My daughter plays in a classic rock band, but also does solo gigs.  She sings and plays lead guitar.  Venues for her solo gigs would be small and I'm trying to find the most effective gear that isn't huge or weight a ton.  

She knows the type of mixer she wants, as well as mics, but I'm looking to see what speakers and amp make sense.  I see a used Kustom set locally that has a 100W amp, 160W speakers KSC12.  

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Bottom line up front: We really like the Roland Cube Street and Fishman Loudbox.

We've been looking into amps for busking and researched several. We spent a day hitting up all the guitar stores and music shops to see what they had and try them out.

We were looking for something to play violin and guitar into, with versatility for mic/vocals and future FX loops and mixing.

The Roland Cube is amazing. With a strat on the guitar/instrument channel there are several settings that change the tone, as well as reverb and delay.  We set the volume on ECO and it sounds great!  Normal and MAX volume give even more when needed.  The first channel has a switch for mic or instrument with it's own reverb and delay.  When we plugged the violin pickup in it was a little weak, but using the Fiddlerman Wireless or the LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI gives all the boost it needed. Haven't tried acoustic electric yet but assume it's much like the piezo pickup for the violin. (Barcus Berry 3100)

Number two on the list is the Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge. A relative is a pro musician and recently started giving my kid guitar lessons. He has a regular Loudbox Mini and it sounds amazing.  Basic EQ, channel 1 for XLR/Mic, channel 2 for 1/4" instrument with EQ and some reverb and delay.  He's used it for public performances, and said he bought it after seeing a busker in a busy and large space that was able to cut through the noise of the crowd for a decent distance. We want the Mini Charge for the added benefit of the battery and portability. If you need more channels, inputs, FX loops, etc., look into the Loudbox Artist.

We tried the JBL EON ONE compact. We were NOT impressed at all. The volume was weak and barely carried over the sound of the violin itself in a large and mostly empty guitar store. The sound quality wasn't great either.  The good feature was the phone app that allows you to do in-depth mixing on each channel. A parametric EQ with hi pass shelf, low pass shelf, and 5 to 8 individual spots to adjust frequency and the Q value of each. Online reviews said mostly positive things with the biggest complaint that the battery gets hot. We didn't notice the battery in the 20 minutes or so we played with it, but it wasn't for us.

The Bose S1 didn't work for us at all.  We need something that works with violin, and just plugging it in we noticed a static like airy hiss in the amplification.

The Roland BA-330 also missed the mark.  Looked like very similar inputs as the Cube, but not nearly as many tone options and the volume was nothing compared side-by-side with the Cube, even on ECO setting.

If you're looking for tube amps or something even bigger, I like this channel:
Psionic Audio
He looks at amps from a serviceability view as well as quality view. Interesting insight on his channel. I haven't seen him review any of the amps I just mentioned.

You could always call Sweetwater and get their recommendations.

Your mileage may vary from what we found. Let us know what you decide! Good luck!

ETA: We have a Fender Passport that has multiple inputs. It's ok for messing around or something like a public speaking, but I don't think it would work for what you're describing. On the otherhand, we looked a little into the Yamaha Stagepas 600BT. It looks like a better quality version of the Fender Passport.  More EQ and tone options.  Good reviews online. Haven't tried on yet. Might do what you want with power and portability though.

You don't want an amp and passive speakers. Forget the Kustom setup.

Get powered speakers. If you're willing to buy used, look for a used QSC K10 or K12.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314021414966?hash=item491d228836:g:2b8AAOSwZEhimQRb

You don't have to buy two. One of those on a stand will be fine at first. You can add more if need be.

I see a lot of solo artists around where I work. Some of them have small systems that sound great; others, not so much. I'll start paying more attention, and see if I can give you more ideas.

Thanks guys.  I’ll keep watching this thread.

We have those QSC and also the competitive versions from Mackie, both are self-powered and excellent.  QSC is lighter though.

We also have Kustom and Acoustic speakers and those are not that good. I would not recommend them.

I don't think you mentioned what kind of guitar she uses, but those QSC and Mackies will do a very good job as well.  She might need a preamp or modeling pedal up front as those monitors are *clean*, crystal clear.

Finally, I don't know what a small venue is to you, but I would never consider bring a 100W guitar amp to what I consider a small venue. I would prefer a modeler pedal in that case.

I think the 100W amp is a power amp for the Kustom PA speakers.

Which Mackie's are you referring to?  I've used the DRM line a couple times in the last year or two.

Thump

Ah, got it. I’ve used those too, although not willingly

OK, help me out here:

Here's what she wants to run:

- Mic
- Mixer
- Guitar amp to Mixer, or Acoustic guitar directly to Mixer

Equipment she currently has:

-  Behringer KM750 750-watt stereo power amplifier
-  Yamaha MG10 mixer

The K10 is a powered speaker and there doesn't appear to be a way to connect here KM750 (make sense, since the speaker has an internal amp, but I thought perhaps a bypass is possible?)

Anyway, there's no talking her out of the equipment she has, mostly because it's what she's used to.  So I just need to select a speaker, probably  passive, unless folks have other ideas.

Most venues would be corner tavern  type places, as there are a few that work closely with local  musicians.

If you go with powered loudspeakers, just connect the mixer outputs directly to them.

Edit, I might have read that wrong, does "there's no talking her out of the equipment she has" mean she will insist on continuing to use the external power amp too?  It's really much simpler to just use a mixer of some kind and some decent powered loudspeakers.

It does and I agree with you.  I "think" the issue is that she'll switch to acoustic at times, but still not sure why the amp is necessary.  

Thanks.  I don't disagree with you.  Maybe I'll have her set this up and see how it sounds.  We had to pause, because she wanted to attend Tom Najarian's funeral service.  Tom was originally from Brooklyn, but moved  to  PA as a Regional Manager for Sam Ash stores I believe.  Aside from being  in successful bands (Sofa Kings), he was a strong advocate for musicians and up and coming bands, hosting open mic nights, etc.  By all accounts, just a great guy and WMGK did a tribute to him last week.

Dad finally won one

She connected her mixer with the powered speaker, so she's skipping the amp, and it sounds really nice.  She likes the Gemini PA-300BT.  1200W peak, 300W continuous - I'm a little concerned about the watts though.  I like the idea of the modular towers, which "raise" where the sound disperses from, and the tower also sends sound to different directions, as opposed to a one direction speaker.  We'll see how it works.

Thanks for all of your input.  I have a K10 in my Favorites, in case this Gemini doesn't work out

I would avoid anything by Mackie like the plague - especially the HDA series. Mackie's customer support is absolute garbage these days, and replacement parts are hard to come by. The HDA series, in particular are prone to failures which are near impossible to fix due to lack of parts availability.

Soo...gig went well.  Two patrons (owners of neighboring business) asked for booking information.  She's off an running.  HOWEVER, the Gemini speaker isn't up to the task.  She was asked a couple times to turn it up, but at that point it starts to hum, and it just  wasn't pushing enough sound.

I'd be happy to buy a K10, but  can someone tell me which firmware version, or date, I should be looking for.  Customers are freaking to the point where I'm surprised  there hasn't been a Class Action lawsuit against QSC for their Protect Mode4 debacle.  They clearly had a known firmware issue and tried to gaslight folks.  Customers are receiving "repaired" K10s, but not sure if the new ones have been corrected.  

The Protect Mode 4 occurs, while the speaker is in use, shutting down.  The user then needs to go through a series of inputs, and audio tests, in order to bring it back online. No thanks.

Anyway, if I purchase a new K10 off the shelf, how can I know it's not one that's been affected?