Sound / Tone vs. Volume
The basic tone changes because our perception of sound changes with volume. See: Equal Loudness

What are you amplifying
Even if you had the perfect microphone(s) placed in front of a great instrument - people don't put their ear(s) where you place the microphone(s)

To my ears, the sound of an Acoustic Guitar varies greatly depending on the listening position. So what is the accurate sound of an Acoustic Guitar? When playing amplified, I want a great sound, but I'm not bound to the sense that it must be "the sound of my Guitar unamplified, only louder".

Dynamic Range
As you noted above you have increased dynamic range if you choose to use it. You can do this with a microphone, but I find that I except for very quiet live environments, I get more dynamic range with a pickup than a microphone. But compared to running without amplification, with either one - pickup or microphone I have much greater usable dynamic range.

Note: If you use an L1® you have even greater dynamic range available to you compared to most conventional sound reinforcement rigs.

Compared do to conventional (point source) systems: You do not need to be as loud at the loudspeaker (Cylindrical Radiator®) to reach the back of a room, so you can play softer. You can still play louder if you want but this basically gives you a wider volume range in which to work. This is one of those interesting outcomes of using the Cylindrical Radiator® — wider dynamic range. I find the same concept applies when talking about an amplified versus unamplified acoustic instruments.

Greater range of sounds
I can do things when amplified that would simply not be audible without amplification.

This cuts both ways. Amplification brings out things I'd usually rather not hear like squeaky strings and thunks and unintentional thuds. But do any of those things intentionally, musically, and you've got a greater repertoire of sounds to bring to the mix.

Technique
When I play without amplification - playing louder means that I have to change the way I play a piece. I may strum instead of finger-picking. Or I my pick harder. This changes the sound. For good or bad, playing harder to be louder changes the nature of the sound. With amplification I can turn up the volume on the amplifier and not have to change my approach to playing.

Sustain
I have more sustain when playing amplified, and more so with pickups than with microphones. This sustain changes the way I play. My natural tendency is to fewer notes when playing amplified. The reverse is also true - I tend to play more notes when playing acoustically. I have to keep that reined in unless the song actually calls for it.

Please join the discussion that sparked these thoughts.  Microphones vs. Pickups

Hi all,

I wanted to clarify a small detail regarding ST’s review.

The unit ST used for his 3 day review was a pre production loaner L1 Compact. This pre production unit has a higher noise floor than the final production units. We made an improvement to the overall noise performance very late in our development cycle and this improvement WAS implemented into our production units.

L1 Compact units received by Tom Munch and RWJ are production units and accurately reflect the noise performance of the L1 Compact system.

Thanks,
Craig

• BeyerDynamic M88 (Dynamic Hypercardioid)
• Neumann KMS 105 (Condenser Hypercardioid)
• AKG C585 EB (Condenser Cardioid)

Guitars (electric and acoustic)

• Larrivée with L.R. Baggs iMix system (active)
• Morgan with Fishman Under Saddle Pickup (piezo) paired with a PickUp The World Quackbuster (passive)
• Larrivée Classical with Fishman Under Saddle Pickup (piezo) (passive)
• Various big box jazz guitars
• Strat, PRS 513,

Electric Bass
Musicman Stingray fretless with D-Dropper

Percussion
Porchboard Floor Bass

Compared to
Most of the comparisons were to the Model II with a T1® because that is what I use most often when performing. 

Sound
On stage and in the audience the Compact sounds remarkably like the Model II. This is very good for me because it means that I can rehearse in front of my Classic or Model II and perform with the Compact — and not have any surprises with respect to the sound.

Up very close I was aware that the Speaker Array was on top of the column instead of spread down the length of it. This just meant that if I was close enough to touch the column, I might be aware that there is not sound coming from the middle and lower portion. This was only an issue when I wanted to set the tone controls for the vocal microphone. When I bent down to adjust the tone controls, I couldn't hear the highs very well. Once I grow more familiar with the unit, I don't think I will be adjusting the tone controls very much.

As I got farther away from the Compact I found that the volume dropped off more quickly than the Model II. This was not a surprise, but it meant that if I wanted to sound equally loud (Compact and Model II) at 40 feet, I had run the Compact louder on stage to match.

Initially I was uncomfortable with the volume but after some experimenting, I found that I could put the Compact beside me, 3-4 feet away and perhaps just a foot behind me. It did not seem as loud as when I was directly in front of it. It also made it a lot easier to see the Channel lights that show if you are clipping when I was beside the unit.

Horizontal Dispersion
Exactly as advertised. The Compact sounds great off axis. That is - way off to the sides, you still get all the upper range. This will be great for monitoring in ensembles on shallow stages.

