Bose L1

Marcus Johnson · #1 03-09-2004, 02:19 PM

I've found "IT". Looks like a basketball upright minus the backboard and hoop, plus a small subwoofer. Folks, this is the s**t. Pizz, arco, doesn't matter. Dead strings and all; I can't wait to try the new La Scala with a mic thru this. I did a jazz trio with pianist and tenor, in a noisy room of about 160 partiers, all of us through this thing. With the volume barely cracked, the sound was loud and clean everywhere in the room. I'm getting one.

lermgalieu · #2 03-09-2004, 02:53 PM

wow, so it really works. they are on quite the marketing blitz with it...

how much?

LarryR · #3 03-09-2004, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I've found "IT". Looks like a basketball upright minus the backboard and hoop, plus a small subwoofer. Folks, this is the s**t. Pizz, arco, doesn't matter. Dead strings and all; I can't wait to try the new La Scala with a mic thru this. I did a jazz trio with pianist and tenor, in a noisy room of about 160 partiers, all of us through this thing. With the volume barely cracked, the sound was loud and clean everywhere in the room. I'm getting one.

Per Bose site, recommended double bass package is $ 2300 online. I'd love to hear this system.

http://www.bose.com/controller;jsessionid=AO3VKlz1B2fFUGSmLDailvfHQAJi uP6jusjDUx1psh7S2mHlOVCL!-1130684462?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=l ive_music_subcategory&pageName=/musicians/your_sound/index.jsp

Marcus Johnson · #4 03-09-2004, 05:24 PM

Forgot to mention, the system we're using is the single bass system. Plenty for what we're doing on our regular piano (with vocals)/bass duo. I think the double bass system would handle anything that I personally would run into, slab gigs included.

dvmweb · #5 03-09-2004, 10:02 PM

Did you have any trouble with feedback? Where did each instrument/person sit? Is there a "front or back?" I saw this somewhere and just didn't get it. Of course i'm an old school sound guy.
Walt MI/US

myrick · #6 03-10-2004, 03:48 AM

A friend (slab-player, R&B) was in one of the bands that Bose used during development. He reports that it really does everything it's advertised as doing.

On the bose site, there is a web-forum. An hour spent there will answer most of the obvious questions. I didn't come across any posts on that forum that related directly to double bass, or small ensemble acoustic jazz, which topics would probably most interest many of our TB DBers, but distilling and synthesizing from what is there, I think this must be "the answer".

I suspect, though, that ideally it really needs to be the group's answer, not just for one player. In other words, many advantages of this approach would be lost if just the bass player was using one of these while the rest of the group were still using conventional amplification/PA/monitoring.

Also, although Marcus was clearly impressed with a quartet all through one unit, from reading Bose's white paper and various posts on the forum, it seems that two or more would be another order of magnitude better. Having some physical separation of the sound sources of different voices, and having some degree of correlation between location of each player with his own sound source seems to help immensely in audience intelligibility, not to mention helping musicians' hearing of one another.

Anyway, this really looks like it has the potential to make sound-reinforced ensemble playing MUCH more pleasant and effective, in almost any venue.

Marcus Johnson · #7 03-10-2004, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvmweb

Did you have any trouble with feedback? Where did each instrument/person sit? Is there a "front or back?" I saw this somewhere and just didn't get it. Of course i'm an old school sound guy.
Walt MI/US

No feedback at all. We sit right in front of the thing, due to space restrictions. We're going to try a different setup tonight, it's still pretty new. The front of the tower, facing the audience, has 24 small drivers.
And yes, Myrick is correct; ideally each player would have his or her own system. However, it also works very well as a small PA for a trio.

myrick · #8 03-11-2004, 01:11 AM

Marcus, curious to learn what you used for sources into this thing, from bass (mic? PU?), and other instruments for that matter. Did you use a small mixer and any EQ, or just use the channel gains and EQ presets on the L1 unit itself.

Marcus Johnson · #9 03-11-2004, 10:16 AM

K&K Bass Master Pro on my bass, and the pianist uses a cheapo PZM mic underneath, and a vocal mic. Everything just goes straight in, no mixer.

**Adrian Cho** · #10 03-12-2004, 08:46 AM

Does anybody know what the size of the speaker is in the bass component of this system? I'd like to get more detailed specs on the power output, speaker size, etc. but there doesn't seem to be anything but marketing stuff on BOSE's web site.

