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Perhaps a really dumb question but can you run a pickup with an onboard preamp through an external preamp? If you have a passive pickup (K&K) I assume there isn't enough voltage to push any volume but if you have a simple onboard preamp (Fishman Prefix) and want to equalize etc. can you run through another preamp? Should you remove the battery in the guitar?

Thanks!

BigBear--If you are just looking to equalize and filter post-preamp you can run it through a direct box (I use an LR Baggs ParaAcoustic DI). I use a passive K&K pickup and get plenty of power to the amp with just a direct box. I don't see any problems with using it in conjunction with a preamp. The direct box acts as kind of a preamp but should be fine to connect to the output of a preamp. If you have a local music store you can ask if they'll allow you to bring in your setup and play through another preamp just to answer your question.

By the way, even without a preamp or direct box my passive pickup gets a surprising amount of power to the amp!