I am playing a venue tonight and will use my L1M2, B1, T8S (guitar and vocals only). Sometimes I wonder if my S1 Pro will handle some of my bigger gigs. I often think I can get away with using the S1 instead of hooking up the L1M2... But always chicken out. Does anyone care to share any success stories on the different types of (bigger) venues their pro has shined? I know there are lots of factors at play here that can change sound...but if anyone has a story or two where ONE S1 Pro performed well in a bigger venue or maybe not so well, and can provide basic details.. I'd be grateful/entertained..ha! (L1M2 has always shined for me thus far...but, if I could get away with just using the s1 in some places...that would be cool. I bought the S1 to use for practice and as a monitor, but reading here that many are using it for their main PA).
When I say "bigger gigs" i mean anything bigger than what i picture the S1 pro being intended for...busking, very small rooms, coffee shops, etc. I play those places, but wondering about the bigger bars where there are more people... (Being vague on room sizes on purpose..hoping to get more stories that way..??)
The "biggest" gig I've played with TWO Bose S1 Pros (tilted back with one on on each side of us) is at a relatively large library up in Kailua-Kona.
Two vocals, two guitars - Strat and Taylor T5z. Folk, Rock, Reggae and Hawai'ian Music - QSC Touchmix 16 - XLR to XLR left and right to S1s with slight stereo mix. I ran each S1 with the volume knob at the detent 1/2 way and the mixer master bouncing around -10dB.
The space where our audience of at least 50 people sat was about 60' long by 25' wide. We were at one end and were able to cover everyone in the audience with great sound with the back row at least 40' away.
It was a CONCERT in a Library -- so we didn't have any espresso machine shwooshing, loud talking/screaming/cackling/laughing, pool or dice games or knife fights to deal with!
(Those bar gigs with my band require an L1M2 with B2 and an F1...which was overkill - we COULD have done those with our 2 JBL EON Ones...)
IF I were playing in a smaller bar gig (where I'm supposed to sell alcohol) or ANY restaurant gig, I'd DEFINITELY opt for my 2 S1 Pros...
PS: Another great thing about 2 S1 Pros vs. L1M2 with sub(s) is that in smaller/medium spaces, low ceilings and spaces with limited stage depth where the L1 can't be set far enough behind, feedback control is much easier with 2 S1s on stands or tilted back than with the L1M2...
PPS: Full Disclosure - I will NEVER take another bar gig as a solo performer...I prefer Farmer's Markets -- same or often better money with no drunks...
Thanks Chet! There should be a couple knife fights tonight so gonna stick with the L1 M2 for now??!
I'm intrigued... A used (additional) S1 may be on order soon...ill have to see
I ordered ONE S1 just to see if it would be useful for me. While waiting for that one I said, to Heck with it, and ordered another before receiving the first.
Having 2 of these little puppies is GOLDEN!
I ended up selling my L1M2 and F1 and now am down to the 2 S1s and my JBL EON ONE when I do bigger gigs.
I am getting older and am post-2nd heart attack (June 9-10th) so heavy stuff is OUT!
Have had L1M2 plus B1 x2 for a few years now and have virtually retired it due to the S1 Pro’s ... use only one most of the time ... use two for large crowds or very noisey venues.
Hi Willy Martin,
Willy Martin posted:I am playing a venue tonight and will use my L1M2, B1, T8S (guitar and vocals only). Sometimes I wonder if my S1 Pro will handle some of my bigger gigs. I often think I can get away with using the S1 instead of hooking up the L1M2... But always chicken out.
"Powder is scarce and must not be wasted. Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes. Then aim low. Aim at their waistbands, aim at the handsome coats; pick off the officers."
When I read your posts earlier today, I was reminded of this phrase, "... until you see the whites of their eyes".
After lots of experimentation, I don't bring out the S1 Pro system unless the venue is small enough that I can see everybody clearly. True, sound and light travel differently, but as I reflect on my experiences, this seems appropriate.
Does anyone care to share any success stories on the different types of (bigger) venues their pro has shined? I know there are lots of factors at play here that can change sound...but if anyone has a story or two where ONE S1 Pro performed well in a bigger venue or maybe not so well, and can provide basic details..
