Members crunchyjax Posted March 1, 2015 Members Share Posted March 1, 2015 We are a new band (rock and roll cover band), just starting to get some gigs (hopefully!). No sound man (or woman) yet, so feeling our way around. We have a general question about acoustic guitars. Should these be plugged directly into the mixer, or into the guitar amps we use for our electrics and mic the amps? Similar question for the keyboard - should that have its own amp and be miked, or plug directly into the mixer? What are the pros and cons and issues to consider? Will appreciate any help from this more experienced community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted March 1, 2015 Members Share Posted March 1, 2015 Get a DI for each acoustic. Plug the acoustic into the DI and then into a board channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted March 1, 2015 Members Share Posted March 1, 2015 DIs are the right answer. But if you can reach your mixer with a cord that is less than about 15' long, you can get away with plugging right into it. The keyboard can also plugged into the board under similar circumstances, but you have to consider the fact that keyboards make no noise on their own. What is your stage monitoring situation? When you say "Rock and Roll", do mean Buddy Holly or Ozzy Osbourne? Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted March 1, 2015 Members Share Posted March 1, 2015 Plug your instrument/s, keys, acoustic guitars into this. Get one for each instrument you want to run direct. Plug 1/4 cable IN to the direct box and run XLR out to your mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 1, 2015 Members Share Posted March 1, 2015 Depends on the guitar. If it's an active guitar (onboard preamp) then a passive DI is fine, but if it's a passive guitar, an active DI may sound (much) better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crunchyjax Posted March 5, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 5, 2015 When you say "Rock and Roll", do mean Buddy Holly or Ozzy Osbourne? Wes Certainly more Buddy Holly than Ozzy. But even more like Creedence, Beatles, Stones, Bonnie Raitt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Art Flood Posted March 5, 2015 Members Share Posted March 5, 2015 Going into the PA is the best option if you have decent PA including fold back speakers and enough aux sends. If you don't have these, you will struggle to hear yourself and separate amps for the keys and acoustic guitars may actually work better. A lot of amps have direct line outs that can be used to connect to the PA if you need to. An acoustic guitar can sound great through a nice acoustic guitar amp (but usually lousy through a normal guitar amp). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted March 5, 2015 Members Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm seeing a lot of players around here using Fishman amps for their acoustic guitar monitoring needs. They sound quite good to my ear, and have a balanced out on the back for sending straight to the PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted March 5, 2015 Members Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm seeing a lot of players around here using Fishman amps for their acoustic guitar monitoring needs. They sound quite good to my ear' date=' and have a balanced out on the back for sending straight to the PA.[/quote'] I have two guys regularly that use their Fishman Loudbox Mini as a monitor -- placed next to their foldback and angled up steeply -- then give me the DI out for the house. I'd just as soon skip the amp entirely but it makes them happy and works for me -- well, at least until they want more and more of their vocals in their monitor and I ask/tell them to turn down instead. Did I mention I'd just a soon skip the amp entirely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madjack Posted March 6, 2015 Members Share Posted March 6, 2015 Since I play in different situations with different groups at times, and as a keyboardist/guitarist, I currently use a small mixer (small enough to sit on my keyboard) for my keys, acoustic, and electric pedalboard, then send one line out to foh and another to a small powered monitor for myself onstage. Were I working regularly with a soundperson, instead of people mixing onstage, I would simply use DIs to the mixers and let the soundpeople take care of it. It all depends on your situation and available gear. When I first purchased my acoustic to use live, I spent a little time at local stores finding an acoustic guitar and amp combo that I liked the sound of together; much the same as for an electric/amp setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike M Posted March 18, 2015 Members Share Posted March 18, 2015 When providing for sound-for-hire gigs I prefer to use a DI for acoustic guitars. Since my snake is XLR at the stagebox it makes sense for me to do so. Some amps do have a "direct out" built-in but I prefer to use a separate passive DI instead of the built-in as the ground-lift switch on the passive DI comes in handy more times than not. In addition to a few passive DI's I always bring along an active DI. I have yet to use my active DI on a gig as passive DI's have worked for me. Mike M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 19, 2015 Members Share Posted March 19, 2015 Quality acoustic amps have DI's with ground lift switches too... just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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