About 8 months ago I auditioned for a 5pc Classic rock band, pretty good players.
I'd hoped that after being accepted in, I could sway them to the L1 approach, I have enough gear to outfit the whole band nicely.

Well that hasn't worked out at all like I had hoped.
Their *leader* and guitarist/soundman will listen to nothing concerning L1s.
He heard one once and it "sucked" (a young guy, new user, in a venue with really poor acoustics).
He does allow me to use a Model II for my kick, as he has realized it sounds good, and their system (with no sub) won't do it justice.

But they are a loud band, and I have to put ear plugs in to be able to tolerate a gig.
Ear plugs take the joy out of playing for me, I can't hear my vocal blending with theirs, or the nuances on the drums.
The noise drowns out my own L1...fortunately I can "feel" the kick, even if I can't "hear" it.
It feels like being in a cocoon.
It's not what a band should be.

I am reminded of comments by Ken Bausano is his Interview with Bose , where he says:
"I am just looking at my watch, hoping I can get through this".
That's me.

There is so much in Ken's interview that everyone needs to hear.
If you haven't seen it, do it now, see Chapter two for the part that came screaming back to me last night.
If you have seen it, watch it again as a reminder of the past now that we've come this far, and how we suffer when we have to *go back* to the old way of life.

I am about an inch from giving up music (this band anyway) yet again, if I can't find a band who will go All-Bose with me.
I hate giving up the money, and I will really miss playing.
But I already miss the joy that I've lost due to loud music, antiquated gear, out-dated approaches, narrow minds, and earplugs.

Today, it seems nearly impossible to endure another gig where the sound on stage is just noise.
And I'm in my own little plugged up world, hoping to see the light at the end, and asking someone, "how did we sound?"

Those of you who don't use the Bose approach "as designed" with the L1s behind the you, might not get what I'm saying right now.
I hope that by watching Ken's videos, you can begin to see why so many of us love our systems and find it difficult to survive in a band without them.

hmm...Central Ill. isnt THAT far from NE Ohio,is it??

Thanks jayare, if that is an invite to play with another enlightened person.
If only...

quote:

Ear plugs take the joy out of playing for me, I can't hear my vocal blending with theirs, or the nuances on the drums.

Hey Drumr,
I thought you had some great earbuds.
Those Westone units. Don't they help you blend all the sound together, or can't you get a good combined output to drive them with?

Too bad that Florida is so warm and so far from Illinois, which is so cold, with your chops, I'd work with you anytime.

Or was it "Iceman, you can be my Wingman anytime" (Top Gun)

Hi Joel,
Yeah, I have in-ears, but using them effectively requires feeding everyone in the band into a mixer of some sort, and takes a lot of time to set up and tear down, I know, I've done it with other bands in the past.

Also, the in-ears, even at a low volume, create a lot of inner ear *pressure* and I notice right away that my hearing it being effected adversely. So I don't really want to use them.

What I really want is to get back to using all L1s in a band.
I've had some suggestions to just start up my own All-Bose group, so I will give that a try.
I've made a couple of calls already, but players are hard to find and my clock is ticking.