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  #31  
Old 06-25-2018, 08:07 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Originally Posted by Groberts View Post
Respectfully, that was not my experience at all. The S1 imparted an artificial color to the sound of my guitar amplified. I will revisit because this thread has me wondering if maybe I should try different placement for the S1. I tried several orientations, but not elevated on a stand.

This may be one of those cases where some see the dress as white, and others see it as blue. :-)

As for ease of use, (again, not meant to be argumentative), I found the controls and knobs being on the back of the Bose S1 less user-friendly than the controls on the front of the Loudbox Mini Charge.

Your milage may vary. and that is totally great. I just hear it different I guess.
All amps color tone to some degree, especially the Bose. Bose is famous for their coloring of sound which is why they are universally hated by the hi-fi headphone purists.

It's always going to be the white dress/blue dress with anything and everything. We all hear differently.

As for 'ease of use' I think their are two ways to look even at this (white vs. blue)! The Bose gets its ease of use in that the controls are minimal so there is not much to do to get a decent tone (assuming you like the tone). Hi, Low, Reverb, ToneMatch, Volume, done. Only a few knobs. Conversely, the Mini has many more knobs and therefore many more possibilities for tweaking your tone. Less simple, but more powerful, you could say.

However, the Bose S1 knob positions on the back and all in black with black background makes it a PITA to see what you're doing. You literally have to spin the amp around AND have some ambient light available to see what you are doing! If it's dark, you're screwed. The good news is that (once again) the Bose knobs and options are so few that once you play with it a few times it's just a matter of reaching back and making a few minor adjustments. I no longer need to turn the amp around.

The Mini, conversely, is very easy to see what you're doing as the knobs are on the front and labeled/colored in such a contrasting way that it's way more easy to see what you're doing. There's just more to see and do.

Reminds me of a funny Facebook meme I saw a while back about how deep is the mud...
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  #32  
Old 06-25-2018, 08:13 AM
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Lol, this why we have so many different opinions!
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  #33  
Old 08-04-2018, 05:38 PM
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I've been playing around with my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge today at home. Made a little recording with this new Martin Cutaway DC-18E I just got. I may have dialed in a little too much Boss RV-6 Shimmer Reverb, but got a very pleasing sound and thought I would share:

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  #34  
Old 08-23-2018, 12:58 PM
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We all know that Bose is almost always pretty inflexible on its pricing, even with dealers, but there are a few times a year when they offer limited-time discounts, right? When are those?
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  #35  
Old 08-30-2018, 03:00 PM
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Well I just pulled the trigger on the S1. Primarily for my smallest-room gigs, bluetoothing music on breaks, "couch-guitar" in my living room and on the patio, and because of the apparent better dispersion of sound that Bose is known for... I hope I love it!
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  #36  
Old 08-30-2018, 05:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slewis View Post
Well I just pulled the trigger on the S1. Primarily for my smallest-room gigs, bluetoothing music on breaks, "couch-guitar" in my living room and on the patio, and because of the apparent better dispersion of sound that Bose is known for... I hope I love it!
Cool! Let us know how you like it and how it works for you. Dispersion is very good with Bose. Cannot deny that. Might be best on a stand for the S1 Pro but those who own them would know more than I do about that aspect.
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  #37  
Old 08-30-2018, 09:27 PM
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The S1 is rated at 40W and the Mini Charge is rated at 60W, is the Mini Charge louder then the S1?
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  #38  
Old 08-31-2018, 05:35 AM
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If they were measured exactly the same way (not likely), 60 vs 40 watts is only 1.8 dB, which is not really that noticeable and well within the typical range of speaker driver efficiency variation.

I have to give credit to Bose for not advertising watts in an environment of fantasy ratings (otherwise great QSC Kx.2 products claim 2KW of power which is clearly a fantasy beyond the typical 15 amp wall outlet or the thermal limitations of a small plastic box).
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  #39  
Old 08-31-2018, 02:14 PM
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Default Bass Guitar Thru an S1??? Works well with my Loudbox Mini Charge

