How To Connect Guitar Amp To Mixer – Step By Step
Juan Stansbury
Whether you are a beginner or a professional, getting a guitar amp and a mixer would confuse you. In some cases, you need to connect your guitar amp directly to the mixer.
This process is tricky. But do not worry, I am here to help you if you don’t know how to connect the guitar amp to the mixer.
If you are still confused about whether you should connect the guitar amp to the mixer or not, let me clear it for you.
You have a free hand to connect speaker output of 100W into the input of a guitar amp. Only if you are playing the music too loud, would damage your guitar amp.
This article is a step-by-step guide on how to connect a guitar amp to the mixer. If you are stuck at it, follow this article to the end to find the solution.
Table of Contents
How To Connect Guitar Amp To Mixer
By connecting a mixer to the guitar amp, the mixer will send the sound signals from the guitar to the recording device. This device can be your computer or a tape.
There are two ways to connect the guitar amp to a mixer.
You can connect via microphones
You can plug directly with the direct output.
First Step
The first step is to turn down the two main sliders that are present on the mixing board.
This will prevent any loud noise from popping up while connecting the guitar amp to the mixer.
Second Step
The next step is to set the music on the guitar amplifier that you want to record. Now you need to set up all the things in your amplifier.
Begin with the volume and set the equalization points for the tones. Also, set up the amount of gain for each channel. It’s because many guitar amps offer more than one channel.
Third Step
Your guitar amp will have speakers. You need to place the microphone in front of any of them.
The next thing you need to do is plug the one side of the microphone cable to the microphone and the other side to the channel on the mixer.
You need to select a different channel in case you are using both the direct output of the amp and the microphone.
The sliders you turned down in the beginning, raise them slowly when the guitar is being played.
You need to raise them until the lights on each channel start to light up on notes that are hit hard.
If you see the channel being clipping constantly, lower the slide. By doing so, you will know if the signal is strong.
You need to make some adjustments now. Keep the volume high to make the process easier. Also, keep the sound of the amplifier clear. You need to check for unwanted noises and distortions and treat them accordingly.
Check out for the clipping, which you can find on the main LEDs as well. You need to raise the master faders slowly. Keep doing it until the sound in your headphone is strong enough.
If You Lack A Microphone
Check the back of your amplifier for the direct out output. You need to plug an instrument cable there. By doing this, you are actually sending the signals to the outside source.
The other end of the cable will go into the input of the channel on your mixer. There are many guitar amplifiers available that contain speaker simulators which are used for direct output.
These direct outputs work in the absence of microphones.
Conclusion
The process of connecting a guitar amp to a mixer can be done in two ways. Both methods are explained above. Besides guitar amp and a mixer, the things you need for this connectivity are:
- Microphone
- Microphone cable
- Instrument cable
With this method, even if you are a beginner, you can easily set up these devices together and perform the task.
If you do not have a microphone, you can plug using a direct output directly into the channel. If you have the microphone, the thing becomes a lot easier for you.
