hi, just wondering if anyone has any experiences using the l1 compact for male jazz vocals, how it performs in live situations? im 99% sure its the system for me but would just like to hear from some vocalists about the compacts performance/downfalls.. anyway thanks in advance for any information you can offer me!

Hi Vincent,

It would appear we have no male jazz singers here, at least none that want to talk.

Let me say that the Compact will faithfully reproduce what ever vocal or style one may choose to input.

Though I don't sing jazz, I have been performing vocally since the age of four, this Christmas will mark 55 years. (can't believe I'm admitting this!) I think the Compact is as good as it gets, in the vocal catagory, where it's primary duty is for audiences up to 150 or so listening.

O..

... to slightly hijack this thread ...I knew you were O! I didn't start solo until 3rd grade (~age 8), so I'm still "larnin'" with only 49 years of vocal singing.

Back to your regularly scheduled question: you'll like it.

Hi Vincent

I am so old I can remember "when the jazz songs where written"......LOL! Seriously, I mostly sing Jazz, Swing, and Ballad tunes and the Compact will produce wonderful vocals. ( Hard for a crooner to sing rock ) LOL!

Enjoy your compact!
AJ
Music is neither new or old.....it just "is"

HI Vincient

I forgot to mention that I use the Tonematch mixer with my Compact as it allows me to shape eq and vocals to different rooms.

AJ

Our own forum Big Band Jazz singer, Baby-Blue-Eyes, is on vacation, so he didn't chime in.
He owns a Classic L1, but has used my Compact on three dates.
Two of them went off great, without a hitch.
The third wasn't so good, and we don't know why.
The Compact got bass-y, muddy, then shrill when we cut the bass.
It was a bad day.

But in general, the Compact performs beautifully with low volume bands.
Your voice will sound just like you, only louder, and maybe a bit more *excited*.

hey guys thanks for your help, yeah i was a little dissapointed that there was no replys for a while but good to hear from you now!, im going to be getting a t1 aswell i cant imagine doing a gig and not being able to have a decent control of sound, plus if im spending $1600 on the compact i might aswell get the t1, ive sang through it and was pleased, if i end up purchasing it ill be sure to write up after rehearsals/gigs! if anyone else would like toadd anything in regards to vocals through the compact please feel free to type away

Vacation...well, yes, I had vacated my home, but it was actually a charity bike ride which was totally awesome. I love the bike as much as my L1!

Compact...hmmm....as Drumr suggested, it's a mixed bag with me, and I am not sold on it. I thought I was, but maybe that gig was just exceptional - stars and trees (literally) in alignment and all. And I liked it in my living room, which I think is the 2nd "success" Drumr wrote about. The third, though, not at all. Played through the gig, but it was funky with a capital F. I didn't know it at the time, but at least one of the band members commented to Pete during the gig that the vocal sound wasn't all that. They're used to hearing my Classic, which sounds just fine at the venue in question, as does the Model II, which I've been able to use there before, too. I knew it wasn't so great, but I'm glad I didn't know during the gig that the band didn't really like it. I'd have wanted to just sit down. I hate to have anything less than perfection. Well, that's asking too much. I mean, I don't want others to not enjoy themselves because of something for which I am responsible.

What I can't deny about the Compact is its ease (and that's with a capital E). Kind of like the Model II, for the portability reason alone, it seems worth having. If it were actually feasible for me, I'd go for a Model II with T1 and leave my Classic set up at home. However, given the option between my Classic and the Compact (which is a borrowed item, and I thank Drumr again for its use), I would go with my Classic 6 of 7 days in the week. It's just more predictable...for me. I know I won't be using the Compact again at the venue described above, in any case.

I offered my own review of the Compact after my music room test drive, and its first use out. You can read that here, if you like:

Initial thoughts

A mention on mic technique

A fairly comprehensive review of my experience (pre-bad experience)

Vincent, what are you doing exactly? Band? Tracks? Oh, I found while looking for my other posts above...acoustic guitar with vocal. Is that accurate?

