Lately, I've been lazy about looking for gigs so I haven't played a real gig for a while. During Daytona FL bike week, there are tons of gigs available when all the venues scramble to have live music. A friend of mine got offered a gig that he couldn't do so he called to so he asked me to cover it which I did. I thought I'd post a summary of how I set up and my thoughts on the rig in general.
It was a 7 - 10 pm, outdoors at a winery, right across the street from the beach.
Here's the set up:
T4s
2 X Bose S1 Pros (Both ran on battery for the entire gig).
Both S1s were mounted on the On Stage Mini Speaker Stands extended to the max. This put the top of the speakers about shoulder height to me.
The right speaker was about parallel to me, the left was slightly behind.
1 X SM58 (T4s Channel 1 using SM58 Preset)
Composite Acoustic Legacy (T4s Channel 2 using CA Preset)
Overall, I am very pleased with this set up. The crowd (including some musician friends) said the sound was amazing. I know that folks have complained about the bottom end on the S1s but, last night, the guitar had way too much bass and I had to turn it down a bit. Set up was very quick and straight forward.
My only complaint is that I'm just not getting the "warmth" in the sound that I used to get with the L1 M2/B1. I guess I just need to set it up outside and tweak it until I get the sound I want. Anyone have any ideas on getting a warmer tone?
Another issue has nothing to do with the equipment, it's the environment. We had a pretty stiff breeze coming off the beach blowing right at us. As the temps dropped from the mid 80s to the upper 60s, all the moisture/salt in the air started condensing and left a heavy, wet, salty film on all of my equipment. When the gig was over, I wiped everything down with a dry cloth, then when I got home, I wiped it down again with cleaning cloths and let it dry out.
I'm thinking of buying the Bose Play Through covers to help keep the moisture/salt off the the S1s. Any thoughts on this?
I'd like to find something to cover the T4 that will allow me to see what's going on and make adjustments easily but still keep the unit as dry as possible. Any thoughts here?
You've brought up something I want to comment on. When the S1 was first released I was one of those who thought it did not have enough bass or low end response. I have since changed my mind. There is more than ample low frequency response for everything I do as a soloist, except that the amp / speaker cannot handle the transient response of a foot bass. I hope I have identified that correctly. It has become obvious that recorded bass and drums are reproduced quite well, but the S1 will not produce a proper bass percussion sound from the Travelog or Porchboard bass. Even with the input set low the speaker is overloaded with each foot tap.
I have found that placement of the S1 will affect the "warmth" of the vocal and guitar. While I use about the same settings for gigs as in my rehearsal / practice space, I find I make subtle adjustments anytime I play in a different environment. It is usually a minor adjustment of both bass and treble controls.
I was in Florida a couple of weeks back when it was very windy. Spent several hours over three days at the Canaveral Seashore, sightseeing. Was amazed at the salty residue on the vehicle. I would think that repeated exposure to that atmosphere would be really hard on electronic equipment not sealed up specifically for exposure to harsh elements.
In a different thread I think I saw someone suggesting use of plastic garbage bags to cover the units in rain, saying it does not drastically affect sound. I have not tried that, and if I am wrong I hope they will correct me, but it seems like a feasible idea for ocean front gigs.
The "Bose Play Through covers" are porous so they would allow at least some of that salty air to get to the S1, would require washing after each use, and they don't cover the control panel where there are knobs and I/O jacks. If I truly desired a textile cover I might be inclined to test with a pillow case for sound transparency and if it suited me, modify for a tidy fit. I think that synthetic fibers work better than cotton, fact check me on that.
Bin bags work fine, negligible affect on the sound and completely waterproof. Not especially 'cool' though but definitely cooler than drowned speakers.
but definitely cooler than drowned speakers.