randymussel Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) Hi there, This may be one of those questions that lots of people want asked but are afraid to themselves for fear of looking stupid, or just a stupid question. God bless the anonymity of the net for avoiding social embarassment for one's ignorance. Here goes: What exactly constitutes a 'preamp'? Thinking literally, is it just anything that I do to my signal before it gets to the power amp, so potentially my whole guitar tone pots - pedal board - input gain - eq setup? Is it specifically a tone-shaping stage before it gets amplified, so I could just point to my (for example) Boss GEB-7 and ODB-3 and say that they comprise my pre-amp? As far as I can tell it can be attached to the guitar, contained within a pedal, or the initial few knobs of the amp head, but what defines what is, and what is not, a preamp? Thanks! Edited October 19, 2011 by randymussel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) You're kinda right on all accounts as such. A pre amp is a signal booster that "heats up" the signal before the power amp gets it. This could be the Active electronics in your bass, a pedal such as a DHA VT1 or Sansamp BDDi, or the input & tone section on your head (amp, not human). Have a read at some of the pinned sections such as "Gain, Power & Volume", "Valve amp Vs Solid state amp", "DI Boxes & playing through the PA" & of course "The Wiki". Edited to say "those topics are in the "Amps & Cabs" forum. Edited October 19, 2011 by xgsjx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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