Bose L1

**tonyknight** · 11-09-2010, 06:44 AM

In the never-ending quest to have the least gear to gig with, has anyone any experience in going direct into the Bose L1 sound system? I'm sure that acoustic guitars and voice are excellent (should be for the price of the system), but what about electric guitars? I personally use what many on the forum seem to use - Fender Tele and Gibson ES335... Would inline guitar processing be necessary (tube preamps etc)?

**billkath** · 11-09-2010, 06:55 AM

I'd definitely look at some sort of amp/cab modelling. Maybe look at a Sansamp? I've used the POD XTLive with it-it sounded great, but has a speacial L1 voicing button on it.

**JohnW400** · 11-09-2010, 10:49 AM

I did 3 gigs with one before selling it. I had the L1 and one bass module. Sounded great. I used an ES-350t, A Super 400 CES and a Yamaha C171 nylon through it.

I demo'ed it using a custom archtop with a neck mounted pup, a tele, a 335 clone and a classical with the piezo/mic option. They all sounded fine for JAZZ.

If you want a more rock sound you will need some sort of pedal or as Bill recommends. You might also consider miking a small tube amp as well for blues/rock.

The reason I got rid of it was because of it's weight and number of pieces. It was a HASSLE to port around and set up. The newer ones look easier but it's still 3-4 pieces of gear.

Other than that, I liked it.

**tonyknight** · 11-09-2010, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the input John and Bill. Your comments are pretty much what I was expecting.

However, my gigging material at the moment includes the remnants of my rocking days, so a stereo PA system, two 500W power amps, about 300Kg of speakers and subwoofers, multiple mixing desks, Fender Hotrod Deluxe, a Crate 120 chorus, a G-K 200mv (the tiniest 100W combo I've ever seen, but only good with external cabs) etc. I fell victim to a neurological or auto-immune problem a couple of years ago and I just can't lug that stuff any more

So I was hoping that the Bose, with some off-board processing would be able to handle my personal mix of folk, country, rock, blues and a little jazz...

But if the manhandling of the Bose is too much of a hassle what would you recommend? Or what did you change/go back to?

Cheers,
Tony

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 11-09-2010, 12:22 PM

Find the right girlfriend?

**tonyknight** · 11-09-2010, 12:56 PM

I'm not sure that my wife would agree to this solution :-)

**billkath** · 11-09-2010, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by tonyknight

Thanks for the input John and Bill. Your comments are pretty much what I was expecting.

However, my gigging material at the moment includes the remnants of my rocking days, so a stereo PA system, two 500W power amps, about 300Kg of speakers and subwoofers, multiple mixing desks, Fender Hotrod Deluxe, a Crate 120 chorus, a G-K 200mv (the tiniest 100W combo I've ever seen, but only good with external cabs) etc. I fell victim to a neurological or auto-immune problem a couple of years ago and I just can't lug that stuff any more

So I was hoping that the Bose, with some off-board processing would be able to handle my personal mix of folk, country, rock, blues and a little jazz...

But if the manhandling of the Bose is too much of a hassle what would you recommend? Or what did you change/go back to?

Cheers,
Tony

I found the L1 perfect for that, and MUCH less handling than a full PA, Desk, Amps etc.

**JohnW400** · 11-09-2010, 01:47 PM

@ Tony,

Well compared to what you are/were lugging, the L1 would be a walk in the park.

**goshawk** · 11-09-2010, 06:30 PM

I have a friend who used L1s for his classic rock trio. Both he and the guitarist used pedals in front of the system and it worked fine.

If weight is the concern, have you looked at the Fishman SoloAmp or Collins BagAmp? They look to be similar in approach to the Bose, but a little lighter and more compact.

Edited to add: Hmmm, after a little more reading on the Web, not sure the BagAmp is a good choice. The product gets decent reviews, but it sounds like the company may be having some difficulties.

**woyvel** · 11-10-2010, 10:01 PM

Here are a couple ideas for consideration
*2 Lunchbox acoustics
*Fender 250W stereo PA rig
*Macke Powered monitors, or something similar (Carvin's version)?

You'd still need something on the front end for the guitar. Several different things there, including Line 6 Floor Pod and Vox ToneLab. The front end piece might depend on your tone/stylistic needs.

**-ST-** · 11-11-2010, 05:36 AM

Hi tonyknight,

Originally Posted by tonyknight

In the never-ending quest to have the least gear to gig with, has anyone any experience in going direct into the Bose L1 sound system? I'm sure that acoustic guitars and voice are excellent (should be for the price of the system), but what about electric guitars? I personally use what many on the forum seem to use - Fender Tele and Gibson ES335... Would inline guitar processing be necessary (tube preamps etc)?

