Peavey Forum

Yes they are different and the preamp out is taken usually right before the splitter tube and is exactly what it says. A preamp out used to go to an amplifiers return,power amp or possibly interface or even an amp input if a low pregain is used.

The line out is taken from the speaker out and a 2.2k resistor is wired in from the speaker out to ground. That signal is used to go directly to the mixing board as a line level signal for direct recording.

There may be technical differences, but really, they amount to the same thing. For example if an amp has an FX send and a preamp out, the difference is usually nothing more than a preamp out is after a master volume control and the FX send is before it. But both are still line level outputs. If an amp has both preamp out and line out, both will be line level, but the line out will probably be as KB describes, while the preamp out will come from the end of the preamp.

If you amp only has one line level output - FX send, preamp out, line out, record out, slave out - then that is all you have, so try it.

Your bandit is a solid state amp, so a speaker-derived line out doesn;t add the power stage tube compression that would come from a tube amp. So I think such distinctions matter less for you.

I am sorry to revive such an old thread, but this was what I was searching for. I think I understand, but just to clarify, If I had a level line out, on a tube amp, would I be getting power tube distortion, or just Preamp? The way I think I understand is that you would get the entire amp signal, minus whatever your speaker would do. If you were to add to. or had a small amp with a level line out. could you use that into a larger amp, even a Solid State, like a Peavey Chorus 212, as a power tube distortion pedal? Thank you very much. I have learned a ton on this site.

Enzo, triguy joined 13 minutes before you, on the exact same day!

I don't know much about this, but I'll take a stab at it. If I'm screwing this up, someone will call it out, and that's cool with me.

I think it would depend on if your particular amp's Line Level output is before the power amp, or after the power amp.
If it's after the power amp, it would have some sort of attenuator circuit, to reduce the voltage to a safe line level, which is about 1 volt.
A regular speaker output voltage can be 30 volts, or more, at times. Way too much to feed into another amp input.
Supposedly, power tubes usually must be pushed very hard before they distort.
Normally, power attenuators, like the power soak, or power brake, are used between a speaker output, and a powerfully clean power amplifier, and on to another speaker/cabinet, to achieve what you're seeking, I think.

Last edited by tele twister on Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

5150 212 Combo, XXL5150 212 FrankenCombo, 5150 412
TT Supreme, TT Bandit, '89 Stereo Chorus 212
'92 & '94 Predators, '94 Reactor, 92/94 FrankenPred
DDL-3, SRP-16

Bandit, Bandit 65s, Bandit 112, CC 212, EFX 212, Dentonator, Gen EXP