Where to plug an active amplied uke on a mixer?

spots

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I have a uke with an active pickup and volume control. I'm researching mixers and trying to decide how many preamp channels are needed.

I want to adjust vocal mike volume and instrument volume separately.

Can an instrument with active pick-up and volume control be plugged directly into line-in channel without a preamp, or should it go into a a channel with a preamp?

I do have a standalone mic/instrument preamp that I can toss into the mix if I have to, but I am trying to make the setup as clean as possible with as few components as possible.

Thank you.
 
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The active circuitry on your uke is a preamp, so you can plug directly into your mixer's line input. However, I like to use a mixer with a gain control for each channel. To set instrument levels I generally set the gain about 1/2-3/4 way up and play as loudly as I'm ever likely to play to find the setting where the LED level indicator starts to peak into the red. Then back the volume on your instrument up and play until you're not peaking in the red. Your fader can then be used to balance you with other signals. I use a cheap little Yamaha MG102C mixer for my instruments and mic with good results. They sell for around $100. No financial interest on my part, etc. and there are lots of equivalent small boards out there.
 
hi

a couple of mths ago I started getting into some of the hardware for the first time.

I went to my local small music store looking for a hook up to go to my computer ( usb).

I ended up with this ...


http://www.alesis.com/multimix4usb

I like it as it has alot of features and can be used stand alone as a mixer or hooked to the puter..

I am still learing how to use it but it seems very versatile

eor
 
Darkwater and eor:

Thank you both for your comments. They are greatly appreciated!
 
Just a follow up.

I ended up going with a Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer. This has four channels with XLR inputs and mic pre-amps, and four channels with left & right line-in inputs. They call it a total of 12 inputs, but you only have 8 Level/Fader controls.

Having a pre-amp on the input for the ukes active pickup has been very nice. It provides more control over the volume of the uke than going through a line-in input without a pre-amp.
 
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