I have run my ES Artist (very similar to an ES335) , and my L5, directly into my Bose Model II Power Stand (straight in, no pre-processing). Both sound great to me. I was gigging this weekend straight into my L1 Compact (30 pounds in total). This too works really well for clean sounds.

I normally use the Bose T1® ToneMatch Audio Engine between the guitars and the Model II or Compact, but that's just for convenience because I use that for my vocals.

For more styles and applications I have a some notes here: What I run through my Bose L1

I hope that is helpful.

ST

PS - you might be interested in this Pat Metheny on Tour with the Bose L1 System

**Paul Kinnear** · 11-11-2010, 07:08 AM

I have been usinig a bose l1 ii for about the past two years. It is mostly used for jazz duo jobs. We plug direct into the tonematch unit which is like a 4 channel mixer with programable presets. I recently started useing an eastman 905 7 string ( I had been using a 335) the other guitar is an ibanez artist semi- hollow body from around 1978. We also use one channel for vocals. We use channel four ( which has dual inputs) for a portable cd player for break music. The bose has replaced two vibrolux amps (in cases) and an old toa pa with stands (we used a truck for duo jazz gigs). I can not recomend the bose any more highly. The sound is fantastic wether a small restaurant job, a wedding or even outdoor festivals. Its one of "my favorite things". Although used primarily for jazz it has been used for pop gigs. The fact it fits in the trunk of the maxima with two guitars is a big plus as well as it going from curb to set up in maybe ten minutes. I highly recomend giving it a try.

**GodinFan** · 11-11-2010, 10:51 AM

I've been thinking about getting one of the Bose systems for a small club gig/jazz jam. It'd be used only for some mic'd instruments (flute, muted trumpet), vocals, and possibly electric piano.

Any suggestions as to which model would work best?

**Paul Kinnear** · 11-11-2010, 12:40 PM

hello Godinfan,
I would suggest the bose l1 II, as that and the l1 original model (with the big base and different speaker array) are what I have experience with. The sound is great and it can easily fill a club. There is a small model of which I have not used that may also work well for you. The smaller one may be all you need and I think they are about a third the price (around $950.00). I would give that a try.
Good-luck
Paul

**tonyknight** · 11-12-2010, 05:07 AM

Thanks guys, there has been some excellent information in all of these replies.

I have also been considering the ZT Club as a primary guitar amp (with or without the Bose), and the Sansamp PSA 1.1 as a preamp. Where I live it's really difficult to try all three components in the same shop, which makes selection a little challenging.

Everything I've read about the Club on the forum seems to be great, though I'm not sure how it would work with the Sansamp up front delivering a SRV blues tone, for example. I imagine that the Bose would be able to handle that quite well as I've heard some samples where it's been used in rock and blues settings - but experience certainly shows that there isn't one solution for all needs :-)

One other thought that I had, in the event that I hold off on the Bose, was to use the Sansamp PSA with their (Tech 21) allegedly clean and 'uncoloured' 60W combo...?

All in all, though, it does seem that there are good generalised solutions somewhere in all of this!

**tonyknight** · 11-12-2010, 06:04 AM

Hey, ST, Just watched the Metheny video. So with a Bose system I'll sound like Pat? Cool! Maybe with a few hundred more years practice!

What I couldn't tell, though, from the videos, was whether or not he goes directly into the L1 or if he (I imagine so) uses some preamp/pre-processing.

**-ST-** · 11-12-2010, 07:08 AM

Hey Tony,

Originally Posted by tonyknight

Hey, ST, Just watched the Metheny video. So with a Bose system I'll sound like Pat? Cool! Maybe with a few hundred more years practice!

What I couldn't tell, though, from the videos, was whether or not he goes directly into the L1 or if he (I imagine so) uses some preamp/pre-processing.

I wish I could tell you more about exactly how the signal is run but I don't know.

Here is another video about how they are using the L1s in that show.
L1® Deployment on the Metheny Orchestrion Tour

and here is the back story that led to the Orchestrion Tour

Pat Metheny On Tour with the Bose L1 System

**rwfthesr** · 11-13-2010, 12:40 AM

I have the L1 Model II with 2 subs. On bass or guitar I go through Pod XTlive through the bass of the unit leaving the T1s 4 channels for mike, keyboard and ipod for intermission music. The sound is awesome and the bass sounds great. Electric or Upright. I have an Alembic bass, Gibson 125, 335 and 345 but my favorite for jazz happens to be my Hagstrom HJ-600.