Yesterday I got a call in the early afternoon.

Q: I'm at a family gathering out of town and I won't be able to make it back in time to do my gig. Can you cover for me?

A: Sure!
I am familiar with the place. It is in a great little mini-tourist area 45 highway minutes away. For those familiar with BC, that's White Rock. It's also a hair's breadth away from the Canada - US border into Washington State.

So I fire off emails to everyone I know and within a couple of hours it is apparent that everyone who has a life has other plans for this Sunday of the Labour Day weekend. Okay then, I'll just roll with it and hope that the regulars down there are going to be around.

This is a nice little restaurant. It is probably 2500 square feet arranged in a U around the bar. The area where they have the music is on one side of the U and the stage is at the far end.

That end also has a fireplace and the washrooms. There is large bench and a table permanently fixed in that area. In front of that they clear away a couple of tables and on open stage night, that empty space becomes the stage area. It is very very tight.

I have nicknamed this the "loud room" because it's all hard surfaces and it gets VERY noisy in there once folks get talking. I have had challenges with booming bass in the stage area that seemed to overpower everything else. There is also a glass fireplace grill that resonates with a buzz whenever a Bassist hits a low G.

Here is a quick look at how we set up last night with
two L1® Compacts
two T1®s
at the far left is a Fender Blues Junior that one of the regulars brought. He plays his harmonica through that.

It really was as tight as the Sketch suggests.

-- click image to make changes to the live version --

Here is an exploded view so you can see the connections.


-- click image to make changes to the live version --

Legend:
T1 ToneMatch® audio engine
L1® Compact
Orange numbers are Systems and Inputs using those Systems.
Blue ringed numbers are Channel connections to/from the Compact.
Blue filled numbers are Channel connections to/from the T1 ToneMatch™ audio engine.
Green numbers are for general notes about the Sketch and connections to non-Bose gear.

System 1: Compact T1

• Channel 1: Vocal Microphone T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Vocal Mics 14 | Neumann KMS105
• Channel 2: Acoustic Guitar T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Acoustic Guitars 1 | Steel string w/piezo
• Channel 3: Mandolin T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Acoustic Guitars
• Channel 4: PorchBoard Bass T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Percussion
• Compact Channel 1 used for Vocalist at far left
  
• Harmonica through Bullet Microphone through Fender Blues Junior - did not go through any Bose gear.
  

System 2: Compact T1

• Channel 1: Vocal Microphone T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Vocal Mics 14 | Neumann KMS105
• Channel 2: Acoustic Guitar T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Acoustic Guitars 1 | Steel string w/piezo
• Channel 3: Bouzouki T1 ToneMatch™ Preset: Acoustic Guitars
  Channel 3 was also used for Washboard with a microphone
  

I'll be back in a bit with a rundown on the night. But basically - it was a fun night. The Compacts impressed most folks. A couple of us who were much more familiar with the Model II were aware of the difference. But there were LOTS of compliments about the sound.

For those who noticed the PorchBoard. It was fine for this space and the music last night.

It looks like I will pick up a couple of private party gigs from last night's exposure. Neat.

Back with more in a bit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

Here's the rest of the gig report.


Start with this picture of the stage area.


-- click image to make changes to the live version --

Directly behind the Compacts is a long table that is permanently affixed to the floor and behind that is a bench seat (not shown)

People pile guitars and gear on the table and the bench seat when they come in to play.

In the back right is a gas powered fireplace that sits about 6" above the table with a glass cover that resonates when you hit a low G on a Bass.

The Compacts are actually tucked under the table with the extensions rising up at the edge of the table. We (the performers) are close enough to the Compacts that we can reach overhead, or turn around, and touch them.

There are tables directly in front of the stage area too. That means that to get into the stage area you have to get there one at a time approaching from the left.

The T1®s are not on the table as it appears above. They are on microphone stands. The legs of those microphone stands are extending under the tables. Fortunately - no one was sitting on that side of the tables.

It was tight. The actual stage depth from front to back was probably a little over four feet.

I am describing this so you can picture how tight this was and the proximity of the microphones to the Compacts.

Feedback was only an issue when someone unfamiliar with the L1® mindset pulled a microphone out of position and inadvertently aimed it directly at the Compact Speaker Array (active speakers on the top of the extensions). Had considered putting the Compacts on the table directly behind the stage area but I was pretty certain that this would not reach the back of the room unless we used one of the two extensions to get over the performers. I could have done that but I would have lost space on the table where people put their gear. So the best use of the space seemed to be - to leave the Compacts on the floor and use the full extensions. This meant that the controls on the Compact were inaccessible. I was using the T1®s as a front end for the Compacts so this was not an issue.

Guitars - Boomy Bass, T1® nails it
We had several different performers using Guitars with pickups. Using the T1® Presets and zEQ allowed me to get people set up VERY quickly.

I solved this for the Guitars by using the Taylor T1® Presets flipping through the various ones for "Strum". Then I use the zEQ to turn down the low end.

We also had a fellow with a hand made bouzouki (no pickup). I miked it with a Shure Beta 87a that one of my buddy's likes to use for vocals. It just happened to be on a microphone stand at that moment and it worked fine. I set it for Acoustic Guitars/Acoustic Guitar with Condenser.

