The Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII is a Benson Amps distortion pedal, currently around $199. Close alternatives include the K Pedals Vintage Preamp and the JHS Colour Box V2. It pairs well with the Friedman Dirty Shirley and the PRS Archon.
Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII
Benson Amps · pedal
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.
What stands out
“Primarily used for lo-fi, indie rock, and recording contexts where cassette-era warmth and compression are the aesthetic goal, or as a preamp character boost ahead of”
— from the community notes
“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”
— from the listing
“Cassette-recorder preamp saturation spanning from subtle coloration through heavily compressed broadband fuzz, capturing the non-linear harmonic behavior of the Tascam 424 MkII input stage with a wide tonal range controlled by a switchable …”
— from the community notes
“The unstable breakup at high gain in buffer-off mode is intentionally unpredictable; players this frustrating”
— from the community notes
“The buffer-off mode produces the more immediately distinctive tone -- a darkened, compressed saturation with the pleasant non-linearity of actual cassette electronics”
— from the reviews
Trade-offs
“At high gain in buffer-off mode, the breakup becomes intentionally unpredictable and unstable -- rewarding for experimental players, frustrating for those needing consistent tone”
— from the reviews
- compressed
- saturation
- breakup
- headroom
- high gain
- harmonic
- distortion
Price updated Oct 23, 2026
Genres the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII is commonly used in
- Electronic
- Experimental
- Indie
- Indie Rock
- Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII
Friedman Dirty Shirley
Friedman
18% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
Friedman Dirty Shirley leans warm right where the bright tone needs it
Comes later in the signal chain
PRS Archon
PRS
18% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
PRS Archon's smooth balances out the bright tone
Comes later in the signal chain
Gretsch 6160 Chet Atkins Amp
Gretsch
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Gretsch 6160 Chet Atkins Amp's warm balances out the bright tone
Ceriatone HRM 50
Ceriatone
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Ceriatone HRM 50 takes that edge of breakup character and pushes it toward mid-forward
Ceriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50
Ceriatone
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Ceriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50 pushes a edge of breakup tone toward mid-forward
Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 pushes a saturated tone toward tight
Pedals that stack with the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII
MXR Micro Amp
MXR
21% matchgain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (fuzzy → clean boost)
MXR Micro Amp's own clean boost character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Beetronics Buzzter Boost Preamp
Beetronics
20% matchgain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (fuzzy → clean boost)
Beetronics Buzzter Boost Preamp leans toward transparent, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo
Caroline Guitar Company
19% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Run Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo after Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII in the signal chain, clear of Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII's own gain stage
Comes later in the signal chain
Maxon CP-9Pro+
Maxon
13% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Maxon CP-9Pro+'s compressed voice suits Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII's own compressed character
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Analog Delay
Electro-Harmonix
11% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (fuzzy → modulated)
Put Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Analog Delay after Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII in the signal chain, clear of Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Boss
11% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep Boss DD-3 Digital Delay after Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII in the signal chain, clear of Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Matthews Effects The Pocket Drive Overdrive Boost
Matthews Effects
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Matthews Effects The Pocket Drive Overdrive Boost goes in front of Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII in the chain
EarthQuaker Devices Swiss Things
EarthQuaker Devices
Cheaper alternatives
Catalinbread SFT V2
Catalinbread
58% similarityShared character: high gain settings, circuit, boost
Maxon OD808
Maxon
55% similarityShared character: dark, boost, warm
MXR Super Badass Distortion
MXR
55% similarityShared character: boost, treble, bright
Catalinbread SuperCharged Overdrive
Catalinbread
55% similarityShared character: high gain settings, boost, subtle
NuX Horseman Gold 2 in 1 Overdrive
Nux
53% similarityShared character: circuit, treble, headroom
Fender Smolder
Fender
53% similarityShared character: boost, treble, compression
Boutique & premium upgrades
JHS Colour Box V2 10th Anniversary
JHS Pedals
56% similarityShared character: signal, treble, subtle
Crazy Tube Circuits Orama
Crazy Tube Circuits
54% similarityShared character: boost, compression, subtle
Analog Man King of Tone
Analog Man
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Strymon Riverside
Strymon
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Similar charactersee all similar tone character →
K Pedals Vintage Preamp
K Pedals
63% similarityShared character: high gain settings, boost, compression
JHS Colour Box V2
JHS Pedals
56% similarityShared character: boost, treble, headroom
JHS Morning Glory
JHS Pedals
56% similarityShared character: dark, 8 impedance, boost
Colorsound Power Boost
Colorsound
56% similarityShared character: dark, boost, treble
Walrus Audio 385 MkII Overdrive
Walrus Audio
55% similarityShared character: high gain settings, circuit, treble
Vertex Steel String Supreme SRV (Slight Return Edition)
Vertex
55% similarityShared character: compression, bright, subtle
See all alternatives to the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII?+
The closest matches in character are the K Pedals Vintage Preamp, the JHS Colour Box V2, the JHS Morning Glory. Budget picks: Catalinbread SFT V2, Maxon OD808, MXR Super Badass Distortion. Boutique upgrades: JHS Colour Box V2 10th Anniversary, Crazy Tube Circuits Orama, Analog Man King of Tone.
What pairs well with the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Friedman Dirty Shirley, PRS Archon, Gretsch 6160 Chet Atkins Amp — Friedman Dirty Shirley leans warm right where the bright tone needs it.
How much does the Benson Amps Portable Distortion 424 MKII cost?+
Around $199 (live listing price, updated Oct 23, 2026).