Using an external mixer ( not ToneMatch T4S). Should it be unpowered or powered?) Where would I plug it in?

Portable PA
1

I have a new Li Model II with B2 bass mod. Advise needed on a mixer. powered or Unpowered? where would it plug in to not damage the unit?

I have a Tone Match 4 as well. Learning curve for this 68 year old is too much for me. A simple mixer with built in reverb would work for two vocals and acoustic guitars.





Edit Subject: Previously "Using an extermal mixer ( not Tone match4). Should it be unpowered or powered?) Where woul I plug it in?"

Bose Pro Community Admin  

2

Hi, Joe R.

Welcome to the Bose Portable PA Community.

Joe R posted:

I have a new Li Model II with B2 bass mod.

Before I get to your questions, let me make a couple of suggestions to demystify your T4S. 

While the T4S has lots of capability beyond "a simple mixer with built-in reverb," you can ignore anything you don't need, and then the T4S is no more difficult to use than a simple mixer. I many respects, it should be simpler when you get to know it.

Here's what you can do.

Call Bose Support in the morning, and they will walk you through how to set up your T4S.

OR

You can follow the instructions below, today.

Connect the T4S to the L1 Model II

Connect the T4S to the L1 Model II as shown here

Firmware Update



Usually, I'd have you make sure your T4S is up to date - and we can do this later.  T4S Firmware Update Instructions

 

Factory Reset

Let's clear out any settings you may have done so we can start fresh from a known state.

Turn off the ToneMatch mixer. Press and hold the MUTE buttons for Channels 1, 2, 3, 4) while you turn on the power. You will see

  1. Rebooting
  2. Factory Reset Please wait
  3. Factory Reset Complete

You can release the buttons when you see "Please wait."

Singer/Songwriter Scene

Let's set up channel 1 for a vocal microphone and channel 2 for an acoustic guitar. It's easy to do that on a ToneMatch mixer.

If this sounds good, we can set up the other two channels for your second singer/guitarist.

  1. Turn the Rotary Selector to Scenes
  2. Turn the left-most knob under the display "Load" until you see to Singer/Songwriter highlighted.
  3. Press the left-most knob "Select"
  4. When it asks "Are you sure?" press the left-most button again "Yes"

Now channel 1 is set for a vocal microphone, and channel 2 is set for an acoustic guitar.

Gain staging

You can turn the Master Volume off for this step.

Vocal Microphone

Check out this video. We're using a T8S, but the steps are the same for your T4S

Acoustic Guitar

  1. Connect your guitar to channel 2.
  2. Turn up the volume to about three-quarters
  3. Strum the guitar loudly
  4. Set the channel 2 input trim so you see solid green. Red flickers are okay. If you see solid red, turn it down.


Listening

  1. Turn the master volume off
  2. Turn channel 1 and channel volumes to 12:00 o'clock (straight up)
  3. Turn channel 3 and channel 4 volumes off
  4. Bring up the master volume slowly until you can hear your voice through the microphone and the guitar at a comfortable level.

How does that sound?

Tone Adjustments (zEQ)

You can adjust the tone. Press the CHEDIT button for the channel you want to change. Then turn the Rotary Selector to zEQ

Reverb Adjustments

You can adjust the reverb. Press the CHEDIT button for the channel you want to change. Then turn the Rotary Selector to REVERB (lower right side of the dial)

Use the MiX control to add more/less reverb. Use the Bright control to change the tone of the reverb.

How are we doing so far?

If it's good, we can talk about setting up the other channels for the other singer/guitarist.

Except for loading the Singer/Songwriter scene, using the T4S should have been no more complex than a simple mixer. That is, you'd have to go through the same kind of steps with any mixer.

Now, to answer your questions.



Advise needed on a mixer. powered or Unpowered? where would it plug in to not damage the unit?

Unpowered. If you connect the speaker output(s) of a powered mixer to an L1, you could damage the L1 or the powered mixer, or both.



I have a Tone Match 4 as well. Learning curve for this 68 year old is too much for me. A simple mixer with built in reverb would work for two vocals and acoustic guitars.

I hope we can alleviate that sense of "too much for me" either on the phone with Bose Support or by using the notes above.


Where would I plug it in?
We have an article about how to connect several a mixer to an L1.
Please see Stereo Mixer to Mono L1®

Does that help?

ST