JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Microphone and Vocalist Forum PA vs. Amp for singer

Thanks very much for all your help on my last thread. I have another question for you lot.

I have put together a group of musicians, and we are going to be jamming soon. I am still at the dirt-poor stage, meaning I'm going to have to sell a lot of things and work a bunch of extra hours to come up with $5-600.

I am primarily a singer, but I expect to play guitar in practices, since I use it for my songwriting/jamming. My current guitar amp is a mere 25W, and I have no PA.

What should I be looking at in terms of PA? We're gonna play some pretty hard-edged stuff, and I don't want to be drowned out by cymbals or a 100W marshall.

Could an amp under $500 provide me with a decent vocal/guitar mix during practice, and provide excellent vocal quality/power for performance? If so, maybe I just buy an amp and let the eventual PA system be a "Band expense" so we can afford a nice one.

Or should I rely on spare guitar amps and my little 25 watter during practice, and invest in a baby PA like the Kustom KPA-100 or Profile one?

I expect our performances will be limited to fairly small venues for the next year or so, but we may do open mics at some larger outdoor city festivals. Doesn't the venue usually provide the band with a PA?

Does every singer who decides they want to rock out with a band have the prerequisite of dropping $3-500 on a 100W+ PA system? Under what circumstances would I need a 400 or 800w system?

What brands do you guys recommend?

I guess this is really a two part question, asking for the wisest way to make my guitar and voice heard pretty well during practice, and my voice heard excellently during performance. Cheaper is better, but a little more $ upfront is also preferable to replacing the whole shebang in a year or two.

Help! (please)

If you need more than a 25 watt amp for rehearsals, you're playing too loudly. Save your hearing.

As a general rule of thumb, the PA for the vocals should be at least 4 times the wattage of the guitar amps.

A baby PA won't do much for you in a venue of any size - their good for a solo acoustic artist in a small venue, but if you need to be heard over drums, bass and overdriven guitars, save your money for a real one.

And yes, larger venues and outdoor festivals USUALLY provide the PA. Or you can rent something for the day if you need to provide it yourself.

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Marty my home

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you
recognize a mistake when you make it again!