PA for school plays etc...?

RocknRollDave

Looking for some advice on a PA for the school I work at.

We just did a Christmas concert in a large town hall, and the dude operating our PA basically would like to put it out of its misery and get something new.
This is our current *PA:

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/peavey-escort-3000-portable-pa-system

(*or if not the exact model, something very similar from the same range...)

We have a Bose L1 system we used for the spoken-word parts (readings, announcements etc.) and then for the music, we had the Peavey speakers either side of the stage, behind the singers (to allow them to hear the backing tracks, as we don't have any foldback monitors) and two small mics on stands in front of the children (choirs of approximately 30 children at a time) to (try to) capture their voices and project them a little further than the children's vocal technique would otherwise allow.

Main problem is that, to get anything like a decent volume out of the mics, we had to turn them up to the point where they were feeding back through the PA speakers.

The other main application for this PA is for school plays in our school hall. Again, a case of trying to capture stage volume and project it further, and again it tips into feedback at the first opportunity.

So, questions:

Is it just the case that having very hot mics in front of the PA speakers is going to cause feedback? [Solution: Get some kind of monitoring solution so that the speakers can actually be in front of the children (and the mics)....?]

Could they be the wrong mics? In which case, what type of mics do we need?

Should we get a new PA with more headroom? (Will that just make the feedback louder?!)


Any thoughts, suggestions on what gear we need and/ or how to better get the best out of what we have would be much appreciated.

Whistler

I would add to the Bose L1 system as I know a band that swapped their old PA for a Bose L1 set and they say how much better it is than the old, traditional type of system, but it took a bit of getting used to.

The L1 will be both the PA and the monitors. Read up on it as it is a non-traditional approach. Each musician (in my friend's band) has his own L1.

shufflebeat

Something like the Bose s1 pro (battery powered, audio via Bluetooth- completely cable [trip hazard] free) would be a great playback system as you could plant it on the floor or on a short stand in front of the choir and put some mics in a stereo arrangement above it in a way that won’t pick up the playback directly, then move your speakers where they will do the most good, near the audience.

Then re-assess your needs.

Other small speakers are available but your life will always be better if you have an s1 pro.



Personally, I’d always have the audio connected by cable for simplicity and reliability but Bluetooth has been useful from time to time.