I play at a small club frequently. On a good night, there may be 100 people. and one wall opens up to a patio that faces the street, and beyond that, the beach. The stage is small, and of course space is at a premium.
With the patio door (wall) closed, on a quiet night I can use the S1 Pro for vocals and electric guitar.
If the place is busier, (more people, more background noise) I may switch and run my vocal through the house system (to say I dislike the house system is an understatement). If the S1 Pro won't cut it for vocals, I'm just as inclined to run back out to the car and get the L1 Compact (my trusty backup system for every gig).
I'd be grateful/entertained..ha! (L1M2 has always shined for me thus far...but, if I could get away with just using the s1 in some places...that would be cool. I bought the S1 to use for practice and as a monitor, but reading here that many are using it for their main PA).
If the wall to the patio is open, I'll use the L1 Compact. I tried the S1 Pro several times, because I REALLY wanted it to work. But when the patio is open to the street and the beach, we're trying to lure people in. The L1 Compact or better still the L1 Model II is the right tool for that job.
But when the patio is open, we're usually running a full band with Bass, Drums and one or two vocalist/guitarists.
Check out these numbers for parts of a drum kit. Almost any single component of a trap kit is louder than the S1 Pro.
Willy Martin posted:When I say "bigger gigs" i mean anything bigger than what i picture the S1 pro being intended for...busking, very small rooms, coffee shops, etc. I play those places, but wondering about the bigger bars where there are more people... (Being vague on room sizes on purpose..hoping to get more stories that way..??)
We're back to "it depends" and there are so many things upon which the decision depends. But - if I can't see everyone in the audience clearly then it's probably not the time to fire up the S1 Pro.
There are lots of stories here in the community where people have used the S1 Pro as the main PA in larger venues. Some have used two of them in conjunction with the F1 Subwoofer. I've had great sounding results with combination. But I did that to test a the hypothetical question - is it possible. Yes, it is. But as fun and interesting as that is, I would take an L1 Model II with a B2 instead of two S1 Pro systems and an F1 Subwoofer.
Bose recommends (conservatively)
- Up to 50 people - S1 Pro system
- Up to 100 people - L1 Compact
I've had better results than these numbers suggest, but if I'm walking into an unknown situation, if it's small I might take the S1 Pro, but I'll have the L1 Compact or L1 Model II in the car as backup. I won't limp through a show because I didn't feel like bringing the right gear for the job.
Thanks for the interesting question.
ST
Great summary ST. I have played at 50 person dinner with everyone talking with one S1pro and the comments are it’s too loud at the front! People wanted to have conversation.
After reading the review of the S1 Pro in Sound on Sound magazine I went to the local Guitar Center to give them a listen. One of the knowledgable sales men there, whom is a manager and I trust, said to me that he really likes them and everyone whom he has sold one to that came back to comment loved theirs.
So I went purchased two and was going to order two slip covers and they weren’t available in their warehouse anymore and he asked if I would like to get the backpacks. I declined because I didn’t want to spend that much and replied that I would find another solution. During the conversation I mentioned I wanted a bag that would hold two of them. He had an “aha” moment and told me to wait while he went in the back. He came out with a QSC carry bag that he said wasn’t listed in their inventiory and gave it to me. It turns out two S1 Pro units fit nicely in the bag after adding a small sheet of heavy duty bubble wrap between them He also searched on line and found the sleeves available ship to store at the Best Buy next door so I snagged a couple of them as well. This was incredible customer service.
So now I have used both S1 Pro speakers and the reason for this post.
A week ago on Saturday evening my barbershop quartet performed at an outdoor event we normally do at Christmas time. This year we were tasked to sing Christmas songs for the patrons entering the event (expected attendance was around 4,000) though the audience was going by us so that’s not an accurate count of the coverage for these speakers. The weather turned out to be chilly and rainy so we set up under cover to catch the people walking by with both S1 Pro’s on the deck tilted back with an added “Original” Mackie Freeplay outside facing the ticket counter in a plastic trash bag. The setup was a matched pair of Neumann KM184’s feeding into a Zoom F8n to record and do the mixing and recording feeding the S1 Pro’s and the Freeplay. My quartet is good so most of the time there were between 30 and 50 people in the space the S1’s were covering. I have to say for the first gig the client and my quartet buddies were quite impressed. I ran the S1’s without engaging the ToneMatch switches. BTW, all on battery, nice!
