Portland, OR’s Benson Amplification is known for their boutique amps and ingenious and innovative Germanium pedals. The Benson Delay is the company’s first foray into designing a device outside the dirtbox realm.
Company owner and designer Chris Benson has been working on refining this design since 2019, when he got inspired by an old tape echo machine in disrepair he bought. That’s the reason why this pedal also features a modulation circuit (LFO Speed and LFO Depth) designed to simulate the wow and flutter created by tape echo machines.
After experimenting with the classic analog Bucked Brigade Devices, Chris started experimenting with a PT2399 chip, a digital component, which allowed for longer delay times (up to 1200 ms) without losing the analog and musical feel, thanks to the rest of the circuitry, which remained mostly intact from the previous BBD-based prototype.
Once perfected, the effect was integrated with a second footswitch providing both Tap Tempo an a momentary effect that takes it into self-oscillation.
You can hear the Benson Delay in its final version in the videos below.
We added the Benson Delay to our article about the best tape-style echos.
