Bose S1 or QSC K8.2?

[The Kid!]

I'll add that the S1 and others like the Fishman SA220 and all others in that camp are all just about as portable and easy to use. I guess the cool thing is that we have some pretty incredible options out there these days that are small, portable, and sound great. It's a good time to be an acoustic solo act!

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

I'll add that the S1 and others like the Fishman SA220 and all others in that camp are all just about as portable and easy to use. I guess the cool thing is that we have some pretty incredible options out there these days that are small, portable, and sound great. It's a good time to be an acoustic solo act!

I was playing mine today using either

a. vocal processor, guitar processor, booster, body rezz
b. just straight mic and guitar

I kept A and Bing it all PM> then I had a snack, came back and played it again. It sounded perfect on my Tom Petty song. I said, that is what I want@!!

Turns out it was the guitar, mic and S1, no effects.....

Its that good.

15 pounds, sets up in 5 min? It has a line out.....if you want more volume with another speaker....

No contest for me.

[martingitdave]

I’ll be honest, I think the value of the S1 is being able to plug in straight and use their tone match EQ curves. Otherwise, if you’re bringing the rest of your gear, just take a normal sized speaker. The beauty of this unit is the portability and all-in-one nature. It’s also it’s limitation. I think if we use the right tool for the right job, we can get good results.

[varmonter]

To the original post . If I were starting out not owning
a pa system I would buy a small mixer and the K10 or k8.
After awhile if i had a lot of small quiet venues i would consider
the bose unit.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by varmonter

To the original post . If I were starting out not owning
a pa system I would buy a small mixer and the K10 or k8.
After awhile if i had a lot of small quiet venues i would consider
the bose unit.

While I agree with this in theory, it's only applicable if his gigs are larger right out of the gate. How many people start off with large gigs? I know we don't/didn't! We're still on the coffee house circuit.

By his own admissions, he only needs the following:

"Main use will be for acoustic guitar only (fingerpicking, dual source mic+pickup).
Home practice, small and/or quiet presentations, maybe for busking, maybe as a monitor for bigger settings, maybe for listening to music and such."

I think the S1 covers everything here perfectly. And I own both the S1 and the k8.2!

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

While I agree with this in theory, it's only applicable if his gigs are larger right out of the gate. How many people start off with large gigs? I know we don't/didn't! We're still on the coffee house circuit.

By his own admissions, he only needs the following:

"Main use will be for acoustic guitar only (fingerpicking, dual source mic+pickup).
Home practice, small and/or quiet presentations, maybe for busking, maybe as a monitor for bigger settings, maybe for listening to music and such."

I think the S1 covers everything here perfectly. And I own both the S1 and the k8.2!

Yes that is true . But I remember the first time I had to turn down a good paying
Gig because the venue was too big for my pa..or worse not get hired again because I was too quiet. the goals and aspirations of the
Op can change drastically in as short as a year..as we well know.
I for one would rather have and not need than need and not have.
The smaller quieter Bose could come later.Around here one needs a pa.
Few clubs have their own (most that do suck)and none provide a sound tech..

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by varmonter

Yes that is true . But I remember the first time I had to turn down a good paying
Gig because the venue was too big for my pa..or worse not get hired again because I was too quiet. the goals and aspirations of the
Op can change drastically in as short as a year..as we well know.
I for one would rather have and not need than need and not have.
The smaller quieter Bose could come later.Around here one needs a pa.
Few clubs have their own (most that do suck)and none provide a sound tech..

Lol - couldn't agree more and thanks for helping me make my case with my wife about why I bought the QSC k8.2! I told her, it's the old adage, "Bring enough gun..." to steal the gun metaphor. Better to have more power available and not need it, then to need it and not have it!

We have yet to actually need that much power but we have a big gig (for us) coming up that will depend entirely on how much crowd is there. If the place is dead or just our friends show up then the S1 will cut it fine. If it's packed with people that don't care about us and are yakking then we'll need the k8.2 to compete.

