My new Compact arrived on Tuesday and was at its first gig this weekend. I'm in a five piece bluegrass band and we played at Calico Ghost Town's Spring Festival in California. This was 8 half hour sets over two days and it went very well.

The setup was three large diaphragm condenser microphones and two dynamics into a small board and that into channel 2 on the compact. The setting was outdoors on a front porch with folks within about thirty feet and closer to our "Stage". We set the compact up in front of the porch with it slightly turned so we could hear it. It worked wonderfully and all the band members commented on how clear and natural the sound was. We switch instruments throughout the show and using a normal PA have had issues with getting the dobro, mandolin and guitar to balance in the mix while the bass and banjo tend to be loud. Not with this setup. Everything was present and with just a step forward or back, the lead instrument was out front while not drowning out the rest. We also had much less trouble with our harmonies as we could hear the voices and get the blend so the lead was supported by the others.

The L1 Compact is now a vital piece of our show when we play small venues. A big thanks for a great addition to our band.

Leon

Great story and with a mixer and all... nice. I guess this Compact is a hit

My Compact was on the carport when I got home this evening. I took it straight to the basement and played for 3 hours. I like it. Not too impressive with the Porchboard, but that's ok, the gigs I would use it on would not need the Porchboard.

I love simplicity, and this pretty much breaks it down to the bare essentials.

Didn't try the T1, probably won't right away. I think for me to be truly happy with the Compact it will have to stand on its own. Wish it had a ToneMatch port.

Tried a few mics. I liked my vocal sound with the EV ND 767a but the Audix OM 5 still does best on feed back rejection and that means a lot to me. The difference is not that much, If I were playing a gig tomorrow I would take the Audix, but I'll keep switching around just to be sure it's what works best for me.

Was surprised /relieved with the guitar sound. It sounded better to me than the same preset, flat on the Model II. It is not the sound I would choose if I had tone control, but for the sake of simplicity I can deal with it. I am considering setting up a guitar with built in preamp and tone control just for use with the Compact.

Looks like I may have a couple of opportunities to gig with it next week. I'll know more when I get it out of the basement.

O..

Leon,

Welcome. It's nice to hear a report about the L1 Compact system using the traditional music setup.

O,

I'm really happy to hear your first report. We made the Compact for players like you on some of your gigs. I'm especially happy about the guitar sound you're getting and can't wait to hear how it works on a paying gig.

With best regards,

Ken

quote:

Originally posted by Earthworm:
I took a chance on the L1c tonight with a Simon and Garfunkel tribute gig with about 100 people in attendance. This was a concert setting. People were there mostly to listen. The owner seemed a bit skeptical when I set it up; our agent happened to be there and he was talking up how great Bose products are (I think he was nervous). I got everything hooked up. Adjusted the faux-Garfunkel's mic. Off we went. I used the T1.

The results: fantastic. I had a chance to listen as my duo partner played "April Comes She Will" solo on my Taylor. I walked around the room and it was the Bose sound I expected--just like my classic and my model 2.

Setup and teardown? A breeze.

I am really happy. Anyone want to buy a Model 2?

Earthworm,

Excellent report, so glad that you are pleased with the system.

Please keep us updated..

Thanks Neil

You know it's easy when you grab the system and a guitar and mic / stand on the way out the door to the day job.

Set it up in a 1890 house (empty) with plaster walls, hardwood floors, and 11 foot ceilings.

There is some magic in that little box.

I wanted to share my new toy with a guitar playing friend who works with me part time. We were both shocked and amazed at the sound in that old house. Rich, full, warm, Hifi, made us not want to work.

The house is about 4000 sq feet on two floors. Nine rooms plus 4 baths, plus large halls up and down. Not only could you hear all over the house, but music, spoken word and singing was clear, and, intelligible. Reverb was not as much as one would expect in all this empty, hard surface space.

This could become my new best friend.

Let me say it again, there is some magic in that little box.

O..

O!!!

I'm so excited about your reaction.

We worked SO, SO hard on the sound. To us, it just stands up and speaks with clarity and warmth.

Ken

quote:

This could become my new best friend.
Let me say it again, there is some magic in that little box.

I love the unique way you look at things O.

OK: L1 model II owner and lover here.....
Just picked up the compact and have to say I have some issues.....

1) +12dBA hiss from Mic channel at 12:00. This is rise in noise from idle measured at 1" from a driver (ambient = 33dBA, system on, gain at 0 = 38-39dBA, Mic channel to 12:00 with tone match off and SM58 plugged in = 51dBA).

