Hi - In the fall I am going to start doing gigs after many years. Will be the typical one person with acoustic guitar gig -Acoustic/electric six string and will do some some songs with finger picked electric and a 12 string acoustic. Ok, at this point I have no PA system (do have a 10 channel mixer) or even an amp for the acoustic. What small venue / personal speaker - PA systems do you recommend???? Thanks!

I used to have an SWR California Blonde that worked great for amplifying acoustics.
 

 

did you use this for vocals as well

I didn't but it does have a mic input as well.  HERE is where my pics are so you can see the details better.
 
I, personally, used it very little but anyone playing an acoustic in my studio usually plugged into it and it was used on stage very nicely a couple of times.

Found the owner's manual online HERE.
 
Looks like you've got a lot of options, including having two instruments AND the mic input (or you can use the fourth input which is a stereo input - perhaps from a small mixer).

As a former live sound guy I sort of hate them... but the Bose line array stack thingy that looks like a Star Wars toy is pretty darn perfect for a small 1 or 2 person gig.

+ on the Bose.
 
 

To a large degree it depends on your budget..
 
if you have reverb fx in your mixer then you can get away with just a powered monitor.. of the (many) acoustic acts in this area they all have mixer/powered PA spkr setup... from the cheapest 12" behringer at $250 to QSC at $1000
 

On that Bose - the other day I heard one - of all places, at a golf course - bar/snack area where they had it hooked up to a talk-radio audio - the fidelity was extremely good! As I approached that spot, I thought there were people in the room talking..

That's the thing about them.
 
A small traditional PA usually sounds like a PA and it undermines the *acoustic* aesthetic.
 
The BOSE system reinforces the acoustic aesthetic.
 
My criticisms of the system have to do with the way Bose claims that the system can be scaled into a larger system. I don't think that is realistic; there are specific reasons that large PA are laid out the way they are and BOSE sort of ignores that.
 
They seem perfect for reinforcing someone who wants to sound acoustic... and I'd wager that this can lead to being appreciated by an audience in a tangible way.
 
 
best regards,
mike