Bose S1 Pro outdoors...

[lkingston]

Some time ago I did an outdoor campfire event with a battery powered system (two Roland Street Cube EX) and noticed quite a difference between how it sounded with different performers. With my friend who played very dynamic fingerstyle (ducking his guitar tastefully under his singing and bringing the guitar level up with by playing louder during instrumental breaks) it sounded fantastic with power to spare.

There were other players who strummed really hard and sang loudly over it with no changes in dynamics. The sound just fell apart for those performers and distorted badly.

I believe that what was happening was that the battery power was good for short bursts of full power as long as there was some room for recovery between them. With dynamic music, the 50 watt rating seemed accurate but with a more driving less dynamic style it seemed woefully inadequate.

I’ve noticed the same thing to a noticeable but lesser degree with both my Bose S1 and Elite Acoustics systems.

For my singing and playing style this type of system works quite well, but for hard strummers and driving vocals overtop, you are better off with an RMS rated amp that needs no recovery time between peaks.

[Peter Z]

I hope I don't overload this thread with my elaborations but I wanted to add that I made some simple measurements. I played Kid Rocks "All summer long" from the phone.
Channel 3 was turned up till the clipping light flashed from time to time and turned it back a little, thus no clipping.
The speaker was in the tilted position on the floor, thus a half space position.
I measured with the A weighting and 'slow' setting, very conservative.
It was indoors but in my large 85 m2 living room.

At a distance of 1 meter I measured consequently between 107 to 111 dB. Maybe you can get another one or two dB when you push the S1 into a little clipping. That's more than I expected. It was party volume, too much for my old ears.

I have to admit that the figures, Bose published seem to be more than correct. I'm really impressed. Fair play!

And there was no sagging within this song. The power was there all the time - again with that special song. I stopped now - want to save my ears! :-)

[ghostnote]

When we were on vacation this summer we saw a busker using an S1 with guitar and a vocal mic. Very impressive. This was outdoors on the street in a tourist area with literally hundreds of people milling about and passing by. We were probably 30 feet away from the S1 at the time, with quite a few people between us and the sound source, and the volume and clarity of the sound was amazing. This guy had the S1 on a stand; about 6 feet high. My thoughts at the time were that it was much noisier out there than a club or typical acoustic gig would be - and a much greater variety of noise also - and that if it sounded like that outdoors, it must sound great inside.
I don't own one, so that's my only experience with the S1.

[rmp]

I'll be using a Bose s1 during two wedding services in a few weeks. I picked it up specifically to cover these events. There's no power nearby in both cases.

This thread has been interesting. Sounds like the S1 was the right choice.

I've not tried this outside yet, but I have set it up a few times in my home studio. I like what it's doing. I slaved it off my Fishman Artist, and that was pretty effective too. standing in between with the Bose on a stand and the artist on a bar stool I got a nice full sound form that. Definitely could do a small venue or outside patio gig.

I had leaned a bit toward the Mackie Free play, but at the time, they still were on pre-order, so I bit the bullet and bought the S1.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by ghostnote

When we were on vacation this summer we saw a busker using an S1 with guitar and a vocal mic. Very impressive. This was outdoors on the street in a tourist area with literally hundreds of people milling about and passing by. We were probably 30 feet away from the S1 at the time, with quite a few people between us and the sound source, and the volume and clarity of the sound was amazing. This guy had the S1 on a stand; about 6 feet high. My thoughts at the time were that it was much noisier out there than a club or typical acoustic gig would be - and a much greater variety of noise also - and that if it sounded like that outdoors, it must sound great inside.
I don't own one, so that's my only experience with the S1.

THAT is one heckuva endorsement right there...

[Durnbock]

I used my 2 S1 Pros last Friday for a big baseball bus tailgating trip. Worked great with the bluetooth. Had them up on stands, and plenty of volume without being overpowering. Only bad thing is When we were unloading after the trip I dropped them! Now one is all scuffed along the top and the other has a dent on the grille!

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by lkingston

Musicians insisting on playing too loud is one of the main reasons there are so few places left to play. That and ridiculous ASCAP fees.

Lets add the sheer amount of content available online, cell phones, and DWI laws. You can Netflix and Chill at home for $9.99 a month plus internet, and even if people make it out of the house, they're on their phones with social media all night.

I was at an open mic last night at a local coffee shop. Just went to listen. Didn't play. Mostly 50+ year old guys with guitars and iPads. Most were on their phones when they were in the audience. It's not just the young kids. Technology is KILLING live music. Attention spans are non existent.

In response to volume: I play a ton of low volume dinner gigs and outdoor patio stuff I use one Line 6 L2M for that usually placed behind me as a monitor. One dinner gig, I actually put it in front of me and facing me instead of pointing towards the tables.

I got so many complements on my sound, made a GRIP in tips, and got asked for a few business cards. (What that means is that they could hear each other and I was in the background. That’s really what those situations require.)

If I bring a sub, it’s not really about volume, it’s about fullness at any volume. I have plenty of volume if need be, but it's not the main objective.