The next Saturday (last) was our Barbershop Chorus Christmas Show and I setup the S1 Pro’s to cover the afterglow (the cast party). They were positioned on stands on an 18” high stage with the stands at their lowest height mark. The setup again was a matched pair of Neumann KM184’s for the quartets adding a Sennheiser EW D1 Handheld wireless for the announcer connected to a Mackie DL1608 mixer feeding the S1’s. This time I set the S1’s on the ToneMatch microphone setting and felt the mid and upper mids were too hot making the sound a little harsh, I don’t think I’ll do that again. Since I already had a pretty good test on battery everything was plugged into 110v AC using the Edison cords. Last year we fed the input of their house system, which looked like it would be pretty good, from the DL mixer and it was horrible. While it may seem like I was complaining about the ToneMatch of the S1’s, this year was way better using the S1’s than last. FYI, before I purchased the S1’s I was planning on using a pair of EAW RSX89’s that I own. While I’m sure the RSX’s would have sounded better they would have been a lot more trouble to lug around (they are heavy).
All in all I really like the S1 Pro’s for what they are. Extremely portable and convenient with a lot of reach for their size and weight while sounding really good.
For those that are interested ...
Chorus: http://www.Big Orange Chorus @BigOrangeChorus.com
Quartet: http://www.Facebook.com/SliceQuartet
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for telling us about your experiences with your S1 Pro systems.
Let me pick up on this point.
Daniel Proctor posted:? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ?The next Saturday (last) was our Barbershop Chorus Christmas Show and I setup the S1 Pro’s to cover the afterglow (the cast party). They were positioned on stands on an 18” high stage with the stands at their lowest height mark. The setup again was a matched pair of Neumann KM184’s for the quartets adding a Sennheiser EW D1 Handheld wireless for the announcer connected to a Mackie DL1608 mixer feeding the S1’s. This time I set the S1’s on the ToneMatch microphone setting and felt the mid and upper mids were too hot making the sound a little harsh, I don’t think I’ll do that again.
? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ?
The ToneMatch Preset for vocal microphones is specifically for hand-held dynamic vocal microphones using close mic technique (lips brushing the windscreen). Next time turn the ToneMatch Preset switch to Off. You'll get better results.
Cheers!
ST
ST posted:Hi Daniel,
Thanks for telling us about your experiences with your S1 Pro systems.
Let me pick up on this point.
Daniel Proctor posted:? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ?The next Saturday (last) was our Barbershop Chorus Christmas Show and I setup the S1 Pro’s to cover the afterglow (the cast party). They were positioned on stands on an 18” high stage with the stands at their lowest height mark. The setup again was a matched pair of Neumann KM184’s for the quartets adding a Sennheiser EW D1 Handheld wireless for the announcer connected to a Mackie DL1608 mixer feeding the S1’s. This time I set the S1’s on the ToneMatch microphone setting and felt the mid and upper mids were too hot making the sound a little harsh, I don’t think I’ll do that again.
? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ? - ?
The ToneMatch Preset for vocal microphones is specifically for hand-held dynamic vocal microphones using closing mic technique (lips brushing the windscreen). Next time turn the ToneMatch Preset switch to Off. You'll get better results.
Cheers!
ST
I hope it didn’t seem like I was complaining because I really like the S1’s so far. I went back and re-read the manual after reading your reply and it doesn’t mention anything about the ToneMatch setting being designed to compensate for the proximity effect of close held hand held mics. Good to know. For our use that will almost never be a need.
Anyway, I just took it as a learning experience.
Hi Daniel Proctor,
I understood, you weren't complaining. We're good there.
There's a lot of information beyond what appears in the owners guide in the Bose Portable PA wiki.
Here's a link to the information about the S1 Pro ToneMatch® Presets
ST
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