Preamp to head

[agedhorse]

Well -- it depends on the preamp. For ecample the Headway EBD-2 HE. The lineout is line level and does not sound good on my AI Series III main input so it goes on the FX return but on the smy Frenzel tube amp, the return is instrument level but they have added a preamp in which accepts line level, There is a difference specially with headroom . On the Streamliner 600, I use the Aux in, which I believe is line level and it sounds better than the return.. Especially when using the Headway EBD-2, It really matters with this preamp. It will work okay but just works better if you match the input types.

You will probably not encounter these issues 99% of the time but it's a use case that some people will encounter. I think with your intended amp, you are good to go

The effects return and Aux inputs are at exactly the same point on the Streamliner, the aux in us summing and the effects return is interrupting, both are line level.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Has anyone placed their preamp pedal at the end of their chain and plugged it into the return on their head to keep the preamp sound untouched by the head EQ?

I've done that a LOT and it works well. I bought an Eden WTDI, which is a DI box with a built-in Eden WT preamp. Sounds just like I do through my big Eden WT500/800 (800-watts rms) or Eden TN226 class D amp (225-watts rms) into Eden or DNA speaker cabs. When I moved to Washington state in 2015 I ended up playing in 2 groups. One of them had a standing Friday night gig from 7 until 10PM hosting an Open Mic night at a local brewpub. Rolled in my DNS-410 cab by DNA the first night that I played there and the owner said, "That's way too much for here. Use that." He was pointing at a Peavey 112 combo. Never could get a sound I liked out of that Peavey so I bought the WTDI; plugged my bass into it; and plugged the unbalanced line level out into the effects-return/in of that little Peavey combo. Voila' it sounded like I was playing through my Eden amps.

There were numerous places that either insisted on using their backline or going straight to their soundboard without an amp. I've used it on Peavey, GK, Ampeg, MarkBass, acoustic, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some others. If you want to be funny, particularly if someone is trying to figure out your settings, just go to that backline amp and twist the dials and push in the buttons to all kinds of strange setups. It will still sound like an Eden a amp (clear, clean, full, with a great bottom end).

I did that one time to a guy who was trying to see what my settings were during a break. He asked how I was getting my sound out of that amp. I finally had him come up and showed him my WTDI plugged into that effects-return bypassing the amps built-in preamp entirely. Explained all I was feeding my preamp's signal into the amp's power section and speaker cab(S). I told him to go ahead ans set the amp's EQ wherever he wanted because it would make no difference in my sound at all. He got the humor of that and did twist some knobs to some ridiculous settings. I'll take my humor wherever I can get it.

I also used that WTDI for a pro recording studio sessioin in Seattle that insisted I run direct to the board because of too much cross-talk of the bass in the drums since we were in the same room. With my '82 Jazz I run the Bass and Treble EQ flat; toggle the mids to low-mids at 500Hz; and boost that to 1:30. Compressor is off, Enhance (shape) is off, and bass boost is off. At the end of the 3-hour session both the the sound engineer and the owner of the studio came out of the control room to see what the heck I was using that sounded so good. On the pre-production takes they recorded the signal as I sent it, adjusting only the levels to fit with the rest of the group.

Eden has been sold and no longer make this though you can find them used. Mine was $149 new (bought in 2016 if I recall correctly) and the last "new" price I saw on one was $179. Lowest price I've seen used is $99 and most expensive used price was $189. Most major manufacturers make "DI with preamp" pedals and prices are all over the place. If you have a favorite brand, their pedal should make whatever backline you use sound like playing through your favorite amp when you plug the preamp pedal into the effects-in. That's because it bypasses the amp's preamp when you do that. I ALWAYS keep my WTDI in my gig bag.

 

[logdrum]

The effects return and Aux inputs are at exactly the same point on the Streamliner, the aux in us summing and the effects return is interrupting, both are line level.

That was my undertanding as well. Are they sitting on basically the same signal path. What is the behavior if I I used an instrument level pedal like an old Boss reverb or chorus. aren't those instrument level,

From my point of view, it sounds slightly better using AUX in using this preamp, The preamp also has a parallel FX and I can also take the signal off the Send of the preamp but then it is I cannot mute which is a must for my use case. That signal behaves like a normal out of a pedal preamp meaning it works with the normal amp input

 

[DaveParker39]

Totally reasonable

 

[agedhorse]

That was my undertanding as well. Are they sitting on basically the same signal path. What is the behavior if I I used an instrument level pedal like an old Boss reverb or chorus. aren't those instrument level,

From my point of view, it sounds slightly better using AUX in using this preamp, The preamp also has a parallel FX and I can also take the signal off the Send of the preamp but then it is I cannot mute which is a must for my use case. That signal behaves like a normal out of a pedal preamp meaning it works with the normal amp input

Shouldn't make any difference, though there may be a small level difference due to the way the auto-summing circuit works with a mono source.

The signal path is essentially identical.

 

[lowendrachel]

I was doing this. I forgot about it. I'll do this again.

 

[pbassnut]

Has anyone placed their preamp pedal at the end of their chain and plugged it into the return on their head to keep the preamp sound untouched by the head EQ?

Yes ... all the time. It works like a champ. I have an Ampeg B2-RE head that I use by itself with some of my basses or as a poweramp with my many rack mount preamps and preamp pedals via the poweramp-in or the effects return patch points (depending on whether I want to use it pre or post master volume).