Small mixer vs Play Acoustic for simple solo rig

[JackB1]

OK, I've been playing solo acoustic gigs with my play acoustic and one 10" powered speaker and like most things about it. I use the play acoustic for mostly vocal effects and harmonies. Haven't started looping yet. Use some reverb for guitar. Only dislike with the Play Acoustic is all the hidden menu driven settings that are hard to change on the fly. Not every place has the same acoustics and it would be nice to just have some knobs to worry about instead. This is where a mixer might be nice instead of the Play Acoustic. Of course I would need one with reverb, delay, etc. But then I would also need separate pedals for harmonies and possibly looping if I ever go in that direction. The Play Acoustic is a wonderful unit and it's extremely powerful and can do many things with all the presets, but I just don't have time to mess with all the settings and use it properly. My gig time is basically my practice time, so I have to learn and add everything in live situations. I used to have a Perform VG Unit, which was like a simplified Play Acoustic pedal and I sometimes miss than simplicity.

Would I be better off with a small mixer + a pedal or two or just keep things as is and dive deeper into the Play Acoustic or possibly a simpler "all in one" effects pedal to replace the Play Acoustic?

[gfirob]

I use the Play Acoustic with a small Mackie mixer because I want to be able to adjust levels in a simpler way than the Play Acoustic allows. I also play both acoustic and electric guitars in the set so I have a delay and a reverb pedal for the electric guitars. When I use the Play Acoustic, I have one basic setup that I have customized and that is all I use so I don't change from setting to setting.

[YamahaGuy]

I have lately been playing as a duo or in a band setting. For those situations, I don't really use the Play Acoustic since I have REAL harmony vocals and I use a small mixer for the duo, large mixer for the band.

If I were playing solo, I'd still probably use the Play Acoustic with a mixer. It's nice to be able to add additional effects to the guitar without having to dive into 3 submenus.

As cool as the Play Acoustic is, I'm so accustomed to using a small mixer, I doubt I'd ever (now) use the Play Acoustic on it's own direct to a powered speaker.

All that said, having a small mixer on hand is always helpful, especially if you're going to use a couple guitars, or add another singer or player to your group. Also, the quickness with which on the fly changes can be made is so worth it.

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

I have lately been playing as a duo or in a band setting. For those situations, I don't really use the Play Acoustic since I have REAL harmony vocals and I use a small mixer for the duo, large mixer for the band.

If I were playing solo, I'd still probably use the Play Acoustic with a mixer. It's nice to be able to add additional effects to the guitar without having to dive into 3 submenus.

As cool as the Play Acoustic is, I'm so accustomed to using a small mixer, I doubt I'd ever (now) use the Play Acoustic on it's own direct to a powered speaker.

All that said, having a small mixer on hand is always helpful, especially if you're going to use a couple guitars, or add another singer or player to your group. Also, the quickness with which on the fly changes can be made is so worth it.

Which Yamaha mixer do you use?

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by Marty C

Which Yamaha mixer do you use?

I have an older Yamaha MG8CX I used to use (and still do, but now for a drum mixer for the band), a Yamaha MG06X, a Yamaha MG10XU (which is my primary mixer with the duo), and a Yamaha MG16XU I use with the band.

I really like the delay and 1 knob compression on the MG10XU.

[Marty C]

Thanks. Been looking for a new mixer. I want knobs as well. I like the sound of the Play Acoustic, but it’s just too hard to dive into menus constantly. Plus, the lack of EQ adjustments for vocal and hard to adjust EQ on my guitar.

I tried a battery powered Behringer 1002B to work together with the Play Acoustic. But again what effects sounds good at home, don’t mean they sound good somewhere else. Plus I prefer compact. It has no effects so I was forced to use the reverb on my Bose S1 Pro or use the Play Acoustic together with it.

I may try to MG06X first to see if I can get what I want and avoid the Play Acoustic altogether. Or, maybe step up to the MG10xu. However I really want battery power.

I don’t like the digital mixers either. They seem unreliable and too much tweaking for me. I don’t need so many variables to work with. Just quick and easy.

[JackB1]

I seem to be looking for the same. I like the Play Acoustic, but all the submenus get to be too much sometimes. I would like just some knobs to fine tune my sound at each venue during sound check. Would have to be a mixer that allows more than one effect per channel though. Like reverb + delay for vocals.

Originally Posted by Marty C

Thanks. Been looking for a new mixer. I want knobs as well. I like the sound of the Play Acoustic, but it’s just too hard to dive into menus constantly. Plus, the lack of EQ adjustments for vocal and hard to adjust EQ on my guitar.

I may try to MG06X first to see if I can get what I want and avoid the Play Acoustic altogether. Or, maybe step up to the MG10xu. However I really want battery power.

[Kalani]

You may want to check out the Soundcraft Notepad 8fx—-tiny footprint and sounds great! It has 3-band eq and built-in reverb and delay w/tap tempo (usable simultaneously) but I’ve never figured out a good sounding delay setting so I just use the reverb. Perfect little mixer for solo gigs but I’ve also used it for duos too.

[JackB1]

Your remark about the delay has me a little concerned though.
But it has all I need for vocals and guitar....reverb, delay and chorus


Kalani, You still using the Perform VG?

Originally Posted by Kalani

You may want to check out the Soundcraft Notepad 8fx—-tiny footprint and sounds great! It has 3-band eq and built-in reverb and delay w/tap tempo (usable simultaneously) but I’ve never figured out a good sounding delay setting so I just use the reverb. Perfect little mixer for solo gigs but I’ve also used it for duos too.

[Methos1979]

We used to use the Boss VE-8 which was a decent enough pedal and had some knobs, some menus. You had to dial in the EQ on the menus but once you had that you were all set and the knobs were good for other things. It also had a built-in looper and harmonizer. But as we matured a few things became apparent: I'd likely never use the looper live (it was great to test volume levels in venues pre-show but that's about it) and the harmonizer was hit or miss. I did like that it could be powered with 6 AA batteries as we like going all battery these days. The issue issue was lack of inputs. Only two, one guitar, one mic.

So we bought the relatively new EAE StompMix X6 digital mixer. 6 inputs, super easy and intuitive interface, knobs and menus but very logical and easy to use layout, even on the fly, great sounding reverb, chorus and delay effects AND it can run on an internal lithium rechargeable battery. We've been using it ever since and now our rig is the ultimate in small footprint - just two mics, one mic stand, one guitar, the X6 and a Bose S1. We run on battery only even in places where there is power available. I did a video review on mine which you can see if you click on my review link below and scroll down to the middle. It's a pro piece of kit for sure.

[Kalani]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Kalani, You still using the Perform VG?

I’ve never used it, in fact I don’t even know what that is, lol. You might be confusing me with someone else.

[JackB1]

Yes sorry about that - never mind

Originally Posted by Kalani

I’ve never used it, in fact I don’t even know what that is, lol. You might be confusing me with someone else.