reverb tank, allowing for trails rather than a hard cutoff.
Hi-Fidelity vs. Natural Mode: the Tall Bird Plus performs similarly to a high quality buffer and makes treble frequencies pop more than expected. The rear-panel switch compensates — Hi-Fidelity for technically unaffected tones, Natural Mode for a more expected response. Harmonic tremolo quirk: when engaged with depth all the way down, some light bass throbbing may occur — select standard tremolo or bypass via footswitch if bothersome."
The Tall Bird+ runs here in an unusual but highly effective position: in the Benson Vincent effects loop, after the Vinny Dirt Channel and before the Chimera-esque Clean Channel. This means the reverb and tremolo are processing the driven signal from the Dirt Channel, with the Clean Channel's character coming after — a specific placement explored extensively throughout the demo. The Dry knob's ability to overdrive the amp is explored from 03:36, with the signal path providing a unique way to push the clean channel into breakup without adding a separate overdrive.
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.
🎸 2002 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic | Ron Ellis '50s LRP Humbuckers (Duane Allman '57 Goldtop Spec) | Emerson Custom EoB LP Kit + 2x Treble Bleed
🎛️ Benson Amps Tall Bird+ | All-Tube Spring Reverb | Optical Harmonic + Amplitude Tremolo | Hi-Fi / Natural Mode | Independent Wet + Dry | Room Control | Reverb Trails
🎛️ Also: Benson Amps Germanium Preamp | Germanium Boost | Germanium Fuzz
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Ableton Live 12
