I have a large leve harp and am planning to use my L1 for small ensembles for weddings and receptions. I have the L1 Model 2 home to demo with the ToneMatch system. As there are no presets for the primary instruments I use, such as the harp (with factory installed mic) or instruments like cellos or hammered dulcimers, I'm at a loss as to how to go about dialing these instruments in on the ToneMatch. ToneMatch seems very wonderful if you have, say, a Taylor guitar, (with obvious presets) but I have no idea how to alter all of the variables for the various instruments I need. Any help you can offer with this?

Hi Kameko

When there are no ToneMatch presets that match your instrument, two methods have proven successful with others.

1. Start flat, with no ToneMatch preset and then use zEQ and ParaEQ to fine-tune your tone.

2. Experiment with existing ToneMatch presets to see if you can find one that feels good. Then use zEQ and ParaEQ to fine tune.

Ken

Hi, Kameko:

There have been some other reported uses of harps (not harmonicas!) with L1 systems here in these L1 Forums.

This topic "Bose for the harp" (in Solo Acts) has both good info AND some links to other topics which also discuss the use of large (lever) Harps and Presets. Look through those 4 threads (the direct link and the 3 referenced in the second note of it) and see if they help.

Let us know how it goes, and ask more questions if there doesn't seem to be what you are looking for (listening for) those topic threads.

Thanks for your help. I'm giving these suggestions a go. My biggest problem is that the bass is overwhelming the rest of the instrument. There are many lever harpers with Dusty Strings installed mics. I wonder if Bose would work with me to develop a preset...

quote:

Originally posted by Kameko:
...biggest problem is that the bass is overwhelming the rest of the instrument...

In one of the previously referenced discussions I saw this: "We rolled off much of the lows and some of the highs ...." which makes me think that it is indeed a common problem to have "too much bass".

How does one do that with a T1?

First, select the appropriate ToneMatch Preset. For a full-size harp, that would be either the plain Keyboard preset or the "Flat" in the Utility group.

Then, switch to the zEQ and use the Low (left) knob to reduce the bass to get it "in balance".

Regarding the positioning of the L1 and the associated B1: the bass response is very dependent on the particular configuration of a room and the position of the B1 within the room (particularly with respect to walls/corners). A couple of thoughts on this:

-- don't have the B1 near the harp. If the L1 is 4 feet away from the harp, put the B1 on the side furthest away from the harp.

-- don't put the B1 against a wall ... that tends to reinforce the bass, which is not what you want.

-- point the front of the B1 so it is parallel to the harp rather than pointing directly toward the harp.

Let's say you've now found a good position for the B1 and adjusted the zEQ so that most of the instrument is well-balanced, but there is one string which particularly "jumps out" as still being way louder than the others strings. That's where the ParaEQ can be useful: identify the pitch, reduce the gain (a negative value), and use as narrow a width of the ParaEQ as necessary (to minimize the affect on adjacent pitches).

Does that help?