Members Bubba5151 Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Newbie question, I know, but can someone explain the purpose of a preamp in a bass rig. I thought preamps were mainly for the purpose of getting distortion. I'm a guitar player so I'm a bass moron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members way2fat Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Newbie question, I know, but can someone explain the purpose of a preamp in a bass rig. I thought preamps were mainly for the purpose of getting distortion. I'm a guitar player so I'm a bass moron. Pedals are for distortion. You want tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bubba5151 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Pedals are for distortion. You want tight. You missed the true question. I don't care about getting any kind of distortion. I want to know the PURPOSE of a preamp in a bass rig. Why does one need one? Why isn't a power amp enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 The purpose of a preamp is to boost the input signal from a guitar/bass to a level where a power amp can work with it. Even combos have preamps in them. In the case of a combo or bass/guitar head the preamp section is an integral part of the amp. The preamp stage is where all of the tone circuits, overdrive, compression, volume control (etc) is done. All the power amp section does is take the signal from the preamp, boost it and feed it to the speakers. Many bassists like to use separate preamp/power amp arrangements for their flexibility and it makes it much easier to add things like compressors, equalizers and crossovers which work at line-level input/output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bubba5151 Posted March 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 The purpose of a preamp is to boost the input signal from a guitar/bass to a level where a power amp can work with it. Even combos have preamps in them. In the case of a combo or bass/guitar head the preamp section is an integral part of the amp. The preamp stage is where all of the tone circuits, overdrive, compression, volume control (etc) is done. All the power amp section does is take the signal from the preamp, boost it and feed it to the speakers.Many bassists like to use separate preamp/power amp arrangements for their flexibility and it makes it much easier to add things like compressors, equalizers and crossovers which work at line-level input/output. Thanks for a great explanation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members way2fat Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Thanks for a great explanation! And there are some rigs that you could probably go straight into a power amp from like active pups with a high output into a power amp with high input sensitivity. The pre amp is for your tone also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 And there are some rigs that you could probably go straight into a power amp from like active pups with a high output into a power amp with high input sensitivity. The pre amp is for your tone also. Whether the preamp is mounted in your rack or in your bass it's still a preamp. Some basses have active electronics that are hot enough to run a power amp directly, but I don't recommend doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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