I am a jazz guitarist and vocalist. I play a 7string archtop guitar which has a low bass response. I also sing and play in small clubs and concert halls.
I have a few questions:

Will the L1 work well with an acoustic/electric archtop and will it handle low bass notes?

If using it in a small club with a microphone is there a disconnect with the highs being up high and low sounds down below?

If using it in a concert hall and utilizing theri pA system can I keep the tweeters in the down position and have it work as a normal amplifier?

Thanks for any feedback you can give

Ed

Hi Ed,

Thank you for joining the forum.

quote:

Originally posted by ej7string:
I am a jazz guitarist and vocalist. I play a 7string archtop guitar which has a low bass response. I also sing and play in small clubs and concert halls.
I have a few questions:

Will the L1 work well with an acoustic/electric archtop and will it handle low bass notes?

Is your 7 String strung with a low B. If so you should be completely fine. The fundamental of the low B is probably 61.74 Hz. The Compact goes down to around 60-65 Hz.

I have used several large and medium and small bodied electric archtops with my Compact and to they sound terrific to me. I run them without the ToneMatch Preset turned on.

Interestingly, electric bass also sounds okay (not huge, but okay) even though the numbers would suggest otherwise.

quote:

If using it in a small club with a microphone is there a disconnect with the highs being up high and low sounds down below?

No disconnect that I can discern either for me performing or whan I am listening in the audience.

quote:

If using it in a concert hall and utilizing theri pA system can I keep the tweeters in the down position and have it work as a normal amplifier?

Yes, absolutely. Although even when I run a line out to a house system, I prefer to have the speaker array up high especially for monitoring my vocals. But it works either way.

quote:

Thanks for any feedback you can give

Ed

Did that help?

Thanks very much for getting back to me.

Actually my low string is an "A" Typically only rock guitarists use a "B" tuning.

Jazz guys use an "A" Sting guage is .80 round wound

Hi Ed,

quote:

Originally posted by ej7string:
Thanks very much for getting back to me.

Actually my low string is an "A" Typically only rock guitarists use a "B" tuning.

Jazz guys use an "A" Sting guage is .80 round wound

There you go, I learned something today. I don't have any 7 string jazzers. Your A string is 55 Hz. I'd expect that to sound fine.

Thanks a million. You guys a re great!

Check out my web site and you'll see a picture of it. www.edlaub.com

Regards,
Ed

I bought the L1 after our conversation on Monday night.

Used it last night on a gig for the first time. I was very anxious and positive about using it however when I did i was dissapointed.

I am using a carved top jazz guitar...7 string which has a low A bass string. when extending the speakers there was such a vast dispersion in the sound I coudn't hear the highs becuase my bass overpowered it.

Also when playing single string jazz solo's the guitar loses its melloe tone. not having any control of tthe bass or treble makes it very difficult

Does that extra box you sell as an option overcome some of these issues

Hi ej7string,

Went to your site and listened to the music clips. Very good.

If I am very close to my Compact in a sitting position I do hear a bit of disconnect (for want of a better word) between the highs and lows. It doesn't take much space for this to go away. Perhaps as little as three feet, or in my case, standing up.

Although Bose does not reccommend it, you might be one of those who benefit from using just one extension. Might be worth a try.

The Bose T1 offers several acoustic guitar presets as well as Para EQ and zEQ. It is far and away better than any guitar preamp I have ever used. Your statement about not having control over bass and treble suggest your instrument has a pickup. (as do the pics in your gallery) I can't imagine the T1 would be a disappointment. You should give it a 45 day trial.

I hope you won't let your first experience make up your mind. I encourage you to spend some rehearsal time with the Compact. Vary the distance and the relationship of your sitting position vs the Compact.

I have found it to be very capable and satisfying both in tone and volume, though I suspect I am not as critical about tone as your sound clips and obvious talent suggest you might be. And rightfully so.

Just curious, if the Compact array is in the 'down' position do the lows still overpower the highs?

O..

Thanks for the good advice. I have spoken to the Bose technical staff as well and they were in sync with your recomendations as well.

I have attached a Fishman pro-equalizer and it made a world of differnece with the sound of the guitar. Each guitar I use has its own set of quirks but I think thats the answer. Also just used one extension and it was much easier for me to hear when I was sitting down.

Thanks for taking the time to write and your terrific advice!

Ed

Ed, you might consider a processor such as a Digitech RP50 for your 7-string, for EQ and reverb settings. I use one and my guitar sounds terrific, and the vocals, unprocessed, are very clean and clear. I also play a nylon-syrting 7, and i run that through a Korg Pandora PX4A acoustic processor to even the lows and make the highs pop a little, as well as to add reverb or chorusing when i want it. the L1 by itself is too clean and hi-fi for guitar amplification outside of the acoustic flat-top styles.

Thanks for the info.

You are correct the sound is actually too pure. I have experimented with a Fishman Pro equalizer to see if I could get a better sound and it made a big difference.

I'm still having difficulty figuring our where to position the amp when I'm playing. If I'm too close the bass is overpowering and I can't hear my voice or the highs of the guitar.

Is the RP50 a two channel unit or just one for the guitar? Are using that unit for an electric guitar and the Korg for just the nylon string?

I appreciate you taking the time to write and give me your advice.

Thanks very much

Ed

Ed, my pleasure. It's something hat happened early on, several of the "pioneers" adopted a policy of getting the L1's strengths out there to the rest of the world.

The Digitech RP50 is a single channel unit, good for the electric guitar only. It will enable you to set an EQ curve that cuts the bass to a more even level, and it contains amplifier "models" so that you can dial in the sound of a Fender Twin, a Vox AC30, or whatever. If you need more EQ, run into input 2 and use the remote. I have found that I can go into the 1/4" inputs just fine. I use the Korg and Zoom units for the "acoustic" electrics as they seem to have the right sound sets.

You definitely want to be 6 or 7 feet from the tower if possible. That way you can hear the whole sound field. Keep it out of corners if the bass response is problematic.