First experience with an S1 Pro today…

[Jinder]

I played an outdoor show today as part of a street music festival, and the amplification provided by the organisers was a Bose S1 Pro.

I’ve used Bose “stick” systems plenty of times in the past, but this was my first taste of the S1 Pro. I was using my Takamine EAN20C, not a guitar I usually gig with nowadays, but as there was no mains power I couldn’t bring my pedalboard and pre etc, so the Tak was the perfect choice with its CT4BII onboard pre and EQ etc. I used my AKG D7 for vocals.

I was able to dial in a great, very pro tone in seconds. The system was so intuitive and easy to use. It wasn’t loud or projective in the same way that my AERs are, but it filled the square that I was performing in with rich, full tone which was frankly astonishing when coming from such a small box. Guitar and vocals both sounded natural and clear, with no clipping or issues.

Consider me impressed. What a great little system. Just perfect for outdoor gigs and/or shows where mains is an issue and huge volume isn’t a prerequisite. Awesome.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Jinder

I played an outdoor show today as part of a street music festival, and the amplification provided by the organisers was a Bose S1 Pro.

I’ve used Bose “stick” systems plenty of times in the past, but this was my first taste of the S1 Pro. I was using my Takamine EAN20C, not a guitar I usually gig with nowadays, but as there was no mains power I couldn’t bring my pedalboard and pre etc, so the Tak was the perfect choice with its CT4BII onboard pre and EQ etc. I used my AKG D7 for vocals.

I was able to dial in a great, very pro tone in seconds. The system was so intuitive and easy to use. It wasn’t loud or projective in the same way that my AERs are, but it filled the square that I was performing in with rich, full tone which was frankly astonishing when coming from such a small box. Guitar and vocals both sounded natural and clear, with no clipping or issues.

Consider me impressed. What a great little system. Just perfect for outdoor gigs and/or shows where mains is an issue and huge volume isn’t a prerequisite. Awesome.

Jinder, glad u enjoyed using the S1. Cool that it worked for u outdoors. For me, it is especially good for vocals. Ive been using mine at least once a week since Feb for indoor gigs . While I still have my Fishman Artist, I prefer the S1 for indoor gigs. Outdoors, my JBL Eon 610s have been my choice...may have to consider the S1 for outdoors.

[rmp]

The S1 is a pretty handy.

I have a gig on Sat, a yearly thing I do,I use my Loudbox Artist (Guitar/Mic) and D1 out to the S1 on a pole. It works great for that kind of setup too.

[jklotz]

I like mine. I've been thinking about adding a 2nd one for more flexibility in setups. In my case, I've found a good preamp helps tremendously for the guitar sound. I have a battery powered pedal board, so I can take my setup anywhere. It's amazing technology if you ask me.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by jklotz

I like mine. I've been thinking about adding a 2nd one for more flexibility in setups. In my case, I've found a good preamp helps tremendously for the guitar sound. I have a battery powered pedal board, so I can take my setup anywhere. It's amazing technology if you ask me.

I have two S1 and a Sub1 and the pole mount that goes between it and an S1. I don't really use the S1 directly. Just with the Elite Acoustics amp. It's amazing how versatile the S1 pair plus Sub1 is. I can do anything from light reinforcement of the D6-58 to full on thumping bass PA.

[takamineGD93]

I've had mine for a month. Buskt 7 times and one outdoor job. I love mine. Goes in a standard, sturdy 50l backpack I already had. A little on trebly side.

If you sing and play guitar there is really no option. I looked long and hard at all alternatives.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by takamineGD93

I've had mine for a month. Buskt 7 times and one outdoor job. I love mine. Goes in a standard, sturdy 50l backpack I already had. A little on trebly side.

If you sing and play guitar there is really no option. I looked long and hard at all alternatives.

Why the JBL eon one compact and the HK audio Move 8 are not alternative?

I don't want to bash Bose (used to have a L1 model II and loved it), but although being an instant sucess the S1 pro first 2 years were chaotic:
https://community.bose.com/t5/Portab...use/m-p/506557

The battery draining issue was not always well handled all over the world and some customers felt betrayed (see AGF threads).