A question for S1 Pro owners: has anyone tried a bass guitar? I use my LBMC for no AC duo gigs and it handles bass guitar (about 1/3 of our repertoire) really well.
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  #40  
Old 09-04-2018, 01:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TubeG View Post
The S1 is rated at 40W and the Mini Charge is rated at 60W, is the Mini Charge louder then the S1?
When I tested them side by side outdoors with a friend, we both agreed that my S1 was louder than his Loudbox Mini Charge. He returned his Fishman and ordered an S1 shortly after. To be fair, they were very close.
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  #41  
Old 09-04-2018, 04:59 PM
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Bose rates in SPL's better than watts. I have a Fishman Artist and the S1. The Artist is rated 120 watts, but the S1 is louder than it. The SPL and dispersion of the sound makes a big difference.
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  #42  
Old 09-04-2018, 05:37 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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I have mentioned here that I have a Loud Box Mini that I've been using for about 5 or 6 years (not the Charge). When I first got it, I was surprised and delighted that something that small could put out that much decent sound. The guitar sounds great, the vocal channel is very good.

I got the S1 Pro a few months ago. I like the sound with both guitar and mic better with the S1 Pro, but I could be very happy with either... as a small amp solution. I haven't pushed them both to see which gets louder - frankly, I don't use either at that volume. To me that would be like comparing a Honda Civic and a Toyota Corolla to see which has the higher top speed - you aren't going to be driving either of them at 100 miles per hour in everyday use! Simply not their best use.

What the LBM has over the Bose: a Master Volume; chorus on the guitar channel.

What the Bose has over the LBM: a better form factor for my use (I understand the tolex covering on the Charge is more substantial than the original LBM) and the ease of using it horizontal, vertical, tilted, or on a stand. I definitely prefer the vocal mic sound with the Bose, the guitar can be EQed to be similar. I like the ToneMatch switches on both channels on the Bose for none/guitar/mic. I feel like the Bose has better dispersion, but my opinion on that sort of thing has some bias after switching from a heavy, loud traditional PA to a Bose L1C around 8 years ago. These days, I am more about the sound in the room rather than THE SOUND IN THE ROOM.

If you threw a sheet over both, used an A/B/Y pedal, I would guess most people wouldn't be able to tell you which you are using at any given time. The fact (opinion, for me) is: they are both decent small amps. Much better than small amps used to be, even a decade ago. The whole idea of buying one, sending it back and buying the other seems kinda silly to me. Since Fishman came out with the Charge, it makes them even more similar, because the battery power of the S1 is just easy and seamless.

I guess we all enjoy a "my guitar/amp/PA can beat up your guitar/amp/PA" thread?
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  #43  
Old 09-05-2018, 01:48 AM
Peter Z Peter Z is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonfields45 View Post
A question for S1 Pro owners: has anyone tried a bass guitar? I use my LBMC for no AC duo gigs and it handles bass guitar (about 1/3 of our repertoire) really well.
I did, but not at a gig, just at home. First I tried it with an acoustic bass guitar and that work surprisingly well. Not only the volume but the S1 produced a really good sound. I wouldn't worry about using it on a gig that is suitable for the S1.

After that I tried the S1 with a double bass. That also worked but not as well. Even if the frequency range of 4-string basses are all the same the double bass needs more deep lows. So you can use it but at lower volume.
I didn't plug in my 5-string Fender Jazzbass because I don't expect to get the low B string to be reproduced correctly at reasonable volumes - but who knows. That said, 4-string electric bass should work well.

Also I wouldn'd overcrowd one single S1 with 2 guitars, 2 voices and a bass (with the help of a mixer). One acoustic, one voice and one bass is enough.
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  #44  
Old 09-05-2018, 11:07 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Well the few minutes I had with my new S1 Pro last night at home were quite impressive. I actually forgot to turn the ToneMatch switch to "Guitar" for a while, and I was getting a very nice sound out of it even without having that on. Although each channel only has bass and treble control, between the added control you have with the ToneMatch switch, and often with EQ on your guitar or external preamp, there's plenty of tone-shaping ability. The volume this thing puts out was very impressive and I know I'll be able to use it at at least a couple of the venues I play. The Bluetooth feature for break music is awesome too and will be very handy at gigs (and with playing along to). Didn't try any mic inputs yet. This thing sounds great, though, IMO. More playing/testing to come, but this is one impressive unit, as many have said.
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  #45  
Old 09-06-2018, 12:24 PM
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The S1 seem to be lack of controls by itself compare to the others products like the Fishman Mini Charge, Elite Acoustics A4-8 or D6-8, Acue One for Street, and the AER compact mobile 2. Is the weight and Lithium options out weight the lack of control?
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