Bose T1 Tonematch vs. Fire-Eye preamp

[gfsark]

Just read the thread on Fire-Eye preamps which gets rave reviews.

I have the Bose T1 Tonematch, which Bose calls an "audio engine." To my way of thinking, it's a preamp, with a lot of added features such as downloaded presets for different guitars, mics... Etc. And the T1 is a great preamp.

Looking solely at the T1 as a 4 channel preamp, vs. Fire-Eye are there any salient differences? I'm curious, but since I have about $500 into the Bose, I'm not likely to change. But I also have other PA systems than the Bose L1, and wondering about using the T1 with them, also as a preamp for plugging into commerical PA at a gig somewhere, and also as a preamp for recording.

Your thoughts?

[nhbiker1961]

If fire eye and red eye are the same? There is another thread of someone not liking it.


http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=443739

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by gfsark

Just read the thread on Fire-Eye preamps which gets rave reviews.

I have the Bose T1 Tonematch, which Bose calls an "audio engine." To my way of thinking, it's a preamp, with a lot of added features such as downloaded presets for different guitars, mics... Etc. And the T1 is a great preamp.

Looking solely at the T1 as a 4 channel preamp, vs. Fire-Eye are there any salient differences? I'm curious, but since I have about $500 into the Bose, I'm not likely to change. But I also have other PA systems than the Bose L1, and wondering about using the T1 with them, also as a preamp for plugging into commerical PA at a gig somewhere, and also as a preamp for recording.

Your thoughts?

What type of pickup are you plugging into your Bose T1 Audio Engine? The Bose User's Guide says the XLR/1/4" inputs are High Impedance for the 1/4" input but I can't find what the Ohm-rating is. Any active pickup will be a direct plug-in with no worries. Something like a K&K Pure Mini (passive) seems to work best when plugged into a 1M Ohm input impedance.

[gfsark]

I typically use a dynamic mic for vocals (Sennheiser 935) and acoustic guitar has a KKK mini pickup. Sometimes mic my classical guitar with a condenser mic, a Rode 3. Also have an Zoom R8 digital recorder and I was thinking about using the T1 as a preamp for recording into the Zoom.

[jseth]

I don't think you can compare the two units, as they are vastly different in both their capabilities and design-intentions...

Haven't used one of those Red-Eye preamps, but I am sure they are very good... however, the T1 is a whole lot more than a single unit to amplify an acoustic guitar's pickup. I think it WILL do that well, but there's just so much more to it that the Red-Eye doesn't even pretend to do.

"Apples and Oranges", I would think... the only thing that the Red-Eye would work on would be the K&K pickup; for everything else you'd still be using the Bose mixer, and for recording, you'd probably want to run that Red-Eye through on of the "line-in" channels on the Bose so you could have it in the mix (assuming a live recording).

[Andy Howell]

I always run my guitar through my preamp into the Tonematch - channel set flat. A better sound deal I think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[martingitdave]

You may want a simple impedance matching DI preamp between the tone match and the guitar. However, some use it direct with great success. The T1 is one of my favorite small mixers. The mic preamps sound wonderful.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Mandobart]

I have a Redeye Fireye preamp. I love how it sounds on all my piezo equipped instruments (fiddles, mandolins, mandola, octave mandolins, banjo, guitar and mandocello) when I play thru a house PA. When I play through my Carvin acoustic amp I don't use the Redeye, because its unnecessary as the Carvin is setup for high impedance piezo inputs. If you're playing thru a Bose which is also designed for piezo pu's you may find like me that the Redeye doesn't add anything except a handy boost function.

The T1 is nice because it lets you add three more inputs to your L1. The T1 also has loads more features than the Redeye and thus is more complex to use. I have no idea if the T1 will work well with non-Bose PA's - it will need its own power supply where the Redeye runs off a 9 volt or 48 volt phantom. The T1 costs over twice what the Redeye does. For the $ of the T1 you could get any one of many capable preamps/DI's and have money left over for some effects. If I was thinking of dropping the money on the T1 I would try it out on one of your non-Bose PA's first and see if its all that.

[Andy Howell]

The T! does work well with other systems, just as any other digital mixer. I have occasionally used it for a duo (2 voices and 2 guitars) through an AER Compact when portability and the room allow.

A good preamp will soften the sound of the pickup, softening the peaks and highs and just sound more musical. I think it does a better job of that than the T1. I'm not saying toucan't replicate this effect with the T1 but it will take some experiment to get there.

For my guitar I run the signal through either a Headway or Orchid preamp. The T1 is used to add just a touch of digital delay (analogue setting). That is all if needs for fingerstyle guitar. Life would get more complicated without the preamp.

[jennconducts]

I like the T1 a lot. It's my "go to" when I need its really good reverb, or when I use a mic for speaking. If I'm going into a house system with 'verb, etc. I use the Headway, which I also like.