Typically, a multipath channel response can be characterized as a sum of Rayleigh-fading ''rays'', each defined by a time delay and a mean-square amplitude. Therefore, the channel response can be largely described by a power delay profile (PDP), which is the set of mean-square ray amplitudes and relative delays. Here, we address the following question: Given an actual (or ''true'') PDP, PDP(τ), which may have many rays, is there a 3-ray (i.e. 3- tap) equivalent response, derivable from PDP(τ), that can be used to accurately estimate the average bit error rate, <;BER>, vs. receiver input signal- to-noise ratio, SNR? The results reported here give an affirmative answer, e.g., for <;BER> values down to = 10 ^-4 , the required SNR using a 3-tap equivalent channel response is less than 1.1 dB larger than that required for the ''true'' channel. This agreement can be improved upon, suggesting further work on deriving and evaluating equivalent 3-tap channels. We discuss the benefits of such simplifications for hardware emulators as well as for simulation and analysis.