Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII vs Crazy Tube Circuits Hi Power
The Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII and the Crazy Tube Circuits Hi Power are both pedals sharing edge of breakup, high headroom, harmonically rich. The Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII leans saturated and bright. The Crazy Tube Circuits Hi Power leans smooth and sustaining. Current prices: $199 vs $270.26.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.36% — somewhat different
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- edge of breakup
- high headroom
- harmonically rich
- full
- fuzzy
- transparent
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$199via Reverb
$270.26via Reverb
The Benson Amps 424 MKII is a preamp and distortion pedal designed to recreate the saturation and harmonic character of the input stage of the Tascam Portastudio 424 MkII cassette four-track recorder. The circuit captures the non-linear behavior of cassette-era input electronics, spanning from subtle coloration and clean boost through compressed broadband distortion and unstable breakup. A switchable front-end buffer fundamentally alters the gain structure: engaged, it presents a high-impedance guitar input with tighter low end and increased headroom; bypassed, the circuit returns to a darker, fuzzier low-impedance cassette response. Four controls -- gain, trim, bass, treble -- cover a wide EQ range. Internal 18V operation provides increased headroom. Made by Benson Amps in Portland, Oregon.
The Crazy Tube Circuits Hi-Power, model HPR, is a dual amp in a box overdrive inspired by the rig behind Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. The right side is a faithful recreation of David Gilmour's Colorsound Power Boost overdrive, ranging from mild preamp breakup through drive to full fuzz, while the left side is an all analog emulation of the Hiwatt amp used on the record, with selectable 50 watt and 100 watt voicings. Together they deliver high headroom British clean tones and creamy, singing lead drive with rich harmonic content. It suits classic rock, prog and blues players chasing Gilmour style sustain and vintage British amp character, or anyone wanting a flexible boost into amp in a box combination.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Electronic
- Experimental
- Indie
- Indie Rock
- Metal
- Classic Rock
- Blues
- saturated
- bright
- smooth
- sustaining