I'm thinking about buying a small PA for my band. We're a 3-4 piece (depending on who's around when) with a couple guitars and a couple vocalists.
Ideally, we'll be playing w/ one (or at worst) two mics and perhaps a small amp for the bassist in relatively quiet coffee shops.
Of course, that's ideally--more realistically, we'll end up playing in some loud, but not large, bars/clubs/restaurants.
I want to make sure I buy something that'll cover all those bases, but at the same time, I'm trying to avoid sinking a lot of money into something I find largely boring (namely PA gear--I'd much rather spend my cash on fun stuff...like a better banjo!). I also don't want to fill up my garage with a bunch of giant stuff that only gets used once a month (our practice space has its own PA, so we don't need it for that).
I've already got mics and mic stands, so I don't need to worry about those--mostly, I'm trying to decide what speakers/amp/mixer to look at, and/or what ought to be combined (powered speakers? powered mixer?).
Any thoughts on what to look for? I'm all for ebay and craigslist, but with something like a PA, I'm in a bit over my head and it's not like there's a shortage of options.