My comments on the Stereo verses Mono..
At home ,everyone of us wants stereo.It just sounds right..
On stage , to me ,I feel the same...I want stereo..
If you do not seperate your speakers too far from one another[10-12 feet], you the player will be in sound heaven, and your audience will not suffer from lost of stereo image..It will be just like having a real acoustic band on stage, you will hear every instrument..
When the spacing of the speakers becomes too wide[trying to cover a large room without enough speaker cabinets], then you will lose that natural on stage[real band]sound...you may as well go mono...
When I have a choice it is a no brainer for me...Stereo...You have to please the performer first...without losing the best sound for your audience...Like I said ,Stereo cabinets 10-12 feet apart..

Unfortunately, when I play with the band "Just in Time"..our stages are big and the speakers are 20-25 feet apart,,worse yet ,they are out front,and we only hear our monitors......so we go mono...
When we play the big casinos, all we get is in ear monitors, and they run mono thru out the massive sound systems[$250,000]..
What a treat when I use my solo set up and run stereo,speakers 2-3 feet behind me and 10 feet apart..talk about the "Sweet spot"..

It is easy to see why Donny is spoiled with stereo over mono..
Uncle Dave was spoiled too, I think he just made concessions for the times.....
Well I got to get ready for tonight's mono stage ....

I have to agree with Donny here. I too auditioned the Bose PAS 'live' on more than one gig, and I decided NOT to buy it. If I could afford to dedicate it for my vocals only, I'd probably buy it, but I gotta have the impact of 'full stereo' when utilizing arranger kb combo & big band styles. Though I'm glad to hear that Gary Diamond has been able to make the PAS work with his PSR3000, I'm still not convinced (yet) I'll be able to get it to sound good with my Tyros, as a big part of the problem may have to do with the incompatibility of Yamaha keyboard sounds (which rely on stereo efx), but when mixed to mono, produces efx phase cancellation, and a terribly thin anemic sound. Curious to discover exactly how this is solved via EQ adjustment on the PAS as my PAS EQ adjustment tweaking didn't yield acceptable Tyros piano improvement. - Scott

Scott,

When you tried out the PAS the current OS and presets were not available. Things have changed, particularly the presets, which now have special EQ filters for keyboards.

As for the piano sound, the 3000s grand piano does suffer to some degree from phase cancelation, however, as I posted earlier, that problem was solved by utilizing the GM grand piano, which is not stereo sampled, then adding some effects. The modified GM grand piano sounds great.

As stated by Fran, the wonderful sound of stereo is thoroughly enjoyed by the entertainer, and those individuals who happen to be within the stereo sweet spot--a 90 degree cone of sound directly between the speakers. Those folks outside that cone, particularly those on the extreme right and left, don't benefit from the crossover effect because of the sound dispersion.

I believe, IMHO, the major benefit using the PAS is not only the excellent sound quality provided by the system, but additionally, the equality of sound dispersion throughout the venue. The audience gets to hear what you hear, and everyone hears it at the same volume. The person sitting 10 feet away is not having his or her head blown off, while the person in the back of the room is having trouble hearing the music. Those sitting to the extreme right or left of the system are no longer sitting in a dead zone.

Ironically, the Z-5500 system provides much of the same sound quality, and some of the sound dispersion equality. This may have something to do with the overall number of speakers and their individual frequency response. With the Z-5500 and PSR-3000, the total number of speakers pumping sound into the room is 10, just under half used with the PAS.

One of the other discoveries I made during the initial trial of the PAS is there is a significant difference between using the 3000s L/R-Mono out and firing this into a single channel, V/S using the standard stereo output and firing it into channels #1 and #2. The quality of the sound is improved dramatically, and the overall sounds are much fuller and richer than using the psuedo mono output. Keep in mind that I would prefer stereo as well as the next person. But, IMO, all of the PAS's other attributes far outweigh the sound dispersion of aspects of conventional sound systems.

I agree the PAS is not for everyone, and I imagine that sometime in the near future another sound system manufacturer will likely come out with a stereo version of the PAS that will cost significantly less. This wonderful industry never ceases to amaze me with all of the new, inovative products that it has produced over the past decade. I can vividly recall when the PSR-500 came on the market, and it sold for $600. By today's technological standards, just over a decade later, it's a dinosaur. I believe the same holds true with sound systems. They too will evolve over the new few years, and the transformation will be very dramatic. I just hope I'm around long enough to witness the change.

Cheers,

Gary

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 06-26-2005).]

Well guys, I got my PAS today morning, and have just tested it at home, at VERY low volume. PAS systems have just arrived to Portugal two weeks ago, and I had the opportunity to audition it extensively at the Bose portuguese distributor. I decided buying it a long time ago. This european version comes with Presets 2.0 already installed. After all I read in the forums, I confess I was expecting a worse piano sound. Although a little inferior to what I get from a good stereo PA, to my hears it doesn't loose that much in quality (with a keyboard specific preset).

