Mistake...

Twins- To give you a good answer, I would have to ask you a lot of questions, such as what kind of music you play, what instruments you use etc......

Systems like the Peavey Escort are not powerful enough for bands that have drums and electric guitars. For a Rock band, you want amplifiers that produce AT LEAST 200 Watts per side. That is a minimum, to get your Vocals above the drums and guitar amps.

Another important question to ask is how much you can spend on a PA. For a decent starter PA for a Rock band, you can figure spending at least $1200 minimum.

First, it would help you to learn a little about PA's and how they work. Here is a very helpful website.

http://disc.server.com/Indices/22769.html

Go there and study the tutorial. There is also a Message Board you can go to and ask questions. The people there are very nice and will be happy to answer any questions you have.

If you will get back and explain what kind of music you play and how much you can spend on a PA, I will be glad to help you. I built a very good PA for a very low price, so it can be done.

Wes - are you saying $1200 for just the P.A. or a P.A. and some monitors  with it?   I'm thinking $1200 is a lot for a beginner P.A. with no monitors/speakers.  I'm thinking you could get a good/great package P.A. set up for $1200, for a beginner set up.

I'm saying you can get a DECENT basic PA for around $1200. There are packages from Nady, Kustom, and others on Musicians Friend and the like for less, but most are underpowered and the speakers are not of good quality.

Here is a good Basic PA.

Behringer PMX2000  10 channels, 99 effects, Stereo or Mono, 2 x 250 Watts @ 4 Ohms. $300

Peavey Pro-Lite 15" speakers- Very good reviews, Titanium drivers $160 each  Buy 2 for Mains, 2 for Monitors.

Behringer XM8500 Mics- Great reviews, many say they sound as good as SM58's  $20 each

Figure another $200 for speaker cables, speaker stands, and mics stands and there you are.

This system will work for Bands well. I know, it's very similar to what I've got.

Of course, if everybody has a Mega-Watt Amplifier and only knows how to play at 10, you'll need more power. But this system will easily handle small to medium sized clubs.

Nice info Wes.  I like how you put a price on each item to let us know how it adds up (and to name specifically the items).

Being you haven't said anything on what and where you'll be playing at. A small PA like you mentioned could work, if everyone turned down. Below should give you an some Idea's.

For person singing with a backing MINI disk or a duo doing acoustic songs, the system can be in the region of 150 - 400 watts, that's good enough for most small halls, lounges and pubs.

A vocal PA can start at 150 watts for small pubs and practice. You'll need up to 600 watts for larger places.  A vocal PA system will NOT handle drums or loud bass, so you need to keep an eye on who gets plugged in. The drummer, bass, and guitarists will be using back line only.

A full band setup from a 3 piece up to whatever size. Now we get a bit more serious, along with a serious price tag.

Joe

I agree Joe. I just know the Basics when it comes to PA's. For powered mixers, which are a great start for young bands with limited income I would recommend the Yamaha EMX5000 2 x 500W @ 4 Ohms. I know a few people who own these and they swear by them. It can keep up with a pretty loud band.

After that you get to component systems and the price tag really climbs.

I was just trying to be helpful to what I ASSUME is a young 3 piece band getting started. Money is usually an issue.

I know some young guys who bought one of these cheap packages (won't name Brand). At their 1st gig it was obvious the system was underpowered. You could barely hear the vocals. They cranked it up, and I could see the amp clipping. Sounded terrible, contant feedback.

hey :)
ok all that information is very much appreciated but you didnt really answer my question.
can I by more stuff ..speakers ....whatever to run more speakers off of my peavey thing to make it louder !? like can I use the auxirly out to power more speakers ? or into a powered amp or something !?
CASPER

Casper- Sorry about not answering your question. I went to Peavey and downloaded the manual (like to be sure). Yes, you can use the auxillary out into an amplifier and then connect speakers to that amplifier. You could then use the 10" speakers as Monitors. As I wrote earlier, you want an Amplifier that has at LEAST 200 Watts per side. But I would get much more, at least 500 Watts per side minimum.

Do you already have an amp and speakers? If so, what brand and model? Are there specific amps and speakers you have been considering? The reason I'm asking is you have already purchased an underpowered system (It would be great for Acoustic groups in Coffeehouses and such). You don't want to do that again.

I saw you went on that site I recommended. Those guys know WAY more than me about PA's. If you are considering certain equipment, ask their opinion. They will answer you, and they KNOW their stuff.

This might be getting a bit tricky but you could think about building your own speaker cabinets.

Its not tricky just make sure its well put together and made from the right materials.  As you have the internet you can find all about it online.

Its much cheaper and its really fun.

just a suggestion
-Paul

As I read through all the posts everyone has contributed lots of important information on what you size of sound system needed. If that one you bought is new see if they will take it back or exchange it for something larger.

Then it comes down to what the band can afford to spend on a decent system. I'll agree with "Wes_Inman" on the break down of what pieces of equipment are needed for a system. Other than it looks like you need more power than that.

Perhaps going with a bi-amped or tri-amped system. Now this is serious outlay of funds. But the benefit's will surely be noticeable. Then you have to remember the larger the system the more work it is moving it from gig to gig. And the more things can go wrong.

I would have to that maybe purchasing a book like the one written for Yamaha called "Sound Reinforcement Handbook" which will give you information in more detail than just plug this into that and see if it works approach. You'll need to know the real workings of a sound system inside and out and what makes them work to achieve the sound quality you'll need.

It sometimes is not the amount of power a system puts out but how its setup to sound. Even the largest sound system will sound bad if its not properly set up. I recommend doing some research on sound systems so you'll know very thing you can. Its great learning and will help you in the long run.

Joe

hey wes and others.
so wes.....what do you recommend buying...to conect to the auxilury out....remember.....cheap cheap cheap..lol we just spent 1400 dollars (australia) on that so cheap cheap ! lol
CASPER

Cheap = Used
Dependable = Peavey, with internal limiters

Others are fine, but Peavey PAs work for me, and I see them in use all over the place.

-Laz

I really wouldn't hook up an amp and speakers to your auxillary out, but it that's what you're gonna do...

Behringer and Nady have powerful amps at great prices. Go to that website I gave you and read. They have some very recent posts on these amps. Many on that site own these amps and are very happy with them.

For speakers, those Peavey Pro Lites are one of best bargains out there today. As Laz said, Peavey is known for their quality. Yamaha (what I've got) is a good speaker. They are phasing out their series IV speakers. You can get 15's for $250 (US). That is a good speaker.

If you haven't owned that system long, I would take it back and see if you can get a refund, or see what you can get for trade-in. For the price of that Escort, you could have got a Yamaha EMX5000 powered mixer 2 x 500W @ 4 Ohms. You would not be having a problem with your vocals with that.

If you buy used equipment, make sure you can bring it back if you're not safisfied, and don't wait.