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Author Topic:  Mixer for multi-instruments
Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 9:22 am    
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How do you multi instrumentalists route your steel guitars/elec guitars/mandolin/whatever to your amp? I'm tired of unplugging, plugging, changing eq, etc, when I change instruments. Can a small mixer like this one allow me to have everything plugged in so I can just grab the next instrument and start playing? I'd be sending the line out to my Twin Reverb.


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Doug Earnest


From:
Branson, MO USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 11:53 am    
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I did that for several years using a little Mackie mixer, similar to the one you have pictured. It worked fine. We were just playing local bar gigs, Moose clubs and such. No one in the audience ever complained.
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Kevin Mincke


From:
Farmington, MN (Twin Cities-South Metro) USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 12:32 pm    
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I've used a similar Behringer for steel,accordion,dobro,mando and currently use the Boss
LS-2 (3) instruments.
Radial Engineering makes a coule nice products for switching as well. Been looking at them myself.
http://www.radialeng.com/product_category/instrument-switchers
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Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 12:53 pm    
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this might be a better solution:

https://www.loop-master.com/abcdef-pedals-c-49.html?osCsid=ibkmgckhhboe6ng81r229ik8m3

smaller, true bypass, probably quieter, maybe even cheaper? If it was me I wouldn't want instruments running through mic pres, EQs, faders unnecessarily.

Also I don't think the mixer line out is what your amp wants to see.
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Greg Lambert

 

From:
Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 2:25 pm    
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A great Idea. I use one all the time. You can Eq , set the level etc for each instrument on the mixer.
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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 4 Feb 2019 11:59 pm    
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sure, why not ! Very Happy I have a 4 channel ( Behringer) that I have owned for well over 10 years that I have used for various "swap inputs" scenarios . Always performed well.
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Scott Duckworth


From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 3:42 am    
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I would suggest stepping up a little and get a mixer with mute buttons on each channel.
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Godfrey Arthur

 

From:
3rd Rock
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 7:42 am     Re: Mixer for multi-instruments
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Tim Whitlock wrote:
I'd be sending the line out to my Twin Reverb.


Although any decent mixer should work and in a pinch get by but the input impedance of your Twin is made for instrument level and set at a specific impedance and the line out of any one mixer will not be instrument level but "line" impedance.

Depending on how discreet you need to be, you might need an impedance corrector going from line to instrument to make good use of both devices, your mixer of choice and your Twin. 1M ohm on your Twin, 120 ohms main output on your mixer.

May need something like a reamp box that will convert your mixer line level to be compatible with the instrument level of your Twin if you want to do it right.


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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 9:04 am    
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Several outs available on these small mixers, Line, Control Room and Phones out. Just remember to pan one way or the other. An amp input can get by with them. Use #2 if it's to much gain .
_________________
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Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
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CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website
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Bill A. Moore


From:
Silver City, New Mexico, USA
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 10:15 am    
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One can mute the instruments with the mixer shown, by using the mic/line switch.
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Jeff Porter


From:
Stumptown, OR, USA
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 10:53 am    
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I've tried a small mixer into an amp and had mixed results. It was often noisey, and there were a lot of cables etc. to mess with.
Last tour I used one of these and it worked great. Simple and enough control for what I do.
http://www.radialeng.com/product/bigshot-io
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Ken Morgan

 

From:
Midland, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 12:13 pm    
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Jeff Porter wrote:
I've tried a small mixer into an amp and had mixed results. It was often noisey, and there were a lot of cables etc. to mess with.
Last tour I used one of these and it worked great. Simple and enough control for what I do.
http://www.radialeng.com/product/bigshot-io


This was my thought as well...eliminates level & impedance issues, silent switching, etc...

Two of these could offer 4 instruments, a pair into the normal and a pair into the reverb channel...

Just a thought
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Ken Morgan
Midland, TX
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Godfrey Arthur

 

From:
3rd Rock
Post  Posted 5 Feb 2019 9:15 pm    
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Jeff Porter wrote:
I've tried a small mixer into an amp and had mixed results. It was often noisey, and there were a lot of cables etc. to mess with.
Last tour I used one of these and it worked great. Simple and enough control for what I do.
http://www.radialeng.com/product/bigshot-io


I tend to agree that using a mixer is not fool proof but one can get by. It is not optimum unless the impedances are right. A mixer into a power amp with speakers is one thing, but into a guitar amp, YMMV.
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YES it's my REAL NAME!
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Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2019 9:40 am    
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I appreciate all the feedback. Seems to be a mixed bag (haw!) of opinions. The price of the pictured mixer is low enough to pass the CFO's approval and if it doesn't work out it can be used for other stuff. Some of the other suggested products are a bit above the price point where I would just continue my current plug/unplug routine.
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Randy Schneider


From:
SW New Mexico, USA
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2019 10:14 am    
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A lot of those mixers (like the one pictured) do not have high-impedance (instrument pickup) inputs. Guitars should have some sort of buffer before the mixer input.
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Chris Tarrow


From:
Maplewood, NJ
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2019 11:53 am    
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none of the outputs on a mixer are instrument level.
cheap mic amps, eq, fader circuits add noise.
you really just want an a/b/c/d box.
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J.D.White

 

From:
Lafayette, Louisiana
Post  Posted 6 Feb 2019 12:55 pm    
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Not a mixer - but a cheap way to get the job done. You can eliminate parts within the red boundary, use single-pole switches, mono jacks & a chicken-head pointer knob instead of the battery & led indicators.

From an old issue of Guitar Player Magazine (Sept. 1982)

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Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 7 Feb 2019 9:48 am    
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I like this - so simple. It could be even simpler to leave out the switch and just mute each instrument with its volume knob. However the reason the mixer is attractive is that it lets you shape the gain and eq before it goes to the amp. That way you can balance your instruments out at the mixer and not have to change your amp settings when you change instruments.

J.D.White wrote:
Not a mixer - but a cheap way to get the job done. You can eliminate parts within the red boundary, use single-pole switches, mono jacks & a chicken-head pointer knob instead of the battery & led indicators.

From an old issue of Guitar Player Magazine (Sept. 1982)

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Steve Sycamore

 

From:
Sweden
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2019 12:58 am    
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This is a beautiful powerhouse. The main drawback though is that it isn't easy to see what instrument lies in each channel.

http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/mixers/sm-series/sm10/
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Jerry Erickson

 

From:
Atlanta,IL 61723
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2019 10:14 am    
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When I used to play through a Twin Reverb, I would use a reverb device for my pedal steel and plug into the normal channel and use the reverb channel for my guitar. Two channel amp, no need for a mixer.
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