Vocals - Boomy Bass, T1® solved
This same issue as has always plagued this room. The bass seems to resonate in the stage area. I used the Presets that matched the various microphones that we used (Neumann KMS 105, Shure Beta 87a, Shure SM 58, Shure Beta 57, AKG C535EB). Just basically what people brought or what felt right in the moment.

Then I used the zEQ to roll of the lows and if someone was not inclined to stay on the mic I turned down the highs a bit to avoid feedback.

Tight Stage area
We made it work acoustically, but physically this was a real challenge. In order for me to make any adjustments to T1® #2 (right side) I had to move people or microphone stands or occasionally chairs to get in there. If anything had to be done on the fly... well it didn't get done unless I could reach across the table that was directly in front of that T1®. That meant that all I could do was reach over and do something like turn down the Master or a Channel volume. I couldn't see the display from that angle.

If this was my regular gig I would negotiate for more stage area. This could be done by removing a couple of tables. This would have given us another 3 feet of stage depth. Since the place was not full to capacity, it would not have cost the restaurant anything to do that.

If I do this again (stand in for the regular fellow) I'll get there early enough to make it happen.


Compacts in this space
The fellow normally plays here uses a Classic when he does solo shows. For open stage events he adds a mixer so he has more inputs. When he plays there with his regular duo partner, she often brings her Classic. They sound terrific when they do that.

Before I got my Compact I would occasionally drop by and when I did, I would bring my Model II.

Since getting my Compact I have used that when I drop in. It is a real joy to do that because often you have to navigate through wall-to-wall people to get to the stage area. That is much easier to with a Compact.

When I run the Compact and Classic (or Model II) head-to-head in this space I can feel hear the difference at the back of the room. Describing sound difference like this is tricky because either one sounds great. I still want to say the full sized L1®s sound more robust to me. That could be because of the half octave lower reach of the B1 vs. the Compact. But putting two Compacts into this space works well. With no immediate basis for comparison to the full sized L1®s I didn't feel that there was any compromise in the sound quality.

PorchBoard Floor Bass & the Compact
I nearly brought a Model II to use instead of one of the Compacts. To my ear the PorchBoard Floor Bass (indispensable to me) sounds better through a B1. I could also have brought a B1 and a Packlite® but in the end I wanted to try two Compacts in this space.

I pushed the T1® zEQ low end for PorchBoard. It worked fine for what I needed. Not as deep as I generally like but given the tendency of this room to get really ugly boomy in the low end, this was just fine.


Compacts in this room — Yes

I would use them again.

They were fine for this room. They sounded great. They took up almost no floor space because I put them in the dead area under an unused table. Except for the portion of the Power Stand that supports the extension - they had no impact on the space.

I loaded in everything in three trips from the car.

• Two Compacts with Extensions
  
• My gig case with T1®s, microphones, cables and supplies and microphone stands in original Cylindrical Radiator® cases. I also have power bars some cables in those cases.
  
• Two Guitars and my backpack (computer stuff)
  

Working alone - I had everything physically set up in under ten minutes. I had the T1®s set up with some scenes that I thought would work - in about five minutes. No rushing, I just plodded along and that's all it took from the point of parking the car to being ready to play.

If I am doing an open stage event I would use the T1®s again. I am sure that the T1® was a critical part of the success last night.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ST,

ST -

Thanks for the informative gig report! From your description of the stage space, it almost sounds as if it was in a submarine! Wow, that's a small stage space, but I can relate somewhat. We used to play in a wine bar with a stage area of about 4' x 8' with four of us and a permanent upright piano! It was cozy...

Anyway, it sounds as if your use of the T1® and L1® Compact was a major contributor to the success of the open mic night. All the more reason for those in the design and refinement areas of the L1® Compact to consider a T1® ToneMatch port in the next "new and improved" version. Actually, an optional T1® docking-station port on a L1® Compact has been in my mind for some time now, and I'd love to see something like that! It could be an "option" on the next L1® Compact version. (Thoughts for another thread...)

Any photos (or links) of the performance space available? A picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes more...

Hi John,

quote:

Any photos (or links) of the performance space available? A picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes more...

Well we know that you are a better photographer than I'll ever be.

I was really trying for minimal trips to the car. A camera would have triggered a trip back to the house. Seriously, one of these days I'll throw a camera into the gig bag, but it just hasn't happened yet. Probably because this would trigger a trip to a camera store.

You were right, the space was er.... cozy. It wasn't as tight as your wine bar. We never had more than three people on the stage, but I have been there when there were five. On that night there was an upright acoustic Bass. During the breaks the Bassist would lay the Bass on the floor and no one could move in the stage area. I am glad I was not choreographing things that night.

As for a T1® ToneMatch® port. I've been meaning to rig up a two cable snake to handle that. Not a big deal: It would would have a ¼ inch jack cable and a Cat-5 cable and at the Compact end it would have an RJ-45 female:female coupler. You can easily remove the outer shell of the T1® Power Supply cord and then just snap and strap everything together. I have tried it. I just haven't made it all permanent. But you are right - that's a different thread.

Speaking of cozy, I forgot to mention that I was delighted when I realized that I could get everything into the trunk of my car. That is: two Compacts, two microphone stands, my gigging case, my backup emergency case, a change of clothes, my backpack and I still had room to spare. There was no room for Guitars but I don't put instruments into the trunk of a car anyway.