Enter the Bose L1 Compact. Lots of folks have sung their praises for smaller, acoustic-style gigs. Which I've started to do. They were right.
So I kept my eyes open, and found one locally for short money ($500). Actually, my wife found it. She said "aren't you looking for one of these?". Two hours later, it was mine.
I've now done a few acoustic gigs with this unit, and it's gonna be part of the expanded arsenal going forward.
Insanely light and super easy to set up. Lots of plastic all around, who cares? Feels like a big plastic toy, although certainly sturdy and well designed. Looks super cool and sleekly modern on stage though.
Mono, baby. Suck it up. Time to get over the stereo thing. I run myself and two awesome vocalists through it for club-style gigs.
What I really like is the upper driver line array part and the sound it projects. Everyone in the room likes the sound, and we never get that loud. A great wallpaper system. The audience gets engaged if they want to.
After a few drinks, they're all in
The bass unit brings some thump (too much in some cases, see below), but not a wuss given the context.
I had to create a bunch of programs on my NP4 that were all mono. EQ is a bitch, as many of the EPs sound BOOMY on the low end thanks to the artificial 100 Hz peak on the Bose. I still haven't tamed the beast yet. The important bits (crystal highs, solid mids), are awesome though. Not a big deal with the audience, though.
If I didn't like it, plenty of other options in the arsenal (e.g. CPS V.3, QSC K8.2, RCF TT08-a, etc.) Just for the record, I had a full-on Bose L1 Model II with dual subs a few years back, which I tried to play with live electric bands. I loved the way it sounded, but it didn't work (too fiddly, not loud enough, mono, etc.) so I sold it.
This more modest Bose L1 Compact is much more on target for small acoustic gigs. Yeah, it doesn't get as loud, but not an issue. I'd never use it with a live electric band.
The other two singing musos think I've brought manna from heaven with this unit. We set it up behind us, no need for monitors, no feedback ever. It works in the most cramped spaces.
It loads in with one trip along with my other gear. If you can't carry it, you've got other issues.
If you're playing postage-stamp acoustic gigs, this one is certainly worth checking out. Five star rating from yours truly, except for that super annoying bass peak in the sub. I'll figure out how to tame it before long.
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