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We are a bunch of past middle-age friends who pretend to be a band. We started doing small open-air gigs where we use a single 80W (RMS) PA system as our output into the small crowd. To minimize audio feedback issues, we use cardoid and super-cardoid mics and also place the PA speaker about 10 meters ahead of the stage. This has led to a situation where we've started feeling the need of stage monitors, to hear each-other -- especially as use an acoustic drum-set which without the monitors, drowns out the mic'd acoustic guitar (for the musician).

We were thinking of using my spare 15W guitar amp-speaker combo as the little stage monitor. However, our 8-channel analog mixer supports only 1 output (6.3mm unbalanced), which is used to connect to the PA system. Wondering then, how can I also connect to my stage monitor in this setup ?

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Your only real solution, which is also cheap, is just to upgrade your mixer. It is not expensive to get a powered mixer with monitor outputs, and a couple of cheap wedge cabs.

You really don't want to use a guitar amp as a monitor - it has the wrong characteristics. It is more likely to give feedback, it distorts etc...

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    +1...though I would suggest the "mic'd acoustic guitar" be equipped with a pickup/transducer...getting an adequate monitor level with a mic on an acoustic guit can be real tricky without a proper 31-band eq and the time and expertise required to set it up.
    – user23353
    Commented Dec 26, 2018 at 1:36
  • Thanks @Rory. Will try to check if a mixer upgrade is something we can afford at this time. OTOH, I came across something (that seems to cost much lesser), called multi-channel headphone amplifier (from the likes of Behringer or Ashton), that could be inserted between my current mixer output and the PA input, to split-out a line for the guitar amp. My local music stores do not stock any of the cheap wedge cabs. They have a JBL one which is about 5x my budget.
    – bdutta74
    Commented Dec 26, 2018 at 6:29
  • @TylerStone, I see your point. I do have a "removable" transducer, but realized that I also need a guitar sound-hole cover for my acoustic guitar, but the two don't go along well together, so looks like at some point I'd have to upgrade guitar to in-built electronics as well. We've faced the issue with mic'ing the guitar in live setup, and feedback issues are terrible. Hear that there are phase-cancelling preamp units, with notch-filter to fix such issues.
    – bdutta74
    Commented Dec 26, 2018 at 6:36
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    @icarus74 - keep an eye on local second hand shops. My first couple of bands relied on them for cheap cabs, monitors, amps, even mixers!
    – Rory Alsop ♦
    Commented Dec 26, 2018 at 9:27

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