I know many of you swear by stereo, and I admit, there are aspects of the separation that I too, enjoy. There is, however a real issue with line array setups, like the Bose, Eon1, Maui etc when frequencies cross in the center. I've always enjoyed my vocal harmonies separated, but there is little else that I "need" to hear in stereo. I've tried many times to make the stereo deal work for me, and quite simply ... it doesn't work in my rooms. One tower sounded better than two almost always. Example:
I work a noisy, crowded shore resort that has all the acoustic properties of an airplane hanger. Great job, but horrible acoustics. I've used literally dozens of combinations in there, and nothing covers as well as a single Bose tower.
I DID, however have a revelation last week that improved my sound ALOT.
I found the sweet spot for my Compact tower, and placed the second Bose base unit only (no tweeters connected) in a corner of the stage. I fed the bass unit from the headphone jack in my teeny tiny mixer. This gave me the option to add or remove bass from the total mix without altering the general volume. It really filled up the sound at lower volumes, and added the extra ooomph for dance tunes later in the night. The Bose sub unit is just the right compliment to my PA900 speakers at very low volume, and adds even more when the full tower is engaged.
So, I now run only one upright column, but a dual mono bass. It's soooooooo good.

Good luck...

Dave, can't argue with that. It's what vertical array system's do best. Provide good, clean crisp music to our audiences with excellent, undistorted bass. And, in all the years I performed, I never had a single complaint about not having stereo. No one really cared.

Gary

Stereo (And multi-channel) is designed to allow listeners who cannot be at the venue to experience it in their home, and for this you need at least stereo. (Hence Arrangers promote stereo as they are designed primarily for home use) Pro keyboards don’t prioritise stereo, but instead talk about channels needed to achieve a particular result

Trying to create a live feel in a live environment is pointless, as it’s already live.

Bill

Actually a very important part of the stereo spectrum is to create room for every sound in an orchestra.... if you for example have 2 sounds in the same frequency band, you can move them in the stereo spectrum to allow people to differtiate and hear both instruments....

You need to ask yourself if this is a requirement in a live and crowded setting for your music to sound better... or if you want to make the whole musical performance come from one corner of the room, allowing the people more room to talk to eachother..

Wait, hold the conversation for a minute. I want to go make some pop corn😉

Dave,
that has been my experience too! I simply had no reason to lug around 2 Bose systems and have been using only one for nearly 5 years. One thing is for sure - NONE of my audiences noticed when I made the change.

Deane

I like to hear my sound in stereo. When I set up between the left and right speakers, it's almost like I'm in a studio. You get the effects as they were designed to be heard.
Besides, I always have a backup in place. Earlier this year, I had a speaker fail to work and I was so glad I had the other one. I still got paid! No, the audience didn't notice, but I certainly did.
My jobs tend to be 3 to 4 hours, and a lot of the time I can leave my equipment set up from night to night.
If I were doing short one hour nursing homes, I might leave one speaker in the truck.

It's not a lazy move ... I bring the both units anyway, it's just that in the rooms I play, with the noise level and the acoustical properties, the stereo creates more issues than glory. There is a definite lack of detail due to overlapping frequencies. The simple fact is ... the Bose works TOO well by itself to just set up another one and expect it to be better. If the room allowed alternate placement, and the natural reverberation was different ... maybe it'd work, but for this stage, with this gear,, amplifying this entertainer ... stereo is too much of a good thing. More conventional speakers may handle this better, but I stand by my statements. I can fill any room I play more efficiently, and with a more detailed sound when I use the config I described.
When I use my QSC's ... I go the L&R pan route, but not with my go to system.
'sall guuuuud.

STEREO always all the way for me, .....but enjoy whatever works for you ...

All concerts, from rock to classical, from folk to Hip-hop, are done in MONO. In most venues, unless you're sitting in the 'sweet spot', Mono provides a better listening experience than stereo. The only one Stereo benefits is YOU, if you're a solo player. Stereo works best in home audio systems, studios, etc. Think about it; people sitting on opposite sides of the room are going to hear two different performances. Check out the best clubs on the planet and you'll find that their in-house system is mono. Having worked most of my on-stage life with a single leslie, a (mono) guitar amp (used by the guitar player), un-amped drums, and a PA system either in mono or stereo panned center, for the vocalist or horn player, all I can say is, it worked for us. Even monitor feeds for individual players will be a mono feed.

Never used one but seems to me the 'total immersion' effect of something like a multi-directional line array system would work best in most situations (and two of them would just be more of the same - just louder....and possibly muddier). Of course, there isn't a music forum on the planet where this (stereo vs mono) isn't debated ad nauseum, so why should SZ be any different. BTW, after thousands of hours of debate, no solid conclusion has yet been reached .

chas

Chas it's simple just close your eyes and use your ears.....
that's why god gave us TWO EARS for Stereo of course!!

.....just sayin..

Donny, I think I MAY have heard that argument before.....didn't make sense then, doesn't make sense now. He should have given us two BRAINS instead.

chas

Chas my ears never failed me yet...
just satin...

Well, SOMEthing is failing you....I mean, "just SATIN" .

chas

Bob, aged 92, and Mary, aged 89, were excited about their decision to get married.
While out for a stroll to discuss the wedding, they passed a drug store. Bob suggested they go in.

Bob asked to speak to the pharmacist. He explained they’re about to get married, and asked,

"Do you sell heart medication?"
"Of course we do," the pharmacist replied.
"Medicine for rheumatism?"
"Definitely," he said.
"How about Viagra?"
"Of course."
"Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, jaundice?"
"Yes, the works."
"What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antacids?"
"Absolutely."
"Do you sell wheelchairs and walkers?"
"All speeds and sizes."
"Good," Bob said to the pharmacist.
"We’d like to register for our wedding gifts here, please."

Yep, it's catching up to us all.

chas

I can still see my setup --- I’m sitting on a stool behind my Kn7000. On each side of me was a Eon 8” self-powered speakers on stands at half-mast. For bigger venues I ass a subwoofer. It was beautiful.

I went early to a job --- I played a sequence on the Kn7000 – No one had entered the room yet. I took my two ears to a table on my right side; then on my left side. What I heard was not the same. From that point on all the channels on my mixer and panned them to the left. That was the end of stereo for me.

I must admit siting behind the keyboard with the two speakers one each side was the best sound I ever had. Then came Bose. (smile)

John C.

PS, Chas said: “Yep, it's catching up to us all”. Nope not yet; it’s coming but NET YET

I was in an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia with Fran and Uncle Dave was on stage. The place was huge, had 3 separate rooms, Dave was in the middle room with the Bose L1 PAS. The sound was awesome in every room. I ordered one the following morning.

Gary

"NET YET"? Uh, I rest my case .

chas

Not me!

Gary

Hey John.... the D and S on your keyboard are pretty close together, huh?

Eddie

I am trying to understand your last statement. When one plays an arranger, "recorded" multi instruments are playing.
That itself (various instruments playing different parts)is not "live," correct? When I play a solo instrument either digital or acoustic, it doesn't really benefit from stereo, but when a lot of instruments are being played from an arranger or from an audio file, stereo does open up the acoustic space though it creates the"sweet spot" issue.

Hi Torch

When you listen to a live group, band etc. you don’t need stereo, just a channel for each performer, as everything is already spread out in front of you.
In the home you do not have space for live performers; therefore you use a stereo or multichannel system to emulate the live effect.
If you are a solo performer, then all anybody will see is a solo performer, and no matter what effects/sounds you use will not change this, hence the keyboard is of secondary importance, as the crowd are interested in the player. (Thus trying to replicate a live band in a live environment with a solo performer is pointless, except for your own personal enjoyment)

Hope this clears up the confusion

Bill

Ps, Chas said: “Yep, it's catching up to us all”. Nope not yet; it’s coming but NET YET

Chas what I am saying is that I do not allow myself to be in the middle of a negative which I have little control over. That is unless I am out to destroy my day.

John C.

