If I'm using an active bass with an outboard preamp, is it best to bybass the onboard pre? I've got both the Sadowsy and Fodera outboard preamps and I like to use them sometimes with active basses. I've got a Smith 5, which I can bypass on, but the Modulus Q5 I have, I can't bypass the onboard. Is it possible to have too many gain stages and will I damage anything with too many preamps in the chain?
If I'm correct, the only concern you'll have with outboard preamps is too high of a signal going into your amp's preamp stage. If you can adjust the preamp to account for the extra power, I don't think you'll be doing anything wrong. It might not sound great, but then again, it might.
If you have a couple of really great basses, and an amp with tone controls, why do you need another preamp in between? You might have a tone you like, but it seems like all that circuitry is just going to degrade the overall signal in the end. jd
