Bose L1 Personal Amplification System

I'm guessing that my system was built in early 2006. It's the basic L1 package, and I'm use it with an external extended-range bass cabinet as a sub.

I play in a variety of settings, from quiet acoustic folk to contemporary pop at near-hard-rock levels. The groups I play with vary from a couple of vocalists, piano and bass, through to larger ensembles with 4-6 vocalists, piano, synth, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums and percussion.

The Bose system has a lot of tonal flexibility, and will play loud enough for any of the settings I work in, providing I carry enough subs.

The system has 4 inputs on the digital base unit, which Bose calls the PS1 Power Stand.

The first two are mic/line inputs on combo quarter inch/XLR jacks, which is where I connect my bass. These channels have signal present LEDS for gain setting, along with controls for input trim, phantom power, and switching for 100 preset EQ and gain settings. Each channel also has an XLR direct out and a channel insert for effects. There is also a wired system remote, with 3-band EQ and level controls for the two mic/line inputs.

The second pair of inputs are line level, with only a trim pot to set the gain.

The power stand also contains three 250 watt power amps, each of which are normally connected to one of the three speaker modules: the upper and lower halves of the L1 tower, and the subwoofer.

Additional jacks allow you to use the power stand either with the Bose speakers, or with conventional equipment.

The bass management features on the PS1 are extensive. The systme will work with the proprietary Bose B1 subs, or with conventional passive or active subs.

When the Bose subs are used, the system auto-senses and auto-adapts for the number of subs that are connected, from 1 to 6 depending. The system is configured so that tonal balance doesn't change as you add subs, but the headroom increases.

Two caveats about using aftermarket subs with the Bose system:
1. The crossover point is unusually high, at 180Hz. Some active subs need to crossed over at lower frequencies (Mackies, for instance), and won't work well with the system, leaving a noticeable hole in the bass from 120-180Hz.
2. The lack of a level control for the speaker level sub output means that you need to choose passive subs that fairly closely match the efficiency of the Bose B1's, or there will be a level imbalance between the tower and the sub(s).

The feature set is logical for a piece of pro gear. There's no reverb or other built-in effects, but at this price point, users probably have personal favourites in that department anyway.

The most useful feature for me (aside from the amazing performance of the system), is the ability to use other subs. To my ear, the Bose subs sound great for 4-string bass, but don't have the booty to match my five string. I was extremely pleased to discover that I could use my Flite 110MHD (formerly known as the 103W) as a passive sub, without the need for extra amplifiers. The tonal balance shifts slightly when I hook up my Acme Low B2 as a second sub, but at those volume levels I want a fatter, rock-oriented tone anyway. I also have the option of connecting a larger power amp to the sub line out if I ever need truly humongous headroom, but I wouldn't personally want to stand in front of a system at those volume levels.

The features I don't ever expect to use, are the extra amplifier inputs and outputs. I am sold on the Bose concept, and can't really imagine an application where I'd want to connect the Bose amps to conventional top speakers.

The fact that all this audio comes in a system that breaks down to 4 small packages, none of which weighs much over 30lbs, is a dream come true for this middle-aged bass player.

My luthier friend Tony Karol (www.karol-guitars.com) helped me to build a custom-made bass 12 years ago. It's a maple and bubinga neck-through 5-string, 35" scale, single cutaway, w/flame maple body wings, graphite neck reinforcements and an ebony fingerboard. It's loaded with EMG's, a 40CS humbucking soapbar at the neck, and an J-style soapbar at the bridge, 2 volume controls and a jack, no tone controls. It has been my main instrument ever since.

One of the things I love about my bass, is the tonal range I can draw out of it just by touch alone. It's very responsive to my right-hand attack.

The Bose system compliments this instrument perfectly, in that it's so transparent. When I change the way I dig into the strings, the L1 lets every nuance through, instead of stamping the sound with the speaker's character.

Used full-range, my Flite cabinet (10" downfiring horn-loaded cab, 3-way with a 5" cone midrange and a tweeter) is known for it's clarity and articulation. Yet compared to the Bose system, it sounds quite boxy and coloured.

The freaky, seemingly physics-defying thing about the Bose system, is the evenness of coverage. No hot spots, no nulls, less echo and "room boom". It's as if the system magically runs on direct sound only, eliminating all extraneous room reflections.

Another attractive aspect is the smoothness of the upper mids and treble. With all that maple and the EMG's, my bass is voiced fairly bright, and it can be difficult to strike a balance between a mushy, indistinct tone, and annoying treble emphasis. With all those little cone drivers instead of a horn, the Bose is much smoother and more consistent than my normal cabs.

The Bose electronics are of equally high quality. My main amp for the past 10 years, has been an early-model SWR Studio 220. The last year or two, I've been using a tube mic pre to warm my signal a little and soften the bright edge of the SWR's preamp.

With the Bose system, I feel no need to use any "tone enhancing" gadgets. I'm retiring my tube pre, because the sound is that good. All it took to dial it in, was minor tweaks of the bass and midrange controls on the remote, and I was immediately in tone heaven.

I haven't tried to intentionally drive the L1 into clipping, but I don't imagine it would be pretty. That's what they make Sans Amp Bass DI's, Bass POD XT Live's, etc., for. Once again, the Bose apparently works very well with the POD XT.

From what I've read, the L1 is reliable, as long as you don't damage the connectors between the tower components and the base.

I haven't had it long enough to form an opinion yet. My normal expectation of high-end gear, is that I shouldn't have problems with it until it's at least a decade old!

I think I'm going to hang onto my SWR head as a backup for at least a while, until I know the Bose system better. Since I am using a good full-range bass cabinet for my sub, it would be very easy to switch back to a conventional rig if I had to.

On the other hand, I've been using pro bass equipment for nearly 40 years, and the only component failures I've ever had on stage, were blown Electrovoice EVM-15B's during a crazed period in my twenties. If you buy good gear and look after it properly, you shouldn't need backup...

Bose was very quick to answer a request for some esoteric presets that I heard about of the message boards. On a weekend, no less. I'd have to call that excellent service.

I've also noticed that Bose employees actually monitor the Bose message board, unlike Line 6, who practice a kind of benign neglect, leaving forum users to figure out their own answers to questions. Another positive for Bose.

The warranty on the electronics is one year, with five years on the speakers.

jI've been playing bass for 40 years this September. I'm fortunate enough to have reached a point in life where I can afford to invest in gear for the long-term, using products from companies like SWR (Studio 220 head), Radial (JDI direct box), Flite (110MHD 3-way extended-range downfiring horn cab), Acme (Low B2 3-way extended range two-ten cab), Carver (PM1.5 power amp), etc.

How committed am I to the L1 concept? Would I replace it?

Let me put it this way: When I look back at my career in music, I can only see four truly life-changing gear purchases.
- The first was the beautiful old '64 P-bass I picked up in 1973, and played for the next 13 years.
- The second was the bass I am currently playing. I wanted a Fodera and couldn't hope to afford it, but Tony's generosity vaulted me into that class. Having a truly custom-fitted and designed instrument has had a profound affect on my playing.
- The third was when I picked up my SWR head, and left semi-pro gear in my dust.
- The fourth happened when I bought my L1 system.

Maybe it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I couldn't imagine going back to conventional amplification after this.

The products that I would compare it to would include pre-Fender SWR, Thunderfunk and Eden heads, and high-end cabs like Accugroove and EA.

Those rigs have tons of character and class, but they don't have anything close to the Bose's amazing dispersion and clarity. As exotic and expensive as they are, I would consider any of those products to be a distinct step down from my L1 system.