Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII vs Dunlop MXR Distortion Plus
The Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII and the Dunlop MXR Distortion Plus are both pedals sharing compressed, saturated. The Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII leans edge of breakup and bright. The Dunlop MXR Distortion Plus leans warm and mid-forward.
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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.48% — somewhat different
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- compressed
- saturated
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$199via 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 MXR Distortion Plus is the original MXR distortion pedal, introduced in 1973 and one of the most influential hard-clipping distortion designs in the history of the electric guitar. The circuit uses a single op-amp with hard germanium diode clipping to produce a compressed, warm distortion character with a distinctive midrange voice. The Distortion Plus is strongly associated with Randy Rhoads, who used it with Ozzy Osbourne, and with Slash on early Guns N Roses recordings. It delivers moderate-to-high gain distortion with warm, natural compression and a mid-voiced character that cuts well in classic rock contexts. The design has been extensively copied and remains in production as the M104.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Electronic
- Experimental
- Indie
- Indie Rock
- Classic Rock
- Rock
- Alternative Rock
- Metal
- Hard Rock
- edge of breakup
- bright
- fuzzy
- transparent
- warm
- mid-forward