NAD: Bose S1 Pro - we have a winner! UPDATE - detailed video demo added

[DavidE]

My concern is that it will handle only the smallest of gigs. I’m over taxing my JBL Eon One at our small gigs already.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by DavidE

My concern is that it will handle only the smallest of gigs. I’m over taxing my JBL Eon One at our small gigs already.

It really depends on each person's definition of a 'small' gig. Plus the type of venue and music they are playing. I have no experience with the JBL Eon One but if you're overdriving a line array system at your 'small' gigs then I would seriously doubt the Bose S1 would work for you.

For us it's just the two of us, one guitar, one vocalist. Music is mellow to mid-tempo acoustic music. Think Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Anna Nalick, Ed Sheeran, America, etc., played to coffee houses, restaurants, wine tastings, book signings, places where people want to be able to hear themselves talk. That's the type of places we play.

Bars or loud crowds, anyplace with a lot of ambient noise or where you're trying to be the focus of attention to get people up and dancing you would be better served by something like a QSC K8.2.

[Methos1979]

A little bit more messing around yesterday and today. Both days I played with the S1 just sitting on a desk but in the tilted back position for the first time. Yesterday was guitar straight in through the K&K preamp and the X2 wireless. I did notice a little bit of a buzzy interference sound which I attributed to the X2. I fixed this by running a 1/4" guitar cord from the S1 to volume pedal and then just ran the wireless from the guitar to the K&K, K&K to the pedal. No interference sound. So that's something to avoid.

Today same positioning (tilt back on the desk) but back to the full mixer/PARA setup. I realized I had the switch on the S1 set to the guitar ToneMatch position and moved that to off and the system sounded great. I'm really looking forward to trying it out this weekend at a different gig. First time at this place, a large function room, 40x60 feet, Celebration of Life party so we'll be playing relatively and respectfully quiet in a corner, I assume. But I'll get there early and really turn it up. I want to see how it sounds with some volume pushing through it. I'll report back on Sunday.

[Murphy Slaw]

Looking forward to it....

[varmonter]

I've been toying with a couple of options myself.
I recently bought a sunburst gear 4 ch amp.
batt powered as well and it sounds great,.
for quiet gigs i think it will do fine.
Enjoyed your demo thanks for doin some work
for all of us here. And thanks for the Jason Isbell song!!
Great Job.. I am a big fan of his writing..
Just added "Speed trap Town" to my setlist.

[Methos1979]

Another gig today, a Celebration of Life for a co-worker's brother that passed away. The Bose S1 performed very well. The room was a large open square function room with wood paneling, average ceiling height and hardwood floors. Probably 50 people in attendance milling about and talking, sharing memories of the dearly departed. It was a wonderful ceremony and we were honored to be asked to perform. The Bose performed well. We had the amp on a speaker stand to my right about 10 feet away. We did not have as good an amount of sound for us with what seemed to be a lot of bass. But out front it sounded great and over the three hour performance each person I asked insisted that the sound out front was great. So that's good.

But we much preferred having the amp closer in front of us and sitting on a the bar like the last gig. We did not have a chance to really dial in a sound check as people were arriving an hour earlier than anticipated. So we just had a quick check and we were off to the races playing. But I was able to dial in what sounded like really good tone from the mixer/PARA on the fly. Basically I just dialed out some additional lows, which seemed prevalent. I'm not sure if it was the positioning of the amp up on the pole vs. it sitting on the bar at the last gig. More testing needs to be done. But still, all-in-all we are still quite happy with its performance.

[jjrunnin]

Hi, First time for me commenting on posts. I've used K&K for years performing. Their pre amps work ok but Baggs preamp don't match up or do much of anything adjustment wise. If you want stellar results with the K&K mini use the Radial Engineering PZ Deluxe with sweepable mids, boost, and mute. You will be amazed. Last week I went to a Bose outlet store and played my 2016 Taylor 510 (Andy Powers remake) with a K&K plugged directly into the Bose S1 pro for over an hour. Amazing volume and clean sound with almost no adjustment and no preamp....Mic channel was great as well...Thanks, JJrunnin

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by jjrunnin

Hi, First time for me commenting on posts. I've used K&K for years performing. Their pre amps work ok but Baggs preamp don't match up or do much of anything adjustment wise. If you want stellar results with the K&K mini use the Radial Engineering PZ Deluxe with sweepable mids, boost, and mute. You will be amazed. Last week I went to a Bose outlet store and played my 2016 Taylor 510 (Andy Powers remake) with a K&K plugged directly into the Bose S1 pro for over an hour. Amazing volume and clean sound with almost no adjustment and no preamp....Mic channel was great as well...Thanks, JJrunnin

Hi JJrunning,
Welcome and thanks for your comments. I had a similar experience with my k & k and the Baggs unit. However many people on this forum love this combo. I just think it could be my guitar not being a good match for a k & k to begin with and nothing seemed to improve it.