It's a tough call, for sure. We love the simplicity and portability of the S1, not to mention the weight. But even with some help from a preamp, it starts to max out quick in larger/outdoor venues depending on the size of the crowd and just how loud you need to be. Like I said in my original reply to the OP in this thread, get both! I feel with what we have now we are good for anything for what we do.

[homme de fer]

For the OP, the Bose S1 Pro will do just fine. I rented it last week to see how useful it would be and I love how I can cart it around anywhere, plug in, and get a good sound out of it running on battery. Running a TC Helicon Pay Acoustic in front of the amp is as close to perfect as I've ever been for sound.

It's plenty loud for backyard gatherings and medium sized rooms plus the sound is very "hifi" with very good spread. It's one thing to hear about it but once you hear it live you're hard pressed to leave this thing at home.

I also own a Loudbox mini but I listed it for sale this week as it just isn't as useful. Sure, it's louder than the S1 but I find it a pain to drag around and plug in. Plus, it doesn't sound as good overall as the Bose. I'll be playing a larger backyard Friday with the S1 where, in the past, I wouldn't have bothered bringing an amp at all.

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by homme de fer

For the OP, the Bose S1 Pro will do just fine. I rented it last week to see how useful it would be and I love how I can cart it around anywhere, plug in, and get a good sound out of it running on battery. Running a TC Helicon Pay Acoustic in front of the amp is as close to perfect as I've ever been for sound.

It's plenty loud for backyard gatherings and medium sized rooms plus the sound is very "hifi" with very good spread. It's one thing to hear about it but once you hear it live you're hard pressed to leave this thing at home.

I also own a Loudbox mini but I listed it for sale this week as it just isn't as useful. Sure, it's louder than the S1 but I find it a pain to drag around and plug in. Plus, it doesn't sound as good overall as the Bose. I'll be playing a larger backyard Friday with the S1 where, in the past, I wouldn't have bothered bringing an amp at all.

Your comments about the Fishman LB mini were interesting. I just bought the Loudbox Mini Charge since it has battery and bluetooth. I A-B'd to the Bose S1 Pro and thought the Loudbox Mini Charge sounded more natural than the Bose by quite a large margin. (and I own a Bose L1 Compact that i LOVE) I am no stranger to Bose and have countless gigs where it works amazing. But there are times when I needed something super portable, small for plug n play without AC Power.

But for most of my gigs, I'd rather have the power, dispersion and added headroom that the L1 Compact offers. (Not relevant for the OP) Just saying I love what Bose are capable of. But I didn't personally think the S1 sounded natural.

I may revisit that however since so many people here seem to be singing the praises of the Bose S1 Pro.

I will also add the Tonematch setting sounded way better for my Martin D-18 w/Baggs Anthem than the non tonematch switch setting.

[Captain Jim]

For my buddy Scott (Methos), in regards to the gig where you may or may not need more coverage than the S1: you know your sound with the S1. Easy enough to set up like you normally would with the S1, and if the crowd turns out to be bigger, run a direct line to the k8.2 and run ‘em both together. Doesn’t have to be one or the other.

It will take you “one more hand” to carry the S1 and a cord. Easy.

[leew3]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

For my buddy Scott (Methos), in regards to the gig where you may or may not need more coverage than the S1: you know your sound with the S1. Easy enough to set up like you normally would with the S1, and if the crowd turns out to be bigger, run a direct line to the k8.2 and run ‘em both together. Doesn’t have to be one or the other.

It will take you “one more hand” to carry the S1 and a cord. Easy.

Indeed, and I would also say that should it be an outdoor or other setting in which there is more ambient noise, adding an inexpensive subwoofer can be a great supplement. We've used an Alto Trouper on a pole with a Behringer sub running the signal from a line out on a smaller amp for outdoor gigs and it sounded great. The sub freed up some of the amp power in the Trouper so we had plenty of head room and a good clean sound that traveled well over a rather large and dispersed area. yep, the Trouper is not nearly the speaker the K8.2 is, but in our application it didn't need to be.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

For my buddy Scott (Methos), in regards to the gig where you may or may not need more coverage than the S1: you know your sound with the S1. Easy enough to set up like you normally would with the S1, and if the crowd turns out to be bigger, run a direct line to the k8.2 and run ‘em both together. Doesn’t have to be one or the other.