I don't know if any of that helps you. Hope so. Let me know here if I can add anything further.

Nathan

hey yeah basically i intend on getting the t1 mixer and running my vocals into the t1 into the compact when i sing with my jazz trio, i wouldnt be running anything else through it in that setting. the other situation i would be using it would be in a brazillian music duo with guitar and vocals again running into the t1. im never going to be running backing tracks into it or anything like that, its basically for me going to be an easy to carry/setup/use vocal pa, any different thoughts?

If it's strictly for your vocal, why the T1?

Woops. Just read through the thread again, and saw both AJ's and your reasoning on this.

do you think it could perform well in this role?

Probably, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how much you want to put through it:

For the guitar duo, will that be one guitar and one vocal?

Two guitars and two vocal?

Two guitars and one vocal?

One guitar and two vocals?

Then with your trio:

Just your vocal through the Compact?

Far more experienced folks here can comment on potential multiple sources and how well the T1 works or does not work with the Compact. If it is strictly close control you are concerned about, and not multiple sources, I would suggest buying just the Compact first. Once your volume is set, you really should be fine, without needing to tweak, and if so, between songs is a much better time than during, in my opinion/experience (results and practices among performers vary for any number of reasons). With the combo, control things during the show dynamically, not electronically. You can always add a T1 after the fact if you find it to be necessary.

"Taming a room" is another story, and I again would defer to my friends in this thread and elsewhere in the forums. Speaking to my bad Compact experience, I don't think a T1 would have helped a thing in that venue. I really think it had more to do with the articulated array, especially the upward component. I could attribute some of the problem to my microphone, except that in my very successful gig I was using the same mic.

So, dang it, I just don't know! I wish I could speak more knowledgeably on it, but I just haven't used it enough. I do come back to the "bad room" (granted, perhaps not a fair enough shake), and my observation that my Classic reproduces more authentically than the Compact, in all cases regardless of microphone used. Oh, and just to throw this out there in case you are considering, I think a Classic is "better" than a Model I, too. That's only going to be available on the used market, however, and down-the-road support may be an issue.

I'm beginning to ramble, so...

Could you pick up a Compact to trial in your area, or order direct from Bose using their 45 day trial period (if that is what it is)? That will be the real determining factor for you? How YOU think it sounds. And if you only have "traditional" equipment to compare to, you will probably be pleased as punch.

Genuinely, good luck, and do let us know how you progress!

(by the way, is this you: http://www.myspace.com/vincesymesandalexwignall)

hey nathan yeah that was me and a friend alex back in the beginning of first year of uni, it seems like a decade ago now with the pace of uni life!. thanks for your help i dont really know what to do anymore was pretty sold on the compact but not sure now..

Hi Vincent,

Do a quick search for "Compact". Read the many comments from a lot of different people, with different uses. I think you will find far more positive comments than negative ones.

It is possible for a room to have a negative impact on sound dispersion, and maybe a performer doesn't hear it or in the heat of performance doesn't want to stop and correct it, however these kind of anomolies can (and will) happen with any sound system.

If the Compact is priced the same, relative to other sound options in your area, as it is here in the States, it will be very difficult to get the same quality, for the same expenditure.

I hope you have an opportunity to try an L1 soon. I can't imagine that you would be dissappointed.

O..

quote:

I think you will find far more positive comments than negative ones.

Agreed, Nathan's experience was a fluke in my observation.
It was probably my reaction to the less-than-stellar sound that night that might have started a *chain freak-out* response from the band.
That one night was the only time I ever heard my Compact sound less than great.
If you have the money, the physical strength & the energy, go with a Model II and Tonematch.
If not, the Compact will do you a great job in 98 out of 100 venues...try to name a system that does better.

quote:

Originally posted by BabyBlueEyes:
Far more experienced folks here can comment..........I again would defer to my friends in this thread and elsewhere in the forums....

See, Vince...I said there would be others.

Have a good week!