Bose S1 and Boss VE-8: A match made in heaven?

[lkingston]

As good as the D6-8 is, here is what I miss:

1. Some sort of body resonance modeling.

2. There are 10 scenes on the D6-8 and they take several key strokes and one knob turn to to call up. When you call up a new setup, it changes all the channels, not just the guitar. Cool, but not what you need when you just want to change the guitar sound for different songs.

3. The placement. The AD-10 (or any fx pedal) is right in front of you. Not behind you and off to the side somewhere.

[troggg]

Originally Posted by lkingston

As good as the D6-8 is, here is what I miss:

1. Some sort of body resonance modeling.

2. There are 10 scenes on the D6-8 and they take several key strokes and one knob turn to to call up. When you call up a new setup, it changes all the channels, not just the guitar. Cool, but not what you need when you just want to change the guitar sound for different songs.

3. The placement. The AD-10 (or any fx pedal) is right in front of you. Not behind you and off to the side somewhere.

I don't know why every manufacturer can't see that if they're going to provide scenes, why not just make them super-accessible for quick access. I mean there's a 50/50 chance someone's going to be using the amp live with people watching and doesn't want those people to see them futzing with the controls.

Same deal with the Bose T1 and descendants.

At least with the Play Acoustic you can step through the presets (aka scenes) via footswitch (you don't need the addition Switch 3 or 6 to do it; you can uses the switches on board the unit). Boss too?

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by troggg

I don't know why every manufacturer can't see that if they're going to provide scenes, why not just make them super-accessible for quick access. I mean there's a 50/50 chance someone's going to be using the amp live with people watching and doesn't want those people to see them futzing with the controls.

Same deal with the Bose T1 and descendants.

At least with the Play Acoustic you can step through the presets (aka scenes) via footswitch (you don't need the addition Switch 3 or 6 to do it; you can uses the switches on board the unit). Boss too?

The Boss AD-10 can assign it’s three footswitches several ways. I have mine set up so the the first two step between its ten scenes. A quick press of the right footswitch mutes the output and engages the tuner. A long press of this same switch engages the automatic feedback notch filters.

On the D6-8 there is one notch filter on each of the first four channels with frequency and depth controls.

Mixer scenes are really useful in that you can call up a setup for a gig. The D6-8 does this well. You call up a scene and all the mics and the guitar is set.

The trouble is that while this is a great starting point, you might tweak the vocals a little more for instance at the beginning of a gig. Now if you want to call up a preset with a different amount of ambience on the guitar, you have also reset all the vocal channels and lost your beginning of the gig tweaks. I really like having a separate effects unit just dedicated to guitar.

Vocals on the D6-8 sound very good to begin with, but with all the mixer features, you can tweak them to perfection with individual compressors, versatile EQs and great reverb. Lots of acoustic amps sound great on guitar, but sounding great on vocals too is pretty rare.

On the Sunburst Gear M6BR8, the vocals sound as good as your mics. My Shure Beta 87A mics sound really pretty flat and with no reverb, and thus they sound great on the M6BR8. There is no tweaking though.

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by lkingston

The Boss AD-10 can assign it’s three footswitches several ways. I have mine set up so the the first two step between its ten scenes. A quick press of the right footswitch mutes the output and engages the tuner. A long press of this same switch engages the automatic feedback notch filters.

On the D6-8 there is one notch filter on each of the first four channels with frequency and depth controls.

Mixer scenes are really useful in that you can call up a setup for a gig. The D6-8 does this well. You call up a scene and all the mics and the guitar is set.

The trouble is that while this is a great starting point, you might tweak the vocals a little more for instance at the beginning of a gig. Now if you want to call up a preset with a different amount of ambience on the guitar, you have also reset all the vocal channels and lost your beginning of the gig tweaks. I really like having a separate effects unit just dedicated to guitar.

Vocals on the D6-8 sound very good to begin with, but with all the mixer features, you can tweak them to perfection with individual compressors, versatile EQs and great reverb. Lots of acoustic amps sound great on guitar, but sounding great on vocals too is pretty rare.

On the Sunburst Gear M6BR8, the vocals sound as good as your mics. My Shure Beta 87A mics sound really pretty flat and with no reverb, and thus they sound great on the M6BR8. There is no tweaking though.

I have the m6 as well and am toying with buying
the d68. My experience with qsc touchmix boards
Has taught me the pros and cons of digital interface processing.
And yes the depth of menus makes tweaks on the fly
pretty much impossible .This is the single greatest fail with this technology.imo..
The ability to recall scenes is handy.
But the old computer adage of save as and save often holds true.
but scenes change a bit every time you play the venue .
with others in the group also saving and recalling ..your changes can get lost quickly.
So i still prefer an analog mixer next to me when i play live .
when i play with the band (touchmix board) I have outboard effect and eq.
because i want the quick access to small changes. This is where these pedals come in handy. like the ad10 or ve8..

[Davis Webb]

Good review. Thanks!

