I hope somebody can help me, I'm looking to setup a live venue. I'll be hiring staff capable of 'doing' the sound and lights etc, so I don't need to know what to do with this kind of thing (sorry, I don't mean to sound ike I'm demeaning your professions!). I will be involved in the buying of the equipment at the outset though. My problem, and this is where I hope you guys can help, is that I don't know what I need.

I have a basic idea, in that I'll need:
A drum kit
a mixing deck
4-5 microphones
two commercial size speakers
1-2 strobe lights
1 red/green/blue light
a lighting board
cables etc.

What I'm asking is can somebody tell me the basics I'll need in order to have bands play in my venue?

I'm being told that I need a 24 channel mixing deck. The ones I've looked at have between 4 and 8 microphone inputs and a series of sliders (obviously the channels) but I don't know whether I need 24, 48 or what!!! I want to be buying these things with at least a rudamentary knowledge of what I'm talking about, and so if somebody can give me an idea of the basic essentials and the 'nice to haves', I would be really grateful.

For example, I've been told I need a compressor "to prevent guitarists playing loud solos", was how it was explained to me. I thought that the mixer was for this. My understanding was that you mix the levels of the inputs to where you want them to be.

Advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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