One of the things that tipped the scales in favor of buying a couple PSR-3000s, at least for me, was the wonderful sounds I heard coming from the keyboard. Rgardless of whether I was listening through high-quality headphones, or just the onboard speakers, the sound quality has always been really impressive to my aging ears. Consequently, I purchased a pair of them--gotta' have backups.

It was several months later when I traveled north to visit with the dynamic trio, Donny Pesce (Dnj), Fran Carango and Uncld Dave, all of which I consider highly professional entertainers and musicians. I met up with Fran at a restaurant near Philadelphia where Uncle Dave was performing with his recently acquired Bose PAS system. As I reported earlier in the Synth-Zone, the sounds were awesome, crisp, clear and the volume was equal throughout the three rooms, which in itself was a real plus for the Bose engineering division.

I knew right then and there that I would probably buy the system, but when sticker shock slowed things down a bit. Hey, the system ain't cheap by any means--but damned it sounded sooooo good.

10 days ago, my new Bose PAS arrived, it went together very quickly, just as Dave said it would, and the hookup was quite easy. However, I was not at all impressed by what I was hearing, especially in comparison to the Logitech Z-5500. The Logitech seemed to have more sizzle, great bottom end, and the mid range is perfect for vocals in my voice range.

A couple phone calls to both Uncle Dave and Eddie (Btweengigs) Shoemaker helped me with the tuning. The next step, however, was to get the bose to sound as good as the 3000 did coming through my headphones. This required a phone call to the Bose service department, which was a pleasant experience, then downloading upgrades to both the Operating System and Presets. The files were installed via the digital output of my DVD player--what a difference.

It only took a few more hours of learning how to use and tune everything properly to realize how wonderful this system sounds. It now sounds just like the keyboard, which is what I was hoping to achieve. Additionally, the vocals are clear, clean, crisp and vibrant, much better than any other sound system I've heard or used.

The only negative was the PSR-3000s Live Grand Piano, which had an odd sound. I remembered Scott Yee saying something about that sampling and phase cancellation problems he experienced with the piano, therefore, I selected the GM Grand Piano, and the best description is WOW!

The Bose PAS will go out on it's first job with me on Friday evening, and it's the most difficult venue I play. I'm on one room and the audience is 50 feet away in another room. There is an opening that is approximately 14 feet wide by 10 feet high, and a drop-down ceiling partician. If it does what I sincerely believe it will do at this place, I'll be putting my Barbetta Sona 32-Cs up for sale.

I wish to sincerely thank Uncle Dave and Eddie Shoemaker for their help and advice in making this all possible.

More to come after Friday's job,

Gary

Good luck at the job Gary, I am confident it will be succesful

Hi Gary
I just got mine two weeks ago. Like you,I was hoping that the Bose would at least equal the Z5500 quality.It did and more. I took mine twice to the weekly dance with 20 band members.The PAS cut through clear as a bell at 1/2 volume,wheras the Z5500 could do it if I cranked on it. As you mentioned,the sound I hear is what the customers hear 100 ft away. Lots of compliments.
I bought mine without the sub as I use the Z5500 sub. Great sound.
Bernie

Bernie...

Can you do that? (evidently you can) Have you had the opportunity to compare the sound with each sub?

Congrats to both you and Gary... have fun!

Glenn

Gary ......good luck with the new PAS unit....take some pics for us too!!

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 06-08-2005).]

The higher the sound's quality the higher the player's fun...
Have fun and good luck for your new 'appearance'...

------------------
Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

Glenn
There is a difference of around $200, or $1800.I was going to go to Guitar Center to audition one but,instead I talked to the tech support guys,and bought direct. Bose will give you a 45 day riskfree trial period and will pay freight both ways if you don't think it is right for you. They want you to take it out to your jobs and try it.
As far as the sub is conscerned,my Z5500 sub is big,and the only way I could justify my Bose was to use my sub,which is only two months old.The only thing I know is that they recommend two subs for rock bands.They are powerful,but small and stackable.I wondered myself if I should have gotten one.
I might order one in and see.
Bernie

Gary,

Congrats on purchasing the Bose Pas system. I know that is not a small expenditure. Do you feel the Cost/Benefit analysis of the PAS vs. the Logitech system is worth it? Have you lightened your load with the PAS or have you increased it?

What a great narrative of your experience, thanks for that.

Regards,
Al

At this point in Gary's career he doesn't have to worry about cost analysis ... he's got more money than he could spend in 2 lifetimes!!! ... it's all about his personal enjoyment in pleasing his clients ... and if it SOUNDS great, he FEELS
great ...
As for lightening his load, with his new trim figure he can carry twice his weight and not feel it ... ...

Speaking about your new trim figure, Gary, make sure you don't set up BEHIND the BOSE tower, ... no one willl see you !!!
t.

Al,

The weight of the Bose is not very much more than the Z-5500, and the base weighs about the same as the 5500's sub. The tower separates into two sections and both are fairly light. The sub is very light, mainly because it gets its power from the base.

Tony,

I wish I had all the money people think I have, cause if I did I would be living on that Mega-Yacht and not worrying about cutting the lawn every three days. I'll post some performance photos sometime next week, and I promise not to stand behind the tower.

Gary

Hi Gary

Wondering how many watts these things are. Maybe with this new design watts take on a different meaning?

Scott

There are three 250 watt RMS amps inside the system. The tower is in two segments and each is powered by 250 watts for a total of 500. The sub is powered by a separate 250 watt RMS amp. Peak power is rated at 1,400 watts, which is more than enough for most venues.

Tonight, I played a very difficult location, one where I have used both the Logitechs and Barbettas. The problem I always encountered at this particular location was I play in one room and the audience is in another and the sound most pass through a constrictive opening that has a poor configuration for moving sound into the next room. For the fist time in the two years since I began playing there the there were people dancing and singing with me at the other end of the other room. All the comments from the audience were very positive. I'm still not sure if I like the sound quality as much as the Logitech Z-5500, and I have another job to do next week that may tell me wheter or not I keep the Bose PAS.

Overall, the vocals are superb and I sincerely believe in this category the Bose out performs anything on the market. The quality of the styles comes through fantastic, but there are some instrument sounds with the right hand voices that I'll try tweaking a bit more to see if they can be improved.

Just another fun day in Paradise,

Gary