Lightweight Solution for Amplifying Acoustic and Vocals

[alexevans917]

Hello, fine folks,

Apologies for the long post—there’s a TLDR at the bottom.

I’ve been thinking for a little while about getting a new small acoustic amp or PA system. I currently do not have a system of my own, but I’ve owned a few over the years and used many more regularly. The most recent amp I owned was an Aer Compact 60/4. The AER was almost perfect—super compact, really lovely guitar sound, but not a great vocal sound for me. I sold it to someone I play with regularly, and it sounds great for his playing style and voice, either alone or as a monitor patched out to a larger house system.

I used to work in the live sound industry, so I have a fair amount of experience with PA systems (though it’s been nearly a decade since I left that world). I sold the AER thinking that I’d buy a smaller set of powered speakers and mixer, which I figured would serve me better for vocal amplification and generally be more flexible. Then the pandemic happened, and live sound equipment wasn’t really a priority for obvious reasons. As I’m coming back around to the idea of a little PA now, I’m dreading the sheer amount of stuff involved in a PA. Speakers, stands, cables, power strips, mixer, mic(s), preamps….all before you get to instruments. I hated hauling big speakers around when it was my job, and I have a feeling I’d hate it even more now.

So, I’m trying to figure out the most compact way to reinforce my acoustic and vocal sound without needing five trips to the car and hundreds of pounds of equipment. Having done live sound professionally for a while, I’m naturally skeptical of “all in one” systems as they seem inflexible and failure-prone when compared to a high quality component-based system with appropriate back-ups. So I’m trying to balance that interest in flexibility and reliability with an ardent desire for a simple and easy solution.

Whatever I get doesn’t need to be crazy loud—similar volume to the AER would be more than enough. I’d love something that sounds nice for not just guitar—nice vocal reproduction is a must, and I’d love to be able to occasionally plug in other instruments for noodling at home (electric through a modeler, old synths, random acoustic instruments, maybe even bass guitar at very low, non-performance volume). 2-3 inputs would be fine as I could always expand with a mixer down the line if need be for any bigger gig.

All this leads me to think about something like a powered 8” speaker+
small mixer or little all-in-one mini PA or something. My grocery store recently started booking acoustic performers (a weird gig, I think, but you do you), and I’ve been studying what different people bring as this is a fairly simple, quiet gig. One guy last week had a Bose L1 system with a sub. It was big, and it sounded a bit weird to me—kind of artificial and hi-fi. Really did not love the guitar sound, which may have been operator error/preference as much as the system, I suppose. This week, a different guy had a QSC CP8 up on a stand and a little Mackie mixer. He sounded excellent, and the sound seemed to reach further in the store without a notably higher volume up close. This was much closer to what I’m imagining, though I’d love to be able to lose the mixer, especially for running just a couple channels in a small/casual setting

Searching around on AGF, this has lead me to the S1 Pro. I’m a bit skeptical of Bose, as many live sound folks seem to be (“no highs, no lows, must be….” etc.), and I didn’t love the sound of the L1 system, as noted above. But the S1 offers a very attractive package—more PA than guitar amp, simple EQ and reverb, super compact and light weight, etc. I could even see the battery power being useful, even though it wasn’t a feature I was particularly looking for. So, for those with S1 Pro experience, is it as simple and compact in practice as it seems in theory? Could I comfortably run it without a mixer or too much other paraphernalia? If I don’t love the sound of the L1, will the S1 Pro not do it for me?

I know other companies offer similarly small single speaker PA setups, but I don’t see them discussed as much. Are any worth considering in comparison to the S1 Pro? What about more recent acoustic amps—are they any better for vocal reproduction than the AER Compact 60/4? I’m intrigued especially by the recent Genzler line array amps—folks seem to have good things to say about the vocal sound through them.

Budget is somewhat in flux. The Bose is a very attractive price, so if it’s the right solution, I’d buy one tomorrow. But if the Genzler or something else is a better option and it’s more money, I can make that work too.

TLDR: I want a small amp or PA that offers excellent guitar and vocal reproduction with minimal additional paraphernalia. Is a Bose S1 Pro the solution? Are there other “all-in-one” mini PAs I should consider? What about recent acoustic amps like the Genzler line array stuff?

[YamahaGuy]

Check out the Yamaha Stagepas 200. There is a battery operated one available too. The Stagepas has nice onboard controls that are easy to dial in a good tone quickly.

The Everse is similar but requires deeper menu dives to get up and running.

[alexevans917]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Check out the Yamaha Stagepas 200. There is a battery operated one available too. The Stagepas has nice onboard controls that are easy to dial in a good tone quickly.

The Everse is similar but requires deeper menu dives to get up and running.

Ooh, that’s interesting! Back in my live sound days, I worked for a company with a ton of Yamaha gear—a bunch of digital consoles, powered and unpowered speakers, amps, etc. It was pretty uniformly excellent. If not for the weight and size, I’d probably just be buying a pair of DXR12s.

I had initially written off the Stagepas 200 as having limited controls when I noticed it on Sweetwater, but I didn’t realize that it has a Bluetooth control option with way deeper editing than is available on the S1 Pro. I like the idea of basic controls on the box for quick setup and then deeper editing (and presets) in the app—that seems nicely flexible. The Sound on Sound review is pretty glowing, and the reviewer even used it at a small gig as an electric bass amp without issue, which ticks my “noodling around with other instruments” box nicely.

This is quickly outpacing the Bose as the top contender for my needs—thanks!!

Edit to Add: I downloaded the Yamaha app to play around with in demo mode—I really like the functionality of it. Super intuitive to anyone who’s used a basic digital desk or plugin EQ/compressors. I demoed the EV app as well (thinking about the Everse8 as a possible competitor), and I preferred the design of the Yamaha app. Design obviously doesn’t equal sound, but I appreciate the ease of use with the Yamaha app.

