[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Mking

Going straight into the amp does sound fine. I just wanted more than the Ultrasound provides EQ wise. Also, I've had a couple of sound men tell me that without the pre-amp, they were close to running out of gain on the channel I was plugged into.

Hi Mking
If you go K&K out, into a Direct Box ¼" in then XLR out into a snake, you should not have any issues with a hot enough signal to a PA board, even passively. The K&K Pure mini is one of the hottest output pickups I've ever worked with. Were you sending line level signal via a Direct Box to the PA?

The reason for using an inline preamp is for the tone control, not merely signal boost.

I use UltraSound amps, and never go out of the UltraSound's XLR output BECAUSE I don't have as consistent results from the amp output as a direct box. It's just for my stage monitor (unless I'm in a really small coffee house or other small venue).

My typical signal chain is Guitar-->Preamp-->Snake (and stage Amp simultaneously)-->PA board.

This permits me to adjust volume, tone and effects on the stage amp without touching or affecting the house signal (which pleases Sound Techs greatly).. Techs do not like artists adjusting volume or tone on the fly if it affects the house (which they have taken the time and effort to adjust for best sound).