New Bose L1 Model II

[Brackett Instruments]

Originally Posted by TerryAllanHall

..................this is The Acoustic Guitar Forum.

Which is exactly why I don't care how much land you own.

[Earthworm]

Mike O--
If I were you, I'd send the L1/B1 back under your trial period and purchase an L1/B1 used. There are a lot of them available from people who want to upgrade to Model II. You could probably save $700 (figuring tax savings also). Just a thought. If it is more hassle than it is worth, I understand that. I can't say that I'd right away recommend the Model II. The T1 is cool, but I'm not liking that new price tag. $3000. Ouch.

Grace and peace to everyone in this thread. Life is hard; give grace (My new motto).

[mike o]

Earthworm Mike O--
If I were you, I'd send the L1/B1 back under your trial period and purchase an L1/B1 used. There are a lot of them available from people who want to upgrade to Model II. You could probably save $700 (figuring tax savings also). Just a thought. If it is more hassle than it is worth, I understand that. I can't say that I'd right away recommend the Model II. The T1 is cool, but I'm not liking that new price tag. $3000. Ouch.

You're probably right about the availability of used units and the price drop! I'm happy with my decision. It sounds great and is perfect for our needs.

[whamonkey]

More smug and condescending comments please.....

I actually liked the Bose L1 but my guitar player hated it.

What a baby.

Anyhow he couldn't get past the sound from behind effect, I wasn't thrilled with the bass response (being the bass player at the time) but it's no worse that listening to in-ear monitors. Now that is some weak bass right there.

Overall I felt they were pretty well balanced and a breeze to move. Great for small to mid-sized churches, IMO.

ding-ding.......round 2!

[jonahdsage]

i've been using my L1 for probably 2.5 years now. A little over a year ago I was getting really really frustrated with my system. I couldn't get it to sound right, never felt good, couldn't hear etc. Bought a shure beta 87 mic and feedback started going crazy, it was just a mess. I spent a few weeks playing shows with a bose-endorsed artist though and my troubles melted away. I installed the 2.0 presets and he walked me through how to set up the levels on the power stand, set the presets and adjust EQ the way you're supposed to. for me, the issue with the L1 was on me, not the system. The other night i was frustrated at a show because of feedback issues and at the end of the show saw I had bumped the mic preset and accidentally changed it. Played the next night in a similar spaced venue with the right preset on and the system was magic. I've thought about adding a second bass unit but just really don't see it. THe only reason i'd change from the bose setup is if I were playing for larger, 500+ seat venues. the T1 certainly sounds compelling to me. seems like there's always something new to spend money on (should I buy a T1 or an iphone?!)

[Stixx]

I bought two L1 systems with two bass units for about the price of one unit new and as used units they were undamaged with maybe 50 hours on them
so I have been enjoying them as I can keep one set up in the studio for playing rehearsing with vocal and instrument and then keep one broken down in cases for quick take out to the car for one night gigs.

I have found them to be reliable and versatile when used with my small makie mixer for multiple instruments or just plain with just myself and a guitar and have no problems so far. The presets EQ are only critica if you don't use a mixer but helpful in either case and I find the sure SM 58 great for vocals live and my condensor sure for instrument or plug straight in with fishman
and LR Baggs pre amp or just use the FX on the mixer , or both or just juse
a boss pedal verb on the plug in and go with just the unit . Either way I get a natural sound that is vertually natural and adequate in all but the most
convoluted of venues. It is best sounding IMO when the wave form is undiluted by colums and or changes in elevation .

I love the features of the new system and it looks nice and portable but it
has two deal breakers for me .One it is too expensive , at least new, and the other is it can not be used without a bass unit and they make you buy one with the unit even if you already have some bass units. It all comes as one package and for some penny pinchers (like me ) that ain't good business.

Bose has never been a ''value '' leader but the stuff works in this case and it
seems to hold up fairly good so far , just don't drop the plastic base unit , it will fracture fairly easily . Experience talking there.