Marcus Johnson · #11 03-12-2004, 10:10 AM

Yeah, Bose is kind of like Rolls Royce in that regard; no specs available, power referred to as "sufficient".

junglebike · #12 03-12-2004, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Yeah, Bose is kind of like Rolls Royce in that regard; no specs available, power referred to as "sufficient".

24 2.5" drivers in the tower, with 500W of power

2 6.5" drivers in each bass module, 125W of power each (for up to 2 modules). Crossover at 180hZ, varying depending on load...

I gleaned this from the info board bose has up. I can't wait to hear this thing -- seems like it could be the answer. Live sound just sucks so badly, anything that can make it better (especially volume wise) would be a godsend to the whole industry I think.

**Adrian Cho** · #13 03-12-2004, 05:58 PM

Someone said they read somewhere on the site that for optimum use you need six bass modules?

junglebike · #14 03-12-2004, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian Cho

Someone said they read somewhere on the site that for optimum use you need six bass modules?

There's a "supplemental" set of 6 modules and another bass (which holds the amp). It costs another $2100 I think.

I don't know about "optimum" use. Looks like most stuff could be covered with the basic set.

I'm always wary with Bose stuff... I've read some pretty mixed reviews on some live sound forums. But a lot of those guys hadn't heard it, and were basing their opinion on other Bose products, which are generally held in low regard by the audio elite, for whatever that's worth.

mje · #15 03-12-2004, 10:32 PM

Most Bose stuff is, IMHO, overpriced garbage. The famous 801 speakers are about as hi-fi as a Dual Showman cabinet.

But maybe they're on to something here. Maybe. They're certainly charging an arm and a leg for it.

Marcus Johnson · #16 06-23-2004, 06:30 PM

I thought I'd update my old thread, since I've been playing through this thing for awhile now.

First, a correction; the tower contains 12, not 24, small drivers. Apparently I was seeing double that day.

So we've been using the double bass cab system of late, and it continues to really sound beautiful. The pianist is very kindly bringing the system, even though he's only sending a vocal mike and a PZM, so I pretty much have the setup to myself otherwise. I'm using only my K&K pickup right now, as I wait for my repaired AMT mic to return to me.

Although it seems cumbersome, it is very easy and quick to set up. It actually takes up very little horizontal space. Bottom line; once it's up and running, it's hard to settle for anything else. I've tried all of the obvious options except for the PUB (none nearby), and this is just the s**t. YMMV, blah blah. Transparent DB sound as loud as you like. What more could I want.

I'm glad I've had a chance to play thru this thing for awhile, check it out. I'm ordering one tomorrow.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #17 11-12-2011, 05:17 PM

I played through one of these systems last night for the first time: one tower, one sub, and a strange little 4 channel mixer with blue lights sticking halfway off the tower. It's a quiet-medium volume bar restaurant gig with piano, bass, drums, and vocals. The singer said I could just bring my bass and plug into the system, so I did (I ran through the Headway first since I wanted some control, but didn't really need it). The sound was good, but not as good as the PJB Flightcase. Still, pretty good and I'll probably keep using it when I play that room just out of convenience. I think it would be a good system to leave in a club like that when you have a steady gig there. It's nice that everybody can plug in and hear the amplified sound as a mix coming out of the speakers. With good players, it helps to balance the ensemble. I'm not looking to buy one, but I think it's pretty cool.

steve_rolfeca · #18 11-12-2011, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mje

Most Bose stuff is, IMHO, overpriced garbage. The famous 801 speakers are about as hi-fi as a Dual Showman cabinet.

But maybe they're on to something here. Maybe. They're certainly charging an arm and a leg for it.

I totally agree about Bose consumer gear. Yecch. But the L1 is something else.

I've never heard anything else that can cover the same ground, in terms of dispersion, even coverage, and uncoloured, highly detailed sound.

MR PC · #19 11-14-2011, 01:05 AM

i think this system is really good for small to medium indoor venues. perfect for an acoustic band. to some folks, the price is right for that type of application, especially since Bose has worked it all out to be user friendly out of the box.

for larger/outdoor venues/stages, that same acoustic band really sounds thin, even if more towers and larger subs are added. ime.

Mike Carr · #20 11-14-2011, 01:24 AM

They have one those at The Four Seasons Blue Bar in Hong Kong. I was playing there semi-regularly last year, DB, drums and a digital piano. The pianist and I shared a single system. I thought the sound was great, both while playing and while listening to another bass player sit in. More stuff than I'd ever care to haul around as a personal rig but wonderful to play somewhere that's allready got one in place.