Buying Guide: How to Buy a PA System
Getting a PA system can be tricky; getting an affordable system that still provides good sound can be even harder. The PA system is vital to your performance but if you’re playing to smaller groups indoors, you might not want to spend the cash for extras on the system keyed for a large outdoor audience.
Whether you’re a wedding singer crooning to premade CDs or a sometimes-garage-sometimes-dive-bar band, you’ll want the right equipment. There are a lot of components involved with these systems and the systems themselves will vary. You don’t want to get screwed with mismatched parts or trying to link a bad mic to a nice system. F unction, ease and performance quality go right out the window.
We have a few basic tips to guide you in the right direction but you’ll want to talk to the guys at the music counter. A lot of these guys are performers themselves and have probably used a few systems and thereby discovered what works well and not so well.
Space:
Where will you be performing? A small club or larger venue? You want enough power to be heard well but not so much that it overpowers your audience and the room. For smaller shows, a system with standard full-range speakers is probably adequate. Consider portability, maybe a mixer with built-in amp would work well to lessen the amount of equipment and cables.
How many do you need? Cabled mics are cheaper but if you move around a lot on stage or move through the audience, a wireless would help avoid any embarrassing trips over cords (leads), even if it’s taped to the floor.
Amp:
Headroom. Remember what we were saying earlier about compatible components? You want to make sure your speakers are getting enough juice from your amp, otherwise they could be damaged or cause distorted sound. More power is good in this case.
Also known as the thing with all the knobbies and buttons, this is where things like your volume, bass, treble and reverb are balanced. You can get digital or analog, the difference being a computer processor or circuit board, respectively. Power mixers are analog mixers with some extra amp. As a singer with backtracks, you won’t need as many channels or a massive mixer like a live band might.
Remember you have to carry these things…for small stuff, about 350-500 watts will suffice; bands, DJs and larger venues, would need something like 500-1,000 watts. There are different configs too: full-range, midrange, tweeter, woofer, subwoofer (if necessary).
You may want to consider getting a ready-to-go, all-in-one system. As long as it suits your power needs, the many components will already be system-compatible. And don’t forget the mic stands, cables, snakes, speaker stands, etc.
Find at Smarter.com: Shop for affordable PA systems.
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