Shootout by Request: Benson Preamp / Hudson Broadcast / Greer Soma 63 

Had a question pop up about this demo earlier today, and figured I would answer here as well. The SOMA63 is a FET based pre with a transformer, not a germanium based device. I have all 3 of these pedals, and love them all!

I think the benson amps preamp is just a lot more versatile as for as different textures in your sounds but they all sound amazing in there own way great demo and video Thanks!!!

I have the Hudson. Love it. It has internal knobs so you can further dial in the levels for each low and high switches. So much tweakability. I basically use the low as a light OD and it works as a killer boost/thickener for stacking a light OD pedal. The high I set lower internally and it gives almost a killer fuzz tone. I've also done full shows with just the Hudson as a OD. Again, I find it amazing.

I love the Benson preamp. It pushes my amp and makes my strat sound thick and rich. It stacks pretty good with my other pedals as well. Always on pedal on my board for sure.

I prefer the Greer because of the tone shaping options. Very helpful in adjusting for different pickups.

Great demo! Thank you.

Thank you for this! Great video. Love these pedals

Seems I can't get away from the Ge circuits; what I always miss is a degree of inconsistency in anything but; the Broadcast truly highlights this with the Strat , though the the Soma is impressive with the presence added, - reminds me of a jacked up Supro Drive. Gotta stay with the Broadcast; the Benson is it's sweeter brother, close, but I dig that staccato, more rattling , break up on the BC. This was the comparison I needed to hear.

Great demo, thanks for doing this! Hadn’t seen the Soma before but dang, it sounds amazing. Seems like it has a huge range of sounds too. May have just sold me a new preamp pedal...

All fantastic! I’ve got a Broadcast. Sounds fantastic with my old Vox, Marshall and Supro’s. Good demo!

All 3 sound great and it'd be really tough to pick a "favorite" to buy first......I tried mostly focusing on the Strat at the end and I THINK I'd go with the Hudson Broadcast, great demo cheers!

The Soma is a true amp in a box, sounds simply amazing!

dude you rock this was awesome

Thanks, Ryan!

My Broadcast is a bit too hifi for my ears with most amps (I put a tone pot in mine), however I've got a 5E3 clone with a Cannabis Rex in it that LOVES it. It brings the high range of that amp to life in the best way. Almost Blackface Fender, but with the full mids still there. Bass cut is always nice on a Tweed circuit.

How loud is that monarch when it starts to break up? What’s the headroom like?

Benson has more headroom and is great either using it direct or with an amp.The Greer(great company) is very Neil Young sounding; which I love. I'm not sure how I feel about the Broadcast. Ive seen tons of vids on it and its... kinda fizzy in all videos.But I'm basing that on my own tastes and my own needs, so that criticism may not apply to others......All in all...the upper tier of pedals.

I have both the Hudson and the benson. I would swap them out originally first in the chain then just decided to put them both on my board. Benson first then Hudson at the end of my OD chain. Sounds pretty awesome 🤘🏻

Have the SOMA and three versions of the Broadcast... Love what they can do as tone shapers as opposed to using them as overdrives.

That benson hits the early free or raspberries tone. Sweet. Love the Soma though

with the broadcast does it get the same kinda harmonic effect that the transformer in the soma provides? I love the soma for that reason but given how much it changes my overall tone it doesnt get along with my other ODs in the way I'd prefer without using them simply as a boost before the soma.

its also worth mentioning that the SOMA can be run at 18v which changes the gain characteristic quite a bit at lower levels.

Fantastic demo! Broadcaster for me

Wow, the Soma sounds like a fuzz! Never considered a preamp pedal before, but I might now

Had a Broadcast and sold it. Great piece of kit especially for the lower gain stuff, but wasn't my bag when cranked up. Soma sounds like the same ballpark. The Benson is the one for me. Still about 3 months out until my name comes up on the wait list for a Monarch.

Benson hands down to my ears.

All were good, but the broadcast was the best imo. Thought it could get great console distortion/fuzz or treble boostiness as well. The benson was pretty amp like but a bit too dark for me. The soma was good at lower gain but at higher gain settings just sounds broken. Don’t think it would work live or in a mix.

Maybe I am biased, because I am a VERY HAPPY owner of Benson Preamp, but Benson feels the most natural and fluid against other two pedals, especially Soma, which feels a bit too exagerated, a little bit like my Bad cat 2-tone (which can be amazing when dialed right)

Great video. I don’t believe the Soma has a germanium transistor, just the Broadcast out of the bunch.

Got ahold of a Color Box which became suddenly reasonable when version 2 became available, though I had long considered the Broadcast a first choice.Gotta say,- it's really grown on me, to the extent that now , I might forget about the latter.While it CAN be harsh and unmusical, set up properly,the Lundahl is truly exceptional with cleans, and the gain sweep range is so broad as to be all encompassing, with a break up which is quite different from Germanium.If the specific sound(s) I've been long seeking is unusual, it goes there.Don't think I'd even bother with V2.I would suggest that any seekers try it, as well as these special examples.

