Benson Amps B700 Bass Amplifier Head, Black Tolex w/Silver Grille
Sometimes it’s the ideas that come in passing that are our best – this is surely the case for the Benson B700. When approached by the band the Messthetics to supply a backline for their west coast tour, the crew at Benson amps shared a couple of Benson pieces, one in particular being a loose bass head Chris Benson had designed for a friend. At the time, this bass head was called the Sonny, and when Joe Lally of the Messthetics was blown away by its light weight, simple interface and impressive sound, the B700 was born.
The original Sonny bass head was renamed to the B700 following Lally’s glowing review. Several revisions and trips to the drawing board later, and we have Benson’s flagship bass head model. The original design’s quick assembly drove Chris Benson to re-examine the versatility one could get out of three dials and include a custom nickel DI transformer so the amp could be used as a studio-quality preamp. Across three knobs, the Benson B700 plays with incredible flexibility to take on whatever’s thrown its way.
A set of 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes appear in this Benson creation to thump along with kick and articulation. Explore the range of the Treble, Bass, and Volume controls and hear the B700 morph and meld into different sound palettes altogether. Push its Treble and Bass past noon for some real punchiness or dial it all back to get an undulating groove machine. Any way you slice it, this Benson head is readymade for the most delectable of amplified concoctions.
- Handmade by Benson Amps in Portland, Oregon
- High-voltage all-tube preamp section
- 12AX7 and 12AU7 tube configuration
- Custom nickel DI transformer
- 700 Watts of output power at 2.6 ohm load
