mixer mains and monitors??

[steelpetals]

hey folks. i'm looking to start playing some small clubs in the next few months and was wondering what is a reasonable mixer and mains to buy. I'm so used to recording that when it comes to live sound, i'm a bit at a loss. my budget is about $1000 and one of the guys in the band has an amp that should be sufficient. given my recording background, I have a fair number of pro quality mics (dynamic) and so I have this covered as well. I am in need of a mixer, mains and monitors and I have no clue what I can purchase (used) for $1000-$1500. I'd like something of reasonable good quality that will last for the time being. I've heard soundcraft spirit series is reasonable as is the mackie onyx series. Otherwise, I'm at a loss. Any suggestions? The band is a blues rock original outfit with 5 members, two of which are vocalists as well. small venues only at this point
Thanks

 

[Nate74]

Wow, just about any Soundcraft mixer is gonna be way more quality than I would think you'd ever need in a live application. My band plays a lot of local clubs, some with in-house systems and some, we have to take our own. We use a Carvin 1000-watt amp for the mains with a little 8 channel Yamaha mixer with built in effects. We have a set of Carvin's cheapest 15" Speakers (I think $400/pr New). We use a set of Yamaha 10's for smaller gigs. We can also use them as stage monitors for larger venues. Lastly we found some used Carvin 12" slant monitors for $200 for the pair. All tolled, we probably have a little over a grand in the whole setup.

Compared to the systems we see in the clubs with in-house pa's, ours is better 99% of the time. So when you mention the ONYX or any Soundcraft, I can't help but think "over kill" also wouldn't that take up your whole budget?