John, just having a little fun with you. I think you meant "NOT yet", not "NET Yet". No personal attack intended. Have a good day.

chas

I think one thing some may be missing is that when we play the type of music WE like, our enthusiasm carries over to the audience, and they are more inclined to like it too. To a point of course.
When I was doing nursing homes, I billed it as "Country Music and Old Time Rock 'n Roll". So they knew what to expect. Of course I would try to do anything they requested as well, but that was the theme, and it always went over well.
The inmates, I mean residents, are generally pleased to hear any type music done well, and probably welcome variety in what they get. Many senior care facilities are only interested in getting whatever they can really cheap or free! I find, around here of course, that the bulk of it is Gospel music that well-meaning groups do for free.

Don is absolutely correct in that VARIETY is one of the prime, key ingredients to putting on a successful show. It really makes no difference where that show is, a smoke filled bar, nite club, upscale restaurant, retirement community, assisted living center or nursing home. The individuals at each location all want the same thing - they want to be entertained!

Case in point. Four years ago, when I cruised down the Intra-Coastal Waterway to the Florida Keys, I ran into a problem in Myrtle Beach, SC - Hurricane Sandy. Yep, that gal came right up the coast, and thousands of us southbound cruisers had to find adequate shelter and find it quickly. Marinas, at least most of those that were well sheltered, quickly were filled to overflow capacity. I was fortunate in finding one that had a single slip remaining that my boat would fit in. I took it and gladly would have paid any fee they charged. This is where I met Roger and Sandy, fellow cruisers headed to the same place I was. Roger was very forthwith, talked with the marina manager and told him that he knew one of the best musical entertainers in the business and that he was pretty sure that he could get that person to perform at the marina restaurant that evening for a modest fee of $150.

The marina manager told Roger that he already had a blues group booked for the evening, but would ask them if they would mind if I performed while they took a break. The blues group agreed. I wheeled my gear from the boat down the dock to the restaurant, which was on the second floor overlooking the ICW and there was no elevator. Consequently, I had to haul that gear, with Roger's assistance, up a high flight of stairs to the outdoor deck where the stage is set up.

The blues group, a duo, consisted of a guitar player and a harmonica player that also sang. Every song pretty much sounded the same, and while they started with about 15 couples on the deck for dinner and music, after about 30 minutes, they were down to 6 couples at most. After 40 minutes, the singer announced that they were taking a break, and a damned Yankee from Maryland would provide music while they were on a break. Well, I fired up, did my usual routine, and by the time I got to my third song, the deck was packed to capacity. I had about 50 people on the deck, they were dancing, drinking and ordering meals. The manager told the blues duo to take an extended break, which turned into nearly 2 hours before they came back. They thanked me, I packed up my gear and unloaded my tip pitcher and Roger helped my get my gear back to the boat. I returned to the deck to get a Margaretta with Roger and the deck was nearly empty.

The following day, the restaurant owner/manager, Rose, came to my boat and thanked me for last night, and then hit me with a real shocker. She said they would provide me with free slip rent and dinner each night I performed if I would spend the entire winter there. Winter in South Carolina's top resort city would have been nice, but it still gets too cold there for this old man. She said the crowd really enjoyed what I did, especially because I provided more variety than anyone that had ever performed there in the past 5 years.

I can say with a fair degree of confidence that Don Mason, Eddie Shoemaker, Donny Pesce, Uncle Dave, Fran Carango, and several other forum members provide a wide range of variety in their performances. And, I am equally confident that they interact with their audiences more than the vast majority of performers, which also makes a huge difference.

Sorry for the rant on this subject, and I didn't intentionally mean to hijack the thread,

Gary

Gary Whew!!!
I had to get a second cup of coffee while reading this great post and thanx for the kudos...
and you are absolutely correct in what your saying for sure....
a Renaissance man you will always remain!!

Carry On!

Here's a photo of my friends Roger and his girlfriend, Sandy from a few weeks ago when we met at a nearby marina for supper. On that particular evening, the band there was a reggae group, 3 piece, lady singer, and once again, every song sounded the same. No one in the place was listening 15 minutes after they began playing. Before we left, Roger said to me "I bet I could have you performing here by tomorrow night - wanna bet?" Obviously, I turned down the offer.



Gary