What I have learned about my Bose compact amplifier and my keyboard:

The high tones are great; the lows are very strong; and the mid’s are fair. With a bit of tweaking the mids become acceptable. The instrument channel has a volume control, no tones controls. The second channel is for a microphone, that has volume, bass and treble controls. Over all it is a fine almost distortion free sound.
My problem.

The Kn7000 and Bose Compact are a good match. The clarity is outstanding. The Korg Pa800 has a good sound through it’s own speakers but through the Bose it falls short in clarity, it is not as alive.

My questions: If you have or had a Kn7000 and a Bose amplifier and have added another keyboard to your Bose what are you hearing? Have you lost anything? If you have, what have you done to improve the sound?

Thanks, John C.

John, use the on-board EQ to setup a mix for when you use the Bose with the Korg. The speakers in the keyboard sound very different than the Bose speakers, so make the adjustment while you listen to the Compact and the Korg at the same time. I think you'll find a very happy balance!

John,

In my case I dead-plug the keyboard's onboard speakers and only use the Bose L1 Compact's speakers. This allows me to hear exactly what the audience hears, which I consider the most important aspect of any sound system.

When I first purchased the L1 Compact, I created four GM midi files on my keyboard using diverse styles and right-hand voices. The midi files were then played through the system while I walked throughout a relatively large, carpeted room and listened to each of the files. I spent nearly an hour adjusting the keyboard's EQs and compression until I found the ultimate sound. Once that was done I saved those settings, then moved the system to another location within the same room to see if changes were needed. Everything sounded the same. Then I repeated the process while the system was set up on my lawn. I made some minor changes, then saved those settings as well and labeled them Outdoor.

Over the years I've found that most, but not all, indoor venues tend to require the same EQ and compression settings I selected. When changes are needed, you can make them on the fly, then if you wish, save those settings to be recalled at a later date.

For outdoor venues the settings, at least in my experience, tend to vary more between venues. In most instances, the bass and mids seemed to require more emphasis, but the highs were still vibrant. In all instances the Bose L1 Compact's clarity and quality is unsurpassed.

Good Luck,

Gary

Gary, Dave, thanks.

Gary, you are the man of patients and it does show in what you do. I am going to record and then go Listen; I always did that when I had my live band. I would ask someone to play my guitar and walked the area and listen. So why not with keyboard. AAAAh, Age? -- Maybe.

Dave, I have both eyes on you, it’s like watching a runaway train; you are alive. Going form a Pa800 to a S910 with an eye to the near future for a possible Pa3x or a TyrXXXX I forgot how to spell it. I am not making a choice until you land.

Much appreciated, thanks, John C.

Hello Gary.... My name is Ron and I follow the synth zone and respect your views very much..... You use the zone the way it is suppose to be used... For helping each other and not all the other crap that I sometimes see... My question to you is how do you like the L1 for piano sound and vocals.... I just bought a T4 and I am looking for the best overall sound... I use mainly piano/strings when I sing or sometimes acoustic guitar sounds.... The T4 is a great keyboard but so far I am struggling with my piano sound and voice .... I actually liked my PSR S900 better so far, but I have a lot to learn.... I was using JBL's Eon G2's along with a BBE sonic maximizer and a studio channel strip..... It sounded great.... But now not so great... What do you think.....thanks Ron

Ron...I have a Tyros4...I don't recommend using one Bose L1 with it...the T4's stereo (especially piano) doesn't collapse well to mono.

It's up to you, but I have tried two Bose L1's and they sound great, but they are very expensive.

I do clinics/demos for Yamaha Canada and they insist on me using a stereo system with the Tyros4.

If it was me, I'd go with a stereo system...two powered cabinets would be best...the Bose L1 is mono, and not suitable, in my opinion.

You've been warned.

Ian

PS...here's some info on Bose Forum:

http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8766055944/m/3056033565/p/1

Ditto +1

That said, here's what Steve Deming (Yamaha USA) recommends if you really want to play the Yamaha Tyros thru a single Bose L1 PAS.
This was posted by him here on the official Yamaha USA Arranger Workstation Website:

Hi Ron

I will be testing out some Bose speakers along with others shortly. I will go in with an open mind, but my guess is I won't like the Bose in mono. Especially the piano. I hope I'm proven wrong. I certainly didn't buy the T4 with that great Concert Grand voice to use some other tweaked piano voice that's kind of ok.

