Best PA bundle for £600? Please help a newbie! :-)

[GuitaristMike]

Hi guys, I've visited this forum intermittently over the years, but this is my first ever post - I wonder if you can give me some advice please?

I recently left my soul-destroying corporate day job to earn a living by gigging at pubs, clubs & weddings. With a family to feed and mortgage to pay it's a daunting task, but I'm determined to make it work! I've played live hundreds of times, but I don't know a thing about the technical aspects of PA systems and I need to buy one in the next few days.

I have a starting budget of just £600 - can you recommend a decent PA setup at that price point? Is there a good beginner or "starter package" you can recommend?

Here's a few more details:
- I'll be playing to audiences of up to 200 people.
- I'll be playing guitar (using the 'line out' from a Marshall AS50 amp)
- Singing through a SM58
- Using an iPod to play backing tracks (drums, bass, backing vocals etc)
- I'm afraid £600 is all I have to spend at the moment, though I may upgrade in a few months once I have an established income.

I was considering buying this PA package from Dawsons: http/www.dawsons.co.uk/samson-xp510i-expedition-portable-pa-system

I'm a total novice when it comes to PA's, so any help would be sorely appreciated - Thank you so much!

-Mike

 

[thee_prisoner]

I'm not an expert on PA systems but the biggest problem I see is that the speakers are small if you might be playing for a crowd of 200.
If it is just background type music then they might be fine. It looks to me you are buying the mixer and they are adding some cheap speakers to the mix.

I suggest going to a local shop, buy something used and test them out in a large room with a bunch of people first.

Happy listening, the Prisoner...