Benson Amps BA-Pre vs NuX Tube Man Mk.II

The Benson Amps BA-Pre and the NuX Tube Man Mk.II are both pedals sharing bright, dynamic, transparent. The Benson Amps BA-Pre leans fuzzy and saturated. The NuX Tube Man Mk.II leans harmonically rich and edge of breakup.

Similarity
citedBlended 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.

35% — somewhat different

Shared tone character
citedDerived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.
  • bright
  • dynamic
  • transparent
Citation fame
citedCitation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.
0%
0%
Price

$249via Reverb

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Description

The Benson Amps Preamp Pedal is a FET-based preamp pedal based on the circuit of the Benson Chimera 30-watt guitar amplifier, substituting FET transistors for the original vacuum tubes. Controls include Gain, Volume, Treble, and Bass. The Treble and Bass controls significantly affect the type of gain generated, producing more tonal versatility than typical passive EQ sections. 9V DC or battery, 50mA. Priced at $249 from Benson Amps, Portland, Oregon. Described by multiple reviewers as the most amp-like gain pedal, with hypersensitive response to touch and pick attack through both tube amplifiers and amp modeling systems.

The NuX Tube Man is a compact FET-based take on the classic Tube Screamer overdrive circuit, using a FET transistor gain stage rather than the traditional op-amp design most Tube Screamer clones use. NUX chose the FET approach specifically to more closely invoke the dynamics of a real overdriven tube amp, since a FET stage naturally carries its own gain and distortion character. It delivers a dynamic, crisp overdrive with clarity that cuts through a dense mix without losing midrange fullness, and won recognition at a past Summer NAMM show. It's well suited to dirty blues and psych-rock tones ahead of a clean or lightly driven amp.

Genres
citedGenres this gear is documented as being used in.
  • indie rock
  • blues
  • alternative
  • Alternative Rock
  • Hard Rock
  • Blues
  • Classic Rock
  • Rock
  • Electronic
Tonal lean
  • fuzzy
  • saturated
  • harmonically rich
  • edge of breakup
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