Benson Amps has released a limited run of 20 Germanium Preamp pedals in a Chrome powder coat finish.
The Benson Germanium Preamp is the grittier counterpart to the brand’s now-famous amp-in-a-box Preamp pedal, with one significant change: the first FET transistor has been swapped out for a germanium gain stage pulled directly from Benson’s servo-biased Germanium Boost pedal. That gain stage is a smart move, as it imparts a consistent germanium tonality without affecting frequency response, and largely doesn’t care about temperature.
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The outcome is what Benson Amps describe as “an alternate universe take on our flagship pedal” – one that blends the feel of germanium with the careful equalisation and tone controls of the original Preamp. Compared to the standard version, the Germanium Preamp runs at slightly lower gain, but the trade-off is a richer, warmer and more characterful overdrive that sits somewhere across boost, overdrive and fuzz territory. The preamp’s controls are straightforward too, with Gain, Treble, Bass and Volume.
One practical note worth flagging is that germanium stops passing signal at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.89 Celcius), so an extremely hot stage is something to keep in mind. For studio use and most live situations it wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s worth knowing before you’re under a bunch of stage lights in summer.
The biggest headline is the Chrome powder coat finish, an industrial looking, vintage design that suits the pedal well. Since the Germanium Preamp already has a following, and limited edition runs like this tend to move fast.
The pedal runs on a 9VDC Boss-style adapter or battery at 50mA. All 20 Chrome editions are available here.