The nice thing about the Bose sound is that it’s very unobtrusive. People can easily hear themselves talk, and that’s a good thing in many situations. It's also easy to get a decent sound without a lot of experience running sound. I've never heard a L1, L1C, or an S1 sound bad. I've never heard any of them sound amazing either though. They always sound good to decent to me.

I don't hear a lot of warmth in the low mids, and they sound "crunchy" to me when people try to push them. I've seen them fail miserably in a noisy setting. I've seen them feed back too, and the 180 degree spread isn't always optimal in tight locations. People love them though, and they definitely work for many cats.

That Bose sound can be achieved with traditional PA equipment and some negative EQ if you know what to cut. I pull out some lows and low mids. It takes the punch out of the system and makes for more of an "easy listening" experience.

As far as consistent volume from 5 feet away vs. 50 feet away: Bose does NOT defy the laws of physics. I played through one where I felt like the thing was gonna blow my head off from about 6 feet behind me and people said that we weren't loud enough past the midway point in the room.

Another key factor is overall volume. People don’t want to be blown away when they’re eating dinner or having some drinks. The proximity to the speaker come into play as well. Sometimes having it on the floor as a monitor and or behind me allows me to hear what I need to and keep the music at an “easy listening “ volume.

I always start much quieter then I think I need to be and read the rooms reaction before I turn up. Once you’re “too loud,” you’ll be too loud all night no matter what you do. Let people adjust to the volume.

Do the same thing coming back from break. Turn down from where you ended and ease back up every few songs. It’s like coming home late at night and blasting your car radio. You shut the car off, get in your car the next morning and almost have a heart attack because the radio is all the way up and it startles the heck out of you.

Regardless of how much firepower I bring, I do have a master volume. I’d rather be using a bigger system crossed over with different speakers for different frequency ranges working well within its limits, than a small system shouting its lungs out and trying to produce the full frequency range with one speaker. (I'm aware that some of the Bose options have a low freq bass module.)

My current system is a three way Line 63T and a Yorkville NX720s sub with an active crossover. It's a 4 way system and it sound so clean and clear that it's almost ridiculous. I can get a killer sound in even the most notoriously bad sounding rooms. Again, I bring a lot less and take the punch out of the system on those low volume dinner gig situations.

IMO of course. YMMV.

















2pm-5pm wedding on Saturday, June 11th













My updated rig. Won't embed for some reason. 7 minute set up time!

https://imgur.com/gallery/ZJ1uIwQ

[zhunter]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

Lets add the sheer amount of content available online, cell phones, and DWI laws. You can Netflix and Chill at home for $9.99 a month plus internet, and even if people make it out of the house, they're on their phones with social media all night.

I was at an open mic last night at a local coffee shop. Just went to listen. Didn't play. Mostly 50+ year old guys with guitars and iPads. Most were on their phones when they were in the audience. It's not just the young kids. Technology is KILLING live music. Attention spans are non existent.

The nice thing about the Bose sound is that it’s very unobtrusive. People can easily hear themselves talk, and that’s a good thing in many situations. It's also easy to get a decent sound without a lot of experience running sound. I've never heard a L1, L1C, or an S1 sound bad. I've never heard any of them sound amazing either though. They always sound good to decent to me.

I don't hear a lot of warmth in the low mids, and they sound "crunchy" to me when people try to push them. I've seen them fail miserably in a noisy setting. I've seen them feed back too, and the 180 degree spread isn't always optimal in tight locations. People love them though, and they definitely work for many cats.

That Bose sound can be achieved with traditional PA equipment and some negative EQ if you know what to cut. I pull out some lows and low mids. It takes the punch out of the system and makes for more of an "easy listening" experience.

As far as consistent volume from 5 feet away vs. 50 feet away: Bose does NOT defy the laws of physics. I played through one where I felt like the thing was gonna blow my head off from about 6 feet behind me and people said that we weren't loud enough past the midway point in the room.

IMO of course. YMMV.My updated rig. Won't embed for some reason. 7 minute set up time!

Played a monthly show at the venue where the mandatory house system is an L1 a couple of weeks ago. I am just going to have to say yes to most all of this. Especially the laws of physics part. Well put. The Bose gets the job done but maybe I just don't care for the Bose sound. I know this is the church of Bose here so sorry to all the fans. It is good for you and that is what matters.

I do see some show up with their ipads. The get off my lawn part of me says prepare better and leave those things at home, but do what works I guess. And I do spot the social media addicts at shows sometimes. I find it especially interesting when a couple comes in, sits at a table and both immediately pull out their cell phones and start surfing. Maybe they have a future to together but not one I would ever want.

hunter

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by zhunter

Played a monthly show at the venue where the mandatory house system is an L1 a couple of weeks ago. I am just going to have to say yes to most all of this. Especially the laws of physics part. Well put. The Bose gets the job done but maybe I just don't care for the Bose sound. I know this is the church of Bose here so sorry to all the fans. It is good for you and that is what matters.

I do see some show up with their ipads. The get off my lawn part of me says prepare better and leave those things at home, but do what works I guess. And I do spot the social media addicts at shows sometimes. I find it especially interesting when a couple comes in, sits at a table and both immediately pull out their cell phones and start surfing. Maybe they have a future to together but not one I would ever want.

hunter

I don’t have a problem with Bose. However, for the price, I would rather have my choice of modular PA gear. I can get that same unobtrusive sound with EQ and less volume, and just as much spread with two FOH speakers.

