Re: Amp or PA?
I've been playing mando live in a rock band for over ten years now. With an active pickup I go directly to PA/mixing board, eq to taste from the board and add some slapback delay from the onboard fx to fill it out. With a passive pickup you either have to crank the PA channel or use a belt clip preamp for example, either could work depending on the volume of the band. I find going directly to the PA doesn't color the sound at all, and it sounds pretty darn good.
If you're only playing it a couple of times a night, I personally wouldn't hassle with a separate amp, mic'ing it, going through another guitar players amp (I can't say I've ever heard one sound good going through an electric guitar amp), etc. KISS it for now ("Keep It Simple Stupid"), and if it takes off you could look at upgrading the mando setup experience. Most of the time people are just excited to see somebody playing a mandolin in a rock band and I swear the audience doesn't care what it sounds like.
Collings MF Gloss Top mandolin, Kentucky KM-1000 mandolin, Godin A-8 electric mandolin, Pono Ukulele, Gold Tone PBS Signature Resonator guitar, Martin/Taylor 6 & 12 string acoustic guitars, Les Paul/ES-335/LP Jr./Strat/Tele elec guitars.
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