BOSE S1 as a PA?

[Davis Webb]

Hi

Tested it out the other day vs a few other models.

Best sound, light weight, I agree with all that has been said here about it.

BUT

Can it drive a drum machine and guitar?

The Boss Street Cube can..

Can the S1 handle that you think?

[Methos1979]

I'm assuming you mean the Roland Street Cube (vs the Boss)?

It depends. Are you talking about the Street Cube EX model which is 50 watts and has 2 8" woofers or the Street Cube which has 2 6.5" woofers and is only 5 watts? Although you left off the EX, I'm going to assume you meant that one since the smaller one is more of a toy than an amp.

The answer to your question is: Maybe. At 50 watts with two 8" speakers the the Street Cube EX is going to produce and handle way more low end then the single 6" that the Bose S1 Pro has. The Bose limitations are in it's ability to handle low ends at volume. It tends to get flubby and tubby.

It also depends on the volumes you need to play and they type of music and venues you're playing at. If you're playing loud, upbeat songs with a drum machine that needs some thumping low end of the bass drum to come through then I would say that the Street Cube EX would be a better choice than the S1.

I will also say that I have owned both. I owned the Street Cube EX for about 5 minutes. The audio quality was so poor for what I needed that I sold it off very quickly. The Bose audio is far superior. But again, it depends on your needs.

[Davis Webb]

Thanks, just the kind of advice I was looking for.

Traynor is coming out with a 60 watt system in a couple weeks with effects.

If its like the existing Traynors, its so so.

But what I heard in my tests confirms everything said here.

Yep, I meant the Roland. So I will take my Street Cube back.

The S1 sounds soooo good. It may be that I need both, one for guitar and singing and one for my new electric busking act.

No problem it means more gear and I love new gear.

Methos, that is exactly what I found testing it in the store.



Thanks a bunch@!

[jonfields45]

Roland Cube Street EX "50" watts is a bit of a stretch since 8 AA batteries, running for three sets, are only going to deliver ~12 wats RMS (8 x 1.5v x 1 amp)... I've not tried an S1, but its got to blow the Cube away given its much larger battery.

Roland gets that "50" by assuming no distortion and a 10x peak to average ratio for typical music (roughly 12 watts x 80% efficient switching power supply x 80% efficient class D power amp x 80% to power the preamp/effects x 10). But many individual instruments, can be "atypical" for long enough stretches to blow that assumption away. A 50 watt Marshall can cause near instant permanent hearing damage that no Cube is at risk of doing. But the Cube Street EX is plenty for many low volume gigs.

[JohnDWilliams]

Originally Posted by Davis Webb

Can it drive a drum machine and guitar?

Can the S1 handle that you think?

Yes, no question. I do a “jazz” guitar single with bass, drums, and piano tracks through an S1. In small, 20 to 50 seat rooms, the S1 is perfect. I’ve done the tracks gig at small outdoor wedding receptions and it works great there as well.

I put break music through the S1 too and it sounds great. It’s great as just a Bluetooth speaker by itself.

[Davis Webb]

Sweet, I bought one today. Thanks!

[Davis Webb]

It works!!!!! As a PA that is.

OMG

1. The acoustic and vocal as you know ..is out of this world!!!!

2. I plugged in my DR3 drum machine and even at 1/4 volume it SHOOK the room. Of course, the room was my kitchen but still.

The kick drums, cymbals, toms, snares all faithfully reproduced. Like out of this world again. The bass guitar, clear, sharp, lots of rumble. Then when I added Tele, nothing broke up, it still kept instrument clarity.

This thing is AWESOME>>>>


15 Pounds
15 Pounds....omg
15 Pounds....

And I love the tea cozy cover...perfect for protecting it from flotsum. while busking.

[Durnbock]

Glad you like it! I also pulled the trigger this weekend and purchased two of them. Only downside is Guitar Center only had 1 battery in stock so they have to ship me one. I only got to play with it for a couple hours running my iPod but they sounded soooo good. Just a nice sounding speaker. I know they aren't going to shake a big room, but they will be perfect for small jam sessions with friends I do 3-4 times per year. Mostly acoustic, some electric. Good to hear it works well with a drum machine, as that is what we use when we play. I plan to tun a small mixer to it so we can run guitar, bass, drum machine, and my vocals through them. I actually ordered a cheap battery-powered Nady mixer so we can go total battery minus the drums machine (I have a stomp box I can use for a beat then). Gonna be fun--and no need to haul the full PA!

[Vindellama]

Anyone got any experience mic'ing a guitar through the S1?

[leew3]

Originally Posted by Vindellama

Anyone got any experience mic'ing a guitar through the S1?

I haven't tried it live but just today used a mic with my CEO7 into the S1. I was able to turn up the channel volume all the way with the mic about 5 feet to the left of the S1 with it angled slightly toward the mic with no feedback. I set the tonematch to microphone. It sounded great, but I'm unsure of whether it would be loud enough to use live. I used a Blue enCore 100 which does not provide a very hot signal. I wonder whether using a separate phantom power unit with a condenser mic might have better (ie louder) results? Having said that, in my limited experience with the S1 (I've used it live once with great results) it provides great sound and dispersion at lower volume than I have used with my Loudbox Artist in the past.

Hope this helps.