This is just about my only issue with the Classic/Model I. On a shallow stage, I cannot hear my band mates (running Classics) as clearly as they can hear me (running my Model II). I know this because we've swapped rigs just for testing.

From what I can hear walking around it, the Compact is going to give me a great experience monitoring on stage.

Volume on stage (compared to Classic/Model I/Model II)
It FEELS like I have to run a little louder on stage to get good solid volume at a distance. It's fine, it's just a little louder than I have come to like. After some experimenting I found that setting the Compact off to the side of me worked better than having it directly behind me. I finally settled on having it about three feet to the right of me, and a foot behind. This allowed me to run a little louder for stage level and to see the controls even if I was seated.

• Compact Power Stand (25 pounds)
• Compact Extensions (in carry bag) (5 pounds)
• Backpack (Beyerdynamic M88 dynamic microphone, microphone cable, instrument cable, computer)
• Guitar
  
• Microphone stand
  

How big is it? Well I would say that it takes less floor space than my three legged microphone stand. If you are familiar with the B1 bass module, the Compact Power Stand is just about 3 inches wider, 2 inches taller, and an inch shorter from front to back. It also weighs less than the B1.

How big is it? Well I have marvelled that I could put a Model II and a couple of B1s in my trunk although I usually travel with just a single B1. I could probably put three Compacts in the same trunk and actually have room for lots of other gear.

Size on the Floor - about the size of a B1
If you have an L1® now, you probably have a B1 and can relate to its size and weight. The Compact is just about the same size.


View from the Top



Side by Side



NOTE: the scuff marks on the Compact Power Stand - that's actually dust. Sorry about that.

Dimensions compared to a B1

Height — Compact is 2" taller
Compact: 16.5
B1: 14.5 (manual says 15)

Width — Compact is 3" wider
Compact: 13.25
B1: 10.25

Depth Compact is 1" shorter (front to back)
Compact: 16.75
B1: 17.75

Weight — Compact is .5 lb lighter (3.4 lb lighter than older B1)
Compact: 24.6 lbs (including Speaker Array)
B1: 25.1 lbs
B1 (pre mid-2007) 28 lbs



From the web site

L1 Compact power stand w/loudspeaker array

16.5"H x 13.25"W x 16.75"D ( 41.8 cm x 33.9 cm x 42.6 cm )

24.6 lbs (11.2 kg)


B1 bass module

15"H x 10.25"W x 17.75"D ( 38 cm x 26 cm x 45 cm )

25.1 lbs (11.4 kg)

Physical Comparisons

Assembly Clearance

You need 2 inches above the height of the Compact's fully extended height to assemble it.
Compact = 78.5 + 2.0 = 80.5

That is compared to four inches clearance for the
Model II = 84 + 4 = 88
Model I = 82.75 + 4 = 86.75
Classic = 82.75 + 6 = 88.75 (long bayonet setting)





Comparing the overall height - assembled

Model I / Classic: 82.75

Model II: 84 inches

Compact: 78.5 inches





Sorry - the camera angle makes it look like the Model II in the middle is taller than 84".

Table Top Mode
This is new, and for me the main application would be for spoken word (lectures and presentations) for an audience that is seated. I tried this out and it worked well. For live music, I would almost certainly take a minute to set the unit on the floor and run it fully extended. Running fully extended sounded the best to me when performing while standing.

There was a question about bass performance with the Compact on a table. Ken-at-Bose replied We're confident that the L1® Compact sounds really good in tabletop mode.

Half Stack
There has been a lot of interest in this from owners of other L1® Systems. I think this is because on occasion many of us have had to set up in rooms with low ceilings.

The people at Bose have consistently encouraged us to use the Compact on a table in the collapsed position, or on the floor in fully extended position.

So I had to explore this.

First, the Compact, fully extended is 78 1/2" tall or about 5 1/2" shorter than the Model II (84") or 4 1/4" shorter than the Model I (82 3/4"). This extra clearance should help all of us who have run into a ceiling that was just an inch or two too short.

Now if you use the Compact collapsed on a table (30" high), then the speaker portion is about 30-46" off the floor.

If you operate with just one extension, it's about the same; 32-48" off the floor.

Okay - let's talk applications. In most applications where I do public speaking - if there is a table present, my audience is probably seated so the Compact on a table is going to be close to ear height. So that make sense.

But if people are standing (or dancing) I would most certainly run fully extended with both extensions.



