Choosing your P.A. Sound reinforcement - Tools-of-the-trade - Part 2

P.A. systems - Big or small or none at all?

Once upon a time there was a band. The band's equipment included all their amplifiers, instruments and drums along with a P.A. system that was made up of 2 huge sub woofers (bass speakers), 2 massive full range speakers, and a cabinet full of really heavy power amps. All of this took at least two people to carry each item. The P.A. alone used to take up to an hour to set up and another hour to sound-check. Then quite often the band would get carried away and turn it up too loud - blowing either the amps or the speakers or both. And nobody lived happily ever after - especially with a room full of people angry at the fact that their evening of entertainment cut short.

That was then and this is now. Thankfully P.A. technology has changed drastically over the last twenty years allowing incredibly compact powerful P.A. systems to be set up and operated simply by one person.

P.A. systems can be split into 3 categories.

1. The tradtional system. Comprising of two full range speakers powered by a separate power amp which is driven by a mixing desk or a powered mixing desk.

This system is ideally suited for a band or even duo who need a system that is capable of handling a full range of instruments including drums. It is not recommended for a solo artist as you would end up spending all night setting the rig up and the rest of the night in casualty with a bad back!

2. The powered speaker system. Two full range speakers with built in amplifiers driven by a separate mixing desk.  This system is ideal for singers or duos who are working in clubs, pubs and hotel function rooms. It's compact enough to fit in the corner of a pub, and yet powerful enough to fill a medium size club with a decent sound.

3. The compact portable P.A. A composite P.A. system designed especially for solo artists and DJs. Comprising of two speakers driven by a powered mixer amp. When not in use the entire system clips together to form a unit about the size of a suitcase. If the majority of your work comes from the pub circuit then this is the ideal solution for you. 99% of pubs will allocate only a tiny space for live music, and the more room you have to perform the better. You don't want your stage area cluttered up with a massive P.A. and the audience doesn't need to hear a 1000 watt P.A. system in a space the size of a living room!

Check out more information on the Fender passport by clicking the link below:

There are two important factors to think about when choosing a P.A. Firstly, what will be the average size of venue that you will perform at? Secondly, what ever size P.A. you choose, you must be able to fit it in your car and set it up by yourself. As with microphones, P.A. systems are a very personal choice. However the two main systems that are seen time and time again on the circuit are the powered Mackie 450 SRMs and the powered JBL 300's - so take your conclusion from that.

Check out more information, specs and pricing about the Mackie SRM 450 by clicking the link below: