I am just about to hit the road with my new country trio (the trio is new, not necessarily the country music!), and I knew this would mean having a PA. I have owned and had a share in 'big boxes' PAs before, and swore I would never do so again - what to do? A solo artist friend uses an L1M2, and I had even sung through it with him on a gig, so after checking out reviews and this forum, I took the plunge.

So far I have used the system (with 2 bass bins) on 6 trio gigs (with another band), 3 quiet home rehearsals, and 1 louder rehearsal. In short, I am one very happy bunny.

I was a bit nervous on the first gig, but the L1 handled all 3 vocalists and filled a good-sized room. Next gig was the biggest social club in town - no problem! I should mention that, with this band I am depping with (and my own country trio), drums and guitar/bass amps are not miked up, it's just the vocalists.

The drummer who runs the other band finds the L1 a bit bright compared to his usual setup (FOH = Peavey head into 2 pairs Bose 802, monitor = ****** 100w PA head into ****** 10" wedges), but I think that's to do with the latter's limitations.

The system scales down well for living-room rehearsals - I just set it up in a corner with 1 bass bin, and use enough level to lift the vocals above the guitars - you almost forget it's there.

It has also helped me improve as a vocalist - I can actually hear myself, and with a decent mic (Shure Beta 58A) I can work within my own dynamic range, and don't end up going hoarse from over-singing.

Other bonuses are the room saved on stage, and the absence of boxes between performers and audience.

I started off using the L1 behind the band, but in cramped venues it was often hard to get the mics far enough away from the L1 to avoid feedback. On the last 2 gigs I have head great success using the L1 a few yards in front of the band, with its back against a side wall, angled 20˚-30˚ towards the audience - plenty of volume, no feedback, and what the band hears is more like what the audience hear.

Hi MatchlessMan,

It is SO great to see the L1 really working out for someone, especially these days.
Some guys just really "get it".

I liked your workaround for the cramped venues.
I have not had to do that yet, but am involved with a country band right now where this might work.

Thanks for your report!

Yes, necessity definitely was the mother of invention.

BTW, the asterisks (*) in my post were not a competitor's brand name, but a pejorative term that rhymes with happy!