With Other Equipment
The Compact is clearly meant to run self-contained, ready to run a minute after you set it down. So if you have a dynamic microphone, and acoustic guitar with a pickup, and backing tracks. You are all set to go, setup up and running very quickly. I took the Compact out to a gig, just straight out of the box with no extra gear, and I would be happy to do that again. But this section is about options.

You can add a T1 ToneMatch® Audio Engine if you need more inputs or more control. There is no supported mechanism for adding bass support.

Coming from a background of using the other L1® Systems I resisted running the Compact in this seemingly limited way.

Adding a T1 ToneMatch® Audio Engine (T1®)
This works very well. You just need to add a power supply to the T1® and run an instrument cable from the T1® analog Master Output to the Compact Channel 2 (turn off the Preset) and you are ready to roll. I tried several tests with different instruments and microphones. I was very pleased because what I could hear was almost indistinguishable from the Model II when I was playing as I would on a stage. You can use a balanced 1/4 Tip-Ring-Sleeve cable if you have one. You lose 6 dB of gain if you use an unbalanced cable. But you still get plenty of volume and I would have no reservations about doing this on a regular basis.

I have my microphone stand set up with all the cables I need to use my T1®, so it would actually be simpler for me to operate with the T1® than to set up without it.

For anybody who wants to do some side-by-side testing with a Model II, try connecting the Analog Master output to the Compact Channel 2 (turn off Preset).

By default - you'll have sound coming from both the Compact and the Model II.

To kill the sound out of the Model II, got to

Prefs:
- Master Out
-- Pre Master Volume

Turn down the Master Volume knob.
This will allow you to hear the T1® to Compact connection without hearing the Model II.

This not something I'd be doing at a gig, but it is one of the ways that I was comparing the two units.

You could also use the T1®Master Analog output to an A/B switch (A - to Compact, B - to Model II).


Condenser Microphone / External Phantom Power

Summary:
Condenser microphone plus external phantom power battery pack - It works fine.

That is: I used an external battery pack and tried several phantom powered condenser microphones. They all sounded fine, although perhaps not as good as they do through the T1®.


After doing some testing, I think that when using the Compact, I'll just stick to a dynamic microphone just because it sounds great and it is the height of simplicity (or use the T1®).


More thoughts:

I doubt there is anyone here that enjoys his/her Neumann KMS 105 more than I enjoy mine. I was disappointed when I read that there only one Vocal Microphone Preset and that there was no phantom power. So, no support for my favourite microphone. But after listening to the Compact with my Beyerdynamic M88 (a dynamic, hypercardioid microphone), I think I'll be fine using the dynamic microphone with the Compact.

With a PackLite®

I tried using the Compact Line-out to a PackLite®. I won't be doing that live at least not without a a crossover.

The Compact Line-Out is full-range. So I was hearing too much low end (Guitar and Vocal) when all I really wanted was more in the sub 100 Hz range.

Trying this reminded me of how cleverly Bose engineered the Bass sub system (1 B1, 2 x B1, Bass Line Out, PackLite) in the other models.

Please understand, it's not that the Compact is lacking in bass. This was just an experiment.

I didn't like...

This is a very short list and some things aren't all that major.

Hiss
With all the controls at 12:00 o'clock, I can hear a hiss from the speakers. This is louder than the hiss from the Classic (that seems to drop off at 4-8 feet). This is louder than the almost non-existent hiss of Model II (that you have be within a couple of feet to hear).

I can hear this hiss 12 feet away and farther if I really listen for it. You probably won't hear it over the sound of an audience. But I noticed it, am aware of it when the Compact is idle, so I thought I should mention it. To put this into perspective, this is no louder than I have heard from just about any amplifier or powered speaker I've heard in a quiet room. I'm sure the main reason I noticed is that it is louder than the Classic or Model II. And those two devices are tough acts to follow.

Rick Jordan observed that the hiss is more pronounced from Channel 1. I can confirm this and that it is most noticeable if you have the volume turned up loud and nothing else is happening (no one on the microphone).

I had the Compact out at a gig last night (2009/05/04). This was a restaurant/pub and the hiss was inaudible over the ambient noise in the room.

Introduction
For as long as I have been playing there have been people asking questions about that. I am sure that many musicians were asked these questions long before I came along too, but this post is about my experience with those questions and later, yours.
It was almost as though everyone had received a pamphlet or a primer: "Things to ask a musician". Because the questions were almost always the same, and almost always in the same order. In no time at all, just being asked the questions was enough to start shaping my perception of what it meant to be a musician.

Here are the questions

Oh, you are a musician...
Do you sing?
Do you write your own songs?
Are you in a band?
Are you playing anywhere around town?
Do you have an Album? (later... do you have a CD?)  

