pre amps??

[zehBOOM]

ok so im kinda new at this stuff.. what exactly is a pre amp and can you put a pre amp inside a different amp and get the pre amps sound rather than the amp you have?

more specifically if i got a 500 watt pre amp and put it in my 80 watt peavey head would i get more headroom and better tone out of it?

 

[René_Julien]

short answer:

nope.. a preamp has nothing to do with wattage (well in the simple answer this is true), what power you send to your cabs.

a preamp is what you need to drive a poweramp
the use of preamps is for different tone.


There are a lot of FAQs to read on this.
just tone, not power


edit:

I don't know what amp you have.
I assume it's a combo?????
Your amp most likely is a preamp+poweramp in one, as most common bass amps are.
You can go with a seperate preamp into the poweramp of what you own, bypassing the built-in preamp by going into the effects-return.
Or you can put a seperate preamp in-line with the preamp in your Peavy, by going into the stand-alone preamp into the regular input of your amp.

There are different sorts of preamps: rack-units, pedals, or built-into your bass (active basses with batteries.)

I know it's confusing at first.

 

[René_Julien]

http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/preamp.shtml


useful reading

 

[zehBOOM]

thanks.. that answered a lot of questions i had that i didnt put in that thread

 

[René_Julien]

thanks.. that answered a lot of questions i had that i didnt put in that thread

np


Why do you think you need a preamp?

It's seems your initial thought was more power.
You probably want to upgrade your 80W amp first if you are going to play in a band, wether it's just practicing or gigging.


What do you have? And where do you want to go? (tone, music style, realistic playing venues,...)


You might get more tailored responses to all your ponderings about amps.
And along the way people will teach you the technical side behind it all.


The problem is, the more you know, the more you are lusting for new gear. GAS... gear aquisition syndrome.

 

[RickenBoogie]

+1 what you want is a more powerful amplifier, and more speakers to go with it. If you focus, and save every penny you get, you could put together a really nice, loud bass rig for around $600-750, buying used gear.