Would it be misplaced to call the Benson Amps Monarch Reverb Plus amplified royalty? The team at Benson seems to be cool with it, so why not? We will too. Benson's Monarch Reverb Plus amplifier is a modern classic of boutique tube amp design. Laced with decades of Benson lore and – as always – exceptional amplified tonality, the Monarch Reverb Plus is a definitively royal combo.

Where this story all starts is in the late '00s with Chris Benson repairing amplifiers. While working on everything from low-watt boutiques to vintage, high-gain monsters, Benson learned the ropes to fashion his own custom circuit designs. These bouts of tinkering with a wide range of amplifier designs eventually bloomed into Benson's very first head – the Monarch. A crystalline clean tone with rich, aggressive harmonic distortion when pushed defined the earliest Monarch designs which springboarded into the Benson formula we know and love today.

Today's Monarch Reverb Plus is designed with the same specs as the original Monarch with two small yet incredibly impactful changes: a Benson Chimera tone stack and a tube-driven power scaling circuit. The tone stack change replaces the original Monarch's voice switch with the Chimera's full tone stack, essentially morphing the experience into a variable control that offers more nuance across the whole circuit. Alongside this tone control change, the Monarch Reverb Plus power scaling function works by using a 6L6 power tube set up like a voltage regulator, allowing for plate resistance, which generates sag and harmonic richness at any volume. Totally, the Monarch Reverb Plus is a distinguished tube amp with a simply rich and regal sound and aesthetic.

There's a story behind every Benson. Why not write your own?

• Redesigned Benson Monarch tube amp design
• Updated Benson Chimera tone stack addition
• Tube driven power scaling circuit
• JJ 6L6GC power regulator function
• Twelve-inch custom ceramic Benson speaker
• Onboard footswitch-controllable reverb effect
• Handmade in Portland, Oregon