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Double Bass Bose L1 Series II

Ric Vice

Ric Vice

Supporting Member
Jul 2, 2005
14,295
12,465
Olivette, Missouri
#1
Compadres
For years we have been buying speakers that are pretty traditional designs with front firing cabinets and multiple drivers. I keep looking at these Bose Cylindrical Radiators and wondering if this is the next step. Do any of you use this system. If you do chime in.

Ric

P.S. considering what a new Walter Woods Ultra costs these days
the Bose system is an entire package.
 
#2
Link Removed

It was nice to use one, especially since we had a BOSE employee/designer there to schlep it and set it up. It sounded pretty darn good I thought. The bass response was nice, everything was clean and clear and there wasn't too much clutter on the stage. I went direct,Full circle, into the bose. And if it isn't obvious from the pics/captions, the whole band (gtr, keyboard, vox and bass) went through it.
 
#4
HI

I play in a 4 piece rock/dance cover band that gigs 170 days a year. If the club doesnt have its own PA, we use either one Bose L1 or two of them. They sound great for vocals and guitar. Set up in minutes. Our drummer brings a powered sub for his kick and I use one of my amps. I play at a nice volume and we mix the room sound of my amp with a bit of DI thru the Bose. People compliment us all the time. In fact, a couple local bands they play similar material have come to our shows and asked us about the system. One of them now has two themselves and they cover much heavier rock than us!!

For bars, clubs, etc I think they are unbeatable

Rob
 
#6
I've played eb through a Bose system with a swing band (3horns, vocalist, drums, guitar) and the bass would get compressed or limited, seemed like there wasn't any dynamic range at all. This was with 2 subs if I remember right. Ended up using my regular bass rig to finish the gig.

Double bass, that's a different story. Same band, same Bose system, different gig with a direct line out from my Genz-Benz 3.0 and it sounded fine, adds a nice presence.

For myself, I prefer the way that the Walter Woods makes my double bass sound. I'm using a Green light (high power, 300 watts/ 8 ohm) and it's the best sounding amp for me. The Ultra would be overkill in my opinion, it has the same preamp as the Green light.
 
#7
macmrkt said:
Are you talking for just DB or for more instruments and voices? I tested one on both...
Click to expand...

Martin

I was hopeful that it would work really well for DB. What's you're take on that?

P.S. I'm lovin' Bass Gear Magazine. To bad that you can't put it out each as a monthly I have a hard time waiting for the next issue. Tom, Phil, and all of you have done a great job.

Ric
 
#8
glenfong said:
For myself, I prefer the way that the Walter Woods makes my double bass sound. I'm using a Green light (high power, 300 watts/ 8 ohm) and it's the best sounding amp for me. The Ultra would be overkill in my opinion, it has the same preamp as the Green light.
Click to expand...

Glen,
That's a good perspective for me. Believe it or not the Walter Woods Ultra into a VL 208 isn't actually overkill. That's the nice thing about Walter's amps you can use the Ultra at very low volumes through small cabinets.

Ric
 
#12
The bose sound nice if you not trying to push a lot of volume, but they tend to work well in smaller venues. I found them to be pretty diffused and weak if you try to push them farther than 40-50'.

The multiple drivers/speakers are pretty small and can break easily if pushed to hard.

IMHO for there price and limited functionality the are not worth the money put into it.
 
#13
Ric Vice said:
Martin

I was hopeful that it would work really well for DB. What's you're take on that?

P.S. I'm lovin' Bass Gear Magazine. To bad that you can't put it out each as a monthly I have a hard time waiting for the next issue. Tom, Phil, and all of you have done a great job.

Ric
Click to expand...
Hey Ric,
Thanks for the kind words. We just started the Weekly too, to focus attention on the latest stuff of interest.

I had the Bose system, the L2 with 2 bass units. I agree with FDeck. It does have a sort of a neutral sound, but it's a lot to bring just for DB. However, if you are run a vocals through it or a guitar, vocal and DB, and want one guy to bring 'the rig', it's worth trying for the right sized rooms. I like it for vocals. Of course, the ultimate execution of this concept is Phil Jones new 'PA'. Now that's hi-fi!
 
