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Basic mixing board?

invader3k

invader3k

Feb 12, 2004
2,851
51
46
Fort Atkinson, WI
www.facebook.com
#1
Hey guys. It's been a LONG time since I've had to look into gear like this, and I just need to get pointed in the general direction.

Our cover band is going through some personnel changes currently, and we are losing our current rehearsal space (drummer's basement...he's the one leaving). We are going to practice at our guitarist's house for now, but it's not ideal...second floor of his house, and it's a small, cramped room.

I would like to do rehearsals in my house basement. I need to get some gear. I do NOT want to do PA speakers and monitors. I want to do headphones like we have been doing currently in the band, which has worked well.

I already have a Behringer headphone amp, so that's taken care of. I need a mixing board of some kind to plug into, which the mics will be run off from. Please point me towards something decent, but not insanely expensive. Not sure on a budget...I'm flexible, but can't break the bank either. Thank you in advance for any help on this.
 
#6
invader3k said:
Invalid Link Removed

I was looking at this Behringer one actually. Seems like it might fit the bill?

I will check out the also suggested Jamhub. Hadn't heard of that before.
Click to expand...

I have a 1202FX and it is a decent mixer for home use. The only bad thing about it is the blindingly bright power indicator light. If I were to buy again I would by the non-effects version and save $20 or so.

I looked into the jam hub a year or two ago. It seemed like a great product. I think each set of headphones could set its own mix. It has a lot more to offer - at a much higher price.

On the cheap I would go with a cheap mixer and a multi-output headphone amp.
 
#7
Chainsaw Willie said:
I have a 1202FX and it is a decent mixer for home use. The only bad thing about it is the blindingly bright power indicator light. If I were to buy again I would by the non-effects version and save $20 or so.
Click to expand...

Cool. That's what I'm thinking I'll go with (the non-FX one). $90 for a brand new one seems like a good deal.

I already have a Behringer headphone preamp, so it should work well with this.
 
#8
Sorry, I'm a bit clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff. Can you explain how you use the headphone preamp and the mixer?
I assume that you plug the instruments into the mixer and the the out from the mixer to the headphone preamp, then you all wear headphones to hear what each other are playing?
 
#10
GKon said:
Sorry, I'm a bit clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff. Can you explain how you use the headphone preamp and the mixer?
I assume that you plug the instruments into the mixer and the the out from the mixer to the headphone preamp, then you all wear headphones to hear what each other are playing?
Click to expand...

It is not a headphone preamp but instead a headphone amp. The mixer is a preamp.

But you have the overall idea correct. All the instruments and vocal mic's plug into the mixer. The mix level and EQ is set for each input on the mixer. The output of the mixer is sent to the headphone amplifier, which can drive multiple headphones and has a volume for each.

Guitars would typically use some guitar amp simulating effect before the mixer. Drums may need to be electronic, or in another room and mic'ed (which defeats the purpose of being quiet rehearsal). The multiple output headphone amp is used because the mixer headphone output won't do a good job of driving multiple headphones. Tone wise it may not be optimal, but it is a cheap way of having a rehearsal in an apartment without the police showing up.

If there is some money available though, the jam hub is probably a bunch better.
 
#13
Joe Louvar said:
+1. Yep. They're still rather new to the market - but like almost everything, soon used/secondhand ones will become available for cheaper. ;)
Click to expand...

I see eBay has some slightly discounted ones. I'll keep looking at it. I like the idea of each person having their own mix, though...downside of the mixer option I was looking at is that obviously wouldn't be the case.
 
#14
Chainsaw Willie said:
It is not a headphone preamp but instead a headphone amp. The mixer is a preamp.

But you have the overall idea correct. All the instruments and vocal mic's plug into the mixer. The mix level and EQ is set for each input on the mixer. The output of the mixer is sent to the headphone amplifier, which can drive multiple headphones and has a volume for each.

Guitars would typically use some guitar amp simulating effect before the mixer. Drums may need to be electronic, or in another room and mic'ed (which defeats the purpose of being quiet rehearsal). The multiple output headphone amp is used because the mixer headphone output won't do a good job of driving multiple headphones. Tone wise it may not be optimal, but it is a cheap way of having a rehearsal in an apartment without the police showing up.

If there is some money available though, the jam hub is probably a bunch better.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info and explanation. I really appreciate it. It does sound like a great solution to quiet practicing.
 
#15
Guys, a question on the Jamhub option that has been brought up:

It looks like right now we're going to be a four piece band (guitar, drums, lead vocals, bass...everyone will be singing backup as well). Will the Greenroom version be sufficient for this?

Also, is not having an electronic drum kit a big deal? With our current (but soon departing) drummer, he plays with a standard acoustic kick and his kick drum miced. We have found this to be fine (again, we've already been using headphones at practice) but I wanted to hear if this somehow wouldn't work with the Jamhub. Thanks for all the help on this.
 
#17
It really depends on how many lines/mics your are going to run. With that unit you've got 7 hubs to work with, each hub has a mic input and a TRS input. So basically...14 inputs. As for acoustic drums vs. electronic drums, the Jamhub isn't going to care. With electronic drums you basically have 1 or 2 outputs for the entire kit (mono or stereo). With acoustic drums, if you actually wanted to mic everything, you'd need to have a mic input for each mic on whatever equipment you purchased.

Personally I'd just go with a mixer. You can easily find something for significantly less than the cost of a Jamhub that does exactly the same thing, and can be used for other things. The Jamhub just allows for separate volume mixes for each musician. It doesn't seem to have any EQ which is kinda lame.

Without knowing how many inputs you want it's tough to give a recommendation. A 16 channel is going to give you the most flexibility for later on should you need to use it for an actual PA, live gig, etc.
 
#18
invader3k said:
Hey guys. It's been a LONG time since I've had to look into gear like this, and I just need to get pointed in the general direction.

Our cover band is going through some personnel changes currently, and we are losing our current rehearsal space (drummer's basement...he's the one leaving). We are going to practice at our guitarist's house for now, but it's not ideal...second floor of his house, and it's a small, cramped room.

I would like to do rehearsals in my house basement. I need to get some gear. I do NOT want to do PA speakers and monitors. I want to do headphones like we have been doing currently in the band, which has worked well.

I already have a Behringer headphone amp, so that's taken care of. I need a mixing board of some kind to plug into, which the mics will be run off from. Please point me towards something decent, but not insanely expensive. Not sure on a budget...I'm flexible, but can't break the bank either. Thank you in advance for any help on this.
Click to expand...

How many microphones, total?
 
#19
bassgod0dmw said:
Personally I'd just go with a mixer. You can easily find something for significantly less than the cost of a Jamhub that does exactly the same thing, and can be used for other things. The Jamhub just allows for separate volume mixes for each musician. It doesn't seem to have any EQ which is kinda lame.

Without knowing how many inputs you want it's tough to give a recommendation. A 16 channel is going to give you the most flexibility for later on should you need to use it for an actual PA, live gig, etc.
Click to expand...

On the other hand, I don't think that a good 16 channel mixer will be less than the cost of a jamhub (based on what I just saw). For example, a 16 channel A&H Mixwizard, which can generate 4 independent mono sends (in addition to the main outputs) will run pretty in the neighborhood of $1000. It would likely work just fine for the application, though.

And on another subject, I don't think you'll have any problems hearing acoustic drums right through your headphones, unless you buy really good isolation headphones like the GK Ultraphones Invalid Link Removed
 

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