Sorry, amixer doesn't really help a whole lot. You still have zillions of settings to try to change, and i had a few that wouldn't change as I thought they should even after I made sure I had every little capital space and apostrophe correct. In some ways, alsamixer is easier because you don't have to do all that exact typing and figuring out how to word each setting. I know some of you guys are so attached to alsa you'll fight over it, but it is _not_ user friendly, in my oppinion. Crud, I can compile a kernel or re-install debian linux in full easier than i can get alsa to behave!!!