#14
I use the L1 with 1 or 2 bass modules as my main rig, and it sounds fantastic with the Dyn B or a mic. Haven't tried it with a pickup that is a piezo, but I get a ton of compliments on the sound. There are some sound samples somewhere around talkbass of me with this rig if I get a chance to find them.

I got it so our singer could have something to use as well and I didn't have to put up with the Dyn B through a cheap PA which was the worst of all possible worlds. The Dyn B just doesn't work without the right gain, and with no clip lights on cheap PA's it is impossible to futz around and get the right sound.

I love the Bose. Big it is, but it takes me like 5 minutes to set up and dial in a great sound. I actually can get a really great electric bass sound with my MIM Jazz if need be as well.

I have no concept of the volumes that people are dealing with if they say it isn't loud enough. It is pretty obnoxious with 2 subs.
 
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#15
This weekend I played a concert with a big band using the Bose L1 system with one bass module. I was very impressed with the clarity, volume, sound -shaping capacity, and even-dispersion of the sound. The system worked well for double bass and electric bass. The only criticism I had was that the system seemed not to like the B string on the electric bass. They are a little pricey, and I think a little bit of a hassle to set up, but the owner of the system told me that he saves this for the important gigs and has something smaller and easier to set-up for the gigs where portability and ease of set up are important. The owner also told me that he usually blends a mic with the pickup with this system, we did not do this, but the Bose system is naturally geared for blending, and I imagine that a real audiophile product could be obtained.

PS- One response to Ric and Glen, there is no way to compare the sounds you get from a WW to this- not that one is better than the other, the difference is the way the bass sound is projected. The lows are omnidirectional, and the mids and highs are somehow projected in a very even and natural-sounding way. As I would walk from one side of the smaller concert hall to the other- as the big band was in full roar (and the owner was playing); the sonic image of the bass did not change.........pretty impressive.
 
#16
And I really like the idea behind the Bose concept - no PA and no monitors...everyone is responsible for their own sound and mix. That would go a long way to making live music better for all listeners. Whether or not you like the sound of the system, the concept is a winner and it would be nice if it catches on.
 
#17
macmrkt said:
And I really like the idea behind the Bose concept - no PA and no monitors...everyone is responsible for their own sound and mix. That would go a long way to making live music better for all listeners. Whether or not you like the sound of the system, the concept is a winner and it would be nice if it catches on.
Click to expand...

Martin,
Conceptually and Sonically , the Bose Performer is a very well thought out system. Like you, I'm not always impressed with the Monster P.A concept. I've played through them for different festivals. What I think is lacking is usually dependent on the sound engineer. If he has a set of "musical ears" and listens to the musicians then it can sound great, but that's not always the case.
On the other hand, having a whole band use their own Bose Performer by it's very nature implies maturity, responsibility and compromise between the players in the band. In some cases having everything controlled buy a sound engineer is a good thing.

Ric
 
#18
You are right of course. I was focusing on my gig experience which is in clubs and bars with at tops about 250 people. In those rooms and outdoor plazas, we are without a sound guy. The band first tries to balance their own volumes and second, guess what's happening FOH. There's the problem - we don't know what the audience is really hearing. Having the PA disperse from behind, helps this situation.
 
#19
macmrkt said:
You are right of course. I was focusing on my gig experience which is in clubs and bars with at tops about 250 people. In those rooms and outdoor plazas, we are without a sound guy. The band first tries to balance their own volumes and second, guess what's happening FOH. There's the problem - we don't know what the audience is really hearing. Having the PA disperse from behind, helps this situation.
Click to expand...

Martin,
Right you are, but the L1 has some space requirements that make it ineffective in some situations. I played a trio gig last year and the trombonist/leader used a single L1 without the bass bin for himself and the Pianist. Unfortunately, we were shoe horned into the corner of a dining room even the L1 feed back into the trombone mic and the Piano just didn't have any bottom or presence for that matter. Apparently if you don't have enough room behind the linear array it can't create it's soundstage properly. I wasn't going through the L1 since it wouldn't have worked without a bass bin or two.
So I'm not sure it's a viable option in tight clubs with small stages.
 
#20
Very good to know Ric...the corner must have done you in. This all being said, I sold my L1 Series 2/2 bass bin unit and never looked back. I'm using a variety of bass amps and letting the bandleaders deal with the PA. If I can't do it in one trip - I ain't gonna do it!
 

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