New PA Setup

[Moreau]

Hello,
We are looking to put together a PA around an Alesis Multimix 12 Firewire that we are going to use to record off the board, and we are looking for a power amp and speakers. Our intention is to mic the vocals, drums and maybe some guitar and bass as well. Is a 2X15 speaker set what we should look for, or is 1X15 sufficient for Rehearsals and small gigs? We are looking at the Peavey PV215 speakers which are about $300 each. Our budget is about $900, and the mixer is already bought.

I have tried to search this but its hard as PA is not 3 letters long. Any advice on how we can build a nice PA off this mixer would be great. Thanks

[Deacon_Blues]

My old band used to have a couple of JBL mains with 2x15" speakers plus horn. They took up pretty much space during transport, they were not the easiest ones to carry, and mostly a smaller setup would have been enough. We also had four 15" and two 18" subs (we never brought all of them to a gig though). All speakers were passive, so we had a couple of mackie power amps with built-in high/low pass filters to feed the speakers. They were really good.

If I would buy a PA today, I'd go for an active system with 1x15" + horn main speakers (300-500 W each) and two 15" subs (500-1000 W each). You might get away with less money if you go for a passive system though. I would not recommend to go for only mains without subs, you do need the extra bottom they provide. That's what brings the chicks to the dancefloor...