I have two questions to my PAS-expert friends:
1) I'm connecting both L AND L/R Tyros' outputs to two PAS channels. This seems to be the way I get slightly better quality and definitely more volume (than just connecting the L/R sum in one jack).
2) I'm still not happy about how the vocals sound. I know, I'm impatient, this is just my first day, and this baby has a reasonable learning curve... I tried to fiddle with the general EQ settings and with the mic settings, but still could not find a really good combination. Question: how do you connect the mic? Through the keyboard, as before, or do you plug it directly to the PAS (using a certain PRESET), losing the harmonizer capabilities in the keyboard?

I was expecting a weaker tendency to feedback. It's true that I'm pushing highs a little too far and that doesn't help, but still.. I'm respecting the distances indicated in the manual (7-8 feet). If you have further tips, useful in achieving the best sound the PAS can give us, it to be great to hear from you.

Thanks in advance,

-- José.

Congratulations on getting the Bose PAS.

You are right about a learning curve...but it is not really too steep.

First things first. And this is important:
To get the benefit of the best sound from your Tyros, mic and PAS, it is recommended that you follow a procedure called "Gain Staging". You only have to do the trickiest part once.

There are three gain settings for the primary channels (1 and 2) and two gain settings for the secondary channels (3 and 4).

To set the gain for the primary channels (1 or 2):

1) Adjust the input gain. Set the trim for the individual channel at the back panel of the PS1 Power Stand. Supply a maximum source signal and watch the LED, when you start to see it flash red, back off slowly on the trim potentiometer until it flashes green again.

2) Adjust the channel gain. The channel gain is controlled via the R1 Remote Control. With the master at zero, set the respective channel gain at 12 o'clock or 6 on the R1 Remote Control. At this point, the LED on the remote will be at the same intensity as the LED on the back panel of the PS1 Power Stand. This is considered optimum gain. The musician can then add a bit more from the R1 Remote Control if he/she requires.

3) Lastly, the R1 Remote Control MASTER knob is the last stage of gain. This knob gives you control over all 4 channels of the PS1 Power Stand.

To set the gain for the secondary channels (3 or 4):

1) Adjust the input gain of the individual channel. These channels do not have indicator LEDs but are optimized for 0dB line level signals, such as from an effects device, mixer or CD player.

2) As above, the R1 Remote Control MASTER knob is the last stage of gain. This knob gives you control over all 4 channels of the PS1 Power Stand.

As for using both channels 1 and 2 for the Tyros, it will give you a richer sound and the benefit of using the harmonizer.

As for presets, try 55 or 57 and let me know how you like them.

Eddie

Eddie pretty much hit the nail on the head. The only thing I might add is to carefully tune the EQ's of both the keyboard and the keyboard's mic settings. This is a very important step in achieving the best sound quality for both the keyboard and your vocals as well.

Good luck,

Gary

If you are not happy with your vocals, my first concern would be the mic EQ (as Gary mentioned), secondly what mic you are using and thirdly, how you are using it.

The PAS is about as feedback resistant as any system I have used, but you still have to be careful not to point the mic directly at the L1s. Bose suggests you work VERY close to your mic.

I have been using Shure, EV and Crown mics without a hitch.

Eddie

Eddie, Gary,

Thanks A LOT for your tips concerning the PAS tuning. I already had done the gain procedure, following the manual, and only had tested Preset 50 (suited for electronic keyboard). Eddie, both presets you mentioned make the Tyros sound super, indeed , and better than #50. I prefer #57 (sounds like a sort of loudness-typical equalizer... I wonder how it will sound at high volumes...); #55 has the highest frequencies a little too much boosted for my taste and it inevitably worsens the feedback. I still didn't find enough time to play enough with both mic and general eq settings, but I think I'm on my way to make it sound the way I like it, as I'm getting better and better results. I'll probably test it for the first time in tomorrow's gig and this saturday, in a wedding. I confirm what's been said by most of you, PAS owners: the biggest quality of this PA is the amazing way it disperses the sound. No "empty spots", just quality hi-fi sound everywhere, in a very uniform manner, like no other system I've tried. I'm still a little bit distrustful about feedback (less resistant than I expected), but I have to wait until I try it in a real situation, use equalization with moderation, and extensively try different relative positions of the PAS/Mic. Eddie, I'm using Shure (Beta 58A, Beta 87A) EV (767) and Audio Technica MB 4K microphones.

Scott and Donny: While I still have to try the PAS in real situations, it sounds so good, that, at least for now, I'm not missing my stereo system. I urge you to follow Gary and Eddie's advice and audition it with different presets while tunning the keyboard internal equalizer. It DOES make a huge difference.

Thanks again for your advice, guys. I'll report back my impressions next week.

-- José.

Jose',

Be careful with the higher volume levels. Keep in mind that the audience will hear the same volume that you hear, and if you really crank it up, you'll be blowing them out of their seats.

As for the feedback, some minor adjustments on the mic's EQ settings should take care of that.

Good luck on your gig, and I'm confident you'll get lots of great responses from your audiences.

Gary