Here's a rare one! This Benson Cardinal head and 1x12 cabinet just came into the shop on consignment! A rather important amplifier in Benson history, it marks the first true step from the groundbreaking Monarch model into a higher powered offering back when Chris Benson was running a much smaller shop.

This is 1 of an estimated 4 pre-production examples of the then newly designed 30 watt design of a higher powered Monarch that ultimately became the Chimera. The tube configuration consists of a pair of 12AX7s in the preamp section, a quartet of 6V6s in the power section, and a single 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tube.

The voicing of this Cardinal reminds us a bit of a cross between a great Vox AC30 and a Fender Bassman - equal parts chime and clarity with some nice punch and warmth at the same time, all tied together with some added harmonic content that makes it so much fun to play both at low volumes and dimed. It's the same reason it excels at a pedal platform as well - overdrives blend effortlessly into this amp, and there's plenty of headroom to keep things clean when you need it.