Also had a similar experience with the Bose S1. I purchased one and love it.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It helps us all make more informed decisions.

[jjrunnin]

Hi Marty,

I have had a dozen guitars, martins and Taylors, with the K&K minis and the guitar does make a huge difference. For example a Taylor GS mini will be half again louder than my dread and way bassier. In general, IMO, the bass needs taming and the treble needs a bit of boost for the mini. The smaller the guitar the more focused the bass gets. I don't play with a monitor and rarely have feedback issues unless I am really loud or too close to the speaker. FYI I will be purchasing the Bose S1-pro as soon as I can afford it. I was that impressed. I used to have the AER compact 60 for several years but prefer the sound of the Bose S!-pro....not to mention how hard to read the knobs are on the AER...Thanks

[slewis]

The S1's maximum 2-3 year battery life (and the replacement being pretty spendy) is a deal-breaker for me, I think, when the Fishman Mini Charge has virtually all the same features and a longer-lasting battery, all for a little less money, I think.

EDIT: Well, my concerns about the battery life have been alleviated, for the most part. It does have a 2-year guarantee so as someone mentioned somewhere, it's likely good for 3 years or more and the battery is $99 to replace. Small price to pay for all that portability. Now I have to just wrestle with the choice between the S1 and the Fishman Mini Charge. More power and a few more features, like chorus and master volume, and it still has Bluetooth and is approx. the same size and you can get a cool and nice carrying case for the Charge if you buy before Aug. 31. The different configurability of the S! is very cool though... but it's $100 more, too.... Aargh! Such decisions.

[jseth]

You know, Sean, I like Fishman stuff - and I've heard and played through one of the Loudbox Minis... but I really think that Bose has it all over Fishman when it comes to actual sound "fidelity" - as well as the ability to "s p r e a d " the sound throughout a room evenly.

Depends upon whether one desires that "modern" sound output - to my ears, exaggerated high end and a very boomy low end... to me, that's what the Fishman stuff sounds like... while the Bose stuff I've heard (and play through) have a much more "natural" sound profile, which is especially valuable with just vocal and acoustic guitar.

[Methos1979]

As one of the more 'prolific' fans and reviewers of the Bose S1 Pro here on AGF and YouTube, I have half a mind to order a FLBMC and A/B it with the S1 just so I an write a review! I've owned a lot of Fishman amps over the years (SA220, the Mini and the Artist) and they were all great amps for sure. In the end I'm quite sure that both sound pretty darn good (great, actually). It really comes down to two things:

If use some sort of external pre-amp/EZ and effects anyway (or don't care/need them) and you want the best sound dispersion and ease/choice of placement options (floor, stand, table, vertical tilt, horizontal tilt) then the Bose is your ticket.

If you need/want onboard effects, pre-amp, EQ and care less about wide sound dispersion than the Mini Charge would be a better choice.

But I'd still love to see/hear them side by side.

[AeroUSA]

I wouldn’t personally order something just to compare it and then return it. Anyway I had the loudbox mini and it didn’t fill a room like an S1 does. Why look elsewhere when you’ve found something that works for you?

[slewis]

Originally Posted by jseth

You know, Sean, I like Fishman stuff - and I've heard and played through one of the Loudbox Minis... but I really think that Bose has it all over Fishman when it comes to actual sound "fidelity" - as well as the ability to "s p r e a d " the sound throughout a room evenly. Depends upon whether one desires that "modern" sound output - to my ears, exaggerated high end and a very boomy low end... to me, that's what the Fishman stuff sounds like... while the Bose stuff I've heard (and play through) have a much more "natural" sound profile, which is especially valuable with just vocal and acoustic guitar.

Thanks, JS -- I'm still wrestling with this decision but your comments are helpful and well thought-out (as always!). A helluva spot to be in, right? -- picking from these two really awesome choices, truly. I was leaning toward the Fishman (especially with their current offer of the really nice padded case for it) after first leaning toward the Bose, but now I'm leaning toward the Bose again... ARG.

PS -- does anyone know if my SoloSAmp speaker stand will fit the Bose S-1??? THAT would be nice...

[RogerPease]

As is the Fishman SA330x stand does not fit the Bose S1 Pro.
The Fishman pole is too big.
I believe there are adapters that will work though.
Haven’t tried anything yet but I intend to.

_Roger