There’s a few different ways you can connect the pedal and amp.
So, to be clear, if you do this:
guitar → pedal → G5 amp input
You will are actually doing this:
guitar → pedal → G5 pre-amp → G5 power amp → G5 speaker/cabinet
or, if you are using the line output:
guitar → pedal → G5 pre-amp → Cabinet emulation → headphones
So you will be taking the tones (including any fx) from the pedal, adding the G5 pre-amp tone, and then adding the G5 power amp, cabinet and speaker (or emulation) tones to that.
Everything is additive.
However, if you do this:
guitar → pedal → G5 amp FX return
You will actually be doing this:
guitar → pedal → G5 power amp → G5 speaker/cabinet
or, if you are using the line output:
guitar → pedal → Cabinet emulation → headphones
The difference here is the G5 pre-amp has been bypassed. The G5 pre-amp is where a lot of the tonal characteristic of the G5 comes from, especially on the overdrive channel.
This is what I meant by “bypassing the pre-amp”.
My personal view is that you probably DO want to bypass the G5 pre-amp when using the Tone King, which is why I suggested connecting the Tone King to the G5 via the FX Return.
The XLR outputs to the AI and the other connections to the amp are totally independent. So no need to worry about them.
Regarding signal strength, I wouldn’t worry about that. As long as you are using the amp output or amp return connections on the Tone King and either the amp input or FX return on the G5 you should be fine. The only thing you may need to do is play with the level switch on the FX loop to get it sounding right.
The only time you should make things go POP is if you do something wrong with the speaker outputs. Speaker outputs and other inputs/outputs do not mix.
Also, ensure the G5 always has a speaker connected, as running it without the speaker can damage the output.
Cheers,
Keith