Audiotech

REVIEWS FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE USED THE BOSE L1 SYSTEM

Bose L1 Compact 

Ian Henderson - Singer,songwriter 

"Are you ready to suspend disbelief? The search for great sound, and particularly great stage sound, might as well be the search for the holy grail for all the chance most musicians have of getting it. Like many performers I’ve had to get used to playing from feel and memory and ignoring my ears. Most stage monitors sound like they either have a wet blanket over them, or like the speaker’s had a few holes poked in it with a screwdriver to remove all the bottom end. When I first heard about the Bose L1 I thought it was a joke! A PA that dispenses with monitors by sitting behind the performer, that uses tiny little speakers, doesn’t feed back, sounds amazing and works for 200 people. Oh, yeah, and fits in the boot of a citigolf. Dream on. But I tried it anyway – and the first time we used it, at Cape Town’s Waiting Room, half of the audience came up afterwards and asked what on earth we’d done to the PA to make it sound so good! I’m a convert.

My new album Superglue was recorded in Sweden with world-class session musicians. It’s full of detail and subtlety, and normally you’ve got to forget all about that when performing live. The first shock was soloing on my acoustic guitar – usually a bit of a joke on traditional PA/monitoring setups – and hearing all the detail I normally hear while rehearsing. With the L1 you are hearing exactly what the audience hears! Because the pole has 24 little speakers all pointing in different directions, the sound disperses widely and everyone in the audience – and you on stage – hear the same thing. Live performing isn’t an act of faith anymore. The musical relationships between performers are back – it’s almost like you’re playing acoustically without amplification. The ebb and flow return to the music… if the Hammond organ is too loud on stage, it’s too loud in the audience, so you learn to really listen to each other again and get the performance happening! We’re so used to the “sound” of a PA. That mid-range thump. But it’s not natural. The best thing I can say about the sound of the L1, is that it doesn’t sound like a PA. It’s just natural. It sounds just like the performers really sound, but louder. And this little baby is loud!

The separation, clarity and openness are hands-down the best I’ve heard in a small-to-midsize PA, and quite honestly I don’t want to perform on anything else anymore. For the first time I can actually play like it sounds on the record, and as far as I’m concerned that IS the holy grail!

That’s me for now

Ian Henderson"

Check out his new record ‘Superglue’ and catch him on a national tour soon: http://www.ianhenderson.com

PS. Did I mention… the whole system fits in the boot of a citigolf, and two people can carry it to the car in one go. Beat that!

Grame Watkins - Singer/Songwriter

Hambly Quantrill - Musician CT

"For the past couple of years I have been using a pair of Yamaha MSR400 speakers via a Yamaha 16 channel desk and more recently a Yamaha n12 mixing desk. We recently rearranged the studio and decided to invest in some additional speakers/monitors. After reading various reviews on the Bose L1 system, we decided to take the plunge and invest in a system which we would use for fill sound. Well, after listening to the Bose system, we were stunned. The clarity and especially control was astonishing. Vocals float easily above the mix and are crystal clear with no colouration. After the very first song, the response from everyone, especially the vocalists was “WOW”. The sound uniformity is so good that the MSRs were switched off. After that, there was no going back.

We have now purchased a second system and even now, after having the original L1 system for a month, we are still surprised by the clarity of the sound. The presets tones work great, although we generally run the systems using a flat EQ, with all settings done on the desk. I only play two guitars directly into the system. These are a Taylor NS74CE and Taylor Cocobolo GS. The resolution and clarity of the system is such that one feels quite intimidated, as every note and nuance is clearly amplified.

A further aspect worth noting is the ability of the system to project sound into the space, while not blasting those in close proximity to the speakers. This is a major advantage as the speakers can be located behind or slightly to the side of the band without us being overpowered by the sound. The last item that I wish to mention as that the speakers are also great visually and can be easily integrated into a domestic environment. The system is therefore quite at home in my lounge as well as studio.

All in all, a highly recommended system".