just received, Bose S1 Pro, questions about my taylor/Gibson

[darylcrisp]

new to plugging in, have forever been "acoustic". help me out with this new adventure.

I have a Taylor 522 all mahogany with the newest ES2 and a Gibson J-35 with the standard LR Baggs VTC undersaddle pickup.
I have 5 cables of various makes, from a short stent 10 years ago when I purchased a Superchamp X2 and a tele-sold the tele, have had the amp/cables stored for years. new cables, very little use.
cables:
1)around 20feet long, made by broadway sound in Knoxville
2)around 12 feet, peavey, (sounds probably the best of all)
3)two George L cables, around 10 feet long, one is really small diameter, one is slightly larger-both are much thinner than anything else I have

plugged in to this new Bose S1 Pro, the Gibson sounds great. there is a very slight hum coming thru the Bose with volume halfway.i have the bass and treble backed way off, mid reverb.

when the taylor is plugged in, there is a definite increase in the hum, all cables tried, the Peavey(also is the largest diameter cable if that matters)is the most quiet.

I seem to remember taylor used to recommend using a TRS balanced cable-not sure if any I have is that-how do you know if its not stamped on the cable?

Is there any issue with the length of cable used?
If the Taylor needs a TRS balanced cable, recommend the best brand/type.

the line out, what is that used for?

what have you found the best position for you to have the S1 in when you are using it(as in to the side of you, front, or back) and is there a preferred distance between you and the S1 when you use it?

I have plans to use this at a retirement home-just me playing-one instrument at a time, small venue-using guitar, mandolin, weissenborn and dulcimer. I do not have pickups in the mandolins or dulcimer and don't want to put any in them-so I'm thinking use a microphone with the S1 for the total acoustic instruments. comments on that?

what microphone would you recommend?

the volume button is at the halfway mark, the green light just comes on. do any of you experience this hum as I mention? I was sitting maybe 4 feet away only, facing the S1(I have a lot to learn, I know, this is all new to me). I had the volume on the guitars backed way off, bass and treble on the taylor at zero and I adjusted the bass/treble on the S1. I never had either(bass/treble) past the halfway position, and settled on midway to halfway for each,

thank you all-this is like starting over and being brand new-lol
d

[Tico]

Does the hum go away when you unplug the Bose and use its battery?

[darylcrisp]

Originally Posted by Tico

Does the hum go away when you unplug the Bose and use its battery?

have not tried that yet, but I will tonight. It was new and I had it plugged in charging as I was trying out the cables/guitars.
if the hum does go away, what does that mean?

thanks for that
d

[Captain Jim]

Hi Daryl,

If the hum goes away on battery power, it is likely a ground issue in the house. Some amps/pickups are more sensitive to this than others.

As far as the cables go, any decent guitar cable should work fine. The TRS is a balanced cable, as opposed to the TS, which is unbalanced. The Taylor ESV1 was a balanced pickup and benefited from using the TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) cable. The ES2 is an unbalanced pickup, so the TS cable is fine. Look at the plug at the end of the cable - you will see the difference between the TS and the TRS being the TRS has a "ring" between the tip and the sleeve.

An unbalanced cable will be more vulnerable to noise (somewhere in the system or building electrical).

When running a line out to a mixer or a larger PA, a balanced cable would be preferable, especially if much cable length is involved. That's what the line out is for: sending the signal (sound) you get with your S1 to another output. I generally run my S1 from the line out to a Bose L1C.

If you are running this to a mixer, you may need a TRS to XLR cable; TRS at the S1 end, XLR at the mixer.

You can run a mic to the S1 for your instruments without a pickup; this is generally a tougher situation, depending on the stage volume... more prone to feedback. It would be best to try it in the situation where you will be playing. Since this is your first go at this, I would be inclined to recommend a mic that could be used for instruments or vocals, like a Shure SM58. The Shure SM57 is a dynamic mic often used for instruments. A Shure SM81 is also a good mic for acoustic instruments, but about 3 times the cost of the SM58. For something you could easily move from one instrument to another, you might look at the IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic ($50 or less at most places).

If there's the possibility of taking the S1 in where you bought it and getting some mic recommendations and auditioning several would be a good way to get familiar with different options.

The S1 is an impressive small amp/PA - it will be worth it to put some time into the learning curve for what you want to do with it.

