I second between gigs recommendation of the Yamaha mixer.

Fran, I 'd really appreciate your advice on how best to use the mixer.

Reluctantly, I must agree with Fran and DNJ that a lot of folks don't know how to use a mixer. I no longer use a mixer, and sold my Alesis 6FX to a friend who loves it. One of the things I've been able to do over the years, thanks to many on this and other forums, is to lighten the load. A mixer was among the first things to go--just don't need it.

Cheers,

Gary

Might I recommend you consider the Bose Tone Match - http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop...nematch_acc.jsp

Hi Gary, what would be your advice on using a mixer, I play keyboard with 3 singers so I need a mixer, no choice.

I'd recommend those Yamaha mixers with the compressor on a few mike channels. When you are using an arranger, and even more when it is a Yamaha, with a very compressed dynamic already, it helps to put a bit of squeeze on any sung stuff or other instruments playing with you.

It helps bring it all together, rather than allowing something frisky to sit on top, at times...

Graham, I will try and explain what I think works best...Over gain increases noise..

Try to maintain "unity" (0db), usually 12 noon on the volume knob..

On mic channels..set the volume at unity, and adjust the gain control to acheive the proper volume input...

On the back end...output volume, do not go into the red..stay well below red..in the green prefered..If you need to push the output of your mixer beyond the amber caution before clip...usually means your PA or powered amp/speaker is not powerful enough for your needs..

Sure you can push a liitle more on the front end (gain), but it will induce noise in the noise to signal ratio...

Another common no no, folks will over use EQ..sometimes EQ on top of EQ..This will overdrive a signal to unuseable limits..Learn to adjust EQ, is one of the best things you can do for desireable results''

As an example..a standard 3 band channel EQ, can be used wiser on most mixers,by cutting eq sections rather than increasing the frequencies of a section...For example cutting mids can be more effective than increasing EQ's on the low and high frequencies..By cutting the mids and raising the gain slightly you will get better results, without overdriving the signal..

Effect send levels will also distort and overdrive the signals..be careful with your levels..

A digital mixer will have more negative effects with all of the above than a analog mixer...It is more noticable with digital, but be assured the noise level is there on the analog too..

Graham,

There are a lot of ways to go with this. If you have 3 vocalists, and three mic channels with effects, I would fire the output of the mixer into the keyboard's Line/Mic input connection, which is what I do with my outboard vocal processor. This provides you with the ability to raise and lower the mic volumes independently, or just raise the overall volume using the amp's master volume. I would mount the mixer on the right side of the keyboard where you have instant access. I would NOT run everything through the mixer--just the mics and any auxiliary equipment such as an MP3 player or laptop audio output for playing MP3 or WAV files.

As for recommending which mixer to use, most of those mentioned above will provide excellent, high-quality vocals when used with high-quality, super-cardiod or hyper-cardiod mics. Of course, individual effects will have to be selected to suit your singers.

Hope this helps,

Gary

Fran & Gary, great thoughts, thanks, I have copied your advice to a word doc and will put it in my mixer bag and get to the gig early to try some of this.

I struggle with feedback since we are trying to minimize our setup time by just using the main speakers behind us. Also, I find my mic channeled through the keyboard booms sometimes as it is picked up by their mics (when I'm talking or singing alone). Maybe I have over eq'd the keyboard, taking Fran's point. I'll look at that.

Many thanks

Graham