ohm my god, i need to buy my first PA

[jdragon]

Here is the situation,

 

I have a solo act, one guitar and one voice, and need a small pa for coffee house/acoustic gigs. At some point, my guitar will be getting a bluestick, but for now, has to be mic'd.

 

I have no idea what sort of power requirements I have, or any previous knowledge of live sound reinforcement.

 

Will some kind engineer recommend a book or website that I can read to change my total ignorance into thinly veiled ignorance.

 

I would also love to hear any advice/opinions on what I might need.

 

thanks

 

Jdragon

[jdragon]

jsut saw the post from bassknave for newbies, and am reading

[Craig Vecchione]

You could probably do just fine with a Fender Passport system. They run between $425 and $650 at Musicians Friend and for that matter, almost any shop that sells Fender gear. They're completely self-contained, including mics, and they pack up into a single box. The Deluxe series ($630-$850) has speakers designed by Bose. I have to admit, I've heard a few solo acts with these and they really are clean, accurate, and pretty loud for their intended use. With a mic stand and two speaker stands the only options to buy, you're in business fairly cheap.

 

I'd avoid the Nady, Phonic, Samson, Behringer-type systems that you see advert'd for $250-$400 or so....mostly they are okay for practice only.

 

Also look in the online stores for package deals on the 'lunchbox' powered mixer/speaker/mic packages. Most are under $1,200, the majority are around $800, and are usually complete but don't feature the "pack it all inside the speakers and go" thing that the Passport has.

[dirtyragamuffin]

I really can't recommend that Behringer powered speaker idea, or those little "PA in a box" systems, even for small coffeehouse gigs you can do better. You should really do justice to your talents by putting together a simple but very nice sounding system. Since it sounds like your needs are fairly simple, the good news is you can do this pretty inexpensively, albeit a bit more than those little passport/escort things.

 

Start by studying posts on this forum and use theserch function at the top right of your screen. You'll find an absolute plethora of information on the theory and practice of sound reinforcement. If you're willing to spend some time researching, it will assuredly pay off. The first thing you'll learn is that three hundred bucks won't get you a competent PA system. So with that in mind, study up and start to figure out what woudl suit you. You need to consider the size of the venue, the size of crowd you play to, and the like and then you'll find how much power you need based off that. Once yo udo that, it's a matter of configuring the right gear for the job.