will this work

[abemo]

So I have a carvin bx-600 head going into a 4x10 cab, and the pre on the head is having some issues. The mute doesn't fully mute and it seems to lack some of the tone it used to have. I've had issues with it before, and when I've opened it up, the pre and power amps are two fully separate units. I've also been wanting to switch to a pre/power setup for a while now.

So here's my question. I don't currently have the scratch to buy a preamp and power amp, so if I just get a preamp (as the power amp on my current head works fine), could I use that and plug the output into the return on my effects loop to bypass the head's pre and just use the power section? Would this work, and if so, would it damage either component?

Also, when shopping around, I havn't been able to find a ton of good preamps. The big box stores seem to have a sansamp and a ton of markbass, I don't like mark (too clean and polite sounding) and I've never tried sans. Any recommendations on a decent pre that won't completely break the bank? Looking for a good, gritty, almost gk-like tone.

[CL400Peavey]

Aguilar Tone Hammer...

[abemo]

Been looking into that one, do they just sell the pedal style or is there a rackmount option?

[dincz]

No it won't do any harm. Just make sure that the output level of the preamp is enough to match the required FX loop level of the Carvin. If you're not sure whether you'll like a Sansamp BDDI, why not try a Behringer BDI21. Same sound for a LOT less money.

Take a look at this:
Sansamp BDDI vs Behringer BDI21 BLIND TEST!!!!

[abemo]

Thanks. Any way to test the required level for the fx return? Is there a better way to achieve this or am I looking on the right track?