Best wishes,
Jim

[darylcrisp]

thanks Jim, exact advice I needed to hear.

d

[jseth]

Darylcrisp;

Congratulations on a fine new piece of gear! Amplifying acoustic guitars can be a bit of "falling down a rabbit hole", as you will discover should you choose to "chase" that perfect tone...

Your Bose should NOT hum a bit, not even a little; certainly not when turned halfway up!

Something is either wrong with the unit or wrong with the way everything is connected to it... I'd go back through your signal chain and MAKE CERTAIN that you are doing everything correctly, and that the cables you are using are working properly.

I do not have an S1, but I have the "big" brother, the L1 Model II - and it is whisper-quiet, so much so that I have used it in my front room and then gone to bed and forgot it was even turned on! I just don't believe that Bose would make a piece of equipment that would hum...

By your questions and tenor of the thread, I'm assuming that you don't know all that much about sound-reinforcement techniques. I would suggest that you adopt the "user error" position and get a friend who does know sound gear to give you a hand. You may have to go back to the store where you bought it and work with them.

With ANY PA or amplifier, your acoustic guitar's body will act like a "resonance chamber" - if you have that amplifier too close to you and pointed at you, you will likely experience a lower register "HOWL"...

The solution is to have the amp a decent distance away from the body of the guitar, say, 8-15'. Personally, I like to hear myself really well, even when I'm performing, so I would always place the amp/PA so I could hear everything clearly from where I sat. In any case, try to have that amp at least 5 or 6 feet away when you're playing at medium-high volume levels.

Both your guitars should work just fine through the Bose, although I don't know which "Tonematch" presets they give you for the channels. Both those pickups use BATTERIES, however, and those go dead over time, even if you aren't "plugging in" (By the way, most acoustic pickups that use batteries are only "ON" when there is cable plugged into the body of the guitar...). Batteries can go dead within a few years, and they WILL produce a hum/noise through the the system when they are flat or low; some pickups actually give you some warning about the battery being low by altering the tone of the guitar through the amp...

Cables? All of the ones you have sound fine; don't be concerned that some are a smaller diameter than others. Basic rule of thumb: use the shortest length cable for the job. No need to use a 20' cable if you're in your living room, right? Both your guitars have "pre-amps" in them (that's what the battery is for) and should be able to send plenty of signal, even through a 20' cable, so that's not the issue... just nice to not have a bunch of excess cable laying out where folks might trip over it or walk on it.

Any standard-type vocal mic should work fine. I have always used either a Shure SM-58 or Shure Beta 58-A with my Bose rigs and they sound superb... if you are using it for amplifying instruments only, you might want an SM-57 or Beta 57...

Do yourself a HUGE favor and READ THE OWNER'S MANUAL for your new amp!!! Amazing how many questions/problems can be solved by knowing your equipment... also, the Bose User's Forum (the name may have been changed) is a terrific place to get tips and answers for your questions from folks who actually work at Bose. Great resource for you.

Hope everything works out wonderfully with your new amp... it's a blast to hear your guitar and voice coming through a good piece of equipment! Enjoy!

[jseth]

(More stuff on your thread)

Set your guitars' volume controls on 10 (highest) when you are setting up things like input gain levels... then turn them down as needed. The tone controls on your ES2 have a "detente" setting in the middle... start with them both at that detente; same with the VTC.

[darylcrisp]

Jseth
thanks so much, you answered a lot for me.
yep, this is like day 1, starting new-lol.

I jumped home on break and just using battery power, that annoying hum was gone. so it is the house wiring I'm sure, its old and I'm slowly redoing room by room, this room has not been touched.

I checked a few of the cables and they all worked fine.

with battery power only, there is a "white noise" with the Bose volume turned up to the detent and worse when turned to 3/4, all cables tried-same noise. The guitars when played sound clear and wonderful though, but you have this "snow" sound. I'm going to call Bose in the morning because I think there is something amiss with this unit. Its definitely not quiet just sitting. I'm also amazed at how many mistakes I'm hearing that I would not when played acoustic only.

I will change the guitar batteries also, I have no idea how old they are, but were with them when I received them. Actually removed them from the guitars when I got those.

This was a sweetwater purchase. The nearest guitar store is 1.5 hours away and they did not carry Bose. next one is slightly over that.

Question: when unplugging the cable from the guitar-I've been turning the volume totally down on the instrument, then walking over and doing the same to the Bose before pulling it out-is that the best routine to make habit?