2) Sound from acoustic guitars (Webber Maple w/ Highlander and Baranik Cocobolo w/ Mcintyre feather..... noticeably more metallic in the high end than with the L1 model II. Tone match on/off on compact did not remedy, using the T1 could not smooth this out either. Same settings through model II, wonderful.

Overall... now it sounds like I hated the unit, not true, I actually think it is pretty good. Run in parallel to the model II I hear a distinct scooped sound with a metallic edge to the treble (on acoustic guitar) that is just not my favorite. For voice with the SM58 things were actually good. With the T1 I am sure I can get closer with some tweaking. As it is the Bose store didn't have the separate T1 P/S so I had the T1 powered from the model II. I drove the compact from the direct out of the T1. Doing this way I don't believe the EQ is in the signal path. Will try again when I get the P/S.
3) Why no RJ45 for the Tone match is just beyond me.

-Lee

My extensions still stick together pretty badly, so I sprayed some silicone spray on them tonight on the overlapping parts - making sure not to spray any on the metal speaker connectors. They slide apart much easier now.

Hi Lee!

quote:

1) +12dBA hiss from Mic channel at 12:00. This is rise in noise from idle measured at 1" from a driver (ambient = 33dBA, system on, gain at 0 = 38-39dBA, Mic channel to 12:00 with tone match off and SM58 plugged in = 51dBA).

Interesting information. I was wondering if you could expand on how you came to these measurements and whether you did the same sort of measurements with the Model II. If so, I would love to see the comparison. The "hiss" issue reported earlier in this thread was a concern of mine, until it was stated that it was a result of a pre-production model. You stating it as a concern has me wondering how much different it really is, compared to the Model II. I own a Model II and love mine, too! But, perhaps I would like a L1 Compact someday also! So, any light you can shed on this will be appreciated.

I'm with you on the RJ45 connection for a T1! It seems obvious to me to have included a simple connection for the T1 on the L1 Compact. There must be more reasons behind that decision than meets the eye! I would have thought it was a 'no brainer' to have incorporated the T1 connection.

The hiss was measured using a hand held SPL meter (American Recorder SPL-8810 with A weighting on). Listening again today the hiss ramps up to 80% of how loud it gets with the Mich channel at ~ 25% gain. The hiss then increases slowly as gain is raised to 75%. The measurement for +12dB above idle was for Gain = 0 to Gain = 50%.

Is my unit broken? Not working right? I will also try to analyze with the store I got it from.

-Lee

PS: It made essentially no difference if I left the Mic channel unloaded, load with SM57 or load with SM58.

Mine has a bit of hiss at 12:00 too, but I've never needed even that amount of gain from the mic channel. At 12:00 it is VERY loud. I'd rather have hiss than not enough gain.

Yes, plenty loud before 12:00 but pretty much the full on hiss is there by 9:00. I worked with it this morning and certainly have the love.... but playing real close to it the hiss is annoying :-(

propower (IS that THE "Mr. ProPower"?)

I found that the Compact plays better when you are off to the side of it and it's a bit downstage. I don't know if we say this in any user manual, but it always seemed to work best in that position for me (solo keys and voice). It's not like a full L1 where it can be put directly behind you and work fine. It (the compact) does have a different presentation and so it does require a different relationship with the player. For doing any show, I think you'll be better off (and will have a better musical presence in the audience) if you back away from it some. Playing close to it, I think, will cause you to play softer than you need to for the audience. It's still go the L1 DNA where you can guage your show from what you hear from the sound system.

Hey Cliffy... how does it handle it when you split the keyboard and do some left hand walking bass?? I love the way the classic handles it of course. Thanks.

I haven't noticed any hiss, not saying it isn't there just that I haven't noticed it, if it is there.

Have not played at all with mic channel beyond 11:00.

So far rehearsing, I have stood right in front of the Compact, about 5 or six feet.

I think I sound better when I hear equally with both ears.

O..

Hi propower,

I appologize for your noise issues. As you increase the L1 Compact volume you will hear more of the noise floor. And the noise floor will be more noticable in smaller quiet rooms. This is normal operation.

I am going to send you a private message with some specific tests to try to help me determine if your system is functioning properly.

Craig

Well I suppose I might be THE "Mr. Propower" ???? Been DBA Propowerinc for about 12years :-).......

Now back to this hiss issue..... I got a response from Craig at Bose and I sent him the detailed measurements I made between the L1C and the L1modelII. Let's see what he turns up.......

BTW, got to love the responsiveness of the company to want to look right into the problem within 24 hrs of a forum post..... :-).....

Fingers crossed.... let's see.....
-Lee