What Do I Need to Get Ready for My First Gig?

This, as most things, will firstly boil down to how much money you’re willing to spend. Prices for PA-systems will run from a few hundred Euros (or dollars) to tens of thousands.

Secondly, you’ll need to decide if you want an active or passive system. For reference, check the bundles Thomann offers.

Active sets: http://www.thomann.de/gb/active_pa_sets.html
Passive sets: http://www.thomann.de/gb/passive_pa_sets.html

Regarding connectivity, there’s really not that much difference in plugging into a PA or computer speakers – sound comes out of your controller via some type of cable, which then connects to an output device – a mixer/amp or, in the case of computer speakers, directly to the speakers which have a built-in amp.

Hope this helps get you started 🙂

Back in the 80’s we built our own amps from kits.

Do have a place near you that you can rent equipment from? This might be more economical starting out and lets you adapt to the venue you’re playing.

I’ve played gigs (house parties and smaller halls) where I could use my studio monitors and I’ve also played at an outdoor event with about 2000 that I had to rent 4 cabs and 4 bass bins. Most of the time, my 2x Titan 12as and 2x sub-a15s are more than enough for any gig I do.

I’d stay away from the JBL speakers in my opinion. They’re not the most amazing line. JBL in general isn’t great. Good deal on the QSC amp though. If you can find some good used mackies, I’d go for it. Also yorkville is good value generally but not as high on the quality scale.