PA & Amps Which PA system?

[Lloyd]

Can anyone advise what amp will go with a Shure SM57 mic. I will, at some point be competing with drums and electric guitars playing jazz/rock so need something with sufficient oomph. What output would be best and any particular brands I should look at? I'm brand new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Jules]

Can anyone advise what amp will go with a Shure SM57 mic. I will, at some point be competing with drums and electric guitars playing jazz/rock so need something with sufficient oomph. What output would be best and any particular brands I should look at? I'm brand new to this so any advice would be appreciated.

first point- do you have a singer in the band? If you do- just run through whatever they're running through. Beyond that- assuming you've got no main PA- any amp for keyboards or acoustic instruments should do the trick. Never use a guitar or bass amp- they'll colour your sound too much... though actually a sax through a marshall amp sounds quite cool once in a while, if you like the 'bit like a chainsaw' type of tone!
bear in mind that using a mike and an amp effectively requires a bit of learning, if you're not careful- 'oomph' equals howling feedback. You'll need to experiment with EQ, bass- treble balance &, critically, where you put your mike in relation to the front of the amp cabinet (from my experience- never directly in front or behind- if you can, stand next to the side of your amp).
As for specifics- any of the big makes should produce a good result- Roland, Peavey etc (something with an on board EQ and reverb would be handy). Instinct says anything over about 20W is going to be asking for feedback.. but that's a bit of a guess)....

 

[Lloyd]

I poked my head into a local music shop the other day and they tried to sell me a Marshall 50 amp! I smelt a rat then, which is why I posed the question here and based on your reply it seems that this would be totally unsuitable. Thanks for your help. I think I'll experiment with a few first.