There is a tone-match button for OFF/Guitar/Mike. The OFF position sounds more full, and the Guitar position sounds maybe a tad more precise.

The instructions were few-a page folded 3 times-basically plug in power cord, and the position for the rocker switch for power on, showed some very basic Bluetooth info. I will check the website for sure.

thanks again everyone-anything more to add please do.

d

[darylcrisp]

Originally Posted by Tico

Does the hum go away when you unplug the Bose and use its battery?

"nail on the head" hit
thanks
d

[darylcrisp]

Originally Posted by jseth

(More stuff on your thread)

Set your guitars' volume controls on 10 (highest) when you are setting up things like input gain levels... then turn them down as needed. The tone controls on your ES2 have a "detente" setting in the middle... start with them both at that detente; same with the VTC.

next question-you read my mind!
d

[darylcrisp]

just went on the Bose site and printed a comprehensive 19 page manual that would have answered a lot of questions for me. This owners manual was not in box.

Did the rest of you receive the 19 page owners guide in your box?

This "white noise" I hear with the volume turned up to the half way detent and is very audible at 3/4 volume, and that is with the guitar turned to half way up. its annoying beyond the half way detent.
I'm going to contact sweetwater and have them replace this unit-I'm thinking there is something wrong with it.

the second channel tonematch switch is very difficult to move also-the 1st one works smooth and clicks to each detent-the 2nd one has to be forced to the mike, then back to guitar.

d

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

just went on the Bose site and printed a comprehensive 19 page manual that would have answered a lot of questions for me. This owners manual was not in box.

Did the rest of you receive the 19 page owners guide in your box?

This "white noise" I hear with the volume turned up to the half way detent and is very audible at 3/4 volume, and that is with the guitar turned to half way up. its annoying beyond the half way detent.
I'm going to contact sweetwater and have them replace this unit-I'm thinking there is something wrong with it.

the second channel tonematch switch is very difficult to move also-the 1st one works smooth and clicks to each detent-the 2nd one has to be forced to the mike, then back to guitar.

d

Is the white noise coming from the channel with the difficult switch?

Yes, you should call Sweetwater. Their service is very good. But also reach out to a person named ST on the Bose forum. Great person from Bose who is a big help. Here is the link to that forum.

https://www.bosepro.community/g/portable/forum/s1-pro

Bose also has a great product and technical support team. You can reach them at (800)-367-4008

It’s a great amp and I am loving it.

Marty

[leew3]

darylcrisp,
I don't know whether this is any help but all three of my Taylors with ES1 pickup systems produce some 'white noise' when plugged in. This is true of my Loudbox Artist, Bose S1, or direct into a powered speaker. This seems inherent to the pickup system, not the amp or PA. If it's any comfort, this seems to be a sound I never hear playing live but only in the very quiet confines of my practice room where I obsess about the tone of my guitar

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by leew3

darylcrisp,
I don't know whether this is any help but all three of my Taylors with ES1 pickup systems produce some 'white noise' when plugged in. This is true of my Loudbox Artist, Bose S1, or direct into a powered speaker. This seems inherent to the pickup system, not the amp or PA. If it's any comfort, this seems to be a sound I never hear playing live but only in the very quiet confines of my practice room where I obsess about the tone of my guitar

But Daryl has the ES2 in his Taylor if I recall correctly? I don't remember ever hearing any white noise from my Taylors with ES2 PU's.

The Bose S1 should sound reasonably good with the Bass/treble at their center detent postions. You cut or boost for tonal preferences. I always start at Center detent. I typically do not boost Treble. have never needed that.

Daryl, ..when I demo'd the S1, I found the Tone match position sounded most natural and best for 'my' acoustic guitar. (D18 with LR Baggs Anthem)

[MikeTX]

Hi Daryl - you are getting very good advice here.
My 2 cents is .. while yes START with your Bass & Treble controls at detent, both amp & guitar, but DO experiment with all combinations and let your ears drive. Your playing style has a lot to do with this too. But just DON'T "settle" for a thin sound because you're told less is more, and keep everything in the middle, and stuff like that. You have good equipment - INSIST that it sound REALLY good!

Also, it always works for me to have my guitar volume up pretty high, well above middle, and adjust the amp from there - I like to get all the sound and tone from my guitar that I can.

Best luck! Mike O'