[Rudy4]

You might want to try out a Cube EX. I use this as a live performance rig and can carry everything I need in one trip using only two hands.

[YamaYairi]

I've been using the Fishman Loudbox Artist. 8" speaker, 120W it sounds great, nice warm vocal and guitar sound, and I've used it outside and it covers just fine. Light weight, too.

[Mobilemike]

I’ve used a single QSC K10.2. Sounds excellent, and has three inputs on the back with separate gain controls so great for guitar and vocals. It doesn’t have EQ or effects so it’s not a replacement for a mixer like some of the all in one PA’s claim to be, but IMO it sounds better.

[RussellHawaii]

I’m pretty happy with my Everse speaker for all-in-one guitar and vocals. It’s only 17 pounds and battery powered. There is some menu diving, but the phone app makes it pretty easy. I adjust the controls at home for vocal and guitar, then at an event I only need to adjust volume which is easy. It sounds better than the Bose S1, to my ears.
For better sound, more power, and a much better mixer in a heavier package, the EAE ( Elite Audio Engineering) D6-58 is tops for an all-in-one unit, but it’s 30#.

[Robin, Wales]

What are the acoustics like in the grocery store? Has anyone played and sung there without any pa? You can't get a lighter or easier to use system than that!

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

What are the acoustics like in the grocery store? Has anyone played and sung there without any pa? You can't get a lighter or easier to use system than that!

Much as I'm used to playing amplified, every once in a while I come to the same conclusion; no electronics needed whatsoever.

In the past couple of months I've done one gig where I just took a guitar, and another one had me playing through on of the Yamaha StagePas systems, which worked great and was plenty loud enough, even when I changed to electric.

[Cuki79]

The usual suspects are

battery powered:

• Electrovoice everse 8
• Bose S1 pro and pro +
• JBL eon one compact
• HK move 8
• Yamaha Stagepas 200
• Elite Acoustics D6-8
• Mackie thump go

Acoustic amps without battery

• AER compact 60
• Udo Roesner Da Capo 75
• Hughes & Kettner era 1
• Fishman Loudbox mini
• Schertler Unico or David
• ACUS One 8
• Genzler Acoustic array mini
• LR Baggs Synapse

Powered speaker

• QSC CP8 and K8.2

and I am probably missing a lot

[EZYPIKINS]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

What are the acoustics like in the grocery store? Has anyone played and sung there without any pa? You can't get a lighter or easier to use system than that!

I have done grocery store gigs in the past, though with a full band.

Got booked to to Von's openings all up and down California. Called it the "Jumbo Muffin" tour.

Played by the plant lady, she was not very happy with that. Played by the registers. Played by a beer case. Torture for our drummer.

Did one in Ventura. First time I ever saw what they called a Super Store. You could get lost in that place, it was so huge. Had a cleaners, a salon, a bank, among other things. Meant to try an keep the shopper inside spending money.

Played Tuesday nights for the store mixers, closed to public. Some cities did a few stores.

Then drug the whole band outside to the sidewalk on Wednesday mornings at 7AM and did 3 hours out there.

The finale was a big food fair at Pomona Fairplex. Got put up at the Sheraton right on the grounds. Had a big banquet mixer, all gratis. All the food and drink you wanted. At ont of the tables were a group of LA Lakers Cheerleaders, who needed dance partners.

Oh shucks.

Acoustics? Actually wern't terrible, as you might think.

[renoslim]

I still like my Fishman SA220 "fishstick".

Lee

[martingitdave]

For small spaces, I think it's hard to beat the design of the Bose S1. Plenty of other solutions out there. But it's light, sounds good, is attractive and inconspicuous. It has the best dispersion of the little units available. I've used one successfully since they came out.

If you don't need wireless, get the old one and save a few bucks.

If wireless is desirable, buy once and cry once. It's a good package.

If you need more sound, there are countless reviews of various models on this site. Just browse sweetwater or other sellers and look at the weight and the speaker size and dispersion.

[J Patrick]

I’m a big fan of the light weight powered speaker….many options from inexpensive to pretty spendy…I personally use the modestly priced JBL Eon 610… I have a pair but have used a single unit for small spaces. I used a Headway 2 channel preamp….the newer one with separate eq for each channel….it attaches to my mic stand and gives me fingertip control for eq and volume….it’s a stone simple setup that is easy to dial in, provides great sound and is very easy to transport…higher end speakers can deliver even better sound….

[Methos1979]

We gigged with a Bose S1 Pro (or sometimes two) for years. We needed a mixer in front of it for the extra input. The S1 is also a little anemic on the vocal side for power but if you preamp the signals it can get surprisingly loud. I loved the sound of the S1 but I'm also generally a fan of the 'Bose colored' sound. So that would concern me for you since you admittedly are not a fan of that Bose sound which you possibly confirmed by listening to the guy playing the L1. I would definitely try to find one and try it out before buying one and finding out you don't like the sound.

We eventually went over to the EV30M system for the much better sub/tower sound and built-in mixer and we love it. We still had the dual S1 Pro setup for backup and a battery power solution or just wanting something small and easy to carry. We wanted something that had more inputs though so as not to need the mixer. We tried the JBL Compact but found that lacking. The EAE D6-58 was excellent but also very pricey and on the heavy side. We eventually picked up the Stagepas 200 BTR and that works well although it's definitely much heavier than the S1 Pro.

Your other choice - the Genzler line - is excellent as well. If I wasn't in love with the sub/tower system sound and was looking for something small and light that plugged in, the Genzler would certainly be on the list as long as I could find one that had at least 3 inputs.