I've been eyeing the Bose PAS L1 for quite some time. Based on the number of gigs I play I could not justify spending $2000 plus on a Bose system.

Rewind to 4 weeks ago I was speaking with a coworker. Short story is I was able to buy a brand new PAS L1 at a very substantial discount. You remember the sentence from the movie? "Make him an offer he can't refuse." Yup, I couldn't refuse this investment under any circumstances like it or not. BTW, this is not a system that fell off the Bose truck. Everything about it was legit including the 45 day trial.

I spoke to a number of SZ members who own them via telephone, ahem, Gary and Frank thank you for your input and your advice on settings. For my purposes this system is for me. I don't play hip hop or high energy music where I want the sound to rumble my listener's body. I love the clarity of the the Bose.

To date I've played 6 gigs with the system including a dinner dance for 150 people(VFW hall), an outdoor court yard gig, a family open house for 125 in an atrium of a converted mansion and in for audience of 30 in the lobby of an assisted living center. The comment I've heard most is even though I was sitting toward the front of the room, I wasn't blasted out of my seat.

I'm keeping it!!


[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 09-26-2008).]

ITs worth spending $3000 on. We have never been sorry, and they are going for $500-$600 less than new on Ebay and everyone of them sells. So we really don't have a big investment there Maybe $700 at most for the L1 Mod w/Tone Match and worth every penny.

In fact I liked it so much I go the store I work for to carry them and we are selling them.

Bose has a no discount policy in their dealer agreement but what they don't know know won't hurt the dealer. LOL We adhere by the rules though because we sell too many to risk that.

Another system that is very very nice if one wants a smaller system is the Yamaha PAS300 ($549) or PAS500. These systems are stereo and very compact. For small gigs they are fantastic.

I have two of them. Love 'em.
Stand by for non-owners to tell you why it's no good.
DonM

Don...I owned the PAS and Enjoyed the Sound in most of my venues.....what I disliked more was "ALL THE PIECES" required to carry & set up and put covers on gig after gig every night & day....I'm now more comfortable with One or Two Powered 15" speakers which leaves me more versatility. But for the people that have & enjoy the Bose system all the best to you.




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Donny

I was among the first on the Zone to go with the L1 (Uncle Dave was the first), and after just one week of using the system I sold all my other sound systems but the Logitech Z-5500, which I saved for a backup. Just did some horse trading for a Barbetta Sona 32CS, which will not be used for backup, so I'll probably send my Z-5500 to my son. For ME, the L1 is everything I'll ever need for any size audience at any venue.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary, the L1 and the Sona 32 are my 2 sound systems. Try running them together once... you'll love what you hear.

Glenn

Glenn...
I'm with you. Except, in my case, I got a Roland KC 350 (120 watts) for my smaller jobs. Just for fun I hooked up both the Bose and Roland one night...and loved it.

The Bose by itself is exceptional, and all that is really necessary on the majority of my jobs. Adding the Roland to the mix gave the total sound more of that "in-your-face" bass that some want.

Eddie

Hmmm, guess I should keep my Barbetta 31c.

Thanks for the tip Glenn, I'll give it a try on the next big job.

Gary

Congrats On the E60... have you tried the BALANCE knob?
It will let you adjust in real time the bal between the style vs the rt hand voice.
If you have questions just ask away. Maybe make a separate E60 Title post also so this doesn't get lost.

Good Luck

More standbys -

I didn't care for the L1. It sounded tinny and very harsh. I also, like Donny, hated the multiple pieces. Give me a stereo setup (Mackies) anytime. But it depends on the keyboard, the player, the type songs and the separation you want in the instruments, via stereo.

A young guy came up to me at a gig last Sunday (yesterday Oz time) at a club that is very conservative in it's tastes music wise.

I thought, "oh no, this alternate looking dude is going to blast me for playing Brown Eyed Girl etc".

Turns out he was a part time DJ (and full time Teacher) who was drop dead amazed at the sound that was coming out of my Model 2 L1 (2 Bass Modules and a Tonematch) - he asked where you can buy it, how much was it yada yada. He is a mobile DJ who plays weddings, High School Dances and the rest.

He just bought a Roland Board (that new Juno re-issue (?) circa 2006) and was seriously considering adding samples and full dance mixes to his DJ set.

He was a nice guy, and I got him a job at that same gig when another audience member approached us for a Party Boat scenario (we were booked - so I passed it on to him).

He said goodbye after a couple of sets with a big smile (for the Job) and shaking his head (at the Bose) and the last thing he literally said to me was basically how if he sold his current rig (including some giant JBL 18" sub and two top speakers) he could afford the Bose....

I wish him well.

Zuki....I've been using Tapco Thump 15A speakers (mackie) lately & they really exceeded my expectations on stage......great speakers, great price....
http://www.tapcoworld.com/products/index.html#speakers

I have a long-time friend who is a fine country guitar player/singer. When I have a job that requires some country, I hire him (If he's not available I just don't do the job). We alternate sets, with me playing bass behind him and him singing several songs during my sets. He insists on bringing his Bose and won't use anything else. I have tried his system, even to the point of using his settings, which sound fine for him, and an acoustic guitar.

I don't like it at all, and he does not like and won't use whatever I'm using (usually, a Carvin or Yamaha head and appropriate speakers).

Just goes to show that not everyone likes everything. I've given the Bose several chances, with the help of a die-hard endorser.

It's just not for me.


Russ

Different strokes for different folks. That's what makes the world go round.

Gary

I've been using the Bose L1 with one B1 and sometimes with two B1's, depending on the space needed to fill, since Dec., 2003. I started with the Classic and moved on to the Model 1 since. I will say that it was worth the investment just for the Bose support. I had a couple of problems, and a tech did trouble shooting sessions over the phone with me. In the cases that I was unable to remedy the problems with the tech's help, I had a new system before my next gig - even though the warranty had run out. I just can’t say enough about the Bose support.
In addition, I use the Barbetta SE32 for one of my restaurant gigs because of the layout of the restaurant. The 32 has very little side diffusion and since I have a long narrow shot, it works nicely. I use the Barbetta Sona 31 for another little restaurant. I have on occasion chained the 32 and 31 but never with the Bose. Sounds interesting, but I was reluctant to try it because I thought that the Bose out was too ‘hot’ for a direct line into the Barbettas.
Glenn, are you just hooking up direct with no problems?
Ciao,
Jerry