Steve,

IMO that the best PA is a campfire, but I'm getting old and tired: my second question, when buying sound equipment, is "What does it weigh?"

But to give you my tuppence-wor' on acoustic/electric: Although I'm inclined to forgive an electric bass as a cost-effective beginner's instrument (I'll probably get in trouble for that!), and will happily listen to a plugged-in acoustic guitar if I can't hear it over a microphone, I draw the line at blasting me out of the building with equipment so loud I can't hear the music.

It may have simply been inexperience, though -- with the room, the crowd (some crowds, after all, are more interested in mating rites and the pool table than the music; and sometimes the band turns it up so they can hear themselves...I have played in these dives), or even their equipment. One relies on listening audience members in new and untried situations to be helpful here. I know I want to know if the viola is drowning the vocals or if the people in front are getting a headache while the folks in back can only hear mushy sound. It takes a bit to get that electronic junk to balance across a room.

Which may be why I prefer campfires.

Sarah