It will take you “one more hand” to carry the S1 and a cord. Easy.

This is exactly my plan. I figure any gig that is suspect the k8.2 will come along for the ride and if the S1 is not enough, the QSC will go up on the stand and the S1 on the floor. The S1 gets the input from the VE-8, dialed in for monitor level, with the output from S1 going to the k8.2 out front with volume set for FOH as needed.

Once we get some nice weather I plan to do another outside video demo with just this setup. Plus I'll do a head-to-head output of the two, although it will be no contest. But it will be interesting to hear the differences in the overall sound between two at similar levels. Stay tuned...

[homme de fer]

Originally Posted by Groberts

Your comments about the Fishman LB mini were interesting. I just bought the Loudbox Mini Charge since it has battery and bluetooth. I A-B'd to the Bose S1 Pro and thought the Loudbox Mini Charge sounded more natural than the Bose by quite a large margin. (and I own a Bose L1 Compact that i LOVE) I am no stranger to Bose and have countless gigs where it works amazing. But there are times when I needed something super portable, small for plug n play without AC Power.

But for most of my gigs, I'd rather have the power, dispersion and added headroom that the L1 Compact offers. (Not relevant for the OP) Just saying I love what Bose are capable of. But I didn't personally think the S1 sounded natural.

I may revisit that however since so many people here seem to be singing the praises of the Bose S1 Pro.

I will also add the Tonematch setting sounded way better for my Martin D-18 w/Baggs Anthem than the non tonematch switch setting.

Good points, I'll expand a bit on my opinion.

I have nothing bad to say about the LB Mini. I've had issues with the sound since the day I bought it but it has more to do with my guitar (Larrivee OM-03 Hog top) which has a ton of midrange. The Lyric I had in it just wasn't cutting it and I was getting feedback so I use a Play Acoustic as a pre-amp. Still, I just couldn't get the sound right. Changed the pickup to an M-80; a bit better but still couldn't get it right.

I plugged into the S1 with tone match off and the sound was similar to the LB Mini with more defined highs. Turned the tone match on; the clouds parted and sun shined down while the angels sang. Perfection.
Mounted on a pole, I can play with the volume setting at 8.5 before it starts to compress but it's plenty loud for me. If I need more volume, I would just rent another one (if power wasn't available) or rent a QSC K8.2.

The only drawback to the Bose so far is it doesn't have a master volume so it takes a bit more time to tweak the settings as you change the volume.

Does the LB Mini sound more natural than a Bose? I think so, the Bose seems to have lots of EQing going on but, for whatever reason, it helps my sound

[homme de fer]

I tried the S1 Pro outside at a pool party. I set up the speaker then streamed music through it while setting up and, with the volume at 4, it was plenty loud as background music. I was able to hear it loud and clear from almost 40 yards away too; I can't get over the projection of this thing.

After plugging in, I played with the volume at around 5 (used my Play Acoustic as a pre-amp) and it was plenty loud. If I needed more, I could have put the speaker on a pole but volume isn't a problem. The quality of sound though, is out of this world; it's loud without being blaring. I'm really impressed.

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by homme de fer

I tried the S1 Pro outside at a pool party. I set up the speaker then streamed music through it while setting up and, with the volume at 4, it was plenty loud as background music. I was able to hear it loud and clear from almost 40 yards away too; I can't get over the projection of this thing.

After plugging in, I played with the volume at around 5 (used my Play Acoustic as a pre-amp) and it was plenty loud. If I needed more, I could have put the speaker on a pole but volume isn't a problem. The quality of sound though, is out of this world; it's loud without being blaring. I'm really impressed.

I need to try one of these using my pedal board ..which comes to every gig with me. ( I have a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ) So that will help me shape the tone. I didn't love the S1 Pro alone, so I bought a Fishman LB Mini Charge ...which is super cool. But the Bose seems to have a nice following too and I already use an L1 Compact with great success.