Lessons from today's gig with the Bose S1 Pro, Boss VE-8 and 'guest' pedal

Methos1979 · #1 05-20-2018, 01:27 PM

We did our bi-monthly Acoustic Brunch today using the as-of-late 'light' plus one setup. That consists of the Bose S1 Pro and Boss VE-8 running on batteries, the Martin 000-18GE Custom connected with the Xvive U2 wireless (initially) and the 'plus' being added today the Mooer Ocean Machine plugged in to the wall as this pedal does not run on batteries. I'd been playing with this pedal all week and love the ambient tones I get out of it that I use on several songs. I have programmed five or six different ambient tones of varying levels that I use on different songs and wanted to see how well they played in a live setting at a busy/noisy venue.

As is the norm, the restaurant was hopping with a nearly full crowd enjoying their brunch. We were in our usual spot, crammed into a corner behind the bar by the window to the right of the front entrance door. It's about the worst spot you can go into acoustically as your amp hits the bar. The people sitting at the bar get great sound but those in the main seating area do not. This actually works out well as it allows for us to play louder where we are and those out in the main restaurant can enjoy their brunch and conversations while still hearing us. The Bose, which we place on a high barstool chair and angle up, throws the sound fairly well. This is the norm for us and we have this setup dialed in for this venue.

There were a few wildcards today. First, is was quite warm and humid out this morning and the restaurant had the front door open. In hindsight I should have taken the Emerald X20 but the Martin handled it fine and other than the usual amount of tuning I have to do with capo changes it wasn't bad. I had worn a fleece hoody leaving the house (which was still cool from the overnight temp drop) and I was quickly too warm and sweaty for that and had to take it off leaving just a T-shirt. I hate the feeling of my damp right forearm against the guitar and it made me wish I'd brought the X20. This seeped into my mind during play and caused some minor mistakes here and there. It was a struggle to stay focused on the playing at times.

The humidity had two other deleterious effects on playing. First, my fingertips when soft fast. We generally play two 1.5 hour sets (instead of three 45 minute sets) as this works best for this venue and the time slot. I can usually get through the first set unscathed and only near the end of the second set do my fingertips start to get soft and sore. I think today by the third song (in the first set!) my fingertips were getting soft and they were a little sore by the end of the first set. By the end of the second set they were REALLY sore! The last three songs were agony, made worse by tired hands and the need to grip/press even harder on the fretboard to prevent string buzzes.

The second and more serious issue was with the wireless system. After a couple songs my wife and I both heard a 'snap' or electrical sounding pop. I've heard this from this wireless system before. If I lightly tap the strings to mute at the end of a song the Xvive system sometimes gives off this annoying snap/pop. I've learned to not do this, instead very gently muting the strings after each song. But the sound occurred today twice DURING songs. It seemed to be at least in part because of the humidity and my damp hands. After hearing it the second time and confirming my wife heard it too, I muted and swapped out the Xvive's for just a guitar cord and the issue went away. So file that one for future.

Then there was the Mooer Ocean Machine pedal. With the level of competing noise from venue goers it quickly became apparent that the more subtle ambient tones where lost in the din. This was no big deal since it didn't sound bad but it just didn't give the added ambient tone and feel to the song I'd hoped for. There was one tone that did translate well as it was a little over-the-top when playing at home. But at the venue it was just right. So I started to use that on any and all songs where I wanted an ambient tone but it didn't necessarily fit or work with everything. So I'll have to pay more attention to that next time or just not bother to use/bring it for that type of gig.

We are working towards a gig we've got coming up in July at a much larger venue dedicated to just us. And while there will be background noise as it is a pub, most people will be there actually see and listen to us play as well as eat and drink. I was planning on going with just the Bose S1 but I'm thinking I might definitely pull the trigger on the QSC k8.2 and use that as FOH and use the S1 as our monitor. I know that will work. Bring enough gun, right?

The Bose performed quite well, as usual, as did the Boss VE-8. In fact, I'm happy to report that have started to use the harmony feature on the Boss and we have been quite happy with that as well. We used it in practice yesterday very sparingly on just a few songs and in most cases it worked quite well. My wife is getting used to activating with her foot (vs with the button the mic on the TCH system). We set the dial to the Low & High combo harmony and only use that one with the level dialed up just past the halfway mark. It sounded great. We have that pedal dialed in really well now. So as long as I remember to check the knob positions (which tend to get moved accidentally during transport!) before I start playing, we're find. I find I have to set the notch to 14 and I dial the acoustic resonance in a tiny bit at 6 in the green position.

Anyway, I know a lot of people have been following our adventure/progress with the S1 and there's also a lot of people wading into their own experiences with it so thought I'd share the latest escapade for digestion.

kramster · #2 05-20-2018, 02:23 PM

Interesting and detailed stuff...thanks for taking the time.

Davis Webb · #3 05-20-2018, 02:24 PM

I will pair it with my VE20. That should be sweet.

Thanks, reading with popcorn. Just got one today and its gear porn, this page.

15 pounds!!!!! And the tea-cozy case, just classy

I love it.

Chriscom · #4 05-20-2018, 04:13 PM

Thanks much for that debrief. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who messes up on occasion due to distractions.

Two 1.5 hour sets, that's pretty demanding.

kramster · #5 05-20-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriscom

Two 1.5 hour sets, that's pretty demanding.

I don't think I can do that on guitar as my digits would get sore and cramp...I do an occasional 2 or 3 hour nonstop set but just background on a keyboard doing piano stuff...I can still grab a water or Pepsi with one hand and play with the other for a half minute or so which makes it nice and a couple bites on a snack here and there... and I also dopant have to press pedals, tune, while off strings or sing...

Captain Jim · #6 05-20-2018, 05:54 PM

I haven't used a wood guitar to play out since I bought my first carbon fiber guitar 5 years ago. Not once have I wished I had a wood one (although I did bring a wood guitar along the first couple times out after getting the CF... you know, just in case).

Methos1979 · #7 05-21-2018, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I haven't used a wood guitar to play out since I bought my first carbon fiber guitar 5 years ago. Not once have I wished I had a wood one (although I did bring a wood guitar along the first couple times out after getting the CF... you know, just in case).

I've used the X20 live several times and it performs great. Mostly I'd used it back over the winter on really cold days. While I love the X20, I REALLY love the Martin! I came to find (too late) that I prefer the 2 5/16" string spacing on the Martin over the 2 1/4" on the X20. It just suits my playing style a tiny bit better. I bought the Martin well into my X20 custom build and when I realized this I contacted Emerald to see if I could change but it was too late - they'd already drilled the bridge position holes for 2 1/4".

It's literally the only thing I would change on a custom build. In fact, depending on what's announced here next week for new models at Emerald, I just might find myself ordering a new custom woody CF with nearly identical specs to the one I have but with the wider string spacing! But I also notice the prices of many of the custom features that I have in my X20 have gone up considerably...

Methos1979 · #8 05-21-2018, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriscom

Thanks much for that debrief. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who messes up on occasion due to distractions.

Two 1.5 hour sets, that's pretty demanding.

You are not! It's funny but any and every time I've made a mistake either at home or playing live, it's because my mind has wandered away a bit. We play in front of a big window that faces the street and I often find myself watching the world go by outside and all of the sudden I'm not playing what I'm supposed to!

Set duration is a weird thing. We changed from three 45 minute sets as it fit the venue we were playing at better since things tend to die out after noon usually. Also, by the time we got to that third set my fingers would be getting pretty sore so we figured we'd just keep playing longer on the first set while more people were there eating and then the second set usually ends up being a little less than 1.5 hours as once the place empties we button up and eat.