Oh, you are a musician...
Oh, so you think you're a musician? Well let's see if you pass the test
Do you sing?
When I listen to music, I listen to the words. Do you sing the words? Are you the one I listen to?
Do you write your own songs?
Musicians create music, create songs. Are you a musician?
Are you in a band?
Real musicians, good ones, have other musicians who want to play with them. They form bands. Are you a real musician?
Are you playing anywhere around town?
You're not a real musician unless you are playing for real money in front of real people in real live venues. So are ya?
Do you have an Album? (later... do you have a CD?)
Real musicians record their original songs and perform to support the albums. So do ya?

So over time these inevitable questions became challenges: Challenges to my fragile perception that I *was* a musician.
It seemed as though there was some common belief that the ultimate goal of a self-actualized musician was:

• to be a singer-songwriter
• with a band that toured
• and had lots of albums.

The band, the tours and the albums all attested to the legitimacy of the singer-songwriter role. All of it together seemed to be the big mold one had to fit and fill to be 'a musician'.
Please understand... this is not my personal definition of what it means to be a musician. Instead, it is these conversations with the audience that contributed to the struggle to define myself within the music.
How about you? Do any of these questions ring a bell for you?
How did they influence your choices?
How do they affect your goals?

Join the discussion in the Bose Musicians Community Message Board

"Recording is fundamentally wrong. Playing live is what it’s all about. "

-- Jeff of Cowboy Junkies from “Cowboy Junkies:  The Trinity Session Revisited”

I just saw this documentary, heard the line, and it resonated.

This is pretty representative of Cowboy Junkies

• Sweet Jane
• Blue Moon
• And decades later
  Trinity Revisited and Trinity Revisited

What do you think?

Join the discussion in the Bose Musicians Community Message Boards

Knowing that you can be heard and understood from the stage opens some doors to conversations with the audience. I find that I do that more with the L1® than ever did in the past. But that is not the subject today.

Today I want to consider the conversations we can have with the audience that start before we arrive, and continue long after everyone goes home. I am not sure what the audience is thinking, so I thought I would ask them.

To explore that I recently posted these questions on LinkedIn a business-oriented social networking site with some 24 million registered users*.

Do you attend performances of live music?

• Was the live music performance the main focus of the event or background.
• If you went out specifically to hear live music, why did you choose to do that instead of staying at home and listening to recordings?

I was really encouraged to have received 7 answers almost immediately.

See what people had to say.

The question will remain open for another week.  Let's see what turns up.

Questions for you.

• Do you talk with your audience?
• How?
• What do they tell you?
• What do you do with the information?

Join the conversation

Over the weekend I was playing at one of my regular haunts. It is a small place in a little village like community within the larger city.
This was the first weekend for a new owner of the place and she was excited to be welcoming a whole new crowd. She told me to expect a big turn out because she had invited lots of the people in her social circle.

Strangely it was very quiet when I arrived a little early for my Sunday afternoon gig. But it turns out that she had told her friends that the show started promptly at 2:00 and sure enough the place was nearly-full at 2:00.

This was a completely different crowd for this place. All were speaking a non-English language, chatting and enjoying the food, the ambiance and, each other's company.

The place is normally quiet when it is bright and sunny out, and it was bright and sunny and a Sunday of a long holiday weekend. There was a huge parade going on in the centre of town so I wasn't expecting many people. This crowd was a surprise. There were some but not many of the regulars who took it all in stride. We also had street-traffic, people looking in to see what was going on and some came in and filled the last remaining seats. Others looked in, stepped in the door, turned around and left.
Between songs we (the audience and I) congratulated the new owner, enjoyed the local holiday spirit and we figured out that if we totalled the ages of all the kids in the room, they were still younger than my duo partner's Violin. Sadly, between the two of us, our ages exceed that of the Violin.

Partway through the afternoon, partway through a set, there was an odd shift. About a third of the people in the room moved to the back of the space and the people back there moved forward. This probably occurred over five minutes.

The background noise level dropped significantly although from what I could see, the overall activity level was unchanged.

This was probably the weirdest thing I've seen in some time. A self-organizing organic audience. I mean, I have seen people rearrange furniture. That happens all the time, and it happened as people were arriving that day too. The individual tables for two and four were rearranged in groups of eight or twelve here and there. But this thing of groups of people visibly flowing around was new.

During the next break I wandered among the people at the back of the room, just chatting.
"How are you?"
"Did you come far today?"
"Did you bring other people or plan to meet them here?"
"You all appear to know one another, how is that?"
That kind of thing.

