Using Mics into mixers?

[xxxplorer]

Hello everyone!

We are starting to gig now, so we bought a 2500 watt Carvin PA system with a mixer board and 2 big towers. Sounds pretty nice with my brothers electronic drums hooked up. He also got the Carvin Drum mic kit... not the best but get the job done. I was in a weird mood and miced my earcandy cab with one of his snare mics and his condenser mic. Pretty cool, but I did some homework on micing an amp and I hear about mic pre amps? They are not cheap... are they totally necessary for micing my guitar? I have a full eq on my mixer with gain and stuff. I think it is there 16 channel board... I have to look at it. I plan on picking up a shure SM57 this weekend, and maybe a decent condeser mic for distance. Any input would be nice. Just want to get a handle on how to get good sounds so we don't look and sound like fools!

[Rich_S]

Re: Using Mics into mixers?

Mic preamps are more commonly used in recoding studios. For live use, most people just go cab->mic->mixer.

Distance micing is also a studio thing. On a live stage, the distance mic will pick up too much bleed from other stage noise, and/or feed back. So, don't bother with a condenser for live use.

The SM57 is a good choice for live guitar micing - just play around with positioning it on axis (centered) or off-axis (more toward the edge of the speaker, straight or angled. In either case keep it as close to the speaker as possible to maximize how much guitar it picks up vs. "other stuff".

Keep in mind that micing and EQing a guitar has a dual purpose - to make the guitar sound good, but (perhaps more importantly) to make the guitar fit into the overall mix. The guitar sound that fits best might not sound best solo.

Mixing live sound is as much an art as playing an instrument. If you don't have someone experienced already, find someone and start training them now. Owning a PA isn't enough - you need to practice setting up and mixing. Try to borrow or rent an social hall for an all-day technical rehearsal with the whole gear. Invite some trusted friends to listen and advise you on what sounds good and what doesn't. Specific settings that work there won't translate exactly to a different room, but the experience will help you get the sound right in less time, once you take the show on the road.

[xxxplorer]

Re: Using Mics into mixers?

Thanks man! I have a pretty big garage, so we are using it there, but you are right about a hall! The space changes things... we were playing in a smaller room and had our amps 'tuned' for that room. Move into the garage with no insulation and no foam... bright and totally different! Had to hang up some foam to soak up some highs and totally readjust my amp... my drummer actually had to tune and get new heads because you could hear every nuance better! Only difficult part is placing the PA towers... on stage they are in front of us, in garage they are kind of facing us.