Karaoke Forums

oneofakind,

First let me say that I think the Bose L1 system would work well for you and I think you would be happy with it. Of course you can always try it and if you don't like it, take it back.

Now, why I wouldn't buy it again. Well it's mostly a case of been there done that, now I want to try something else. I'm a gear head and getting something different sounds like more fun. I got rid of my dual Yamaha Club series speakers because I wanted to cut back on the weight and make things easier to haul around. The individual pieces are lighter and that's a great plus but now there are more pieces to deal with. I have two PS1 power stands, four L1 tower pieces, and four bass modules. The overall weight is probably a bit lower than wood cabinets but I don't know if it's lighter than the ABS plastic cabinets.

In the past plastic cabinets sounded like garbage to me. Some of them still do but there are now better newer lightweight speakers made of plastic. I know I already mentioned the QSC K series speakers but they are a good example. There are 8, 10 and 12 inch models weighing 27, 32, and 41 pounds. That's not bad! I think one of my power stands weighs more than 32 pounds. I don't know how much the new power stands with the outriggers weigh. Now the QSC K series sub still weighs 74 lbs but it has casters built in.

For me I think something like the QSC K series would work well and like I said before at $3700 full retail for two K12s and 2 KSUBs that's only 1/2 the cost your looking at. Now I realize that you would need other pieces of equipment like a mixer with effects and a pair of tripod stands. I also realize that you are getting some other items like the cart and hard cases, etc. So that isn't a direct comparison in price. I would probably opt for the K10s and one KSUB to start so I would only be looking at $2450 or less for street prices.

As a DJ the Bose system works fine but for pure stereo music it's not quite ideal. For your setup I think the Bose L1 system would work great. The L1 system was designed for musicians and people adapted it to work with their DJ gear. Bose didn't market the system to DJs until later on and I think they only did that because there was an obvious market for it. Hooking a mic to ONE L1 tower and hooking a Keyboard to ONE Bose L1 tower is ideal. This is how it was designed to be operated. Using the Bose L1 as your monitor and your PA also fits right in with the design. If you want or need to hookup mics to more than one L1 (like I do all the time) sorta breaks the rules and makes things more complicated. For example I want to have all my mics run to a mixer so that I can ride the gain on my speakers and singers. If I want to also use the EQ presets in my power stand, I would have to route those mics to input 1 or 2 on the tower. No big deal but if I'm using the EQ for an SM58 mic I can't also route my left or right stereo sound from my computer to that same input because it would also be modified by the EQ preset. It becomes complex to setup. There's more to it than that but I think I have already made it too confusing.

As for setting up the L1s in your venue, the best thing to do it just try it and see how it works. I do think getting part of the tower above peoples heads is a good idea.

Parking IS a (@$%&#!) in the city. When I was living the the bay area, I would charge extra for gigs in the city. I completely understand needing to get everything in one trip. With a good cart and careful loading you should be able to get everything in one trip. I am able to get just about everything I need on a hotel bellman's cart.

I only have the soft bags and after 2-3 years of gigs the Bose bags have taken a bit of a beating. One of the two zippers on the power stands came off. I can still zip the bag up but I have to go all the way around now with the one zipper. One of the tower bags has ripped about 6 inches along one of the seams. The B1 module bags are fine but they only cover 5 of the 6 sides of the bass modules. Thus the plastic is a little scuffed on the top and bottom edges. None of that bothers me too much one thing that does bug me a bit is the "screen" on the front of the L1 towers. All four pieces now have small dents in the screen. They are not that easy to see, especially in a darkened venue but I know they are there and it bugs me a bit. I treat my equipment pretty well and I still have these dents. It's almost unavoidable. Many people have put their L1 towers in a hard case but that just adds to the weight and the bulk. If you care about the looks of the towers I would recommend a hard case for the towers.

P.S. I'll also take an invite to a gig. I'm a bit further away in the Sacramento area but it's not impossible.

In the realm or "portable" or lightweight speakers, Pioneer makes these...

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... kers/S-FL1

I have never met or talked to anyone who owns these things or has even seen them in person.

I'd say it depends on your application. I heard these at a small bar. the KJ had to poles and 2 subs... I thought it was incredible and clean... but that was small bar.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

I have 2 L1 Classics and 4B1's and I'm completely happy playing in any venue Medium to Large. I have never had headroom problems....Ever! I have played to crowds of up to 400 with both L1's and frequently do venues of up to 200 with 1 L1 and 4B1's and a packlite. There is plenty of volume there unless you are going deaf from years of operating overpowered PA systems.

There is a huge difference between Power and Clarity. It does not need to make ears ring to hear good sound. One of the things I like about my system is that it is plenty loud to reach every corner of my venue yet customers can carry on conversations without screaming across the table at one another to hear each other. The coverage of sound within the room is amazingly clear throughout the room. I have had so many positive comments regarding this that it has become normal at most of my venues. Hotel management and catering staff have been especially vocal about it. This has led to more bookings. I'm completely satisfied, but more important is that my customers are impressed.

It all depends on what side of the fence you are on here, but Bose is one of the most misunderstood systems in our industry and therefore gets alot of flack from those who have not used the system for several gigs to get the adjustments and adapt to the new technology. There is a learning curve even for the most experienced users and once they get it dialed in correctly they are sold. Some just cant make the switch and that is totally ok as it is important to really be satisfied with your overall system.

When the T1 mixer came out I purchased it on a trial basis (45 days) I was using a Mackie Mixer and everything sounded fine as it was. Once I rec'd the T1 mixer from Bose I connected it directly to the laptop via USB and it added a good 20db to the headroom immediately and the clarity and control over music and microphones was amazing, almost a 100% improvement over the Mackie board. The T1 literally turbocharged my system. You could never get this mixer away from me now. Because I do multiple types of setups for different needs the T1 allows me to save all my settings for each by saving it to a "Scene" and I label it for each venue. So when I go back to that type of setup I just select that scene and I'm ready to go....no more adjustments are required. I highly recommend selecting the T1 for mixing your vocals.

I'm Positive that using 2 L1's and 4B1's will do the trick for you and I would encourage you to go to the Bose Forum and get input from professionals there as the information you will get there is from Professional KJ's, DJ's and Musicians that have found Bose to be the ultimate for their professions.

Feel free to PM me if you need additional help.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I should also add that I don't hate my Bose L1s. On the contrary they have worked very well for me and they have a high Bride Acceptance Factor (BAF). I'll probably continue using them for at least another 2 years. At that time, I'll evaluate all my choices perhaps I'll buy Bose again and perhaps not.

What I was trying to provide was my real world experience. Honest information about how the Bose system works and any problems or gotchas that I have experienced along the way. After all I think that's what oneofakind was asking for.

Hey Eben- I work every SAT at the Top of the MARK 9-12:30 with Ricardo scales and a band...c'mon in whenever you get the chance!

Oh if you wanna GPS it the address is:
One Nob Hill in the city....penthouse level of the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel!

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