Q: I’m starting a new band, and we’re going to need a PA for rehearsals. But how do I know how big of a PA I need?

A: Few things are as exciting as getting a band together, finding a rehearsal space, and beginning your musical journey together. Unless you’re purely an acoustic group, that journey will likely require a “PA” (public address) or sound system in order to amplify vocals and some instruments. Good news — there are loads of compact and affordable PA systems from the likes of Peavey, Mackie, Yamaha, Behringer, Samson, Bose, and others that are powerful enough for your rehearsal room, and even a small gig where you have to bring your own PA, and that won’t break the bank. But how much PA do you really need?

Start by eliminating instruments that don’t need mixer channels. A drum kit, for example, is plenty loud for rehearsal without needing to be miked through a PA system. Likewise, any guitar or bass amp that can put out over 15 or 20 watts or so of power should be enough for a rehearsal or small gig — a reasonable-sized keyboard or acoustic guitar amp should also be able to cover a rehearsal. So that really means you’ll just need a channel for everyone who wants a mic in front of them for vocals, maybe a channel for synthesizers/computers (if there’s no keyboard amp), and then maybe incidental channels for things like percussion, other acoustic instruments, and so on.

For a typical five-person rock band consisting of a singer, two guitars, bass, and drums, a small 8-channel PA that puts out 100 watts or so is probably enough. Assuming everyone sings, you could give every single person a vocal microphone and still have three channels for percussion, computers, keyboards, an acoustic guitar with no pickup, backup singers, or whatever else you need to amplify. Of course, if you can swing a slightly larger PA, it could also serve to cover you for bigger gigs — many venues have “house” sound systems, but it never hurts for a band to be self contained.

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