So even if the competition might not have better service, I would not rule out products like JBL eon one compact, HK audio Move 8, Fishman Loudbox mini charge, ACUS for street or any EAE battery powered speaker.

See
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=499033

You can swipe the table to see more amps in the table

[SalFromChatham]

Can you play through the S1 plugged in instead of battery only? That’s how one like me would use it. But I fear doing that for effects it might have on the guilt in battery?

[lkingston]

Yes, the S1 works fine on AC power. You could even easily remove the battery if you wanted to.

I had battery discharge issues on both my S1 Pro speakers up until the last firmware update, but finally it works as it should.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

Can you play through the S1 plugged in instead of battery only? That’s how one like me would use it. But I fear doing that for effects it might have on the guilt in battery?

You can. You can easily remove the battery if you want and store it while using it on AC power.

[DavidE]

I've been using my S1 again and I'm having issue with it farting out. Today even my OMC Aura straight in was farting it out with the bass set at neutral on both. Volume on the S1 was a bit below noon. Not good. I love the sound of this thing otherwise.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by DavidE

I've been using my S1 again and I'm having issue with it farting out. Today even my OMC Aura straight in was farting it out with the bass set at neutral on both. Volume on the S1 was a bit below noon. Not good. I love the sound of this thing otherwise.

I agee with DavidE, the S1 is a great unit as long as your rig enables to cut farting frequency... The two times I tried the unit, I could make it fart... Now I have an EAE stompmix 4 in my rig, I will probably give it a new try. However the JBL future firmware update for the compact could just annihilate the need for the EAE stompmix and redefine my whole rig...

[takamineGD93]

One of my points was that JBL is bigger (apart from that it get a lot less love on this forum). It wouldn't fit a standard 50l backpack.

I busk some . That means I have to park a bit away and walk to the best spots. So bigger is bad for me. And every extra pound counts.

I've read about the problems people had with s1 before I bought.

HK 8 was new to me. Great that more companies are going this way.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by DavidE

I've been using my S1 again and I'm having issue with it farting out. Today even my OMC Aura straight in was farting it out with the bass set at neutral on both. Volume on the S1 was a bit below noon. Not good. I love the sound of this thing otherwise.

Originally Posted by Cuki79

I agee with DavidE, the S1 is a great unit as long as your rig enables to cut farting frequency... The two times I tried the unit, I could make it fart... Now I have an EAE stompmix 4 in my rig, I will probably give it a new try. However the JBL future firmware update for the compact could just annihilate the need for the EAE stompmix and redefine my whole rig...

As anyone who frequents this sub-forum and is a fan of the S1 knows, I'm a huge fan of the S1 and one of its early adopters and frequent reviewers. I own two. I had never really noticed the battery drain issues since I always keep my S1's plugged in unless they are out being used. But I did a test and found that at least one of them did suffer the drain. I've got a long post where I tracked the performance after updating the firmware.

Now, about the 'farting' issue DavidE mentions - I don't think he's talking about a strictly an EQ farting. I say this because I began noticing an issue a month or so back with one of my S1's. I was playing (practicing at home) and all of the sudden the amp seemed to cut out for a good 5 seconds or so. Then it came back. At the time I chalk this up likely to the wireless units I tend to favor for practice.

Then, a few days later I was playing again and it happened again. This time I was looking right at the amp and the little blue power light actually went out for a few seconds and again no sound then the light came back on and the sound was back. So, I'm thinking this was not a wireless issue. Note that I always play with the unit plugged in at home.

So I swapped out with my other S1 and so far I have not noticed the issue again. At some point I'll switch back to the first one to see if the issue returns. If it does then I'll have to do more research and testing to rule out all the variables. I've been waiting to see if anyone else report this issue and DavidE's post about farting out makes me think this is it. If it is then maybe I'll starting a standalone thread so we can track it with others. I don't go to the Bose forum so for all know this might be a thing over there.

[tbirdman]

I play with my S1 pro daily and I’ve not noticed any problem. I use all three channels.