New Declaration - and thus, another Question:

[PurplePlexiEater]

New M.O. - I no longer use the 1 watt amps as a preamp to the "loop return input" of my YJM, simply because of all of the hassle, such as level matching ("where's unity gain again...?"), am I slamming my effects too hard or not enough, and hiss that makes you wonder if you're standing near a pit of vipers (the litany of cables contributes to this effect). Now I simply slam both front end channels with a pedal that gives me a tube boost in stereo - in this case, an effectrode Delta Trem, which is on all the time; I just keep the depth control backed off for no Trem. Of course, wanting actual Trem can be weird - because both sides are plugged in stereo (into a non-stereo amp), even with the depth all the way up, the effect is subtle at best. Interesting (because of the different waveforms and speeds), but VERY subtle. BUT, as such (and because of the walloping but balanced boost output), this is what makes it such a great boost. Even with the Trem all the way up, with a healthy dose of echo, the solo we did on Pink Floyd's "Time" sounded phenomenal - NOT exactly the album tone, but it almost sounded more like the album than the album, if that makes any sense... And don't get me started on the 'Halen covers - those get knocked out of the park all the time by, I dunno, name your favorite hitter: Hamilton, Pujols, Jeter, A-Rod (personally, if I were in NY as a Yankees fan, I'll take Jeter - but I'm in TX, so it's Hamilton).

Not to say this is a "better sounding" setup (the JMP1C might have a slight edge), but my greater concern is whether or not this "double boost" approach is hurting the amp. Marshalls are famous for, not indestructibility, but the ability to take any pounding you wanna give the inputs short of a .45 caliber slug. I'm thinking my current approach is not hurting the amp. I just want to make sure. Thanks guys!

[surfnorthwest]

Whatever works for you go with it. No your not hurting the amp. Some amps are better then others to receive the 1 watters in the loops. I had a amp built that was designed specifically to slave the 1 watt heads.

[PurplePlexiEater]

Cool, thanks!

I know a lot of people use a boost and then jumper the channels, but the way it was explained to me (correctly or not) was that this was somewhat akin to using a boost and a "y-cord", as opposed to giving both sides the same goosing (like I'm doing). Good to hear this won't make it pop, as it's a blinking plexi volcano now!

Thanks again!