First, a little background: I've been practicing my singing every day for 45 minutes to an hour. I've been doing so by driving out to the park and singing along with songs in my car. I keep the volume of the stereo low enough that I can hear myself sing, and sometimes hold my spiral notebook lyrics book up in front of my face to reflect my voice back to my ears to hear myself even better. I have sung while people were in the car with me to get their opinion of how I sing and all have said I am in pitch and sound good.

Here's what I'm singing six days a week:
Wave on Wave - Pat Green
Sublime - Wrong Way
Queensryche - For the Love of Money
Queensryche - Heaven on their Minds
Tora Tora - Amnesia
Queensryche - Bridge
Queensryche - Silent Lucidity
Wave on Wave - Pat Green (again)
She Talks To Angels - Black Crowes
No Matter What - Lillian Axe
Lillian Axe - True Believer

Last night, I went to audition for a local band that was looking for a new lead singer. I sang Spirit Of The Radio and Red Barchetta because the band knew how to play those two songs and I knew the words to `em. In fact, I used to use Dream Theater's cover of Red Barchetta as one of my practice songs.

The band did not have a PA however. All they had was a spare bass amp for me to sing through. I have my own mic (Sennheiser e835) and a TC-Helicon Voice Correct box, but this audition is the first time I've actually sung through any type of amplified PA, and the first time I've used my mic.

Using the bass amp was very prone to feedback. So bad in fact that I had to stand on the side of, or slightly behind the thing to keep it from squealing.
I don't feel like I could hear myself well enough to know what I was singing.

My audition, I'm told, sounded pretty bad. My ego was bruised and I felt kind'a down when I left.

The band told me I had plenty of range, but that I just needed more time singing through a PA so that I could get used to hearing myself through one and keeping myself in pitch.

Is it really that vastly different listening to your voice through a PA and correcting versus listening to your voice naturally or using a reflector ???

Is a bass amp (or guitar amp) vastly different from an actual PA ???

Was I just ignorant to think that a bass amp would suffice ???

Perhaps if I go audition for another band that has a real PA it will be vastly different and I'm just being too hard on myself `cuz the problem was really the crappy makeshift "PA" ???

I don't have the resources to afford a PA, nor any place to set one up and practice even if I did have one. While I can sing almost flawlessly along with a CD in the car, is flying solo through a PA something I'm just not gonna be able to nail without alot of practice using one ???

I need some advice from those that have walked this path before me, cuz right now I'm not feeling too confident.

Dude, what you need is the VAM! Vocal Acoustic Monitor. It is so worth it! All you do is just attach it to your microphone, and no matter if you're singing through PA or a bass amp, you will hear yourself so much better and clearer, and you'll know what you're doing. The problem is that you can't really hear yourself, and this will help you a lot. So go check it out!

Yeah a VAM is a wise choice. But a bad choice was this band with no PA expecting you to sing through a bass amp? Did they REALLY expect it not squeal if you were in front of it? You need at this stage to be able to hear yourself. Don't sweat it; sounds like the band wasn't prepared for a real audition. Keep singing;)

I've been in a similar situation. What I did was first buy a VAM, just like Jaime (who recommended I do so at the time) and Stan said. But also, because I didn't want to have to sing through a bass amp, I brought a nice little pre-amp. The VAM makes me able to hear myself and the amp means the band can hear too.

The model I chose was the Roland Micro-Cube. I highly recommend this if you lack a PA. I got mine brand-new for £80 (which is probably in the vicinity of $150). It has a setting for microphones and is very compact.

It's actually an amp designed for busking, but I find can be used for rehearsals too (I would never use it for a live performance though). It may mean the rest of the band have to turn down a little bit in order to hear you... But it'll be better than singing through a bass amp.

Obviously this is a little more expensive than just the VAM... As I said, I personally use both if no PA is available. Also remember, it will unlikely suffice in live situations.

Oh, you alsoget some pretty cool effects, like phaser and flanger... Can be pretty awesome for creating experimental vocal sounds.

Just my 2 pennies.

Thanks to all for the advice! My bruised ego has recovered after assurances both here and elsewhere that it was due to the conditions and not a lack of ability on my part. And I'm gonna snag me a VAM, hehe.