XR18 / X Air Electric Guitar starting point
Beginner Skill level for the five steps below.
Dial these in, then adjust by ear in the full mix. In small rooms the amp on stage is often louder than the PA. Use the PA channel for definition in the far seats, not for volume.
1High-pass filter
80-100 Hz
Illustration in the style of the XR18 / X Air (X Air Edit) low cut / HPF, not a screenshot. Drawn at 12 dB/oct; the shaded area is what gets cut. Drawn at 90 Hz, the middle of the card's 80-100 Hz.
Guitar cabinets put out low-end rumble that competes with bass and kick.
On the XR18 / X Air: No surface: in X Air Edit (or Mixing Station), open the channel and use the Low Cut switch/frequency in the Config / Preamp area.
2Gate
Attack Fast · Hold ~50 ms · Release ~200 ms
Illustration in the style of the XR18 / X Air (X Air Edit) gate screen, not a screenshot. The gate is optional here (high-gain amps only); the graph shows it in case you use it. Range drawn at 12.5 dB, the middle of the card's 10-15 dB. The threshold is an example only; set it by ear.
- Use
- Optional (high-gain amps only)
- Threshold
- Above amp hiss/hum between songs
- Attack
- Fast
- Hold
- ~50 ms
- Release
- ~200 ms
- Range
- 10-15 dB
Only if a noisy high-gain amp hisses between parts.
On the XR18 / X Air: Channel > Gate tab: enable, then Threshold, Range, Attack, Hold, Release. A key filter is available for frequency-conscious triggering.
3EQ
- LC 90 Hz, 12 dB/oct
- 1 Bell 300 Hz, -2.5 dB, Q 1.5
- 2 Bell 3 kHz, +0.0 dB, Q 1.5
- 3 High cut 8 kHz, 12 dB/oct
Illustration in the style of the XR18 / X Air (X Air Edit) EQ screen, not a screenshot. Curve shows the midpoint of the suggested ranges; HPF drawn at 12 dB/oct; a band whose range runs from cut to boost sits at 0 dB.
| Frequency | Gain | Q / width | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200-400 Hz | -2 to -3 dB | Medium | Mud/boxiness, especially with the mic close to the speaker (proximity effect). |
| 2-4 kHz | -2 to +2 dB | Medium | Presence/bite. Boost for cut, cut if fizzy or harsh. |
| Above 6 kHz | High-cut / shelf down | LPF ~6-10 kHz | Fizz from distortion. Start high and lower it until the fizz goes; about 5 kHz pushes the guitar back. |
On the XR18 / X Air: Channel > EQ tab: 4 parametric bands per input channel (shelf/peq modes on the outer bands).
4Compression
Attack ~20 ms · Release ~150 ms (timing, not shown on graph)
Illustration in the style of the XR18 / X Air (X Air Edit) compressor screen, not a screenshot. Compression is optional here (None or 2:1); the graph shows 2:1 in case you use it. The threshold is an example only: it is set so a −6 dB peak gets about 1 dB of gain reduction, the middle of the card's target. Set yours by ear while watching the gain reduction (GR) meter. Drawn hard-knee with no makeup gain. Attack and release shape timing and don't change this curve.
- Ratio
- None or 2:1
- Attack
- ~20 ms
- Release
- ~150 ms
- Gain reduction
- 0-2 dB
Overdrive is already compressed; clean parts may benefit from light control.
On the XR18 / X Air: Channel > Dynamics tab: Threshold, Ratio, Knee, Attack, Hold, Release, makeup Gain and Mix (parallel).
5FX send
Small send if the amp is dry
Plate / room, about 1 s decay, send around -20 to -15 dB (only if the amp is dry).
Illustration in the style of the XR18 / X Air (X Air Edit) sends view, not a screenshot. Bus numbering depends on how the venue file is patched; set the level by ear.
Most guitarists bring their own reverb/delay.
On the XR18 / X Air: X Air has 4 internal FX slots fed by dedicated FX sends (FX1-4) on every channel; set the send level on the channel's Sends tab and bring FX returns up on the FX return faders.
🎧 What to listen for
In small rooms the amp on stage is often louder than the PA. Use the PA channel for definition in the far seats, not for volume.
Common gear for Electric Guitar
- Shure SM57 · Instrument mic
- Sennheiser e609 · Guitar amp mic
Scene / preset file
Coming later: downloadable XR18 / X Air channel preset for this card.
Sources
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