PA for small gigs

[cozmik_cowboy]

Don't worry too much about too few channels.  I count 3 vocal mics in your pic (nice space, BTW); if the Strat against the wall goes with the guy at the front mic, that's 6 channels. For small to mid-sized rooms you can get by with kick/snare/overhead on the drums (that's how the Dead did it at least well into the '70).  One channel for effects return if needed & you still have spares on a 12-channel board.
Check Bill's thread on his mixer hunt for my thoughts on the iPad-controlled Mackies.
I do lean strongly toward separate components over powered mixers.  Mackie, Yamaha, Soundcraft, and Carvin, just for a start, make boards that would cover your needs.  A couple of Yamaha power amps (the only choice, in my formerly-professional opinion), the FOH speakers Bill's touting, & some wedges, and Bob's yer uncle.

[jalevinemd]

Here's a fairly in depth review of the Yamaha DBR15s.  This, and the seven year warrantee, sold me.  Especially the part about not needing subs.

http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-dbr12-dbr15

Bill, tgo

Yeah...they seem perfect.

[lbpesq]

Jonathan, if you get the Yamahas, you should also consider the covers.  They are very well designed and you can leave them on for outdoor gigs where they will protect the speakers from inclement weather.  There are some good package deals for the speakers, with covers,cables, and/or stands on Reverb.com.

I assume you understand that the Yamaha's are used with an unpowered mixer, not a powered one like the Carvin.  If you want a simple and inexpensive unpowered mixer, I've seen used Mackie 1604s (16 channel) going for well under $300 in the usual places.  Also, you can get a used Mackie 12 channel for $100 or so.  I've used both in the past and still have my 12 channel for backup.

Another consideration is whether you want you mixer to have effects.  I like to add a little reverb to the vocals.  The Mackie 1604 doesn't have DSP, but the 12 channel mixer I have has DSP effects.
I'm not sure of the model number, but they can be had very inexpensively.

Bill, tgo

[jalevinemd]

Bill,

I figured that I wouldn't need a powered mixer with the Yamaha speakers. I was looking at the Mackie ProFx16v...or something like that.

I was going to go with powered wedge monitors so I didn't have to buy a separate power amp. I looked at the Peaveys. Any thoughts on powered vs passive monitor speakers?

[lbpesq]

The system I used for years was a Mackie 808s powered mixer, JBL SF-15 mains, Carvin 12 passive wedges and a Carvin stereo power amp.  The JBLs sounded great, but the cabs were MDF and each weighed around sixty lbs.  Recently, around the same time as the Carvin amp blew up (literally - sparks, flash flame, smoke, the whole enchilada), I played in a jam with IEMs.  It inspired me to upgrade the PA.  The first thing to go were the 60 lb. JBLs.  I'd done a few gigs where the sound guy mixed from the iPad.  I researched and decided to go with the Mackie digital mixer/iPad set up.  Switching to powered mains was the obvious choice to match with the Mackie, which led me to the Yamahas.  Since I already had four passive floor wedges, it made more sense to pick up the Behringer four channel power amp than to go with powered monitors.  Especially as I hope to transition to IEMs.  If I were starting from scratch, I'd think seriously about powered monitors, though another consideration is that they need to be plugged in - more wires underfoot.  Make,sure to get yourself a big roll of gaffers tape, it's great stuff!

Bill, tgo

[jalevinemd]

For powered wedges, what kind of wattage do I need to play your average bar/small club? Or should I be looking at SPL and if so, what rating? I don't want to spend a fortune of floor monitors...want the real money going to the mains and mixer. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Jonathan

[terrace]

How about a powered mixer? At our house gig they have a 16 channel Traynor P.M. with four internal amps.Two for R/L FOH,two for monitors + a self powered sub fed by the accessory send.Bullet proof system w/ built in effects also.