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Hi, Everyone:
I have quite a few solo gigs these days, for which play guitar, sing, and occasionally play mandolin. My gear is pretty shoddy. I essentially play into an amp that is a glorified monitor, and would like something better.
Any ideas about good solo amplification gear? Bose tower?
Bose tower is a seriously nice piece of gear. I play on Saturdays with some friends and we plug the vocals and instruments into a Bose tower. Lately, we have my jjb electronics equipped mandolin plugged into a Fishman Loudbox Mini going into the Yamaha PA board at this friend's studio. We usually have an acoustic guitar w/vocals going straight into the board, 1 or 2 electric guitars w/ vocals into miked amplifiers then to the board and this weekend we were graced to have our sometimes drummer into an electronic drum kit and a young very talented guy playing bass guitar. Voila!! a full band.
To make a long narrative much shorter, The Loudbox Mini rechargeable is a very nice piece of professional equipment and my Kentucky KM-340S mandolin with the jjb's sounded pretty great through it and the Bose tower, of course
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
Boatloads of money will solve this problem any number of ways.
A couple of QSC K 10s and a small mixer will cover everything pretty well. Take one for a small solo gig, two for small bands or larger venues.
The towers work well too, as do the higher end acoustic amplifiers like Schertler.
I have an L1 with bass module and 4 channel tonematch mixer about to go up on CL for a friend. PM me if interested.
I’m a big fan of QSC. I have had the original K10 for a long time and they still sound great with no issues. The new K series are even better.
Yeah … it's really a question of how much money you want to invest. JBL and Fishman towers w/ bass module are really high quality units. Fishman and Roland make amps that may be a step up from your current rig. Look at some higher quality mics as long as you are shopping. Part of the "problem" is not any setup works in every venue so yo really need a variety of options for successful sound production. R/
Ill bring Elite Acoustics D6-8 and Bose S1 to the table. I really like both and a Bose tower, but my number one is QSC K8.2 combined with a mixer.
If you don't want to spend QSC levels of cash, the JBL EON 610 (~700W), is what I have been using. Using a PA speaker means no phantom power to power up a preamp for the guitar and mando (I use a Tonebone powerd from an AC strip, but you have to change EQ between instruments). The JBL and other speakers have 2 XLR ins with seperate volume control, so the vocals can use a dynamic SM-58 like mike (no phantom power required).
Evan Marshall used what seemed to be a small Roland Mobile AC, on the floor, face up, at his feet,
While playing into the Microphone , thru the board to the house.. their sound gear .
He got to pack Light..
:whistling:
Bose S1 Pro, around $599 at sweetwater(with 48 month/0 interest financing @ $13)
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...m-with-battery
highly recommend the Bose packback-its heavy duty built, fits like a glove, has serious haul potential for cords, pedals, etc
$149 ($4 per month if you use the 48 month/0 interest financing)
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...1-pro-backpack
some excellent reviews on youtube, as well as the AGF-i'll dig up a thread of a guy who gigs with this and its replaced a lot of other things in his ownership.
total package 15lbs, sounds clear as a bell, two instrument channels and one mic channel. 11 hour battery charge(you don't have to plug in!!). blue tooth capable.
its a game changer
Awesome!
What is AGF ? ohh ... Acoustic Guitar Forum ?Quote:
Originally Posted by darylcrisp
Kevin
here you go with some extended real world gigging use of the Bose S1 Pro. If you work thru the reviews of "methos" (AGF)you will see detailed reviews on the S1 unit, and the backpack designed for it. Hopefully the link works for you if you are not a member of the AGF(but that's an easy thing to fix, just join, its free).
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=502342
here is the backpack review
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=515170
here is the S1 Pro, Boss VE-8 review
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=509524
and a link to all his reviews on amps, guitars, equipment for gigs
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...39#post5826239
I have the Bose tower and the Bose S1 Pro love them both. The tower with the larger bass unit can put out some great bottom end on your acoustic. Bose S1 Pro is winner and you can't beat the portability.Quote:
Originally Posted by darylcrisp
I'd save my money on the backpack and use that money for a second Bose S1 Pro down the road,
Vocal clarity on all Bose PAs excel to my ear.
I'm pro Bose...plenty of anti-Bose folks here too though.
BTW: bonus the Bose S1 Pro rocks for bluetooth cell phone music playing.
Thanks, everyone! I went all-in on the BOSE S1, the backpack, a new mic stand, a Behringer mixer (the 6 channel, four xlr inputs), and the LR Baggs preamp. It's a slew of things, and I'm broke, but happily so!
If you still use the Schlertler pickup on your mandolin, from your other post, the Baggs pickup won't work well at all. You may want to get a K&K to use with the Baggs. I am sure you will be happy with the rest.
So true ! Dont worry, if you gig out solo a lot you should break even right about the time your equipment wears out. :)
As Offered before.. said you Have a small mixer ? you have the Mic preamp for the schertler , in the channel ..
LR Baggs Preamp might be just the thing for your Guitar.. if it has a built in under bridge Piezo, without a built in preamp of its own ..
I use a Bose S-1 Pro. With my trio we use that with a Bose L1 Compact. Bose mixer feeds them. I like the S-1 sound for use as an acoustic amp as well.
Hey, Everyone:
Thanks so much for indulging my gear situation. I've moved and shaken and here's what I have ended up with:
1. Bose S1 which is awesome, legit as advertised. I love it.
2. Yamaha MG10XU mixer
3. Schertler Yellow single preamp
To make a long story short, I bailed on the Baggs stuff because my guitar has a B-Band pickup installed, which I didn't realize has a preamp in it, so the Baggs Venue preamp was actually complicating things especially when combined with the Bose S1, which has it's own mixing capabilities. So, since I didn't need the Baggs Venue preamp for my guitar, I figured I could also return the Baggs Radius mandolin pickup and for the money get a Schertler preamp. The Schertler Yellow Single was a little more than the value of the Baggs Venue and the Baggs Radius, but it feel so right. I've always liked the tone of the Schertler pickup better than piezos I've heard, and now I just leveled up big time.
So, that's where I am with it all at this point. Thank so much for your guidance. I'd like to give a shout out to Sweetwater music company, which had stellar customer service and made shopping for this stuff a breeze. Also, I ended up getting the Schertler Yellow Single at Djangobooks, and Michael Horowitz was awesome, knowledgeable, and very friendly.
Time to jam!