Solid State Guitar Amp Forum | DIY Guitar Amplifiers

Hi all,

I am quite new to amplifiers, I get the basics but have a little technical question. I just got an Orange Micro Dark hybrid (tube preamp/ SS power amp) that I am plugging into a 2x12 cab and that's quite nice for practicing at home. The Orange MD has an effects loop and I had an idea of splitting the loop signal into wet/dry and sending the wet (mostly for delay) into another practice amp I have, a Roland Cube 20 (an 80s, orange version one) and dry into the Orange power amp (as usual). The thing is, the Roland doesn't have an effects loop, so I would have to send the wet into the amps line in. Is this at all doable? I figure I'd ask before I blow up my Roland, which I like quite a lot.

And in general, is it ok to plug an effects loop out into the line in of another amp (tube or solid state)? From what I understand, the preamp stage of an amp functions in a similar way than an OD/Preamp pedal, so that should be fine?

Any thoughts/concerns/ideas are welcome!

Thank you so much!

Quote from: monte on March 20, 2024, 08:40:04 AMHi all,

I am quite new to amplifiers, I get the basics but have a little technical question. I just got an Orange Micro Dark hybrid (tube preamp/ SS power amp) that I am plugging into a 2x12 cab and that's quite nice for practicing at home. The Orange MD has an effects loop and I had an idea of splitting the loop signal into wet/dry and sending the wet (mostly for delay) into another practice amp I have, a Roland Cube 20 (an 80s, orange version one) and dry into the Orange power amp (as usual). The thing is, the Roland doesn't have an effects loop, so I would have to send the wet into the amps line in. Is this at all doable? I figure I'd ask before I blow up my Roland, which I like quite a lot.

And in general, is it ok to plug an effects loop out into the line in of another amp (tube or solid state)? From what I understand, the preamp stage of an amp functions in a similar way than an OD/Preamp pedal, so that should be fine?

Any thoughts/concerns/ideas are welcome!

Thank you so much!

While some may not consider it best practice, in reality it shouldn't be a problem at all.  I would do this without hesitation.  The only thing to not do is to hook up the speaker output to the guitar input on another amplifier...that is a very bad idea.

Thanks for the input!

I understand it likely not being best practice. I slowly I want to upgrade to a more 'grown-up' and proper set up, but for now I thought this could be cool for some experimentation. As long as I am not blowing anything up. ;D

Quote from: monte on March 20, 2024, 09:12:51 AMThanks for the input!

I understand it likely not being best practice. I slowly I want to upgrade to a more 'grown-up' and proper set up, but for now I thought this could be cool for some experimentation. As long as I am not blowing anything up. ;D

I say go for it!

How are you going to get both wet and dry outs from the Orange?

I'm not 100% sold on the idea, the effects send signal can be too much to plug into the guitar input. If you keep the level down in the Orange it should be ok maybe.
If your Roland Cube has an auxiliary input then that should be able to handle it ok
If you have 2 inputs the normal one can handle 56mV and the overdrive one can handle 10mV so use the normal one if you do try the guitar in socket.