The most common use of this out is to go straight to a mixer, and then to the house speakers, or maybe from the mixer into a computer to be recorded. The preamp out is an alternative you should use when you want your instrument’s signal to take a path different than the one presented by your amp. Many amps offer you this alternative in their backplate. On many amps inserting a plug into the power amp in will disconnect the amp’s preamp from the power amp. It lets you get a signal to work with without having to make your speakers work (or your power section, at least).
The preamp out is just a backdoor to your preamp. This out is usually hardwired directly into the power section. The preamp out doesn’t do anything particularly different than what your amp would do normally. What is a preamp out and what does it do?Ī preamp out is basically the option to skip the power section of your amp and send the signal past the preamp stage to where you plug the other end of your cable into. Nowadays it’s normal to have a gain stage in the preamp, before going into the power section. And their influence in tone is as important.įor instance, early overdriven sounds were generated by cranking the amp’s volume, making the power section saturate. Not all guitar amps have power sections, but most do. They’re mainly preamps, actually, some could argue. Do all guitar amps have preamps?Īs far as what can be defined as a traditional guitar amp, they all have preamps built-in. Particularly, the preamp section is the one that usually lets you modify the signal with EQ. Instrument level signal -> Preamp/Line level -> Power section/Outboard gear -> SpeakersĪs we said before, both the preamp and power sections affect your tone. What a usual signal chain ends up looking like is: Line level is a standard that’s strong enough to be directly recorded or to be then sent forward to a power section that amplifies it even more so it can push the speakers. When you put that weak signal through a preamp it gets amplified (d’uh…) to what’s called line level. The signal that comes out of your guitar pickups is not strong enough to “move” your amp’s speakers, or even register in your computer if you’re recording it. The preamp part of things is what happens first. The final sound that you hear when playing your instrument through it is heavily influenced by these two stages. Your amp is, most likely, comprised of 2 stages: The preamp and the power section.