The Bose is probably easier to get a decent sound on for many cats, but if I have decent speakers and a board with mid sweeps, I can do better. Give me a sub and a crossover and there’s no contest.

Of course there will be cats that might disagree. That’s cool with me.

Most places want you to sound like the radio and be able to turn you down to radio volumes. I get mistaken for the radio quite often when I cater to that easy listening type environment. I can also get a rowdy bar dancing if need be.

Again, not bashing Bose. They sound fine and certainly have a loyal following. For ease of use they are definitely the choice of many. Shoot, I wish I could come in with such a small setup and be able to carry the rooms that I play in.

[Captain Jim]

This cat likes Bose...



I forgot to take a photo of him sitting next to the S1.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

This cat likes Bose...



I forgot to take a photo of him sitting next to the S1.

You should. A whole shoot with different pieces of gear. He's good looking, so he'll probably score some endorsements. Maybe even a calendar. 2019 is just around the corner.

[TubeG]

Maybe little unfair to compare Line 6 PA with a sub to a battery operated speaker.

[dcopper]

It’s all good and if you have confidence in your gear getting you where you want to be then you have succeeded. The beauty of the S1 is that I can grab it and go. It sounds good wherever I have played - inside and out. That said- so did my Fishman amps, Artist and Performer. My QSC with a mixer sounds good too. They just were not as grab and go, but not much more work in the long run.

The S1 is another tool. Right now, it works very well for me. I can put my toolbox/kit with cables and accessories on the bottom of a handcart- stack the bose on top- strap it in and wheel it wherever.

I have come full circle to the minimalist approach. I use a wireless headset, BOSS wireless for guitar and a stand for my iPad. Done.
And what I found is that I concentrate more on my playing, than worrying about my gear, sound and setup.

There may be a lot of BOSE supporters here, but it took my a bit to warm back up to them. My original L1/B1 died and had to be sent back to the factory. We always had problems with feedback despite all the “tricks” to prevent it. The S1 is a far different and simple animal. It may not be for everyone or certainly for every venue. So you use a different tool for that. What surprises me most is that I can play just about any small to medium size gig with one S1. Wow.
davidc

[slewis]

Originally Posted by dcopper

It’s all good and if you have confidence in your gear getting you where you want to be then you have succeeded. The beauty of the S1 is that I can grab it and go. It sounds good wherever I have played - inside and out. That said- so did my Fishman amps, Artist and Performer. My QSC with a mixer sounds good too. They just were not as grab and go, but not much more work in the long run.

The S1 is another tool. Right now, it works very well for me. I can put my toolbox/kit with cables and accessories on the bottom of a handcart- stack the bose on top- strap it in and wheel it wherever.

I have come full circle to the minimalist approach. I use a wireless headset, BOSS wireless for guitar and a stand for my iPad. Done.
And what I found is that I concentrate more on my playing, than worrying about my gear, sound and setup.

There may be a lot of BOSE supporters here, but it took my a bit to warm back up to them. My original L1/B1 died and had to be sent back to the factory. We always had problems with feedback despite all the “tricks” to prevent it. The S1 is a far different and simple animal. It may not be for everyone or certainly for every venue. So you use a different tool for that. What surprises me most is that I can play just about any small to medium size gig with one S1. Wow. - davidc

Well stated! I too have a number of systems I can use for live gigs, but none of them get the high marks in ALL the areas of (1) ease of transport/set-up (could anything even get any higher mark in this category???), (2) sound quality and (3) needed features, for me, than the S1 Pro. I'm pretty amazed...

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by dcopper

It’s all good and if you have confidence in your gear getting you where you want to be then you have succeeded. The beauty of the S1 is that I can grab it and go. It sounds good wherever I have played - inside and out. That said- so did my Fishman amps, Artist and Performer. My QSC with a mixer sounds good too. They just were not as grab and go, but not much more work in the long run.

The S1 is another tool. Right now, it works very well for me. I can put my toolbox/kit with cables and accessories on the bottom of a handcart- stack the bose on top- strap it in and wheel it wherever.

I have come full circle to the minimalist approach. I use a wireless headset, BOSS wireless for guitar and a stand for my iPad. Done.
And what I found is that I concentrate more on my playing, than worrying about my gear, sound and setup.

There may be a lot of BOSE supporters here, but it took my a bit to warm back up to them. My original L1/B1 died and had to be sent back to the factory. We always had problems with feedback despite all the “tricks” to prevent it. The S1 is a far different and simple animal. It may not be for everyone or certainly for every venue. So you use a different tool for that. What surprises me most is that I can play just about any small to medium size gig with one S1. Wow.
davidc

Nothing wrong with any of that if it works for you. I wish I could get away with something so light, compact and portable. I have a handful of gigs per year that the S1 would be useful for, but I use my 10" 2 way for those.

I really like having a mixing board with mid sweeps and I wouldn't want to be without my pedal board and preamps, so I could never get away without having to plug something in.