I listened to only the Nash section, since I play all single coils. I thought the Broadcast sounded best, for my tastes. At the same time, it seems like more of a challenge to tweak than the other two. I like simple pedals, so still looking.

can i make a question .... youre running the Broadcast at what volts ? cause the one i've palyed was running at 18v and i couldnt reach that high with the "high level" knob without explode the roof off !!!!! i'm surprised with it ... thanks ... great video ... greetings from Portugal

Hudson lover here.

That sound like something is exploding in the background when the Soma and the Hudson are near on dimed is tasty.

I like the Benson best.

I use a petty John chime as an always on... any comments in comparing these three w it?

🤘

I love that you will dime all the controls on pedals. Other reviewers will be like, "Well, I'll just show these settings that I like - nobody will ever want to dime the bass..." -- I'm sorry dear Tuber, but you clearly have never met me.

BENSON sounds great

In this particular demo, I felt the Broadcast sounded the best, and most natural, by far. The Benson was OK, nothing special (but I have their Boost that I like very much so far but have only had it for a day) and I did not care for the Greer.

Awesome shoot out! The Soma surprised me - really dug it. I just got a Benson Preamp myself and am trying to figure out where it best sits in my setup - playing a Tele into a Vox AC15. Would you normally run the Benson first in your chain before your other drives?

Benson for me.

Are these pedals meant to replace a preamp in a guitar amp? For example, the BOSS Katana has an option to bypass the preamp and go direct to the power amp. Could these pedals be used to replace the preamp in such an amp, I wonder? Were they designed for such a thing?

Dude, three of THE Best at the preamp game. Obviously I’m biased towards that there Hudson (I use it 😉), but shiiiiit, it’s like I was saying about choruses: there’s just soo many badass effects out there, you cannot go wrong...unless you don’t have any 😘. Great per usual, looking forward to Anaheim mang. -Aaron

Benson for sure. Holds together at higher drive levels.

Great demo. Which pickup(s) did you use for the ES and the Strat?

Okay, real comment time. I know a lot of people run these into amps with real tubes and real speakers making real sound in a real room, effectively making these pedals kind of like a cross-breed between a boost, tone shaper, and an overdrive. However, a lot of people are doing ampless setups these days and want a preamp before their cab sim pedal. I'd love to see something like these pedals into a Strymon Iridium, direct in to the interface. I mention the Iridium, because you can bypass the amp side, making it, basically, a CabZeus or an Iconoclast, and you'd be using the same IR for all pedals, taking the cab portion out of the equation for comparison purposes. I think that'd give a really nice representation of "should I pick up a Benson and a CabZeus, or maybe a Soma 63 and an Iconoclast, or will the Iridium do what I need?"

I hate em with humbuckers but love em with single coils.

You can't go wrong with either of these pedals...

Holy shit the Soma has that lovely "all knobs to 11 on a fender twin" sound

What mic are you using to record your amp?

Greer WON hands down.

I have the Broadcast and wouldn't trade it for the world

well, damnit...this is the demo that got me...good bye Cali76 compressor...I hope you find a nice home with the fine gentleman whose giving me a Hudson for you.

I bet the black Hudson goes to "11". On a less silly note, I've been looking for a pedal that only introduces some light and clean-ish clipping that compliments the existing tone. In other words, I don't want to be forced to sound like the pedal. Sorry, these three pedals didn't scratch the itch.

As far as I know SOMA does not use any germanium transistors. It uses 4 SMD-version of J201 JFETs and a TY141-P transformer at the end of the chain.

Strat + Soma = Heavenly Tone! OR the strat + benson.

Benson please!

tele_voxac30 ...ok so now i have a fulltone ranger into a hudson broadcast into a greer lightspeed...it is awesome

The Hudson was very unimpressive until I turned the low gain trimmer from 1 to about 6 and the fuzz trimmer from 11000 to about 5.

Thoughts on the Chase Tone secret preamp?

The Soma63 has incredible range. It has thunderous lows and cutting highs. But the Broadcast augments the original sound better. It doesn't colour nearly as much as the Greer, which makes everything sound like an old Brownface (not a bad thing, just a thing). The Benson is a bit more straight ahead. The controls are still highly interactive though and actually change the way gain reacts rather than just adding or reducing perceived bass/treble. Personally, being so close to the UK, I'd go with the Broadcast as it's cheaper. But the Soma63 is more compact and has way more control.

Soma all day

Broadcast wins any shootout

the benson is in a diferent league

"dark rock" LUL

A good fulltone ocd blows them all away

I have owned the Hudson for a couple of years. I have never really found a use for it and so it lives in its box. It’s not versatile and a bit of a one trick badly overloaded hifi speaker without much musicality. Well made though.

Thats a honk

The Broadcast looks cool but they all sound like ca-ca - way too oversaturated. This dude really turned me off to all 3.

I don't think Preamps are for me. I didn't like any of them.

Take a shot every time he says uhmmm

really not impressed with the benson and the hudson

Benson is the king. What a remarkably poor pedal the Hudson Broadcast is