All in all if you find a good used one at a reasonable price and it has no issues , I think you would like one. They do take a bit of getting to know
of course and I dare say I'm probably not all knowing about it myself yet
after a year or more but it is a LOT more versatile than I first imagined.

And they are arguably the most "natural'' sounding sound reiforcement you
can buy.

[JohnZ]

Originally Posted by jonahdsage

i've been using my L1 for probably 2.5 years now. A little over a year ago I was getting really really frustrated with my system. I couldn't get it to sound right, never felt good, couldn't hear etc. Bought a shure beta 87 mic and feedback started going crazy, it was just a mess. I spent a few weeks playing shows with a bose-endorsed artist though and my troubles melted away. I installed the 2.0 presets and he walked me through how to set up the levels on the power stand, set the presets and adjust EQ the way you're supposed to. for me, the issue with the L1 was on me, not the system. The other night i was frustrated at a show because of feedback issues and at the end of the show saw I had bumped the mic preset and accidentally changed it. Played the next night in a similar spaced venue with the right preset on and the system was magic. I've thought about adding a second bass unit but just really don't see it. THe only reason i'd change from the bose setup is if I were playing for larger, 500+ seat venues. the T1 certainly sounds compelling to me. seems like there's always something new to spend money on (should I buy a T1 or an iphone?!)

Yes, the 2.0 presets make a big difference.
Like everything else it's easy to fall into a rut and use the same settings over and over, for instance I'll use default preset 40 for most acoustic/electric situations but I've had a couple of days off to set it up at home and play around with different guitars and presets.......what a difference! One thing I'm finding is that one preset may be good for lower volumes, especially those that push bass (like preset 45) while another thinner one will be better for higher levels.

Though I've gotten by with one bass unit so far there are times I've wished I had a second one...especially outdoors to larger groups. Other times a room is so reflective there's too much bass and I have to take the bass unit off the floor. Minor complaints though.

[Stixx]

Originally Posted by Cakes

I have to agree with Stixx that these offer some of the most natural sounding sound reenforcement you can buy - especially for churches. Obviously there's alot of great equipment out there. But a case in point: I recently attended a large, thriving church and from start to finish, everything was top notch. Every little detail was perfectly planned. There were professional-grade musicians and an outstanding custom-installed suspended line array sound system. They used Aviom monitors and a cage for the drums which were mic'd. Full band with electric guitar, very skilled sound techs running the board...or were they? As good and well planned as every detail of the service was, the sound was as muddy as could be. I would venture their sound system cost at a minimum 50k, but the sound quality, while passable, was no where near clear, in my opinion. One could certainly chalk it up to user error - in fact, I would venture that with the right sound man, it could have sounded alot better. But how many people in this world actually have the combination of a good ear and technical skills to make one of those complex systems work well?? They're out there and probably some of you reading this fall into that category, but there's a huge shortage of them out there. And no matter how good the sound man was at this particular church, nothing could change the fact that the musicians were straight in front of me, but the majority of sound I heard, due to my seating position originated above and to the right of me. (the closest speaker) Counter-intuative and frankly, illogical when you think about it.

What does this prove? Nothing, but it made me appreciate the four L1's we use at our church. That's not to say our sound is always perfect, but it's a heck of alot better than most live sound systems I've heard in small to mid-sized venues, bar none. Your mileage may vary.

John

Sounds good Cakes, however in our church we have balconies and there is the rub . As much as I believe in the Bose for what they can do , in our
church they can not do . Luckily we have full time sound engineers who set up and teach those who run the equipment (also salaried) what and how to do it for it is also a television studio of sorts in that hard video and TV feeds are being simalcast as well. But in a small to medium sized balcony free chruch I don't think you could be the natural sound of Bose.

I would love to hear the new system and see how it sounds as well. It sure is funky looking with the new base module and that little gizmo.

I heard my first heavy metal band using bose with 3 pece group and lots of bass models and using three towers and I think about six bass units . They
had a huge sound it really amazed me. Of course it was a small venue but still , its hard to believe all that sound came from that small stack of boxes.