how big for PA support

[rptrsn2]

at what point does pa support become neccesary, we have a 300w peavey pa head that we use for just vocals and just our amps for instruments. most bigger places have a house system. Is there alot of benefit in small and medium (50-300 people) to running everything thru a pa/board sys?

 

[allexcosta]

There's always a benefit. A good PA will reproduce the bass+bass drum couple a lot better and that always leads to a better overall sound and intelligibility.

 

[RicPlaya]

Yes

Plus you can book more gigs for yourself. The PA you have is good for practice, not for gigs.

 

[allexcosta]

Forgot to mention: as a rule of thumb, you need at least 10W per person in the audience. Yes, that means a 5000W PA to play for 500 people.