Setting up Mixer with Mic'd amp...

[Freedbaby]

I am playing my first gig coming up with a buddy of mine. He will be playing electric and acoustic, I will be playing acoustic.

I can find plenty of information and videos on how to Mic the electric amp as far as placement and what mic to use, but I can't find much on settings and gains and how to set it up and in what order.

also, since it will be in close proximity to me, how do I set it up correctly and not get blown away and only hear the amp.

Equipment:
Vox AC10
SM57 mic
Soundcraft EFX12
EV 12" 1000 watt powered speakers
JBL eon 15" for monitor.

Any help is appreciated.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Freedbaby

I am playing my first gig coming up with a buddy of mine. He will be playing electric and acoustic, I will be playing acoustic.

I can find plenty of information and videos on how to Mic the electric amp as far as placement and what mic to use, but I can't find much on settings and gains and how to set it up and in what order.

also, since it will be in close proximity to me, how do I set it up correctly and not get blown away and only hear the amp.

Equipment:
Vox AC10
SM57 mic
Soundcraft EFX12
EV 12" 1000 watt powered speakers
JBL eon 15" for monitor.

Any help is appreciated.

First I would have the amp right beside/awayside or behind your buddy, not by between you and him (because IMO from the audience perspective it is more believable if the electric sound is more localized to the electric player, than spread equally between the two main PA speakers

Second have your buddy determine what the lowest volume setting on the amp is to get a reasonable un-mic'ed sound as a reference and start there at the venue soundcheck.

Then when you get to venue, have him play through just the amp un-mic'ed and you listen at about 2/3 rds the way back into the venue and see how loud it is
(it should be hearable but not be blaring loud)

Then depending on how loud the amp by itself is I would set it on the mixer output meters about 15% to 30% less on the electric channel than the acoustics (since it is going to have both the PA and the amp combined volume level going out to the audience

Or if the venue is pretty small skip mic'ing the amp and just try to match the amp volume to the acoustics volume

[Freedbaby]

Originally Posted by KevWind

First I would have the amp right beside/awayside or behind your buddy, not by between you and him

Second have your buddy determine what the lowest volume setting on the amp is to get a reasonable un-mic'ed sound .

The when you get to venue have him play through just the amp un-mic'ed and and you listen at about 2/3 the way back into the venue and see how loud it is
(it should not be blaring loud)

Then depending on how loud the amp by itself is I would set it on the mixer meters about 15% to 25% less than the acoustics (since it is going to have both the PA and the amp combined volume level going out to the audience

ok, all good information. How about Gain on the board?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Freedbaby

ok, all good information. How about Gain on the board?

I would start with the gain at 0 db to start on the electric channel and set the output fader so when soloing that channel the output meters are averaging about 15-30% less then when soloing the acoustic guitar channel . These are just rough guesses but it's a place to start

Very generally unless you're getting feedback, I like the input gain at 0 and then mix the levels with the output faders

I just looked at the manual for that mixer, so I would start with the output fader at 0 and then start the gain at 30 or 1/2 way ( if 15 is "line" level then I am guessing the mic will need more ) then adjust the gain to get the output meters averaging 0 or below then adjust the electric channel output fader to get the reduction in relation to the acoustics
I am by no means an expert and there are lots of variables involve but that is where I would probably start .