Nord User Forum

Cphollis - oh I see what you mean by being able to find a used Bose L1 Model 2 powered speaker for under 2K... at Guitar center I found one for $1600. How does the DXR 10, QSC K12 or Line 6 LTZ (mic input here for vocal if need) compare? If anyone else responds as well, just know that I will be performing solo jazz/cocktail for a themed prohibition period club with the Nord Piano 3. Thanks everyone.

Cphollis - oh I see what you mean by being able to find a used Bose L1 Model 2 powered speaker for under 2K... at Guitar center I found one for $1600. How does the DXR 10, QSC K12 or Line 6 LTZ (mic input here for vocal if need) compare? If anyone else responds as well, just know that I will be performing solo jazz/cocktail for a themed prohibition period club with the Nord Piano 3. Thanks everyone.

I should also say I plan on and using some Rhodes sounds and other funky jazz concoctions in some of the sets. I also will be creating some backgrounds I will be playing over. So it won't all be AP the entire night.

The Bose L1 Model II will do better than most any self-powered PA (single or double) in that sort of low-volume setting. Completely different technology -- a vertical line array with a separate subwoofer module. Brilliant design for what it does. Mono only, so no authentic Leslie swirls or stereo pans.

The reason we keep harping on APs is that they are the most difficult to amplify and still remain natural sounding. In your gigs, I'm guessing you are not the center of attention -- people are eating, drinking and chatting. You'll find that the Bose fills the room evenly with a pleasant, crisp sound that doesn't have to be loud to be heard. It's attractive and unobtrusive, in addition to being built like a tank.

The downsides to the Bose L1 is (a) price, (b) lugging multiple components and (c) not loud enough to stand up in an electric band with crashing drums and blazing guitars. But that's not what you're doing, is it? You will need a small ($99) mixer if you skip the ToneMatch accessory, which I found to be overpriced for what it did.

Having used one for a while, I probably would have to spend $3K on a pair of RCF TT08-a to match the tonal quality, and it still wouldn't be a fair fight, since the Bose disperses evenly and every self-powered PA is directional.

There are lower price copies of the Bose in the market. I haven't tried any of them, but I expect "you get what you pay for" to hold true. Besides, $1600 for the Bose, cases, stand and submodule is a very decent deal and you won't lose much money if you decide to sell later.

Gambold wrote:It has no out. That means for larger venues it has to be miked (and who know if one can successfully mike this thing). Or I have to run separate cables from my personal mixer to the PA, as it's only 100 watts with an 8-inch woofer, and that will not be enough with a full rock band in a big room.

The manufacturer admits as much: "Spacestation v3 is the perfect solution for those challenging small live venues like a restaurant or church." That's a deal breaker for me, especially at that price. I'll stick with the QSC powered speakers.

Incorrect statement: a quick perusal of the specs shows it has a full-range 1/4" output which can be fed into anything you choose, albeit mono. Also, the unit is rated at 240 watts, not 100 as you state. The thing is a good example on why you can't go on rated specs alone, as in the real world it is quite the ballsy little unit. The joke among SSv3 owners is that if you run out of volume, the band is playing too darn loud.

I have a pair each of the QSC K8,10 and 12s. Nice for what they do. A pair of K8s can be really sweet. Looking forward to trying out the new K.2 line, looks like a nice upgrade. That being said, four out of five times, it's the SSv3 that comes along for the ride. The QSCs have now become band monitors since I'm never using them.

I do play with this one amateur group who hasn't learned to moderate their volume -- and I'll agree -- I do have to bring along more substantial firepower, along with earplugs. But that's because they're playing too darn loud.

If you mean the sub out, then yeah, it has an out - if you don't use a sub-woofer. Which with an 8-inch speaker you probably are going to want to do, especially for larger venues.

I don't know, you wrote a long and very persuasive article on the effectiveness of powered speakers.

http://chucksblog.typepad.com/late_bloo ... .html#more

The "spacestation" (which is kind of a silly name, and it looks like a humidifier) is small and while no doubt great for practice space, is hard to imagine as a principle sound solution for a keyboard rig in a full stage band. We'll see how long it stays on the market.

Gambold wrote:It has no out. That means for larger venues it has to be miked (and who know if one can successfully mike this thing). Or I have to run separate cables from my personal mixer to the PA, as it's only 100 watts with an 8-inch woofer, and that will not be enough with a full rock band in a big room.

The manufacturer admits as much: "Spacestation v3 is the perfect solution for those challenging small live venues like a restaurant or church." That's a deal breaker for me, especially at that price. I'll stick with the QSC powered speakers.

"...it has no out" is not true. The V3 doesn't have to be miked. Here is a sentence from the Aspen Pittman website: http://aspenpittmandesigns.com/cps-spacestation-xl/:

Rear panel stereo outputs allow for (mixed) pass-thru signals @ +4dB via 1/4″ TRS or XLR outputs for Left, Right and L+R that can be used for FOH send, an additional amp or a powered Sub.

Not only does it have an output, it has both stereo outputs and a mixed L/R output.

This was pretty easy to look up....

Wayne

Mr. Gambold seems to enjoy being contentious. But his facts rarely hold up.

Apples and oranges... XL vs V.3. Two different boxes, but both with usable OUTs, for what it's worth. The SS3 is perfect for all my gig needs. Highly recommended by this weekend warrior who spends most of his time emulating acoustic/electric pianos and clone-wheeling through a Ventilator.

I just bought CPS V3. I plugged my Stage 2 EX to SS3 in diffrent ways: directly, thorugh the mixer and through my interface. Every time when i play something (no matter what instrument) the side speaker of the SS3 generates a large amount of distortion (every note from G#4 to A0 is distorted). When I turn down the level of the side speaker the problem almost doesn't occur. Is that normal?