OT as buffer?

[bill mountain]

I had an idea this morning.

Would I be able to use a small output transformer instead of a tube buffer in a bass guitar preamp I am building?

Would I be able to achieve an ultra low impedance at the preamps output?

Would I be able to saturate the OT to get some interesting tones when I overdrive the pre?

Thanks for all your help!

[andrew_k]

Sure, here's one designed for the task: EDCOR Electronics Corporation. XSM15K/600 They have others for 15K:150ohm if you want to go lower than line-level.

[bill mountain]

Originally Posted by andrew_k

Sure, here's one designed for the task: EDCOR Electronics Corporation. XSM15K/600 They have others for 15K:150ohm if you want to go lower than line-level.

Thanks for the hot tip!

I checked Jensen and Lundhal. I always forget about Edcor!

[bill mountain]

I think I'm going to go this route. That Edcor is pretty cheap so If it doesn't work out for me it won't be a huge waste of money.

I have one last question that I can't find the answer to here or with google.

If I put the master volume pot after the transformer (so I can attempt to get some saturation in the the tranny) how do I calculate my actual output impedance. I believe the pot will affect is some how.

Thanks!

[analog_sa]

Originally Posted by bill mountain

Would I be able to achieve an ultra low impedance at the preamps output?

No idea what is your definition for "ultra low impedance" but it's not likely you will be able to achieve this using a transformer, even with a step-down. A pot at the output will make it a lot worse.

[bill mountain]

I guess ultra low impedance would be like an opamp. I thought maybe using a transformer could get me in the same ballpark. A cathode follower will work fine but I was looking for something to experiement with.