A couple of Carvin 15" powered speakers can handle a pretty big room and will be a perfect complement to your Mackie. They are about 350 watts each. I've filled outdoor venues, Beatnik's, Nick's, and tons of other indoor joints with them.

They run about $400 each.

I figured his Mackie (if it's recent) would have a graphic EQ and FX. I agree for sure on the stands. Placement is key. Ditto on monitors. Sometimes we put one of the Carvins on the floor as foldbacks. They're wedged for easy adaptability. You could also buy a 12" or 10" for full-time monitor use.

I love all Mackie products, but mentioned the Carvins because I have worked a pair really hard for several years (several hundred gigs and events) without incident (except a recently blown tweeter in one), and they cost about $300 less each than the Mackies. They're surprisingly light, too.

Thanks for the advice everyone!! It is very much appreciated!

The mixer I have is a Mackie 1202 VLZ. It has 3 band EQ on each input channel but no built in effects.

It is a 4 piece rock band: Drums, bass, 2 electric guitar players, 2 vocals, and occasional harmonica.

Yup we are set up with everybody's mics, and I have the Mackie mixer, so it's seems like powered speakers might be the way to go.. maybe an effect unit for reverb, etc could be added later down the road.. Gear. It never ends.

My budget is $0.00. I'm trying to understand how best to use the gear I have, figure out what I need and then start saving those pennies! Like I said right now the vocals are through an extra guitar amp that we have, so anything we get would be a step up I think :-J

Any additional thoughts are very much appreciated!

What I would suggest is along the lines of what Matt and Duncan said. Grab a couple powered speakers and put them up on stands. Maybe get a third so you at least have one monitor on stage. If you have a really tight budget and don’t know how often you are going to use it etc go for the behringer ones. They sound pretty good for the money. If you find more and more you need a bigger PA or you are playing more then invest in a better front but still use the behringers for monitors. Kind of build as you go like you said. This will make your practice setup way better from the start though. You could get into 3 speakers and some stands for around 800 (or less used), a little more if you up the quality and get some Carvins or Mackies.

The one thing I would suggest is only putting vocals through if at all possible playing with a full band. Use stage volume to dictate the mix and work on positioning of guitar amps on stage to help both to hear them and not blow out the room. The less stuff you put through those mains the better the vocals are going to shine through. This set up should be plenty for most smaller rooms (like the Ship room) in town. For bigger rooms I would almost suggest hiring someone to bring in a system with a little more until you build up a PA.

Sounds like a good price. Mackie makes great stuff.

I still use a Mackie 1604 (not VLZ) that I've had since the late-90s, and have used at about a thousand gigs. It looks like hell, but has not given me a problem once, despite it being dropped, kept in dank basements, having beer and people spilled on it, etc.

Well, mainly because I am a noob and I'm learning all this as I go.. haha

I don't have a big head/cab amp setup. I have a solid-state combo amp. I had just assumed with my unimpressive amp that it would need to be mic'ed in order for it to be loud enough in live settings. I've only recently learned that this is not the case, (though I still feel a bit insecure when I see guys rolling in big cabs..)

One thing I need to try is to get the guitar amp up off the floor and see if it will help with the sound... elevate, tilt or just leave it on the floor.. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Thanks that is a good idea about the extension cab.. (though I'd prob be better off in the long run investing in a tube amp.. ) I like the tilt idea as well, I know exactly what you are saying about getting blasted in the face. Not enjoyable.

The amp I use is an old Crate G-212. It has 2 12" speakers. It's not anywhere near as loud as a tube, for sure. My amp at 3/4 volume is equal to my friend's fender hot rod on like 3. But at the same time, when my friend really cranks his fender it's just way too loud anyway so he never actually uses all that juice that he has..

I really appreciate all the feedback!!

Yeah you should be fine with both those guitar amps for playing live, unless your drummer likes to apeshit on the crash cymbals or something.

And yeah, I'd suggest getting a tube amp for the long run too :-)