I was thinking about these as an alternative to BOSE compact.

Check out the Fichman SoloAmp here: http://www.fishman.com/products/solo_performance_systems.asp

The bag amp, which has an optional sub: http://www.bagamp.com/products.html


I was thinking that they might sound better than the BOSE, because they have larger drivers, which would fill in some of the
low-mids, high-lows, which I find are lacking on the BOSE, even on the L1.


Anyone have any opinions?

Some link to discussions about the above speakers: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Fishman/Solo+Amp/10/1 http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137096&highlight=SoloAmp http://69.41.173.82/forums/showthread.php?t=154706 http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=471514 http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/778102955/m/3321087835/p/4

Some more links:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147233
http://www.backtype.com/url/www.bagamp.com
http://69.41.173.82/forums/showthread.php?t=147233

In the case of the Bose, the speaker driver size has little to do with the low end capability, which is provided by way of acoustic resonance in the long tube.

That's all well and good, Mac, but it doesn't explain the noticeable lack of low mids. Bose are anything BUT flat. That's not necessarily a BAD thing, it's those frequencies that are the hardest to dial in just right in a room. Bose takes them pretty much out of the picture.

There's an interesting comment on the Bag Sub page:

Sometimes the frequency range of the BagAmp is not deep enough, and you need stronger bass response. Keyboards, drums, bass guitar, soundtracks, DJ material, backing tracks can all contain demanding low frequency sound that requires a powerful low bass reproduction system.

I would have though that list pretty much covers EVERYTHING, so it basically means you HAVE to get the sub, too! Unless you are an acoustic guitarist that LIKES having no 'thump' or 'knock' when he needs it

I only know a couple performers that use the Fishman Solo Amp system, and both sold them after a week or use. To my aging ears they tended to sound a bit distorted, particularly at moderately high levels, and they lacked the crisp highs and excellent lows provided by the Bose L1 and L1 Compact.

I personally never seem to have a problem dialing in the mid range sounds with the L1 or L1 Compact, but maybe this has something to do with the venue configurations where I perform. With the standard L1 those frequencies were set with both the Remote and the system presets. With the Compact, however, all settings are made at the keyboard, which took a few days to set up, but now that all the EQs have been saved to system memory slots, they can be instantly recalled and locked in place for the entire performance. If changes are warranted during the performance it's just a couple button pushes to select another set of EQs and the problem's solved.

You'll find a lot of this information on the Bose forum.

Good Luck,

Gary

I'll take the Bose Compact every time if used "within it's limitations" & your gear EQ'd properly for the venue there's no comparison sound & flexibility wise in its class IMO...

Competition is good...

Here is an interesting article from the guy who developed the solo amp and the bag amp. If what he claims is true, maybe the bagamp is much better than the soloamp. Has anyone tried the bagamp?
http://www.aboutjack.com/soloamp.shtml

[This message has been edited by Jick Duck (edited 09-28-2009).]

Using stuff between its' limitations is what it's ALL about.

Thing is, I tend to gear up for the MAXIMUM volume I am expected to do cleanly. Seems many people are prepared to get what they need for their AVERAGE volume.

And I am afraid no 200W PA is ever going to cover what I need.

At its' maximum...