I think the EQ and compressor settings are quite personal depending what sound the player likes, what kind of speaker system is being used, the type of music being played and the acoustics of each room.

I use JBL Eon G2's. At first I didn't like the sound as compared to my T2 at loud volume. I did discover the same EQ settings on the T2 and T4 with no compression are identical in sound using the same style and ots. I've come to the conclusion that the sound is just different the way the styles and ots are set. There is some getting used to. I asked for suggestions on several forums. I tried them all. Everything from go flat, to just raise the bass to start at flat and just lower volumes and I'll get less noise, no compression, etc. I appreciate all the responses very much, but what I have ended up with currently is my former EQ that I've used probably since the T1.

My EQ settings are, first set it to flat, then
EQ1 +5
EQ2 +4
EQ3 +2
EQ4 +6
EQ5 +10

I tested these setting with all the EQ preset types, flat, TRS-MS04, SP Stage, etc. These will make a big difference. I found that starting from the Flat type setting is by far the best for me.

The compressor has different controls than the T2, I am currently using the following settings:

I used the Basic type as my starting point, then Threshold Offset -13, Ratio Offset +3 and Gain Offset +3.

This is giving me a pretty good sound. I'm at least in the ballpark with what I'm looking for. I will probably continue to test out other compression but may end up leaving it as it is.

I wish Yamaha had more info and explanation for this.

As it is for the compressor, I used some tips that came from Steve Demming of Yamaha US as follows.

These come from the psrtutorial faq page:

F.89. How to select Tyros 3 compressor settings.
The T3 gives you a choice of compressor types, e.g. Basic, TRS, Live , etc. Each of these choices sets some parameters internally. The controls allow you to modify the Threshold, Ratio and Gain over a +- range from the undisclosed settings that are built in.



1. You must be sure to turn the CMP switch "on" using button G.

2. Set you Master Volume to a comfortable listening level, select any style you like, and then start it playing.

3. After that, you must then go in to the controls on the bottom of the screen.

4. Start with the "Threshold Offset" control and try -10 first. You should then begin to see the top meter called "Gain Reduction" beginning to show a little green bar appearing at the right of the meter screen. If you do not see the little green bar appearing, there is no compressor effect and you should then try Threshold Offset -20.

5. If the green meter bar is appearing on the left, then adjust Ratio Offset to +3 or +4 , whatever it takes for the softest sounds of the style to become more pronounced, louder and easier to hear. Once you achieve than, go to step 6.

6. Use the Gain Offset control and turn it up or down to assure the overall volume of the keyboard is maintained at that comfortable listening level you selected in step 2. The keyboard should not sound a lot louder. Of course, if you dial up the Gain Offset, this functions as another volume control, making the whole thing sound louder.

Steve Demming


If I come up with anything better I will post it and I'm hoping you and others will do the same.

Scott

Scott

That's some pretty interesting ideas of Steve's on the Bose situation.

Scott L,

Those EQ settings are basically the same as those I use with the PSR-3000--they work great using the L1 Standard, L1 Compact and a pair of Barbetta Sona 32SCs. The major difference is the Bose beats the Barbettas by a country mile when it comes to clarity and the ability to hear individual instruments.

Additionally, I performed a nite-club job this evening and I only used the Octave Piano on one song, didn't use the grand piano at all, used lots of guitar voices, growl sax, plus some custom voices I made for the sweet tenor sax. The entire job was performed with a PSR-3000 and a single Bose L1 compact. The dancefloor was packed to the limit, and everyone raved about the music.

As for Steve Demmings advice, not EVERYTHING Steve posts can be applied in the real world. After reading that post, which was quite some time ago, I tried it out--it didn't change a thing from an audience standpoint. Kinda' like the ongoing argument of mono V/S stereo that has been taking place on this forum since the first day I visited, which seem like about the same time that John Paul Jones joined the U.S. Navy.

Good luck on whatever you decide upon,

Gary