[lkingston]

Methos: are you using one of the S1 input channels for the VE-8 line or XLR output or are you using the headphone hour into the S1 aux input? Both ways work, but the headphone into aux input gives two channels out of the S1 which is pretty cool. If you think of the VE-8 as two channels (guitar plus vocal) that is four all together. When you do it that way, you can also use the aux in on the VE-8 for BGM or any backing tracks.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by lkingston

Methos: are you using one of the S1 input channels for the VE-8 line or XLR output or are you using the headphone hour into the S1 aux input? Both ways work, but the headphone into aux input gives two channels out of the S1 which is pretty cool. If you think of the VE-8 as two channels (guitar plus vocal) that is four all together. When you do it that way, you can also use the aux in on the VE-8 for BGM or any backing tracks.

I remember you mentioning that ability but I have not needed it. Since there is only two inputs to the VE-8 I use the 1/4" out to channel 1 of the S1 with the volume between 4-5 and eq flat, ToneMatch switch off, then tweak individual volume levels at the VE-8 for guitar and vocals (wife).

Then for my vocals (when used) I plug my mic straight into channel two of the S1, ToneMatch set to mic and volume and EQ adjust to suit. Covers us well. I have used the Bluetooth connection for my phone and it sounds great.

[lkingston]

The way you’re doing it saves the Bluetooth connection. Just remember that you can use the aux connection if you ever need an extra vocal or instrument channel.

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

I tried the Boss VE-8 but I much prefer the TC Play Acoustic

I currently have the Play Acoustic. Last week I trailed a Boss Acoustic Singer Pro amp. Not because I wanted one, just because it was in a music store and already had a mic hooked up to it. The vocals were easy to adjust and very pleasing. Just a little reverb and delay combo and it sounded great. I wondered, is the circuitry the same in this amp and the VE-8?

Also, why do you prefer the Play Acoustic over the Boss VE-8? I wish the Play Acoustic had an EQ built in for the vocals. Seems I always want to cut the kids a bit.

[lkingston]

My opinion is that they sound about the same. I got the VE-8 because it runs on batteries.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by lkingston

My opinion is that they sound about the same. I got the VE-8 because it runs on batteries.

Though I have yet to use batteries, that was another reason for giving this until a try. We are currently in a 'getting back to basics' push by shelving at least temporarily our gadgets and trying to run with the absolute bare minimum and letting the music do the talking, as Joe Perry says.

Once I procure the S1 battery and maybe some lithium rechargeables for the VE-8, I'll only have to carry the guitar in it's gig bag, the S1 and then the VE-8, a mic, a mic cable, a guitar cord, guitar strap, and the Xvive U2 wireless units, all of which will fit easily in the gig bag.

I'll likely throw the cable bag in the trunk just in case. But to and from the venue, minimal.

[lkingston]

I only ever used rechargeables. They work fine in spite of their lower voltage (7.2v instead of 9v).

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by lkingston

I only ever used rechargeables. They work fine in spite of their lower voltage (7.2v instead of 9v).

Glad to hear that, I always wondered. For playing out (and frankly sometimes even for playing in), battery operation on a unit like this is mandatory. Love my VE-8.

(Mandatory because of my simple setup no doubt--if I had a pedal train going, "simplicity" wouldn't describe managing a battery squad).

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Chriscom

I'm legendary in my circles for missing things right in front of my eyes, but--is there a link to "the" demo, or are you pointing us to the Facebook page? Good stuff there btw.

Hi Chris - sorry I missed this. The 'demo' is the embedded video on the first post at the bottom!

Update for live use: Used last night with the Bose S1, the VE-8, the Mooer Ocean Machine with just the wife's mic and the Martin 000-18GE Custom into the VE-8 via the Xvive U2. The tone was great. I spent a few hours one day last week diving back into the VE-8's EQ and further tweaking the guitar tone. I agreed with one commenter that the recorded tone sounded a little 'metallic'.

That was from the treble being boosted a little too high but also partly due to the cell phones relative inability to pick up the low end. But the treble was up too much which I noticed mostly because my high E sounded like it was fretting out. Once I did a better job of EQ it sounded great. Even my wife (who hadn't heard it in a week) commented yesterday when we practiced how great it sounded right out of the gate when I turned it on.

The gig last night was at our usual small restaurant. Attendance was low (not uncommon) which I actually enjoy as it allows me to walk around the place with my wireless guitar and get a really good feel for the sound in different parts of the room. Vocal coverage was wonderful. Her voice seems to just cut and carry. The guitar carries well too but the highs die out fast and the lows carry the most, for obvious reasons.

I tend to run the guitar back behind the vocals is part of the reason. This allows me to dig in when I want/need to and still not overwhelm the vox. She's the star, I'm the support. I was pleasantly surprised for the most part with how well the Mooer Ocean Machine translated to the live tone. There was only one new effect that I used that didn't that will either need some tweaking or will be replaced by an existing one.

Next week will be back to the acoustic brunch on Sunday (we alternate each week) and that will be the minimalist set up. In fact, I'm planning on procuring and using the S1 battery and also picking up a set of lithium rechargeables for the VE-8. So that will be a real-world test of the second to smallest set up, the smallest being just the guitar and mic straight into the Bose (although the guitar would still need to run through the PARA). I'll update again next week for those still following this thread.

[Chriscom]

Hi Chris - sorry I missed this. The 'demo' is the embedded video on the first post at the bottom!

oh no worries, and I really appreciate your detailed posts on this.