Hey Boo,

I agree about the price we should get paid, but for some strange reason, the pay scale is about the same now as it was 10 years ago--maybe less.

As for the equipment decissions, I think we have all been through the ups and downs of what to buy, how much stuff we pack along to a job, and is it worth the expense. The first question I ask myself now is "if it cost three times as much, why can't I hear any difference in what's coming out of the speakers?" If there's no noticible improvement, forget it!

When I'm doing a large job, one that may involve a couple other performers, I fire up a peavy Unity-500 mixer. It's full stereo, lightweight, compact, easy to use and has more features than I'll ever use. You may want to check this one out.

When I'm by myself, the mixer stays home and I use a Peavey XR-600F powered mixer. It has 7 inputs, stereo on mono output, dual 9-band graphics equalizers, and sufficient power to play push a pair of Peavey SP-5G speakers. I've played using this rig at several, large political fundraisers and had more than enough beef to reach the audience in the back of a massive banquet hall that was filled to capacity with raving lunitics.

Now all you have to do is decide what sounds best to you. Told ya' I would git evin one day!

Cheers,

Gary