I have not posted for ages, but would appreciate a little help now. I have just bought a Bose L1 Compact to use with my KN6500 I realise I may not be satisfied with the Bose EQ settings and reverb ? and wondered if the EQ setting and reverb on the keyboard would be sufficient. I am to try it out in a small hall, with about 150 people seated around the sides of the hall.I did get a recommendation from Gary a year or so ago to get the Bose and I know he really likes his. I am tired of lugging heavy mixers and speakers around, so I hope this will work. The keyboard will work as my foldback, I like to have it playing while I am performing. Any advice would be very welcome. Cheers. Jean Olivia.

I have used the Bose compact, as well as the L1, in similar type halls for several years with my KN7000 and my other keyboards. Eventhough I have it running through my Bose T1 mixer, I have not had to adjust the settings. However, since the acoustics vary from room to room, the keyboard EQ should be sufficient to make any needed changes.

I think you will like the Bose. I know I do and received many compliments.

Bernie

Thanks for answering, Bernie. You mention that you also put your sound through a Bose T1 mixer. What is that and why is it added? I would just like to use the keyboard and the Bose to keep equipment to the minimum, and am hoping that is enough. I am waiting on the delivery - I should get it tomorrow. There did not seem to be any reverb setting on the Bose and am wondering if the rverb on the keyboard ,such as Large Hall or Concert 2 would give the effect. Any suggestions as to the settings on the Keyboard equaliser would be helpful. I won the sweep on the Melbourne Cup - I have to tell someone Cheers. Jean.

I run my singers voices through my KN7000 just to a floor monitor sometimes and find that with Mic Reverb on the keyboard set to ON and the type set to 'Room' that provides more than enough reverb/echo without sounding overdone.
I've never used the equaliser on my keyboard and wouldn't know what it was for...
Rog
www.tributeartistes.com

Additionally this is a quote from another forum which may be of interest:
'There are many who subscribe to BOSE's claim that you don't really need reverb with their system. I believe that vocals are fine without additional 'verb but I always liked a touch of delay. The BOSE Compact allows the "line" in for a mixer and that would solve the problem.'

Jean Olivia

Congratulations on the sweep.

You will fine the Bose is quite neutral and will pass along your keyboard settings quite faithfully. Like Roger, I have never touched the EQ in ten years, except for the MIC reverb.

I plug my cable to the Bose, set the volume to 12:00 and forget it. All volume adjustments come from the keyboard. I wouldn't be conscerned about your settings. It would have to be an unusual circumstance for the reverb or equalisation to be far off. I might add that when I am in my studio, I don't change the EQ, so even if I would like concert effect in a small room, I don't bother to change it because the normal larger room reverb fit in well.

But that is me and you may want to do it differently. I suggest you go around the room you are playing in to hear for yourself. I will say you do not need to pump up the volume near field to compensate for volume drop off because there is only about 10% in a hundred feet. What you hear is what they hear- a clean pristine sound.

Try it first and report back.

Cheers
Bernie

Years back one of our members said that he would not use his Kn7000 without a mixer between the keyboard and amplifier. I did not totally agree; my reason – I had tone controls on the Amplifier and a global EQ.
Keeping mind as Bernie said, the keyboard can sound differently in each room. If fact I have had to adjust the sound in the middle of a job because the room is colder when people first arrive, after a while the room changes due to the body heat and whatever.

1-A cold room needs more bottom and less reverb.
2-A warmer room needs less bottom and more reverb.

For some this is being too critical, I am one of those who feels it a bit much but when the change becomes obvious (noticeable) Then I will make a change.

I did not want to spend $995.00 for a Bose compact and then have to add Bose T1 mixer for additional $499.00. A moderate mixer will do the job almost as well. Changing the sound of a Kn7000 requires too many moves as opposed to turning a dial on a mixer. The Bose compact has no sound control for the instrument and no effects other than Bass and treble for the vocal. I like to use some reverb for my voice and if possible some harmony.

Important: When you change the EQ (internally) for the Kn7000 it will affect your vocal sound so you are left with a compromise. With a mixer you have full tone control for everything; and you have separated the vocal controls from the instrument controls giving you far more control for your performance.

I have seen mixers for under $125; they are small and can be placed on the keyboard or attached to the keyboard. They control 2 to 4 imputes with tone controls. I am going to take one out of Guitar Center; I’ll post the results.

John C.

Very interesting replies from all. Many thanks. Sounds as though I will need to do a bit of experimenting. I have a GigRac 300 which I have previously used with a JRX speaker( far too heavy) I always set the EQ to FLAT onthe keyboard and set the Gigrac to get the right sound. I do very little singing now myself, just a bit of harmony occassionally, but would sometimes have a vocalist working with me. The new Bose should arrive tonight. Interesting that the price in your country is about $1000 dollars and in Australia $1700.- not that much difference in the exchange rate. Cheers Jean

My Bose L1 Compact has arrived. Took 9 days to deliver. I have it all up and plugged in ready to go.Ive decided to keep it simple and only take the Bose Compact and the KN6500 - I also have a PSRS910, but will try out the KN first as I have a lot of sequencing done.
Gary- You said "gain staging" was most important, but I don't know what that means. Could you give a few more details please?
Hammer- you said in one post of the hundreds I read that you take the 2 leads from the keyboard and put them through a Y Adaptor. Could you elaborate on this please?
Well, I'm ready to turn it on. Maybe I should warn the neighbours. Cheers. Jean Olivia.

I wouldn't worry about gain staging or the Y cable on your setup.

Gain staging is important on the bigger L1 Bose. I means that you adjust the signal level of the output before it reaches the main volume control. As long as your KN volume is up, you are alright.

The Y adaptor is used by some to combine the left and right to mono, which the Bose is. In my experience with the KN7000, the Mono jack is all that's needed for full fidelity.

Bernie

Bernie-Thanks for the explanation. I have set up using the two cables to connect from the 6500 to the Compact. I have not tried the mike yet as I have to buy the right cable. I only had a quick playaround last night, but I cant get a good piano sound. They all sound "tinney" Have you any suggestions. Would appreciate any advice as I hope to use all my settings in a gig coming up in the next few weeks.Time was limited yesterday as we had a terrific storm here, but my roof is still on. Cheers. Jean.

Try one cable from Mono output from kb to 1/4 inch jack on right side of Bose. Make sure the switch is down and not on guitar. The sound should more or less duplicate your kb sound.

It certainly should not sound tinny.

Bernie

Bernie - I will try that out -I think that is what Gary suggested in a post I read. I got the right cable for the mike today, also a special music stand that will move the music closer to me, and also hold a light. There should be no stopping me now.Thank you for your helpful replies.I am so glad that I have the forum to refer to. Cheers. Jean Olivia.