BOSE L1 MODEL II SYSTEM

bose l1 model II without t1 modual..sub bass,array,1 analog input

i bought this system for multi purpose im mind. first as a front of house pa and moniter system. second for acoustic and electric guitar and keyboard amplification. i use this with a korg d888 8channel mixer w/40 gig hardrive recorder. first as a front of house and moniter pa. works well. very loud,(this band plays very,very loud) less than normal feedback issues. great dispersion,clear vocals. the placement of the tower is important. not all venues allow for "behind the band" placement due to space, or height. the tower is 7 feet tall..not all clubs are.. second as a replacement guitar amp.. not so good..guitars are a midrange insturment. guitar amplifiers accentuate these frequencys.the bose model II is hi-fi.if you are expecting the feel and vibration of a high power guitar amp, this will not give you that. what i have found is if you use a guitar amp and pre amp out to the bose, it gives both, the stage blast from the guitar amp, and the wide dispersion,guitar amps do not have. this works pretty well. have not giged yet with acoustic, or keys.

have not used it enough to say

have not needed, but befor purchase,i spoke with them and they were helpful..

i was going to purchase two of these. i desided to try just one at first. i feel the bose L1 model II is worth the three grand for the multi purpose uses it has. i have played professionally for decades. i have used many FOH ps'a. they are a disastor in the wrong hands.(generally the case) engineering sound from the stage is almost impossible with a FOH pa. the bose does this hands down. even in a LOUD rock band.It will not replace a high gain guitar amp, however, when used in conjunction with a regular amp, it adds enough to your sound to warrent the price. the tone macth EQ i can not speak about. but $500 for an eq?..not here..the korg, or any mixer will give you the same or much more control in my opinion. the real secret to using the model II, is to give the system lots of gain. you must give it a strong signal, then you can see its performance at its best.

I bought an L1 model 1, andf didnt think much of it, but agreed to try the model II and am darned glad I did. I have had it four months now. The tone Match with your own input is the key to this thing being as useful as a swiss army knife. I use it with a live band, an Ipod, and a computer based midi one man band thing that I do so it has to do everything, and it does it all so well I am grinning when I sing, as I hear what the audience hears and dont have to ask anymore if they enjoyed the show. I know for a fact. MANY casinos use these as their pro setup for the various bands that come through too. The one valid complaint is the bass. Two cabs does VERY well, but u have to dial it in and eq it.  I also use a line out, and send that to a DIY powered sub, and let that round out the tone. That sub has it's own cutoff dial in, and has 500 watts to 2 12's so it thumps harder than babe ruth. That sub came from a DIY mail order house, and I made it myself with a kit. Less than $500 for everything. The cab is the size of a car sub so it is just as portable as the rest of the system, and fits in the trunk. It sits behind the drummer and destroys everything we have heard. My drummer about fell down when he heard this thing. What amazes me is how LOUD this thing is. Tiny speakers do not mean lower volume.

I use a wide variety of guitars including a Taylor Custom Koa T5-2, Taylor K20CE, Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 Ten Top, a bunch or Bernie Rico's USA handmade archtop eagles and mockingbirds, fender american strat, washburn custom acoustic, and more. The sound of this thing blew my mind, I simply kept stopping and looking back in amazement at what was coming out of this thing. It is dead accurate. I find it to be dead quiet, and the best overall live sound bang for the buck I have ever spent. It would take a serious effort to pry this from my cold dead fingers!

So far it is the best piece of gear I have owned, but it's young yet!

I have played guitar and acted as front man as a pro for almost 40 years and can say without equivocation that if you take the time to dial in your sound ( DONT USE THE PRESETS_TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR OWN FOR EACH USE YOU HAVE IN MIND-right down the pickup choice and switch positions as each one has it's own unique vice and this thing can deal with it!!!) you will be rewarded with constant comments and amazement by both your fellow musicians AND most importantly your amazed audience. I do everything from full blown progressive ELP, YES, Genesis, Styx and Super Tramp to hardcore stariani, vai, malmsteen fretburning to delicate fingerstyle and love ballads-whatever the audience needs. This thing has reformed my opinion of what can be achieved in a live venue, and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. I had a Model 1, and didnt care for it amd so I traded it in and got the new one. Their are sound differences to be sure. The first series has an extra driver in each of the two pieces of the cylinder, which gives better overall freq response, BUT... the alternating spread of the model II is vastly superior in every other respect, and if you have a sub or two, you can do lots wihout the need for the massive systems that kill our backs and give the sound guys fits. I have found that a good cheap mic from dominion (dynamic mic with a small pickup pattern) works impossibly well with the Bose, while my expensive tube mic sits and waits for a recording session. BTW, another great thing not mentioned is the USB audio at 24 bit 48 KHz. I spent a lot of time with the new Mackie Onyx 1200F and this is a better sounding recording with LOgic Pro than the Mackie did at ANY sample rate. I sent it back for major clock problems and it still hasnt come back. I also use the Digitech vocalizer Pro rack with this, and have NO issues with feedback provided I have spent the time properly eq'ing the setup. The one thing people unrealistically expect from Bose is preset perfection. I have yet to find that from ANY manufacturer. They have given us the best portable sound setup known to man so far, and it is easy enough to learn to use it, so take the time to do so. I used to have to use a truck to haul my live setup, now I throw EVERYTHING I need into the trunk of my 67 GTO or my 06 GTO with room for amplifiers, and actual PEOPLE in either car. Tell me this thing isn't fantastic, and I will tell you to put down the crack pipe, and slowly back away! My drummer friend had the same reluctance to believe this thing could handle a live performance until he heard it next to has 1200 watt Yamaha system, and it outdid it handily. Mind you, this was one bass module, and one tower against 2 15 inch subs with a 400 watt supply, 2 12 inch 3 way JBL mains with a 400 watt supply and a bunch of backline monitors driven boy another 400 watts. This is a pretty unwieldy system, and so he rents or borrows when he plays out. One rehearsal and it had him reconsidering his system and counting his money as well as thinking about getting rid of what he has. He sees it for what it is. A blessing from God! You figure it out. He is a 30 year plus veteran like me, so he isn't easy to convince either.