Bose L1 Compact

We play in a duo (fiddle/accordion/keyboards/guitar) and bought this for use at small gigs like small private parties and restaurants. The Bose L1 Compact has exceeded our expectations!

We hesitated before buying this because of the price. We expected the sound to be good and clear but after looking at the specs thought that the base would be a bit unwieldy and that 11.2 kg would be too heavy for me (small female) to pick up at once. We also expected that the no feedback claim would not work for a fiddle played through a mike. We were wrong on all three counts.

Sound - The first thing you notice of course is the sound. It is not just good, it is amazing! You can hear every note and the quality of the sound is a thrill. It makes you want to keep on playing and never stop.

Portability - The 11.2 kg base is so well designed with its well made handle on top, that I can pick it up with ease. All those videos where people amble in carrying the base in one hand, guitar in the other and extensions bag over one shoulder are true. The slip case for the base is another design triumph - you do just literally slip it on and off.

Setup time - is practically nothing. The extensions are quick and easy to slide in. It's plug in and go because the sound is excellent straight away.

Although it is possible to use the system as either collapsed (just the base) or with either one or two extensions to make the speakers higher, we found that we preferred the system with both extensions even in our rehearsal room which is not huge.

Feedback - I don't know how they've done it, but it's true. There is no feedback even when using a violin through a mike (Shure SM94). What a pleasure to play with the speakers behind you and not worry about extra monitors or feedback! This is an enormous plus.

We had originally intended to augment the system with something a bit cheaper for use with our 4 person band, but we have now fallen in love with the Bose sound so we're saving up for another L1 Compact. Apparently 1 L1 Compact should cope with - 50 people who are talking or up to 100 people who are not making much noise, so it's only for larger gigs that more volume will be needed. Although Bose is expensive we think it's worth every penny for such amazing sound with no feedback and such easy portability.

My country band has two of these but for most of our gigs (small bars <100 people) one is sufficient if we only use it for vocals. I own one of them and it works for me when I play solo stuff.

There are two channels, no effects. The mic channel sounds good but obviously dry. The second channel is pre-eq'd for an acoustic guitar (or similar) and that's good enough for a solo gig but for an electric instrument I would advise some kind of buffer (e.g., external pre-amp or mini mixer) to get a good tone. Performance-wise, I can testify that it can handle a bass and vocals together for low-volume gigs.

CON (minor): The extensions that raise the tweeter box have to be used together; one cannot use just one. I am sure there is a valid technical reason for this and if I am honest it hasn't been a show-stopper, just that I play a gig where using both extensions makes it too tall and using it in compact mode means I have to stand it on a stool.