Then I asked one person with whom I had struck up a rapport, "Was it too loud up front for you?"
She apologized on behalf of all of the people who had moved. She said they were sorry if they disrupted things and that they had tried to be quiet. Indeed they had been. If I had not been watching them, I probably would not have noticed because the whole transition was very quiet.

I assured her that it was not a problem, but I was just curious what had happened.
"Oh, they all speak a different language", she said gesturing to the front. "We all moved here so we could talk, and they could talk and not have to talk over each other".

She went on, "We can hear you just fine,... (more nice compliments here), and it was good over there too".
By the end of the afternoon, the new owner was exhausted and happy. Her friends had left en masse immediately after the show was over. On the way out, someone from each table came to me, introduced him or herself, asked for a business card, offered me one in return and as they gave me the card they pressed a tightly folded bill into my hand.

It was a very nice way to break-in a new crowd in an old venue.

Live Discussion

One of the regulars on the Bose Musicians Community Message Board asked for advice regarding the differences in playing in a band vs trio vs duo vs solo. Here are some of my thoughts.

Role Clarity
For one person to jump back and forth between band, trio, duo and solo performances, I think it is essential for that person to be fully present, conscious and aware of his/her role in each of those situations.

I have played in bands and duos for most of my musical life. Most of that time I have been in the role of informal musical director so that someone else could front the band without having to lead the band. I hope that made sense. I say "informal" because most of the groups with whom I have played would not have used that term.

Lately I have been doing more solo work and when playing in duos and groups I have more frequently taken the role of fronting the band.

Speaking from the perspective of one who frequently jumps back and forth between these various roles, understanding the role you are playing at the time is very important.

If I were playing with the same group of people all of the time, the roles might solidify and people would understand what they are supposed to be doing. But I am in and out of different groups and this requires serious, conscious thought about what I am supposed to contribute. It also takes the wherewithal to ask for clarity when it is not there.

Join the discussion in the message board.

Cliff-at-Bose wrote:

Yeah, ok; so we solved some big ones with the L1, including putting the music back in the hands of its righful practitioners (you and me, baby). But time marches on and I'm sure there are other Big Ones to solve, like not making enough money (working on it).

What do YOU think are the big problems to solve for our tribe? Can these problems be solved by technology, like by something incorporated into some future Bose product? And how about all that technology? I see it annoying a lot of people as they try to get stuff done on their computers and don't remember their passwords, etc. Is technology actually getting in the way these days, or is it us getting in the way of technology (revolt of the machines)? How come the track I just recorded is almost a quarter note out of sync with my previously-perfectly-synchronized multitrack production, and "nothing changed" otherwise? What about problems that can't be solved with science and engineering? Like, learning how to play together and make real music. YOu all know that if you don't have a good tune, you can play all you want but you won't have a gig. How about being in touch with your basic humanity. Are text-message relationships soulful and deep? Aieee, it goes on and on, doesn't it?

So anyway, here's an invitation to tell us what you think are the existing, big, profound, unsolved problems in a musician's life, and yours in particular. I'm talking about The Big Ones here. Anyone? (We might be able to do something about it, so don't be shy.)

I replied

regard or the lack thereof
Whether it is expressed in compliments, courtesy, compensation or something else - are we regarded as well as musicians in the past? As well as we should be?
Are we, contemporary performers schooled by life in the last 40 years of amplified music; are we condemned to be held in low regard because our self-esteem is so low that we ask for nothing better?

• Do we play on tiny stages that compete with paying seats?
• Do we play in makeshift circumstances, the afterthought of the main event (selling drinks)?
• Do we compete with recorded versions of our less than live selves?
• Are we relegated to the worst spot in the room because no thought of live music was part of the design?
• Are we expected to be the first to arrive and the last to leave so we have the least impact on other aspects of the show?
• Do we get served last if ever? At one establishment I was told quite bluntly, "Musicians get served last."

1 re·gard
Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈgärd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from regarder
Date: 14th century
1 archaic : appearance
2 a: attention, consideration <due regard should be given to all facets of the question>
b: a protective interest : care <has no regard for her health>
3: look, gaze
4 a: the worth or estimation in which something or someone is held <a man of small regard>
b: (1): a feeling of respect and affection : esteem <she soon won the regard of her colleagues> (2)plural : friendly greetings implying such feeling <give him my regards>
5: a basis of action or opinion : motive
6: an aspect to be taken into consideration : respect <is a small school, and is fortunate in this regard>
7: obsolete : intention
— in regard to
: with respect to : concerning
— with regard to
: in regard to

• Tiny, makeshift stages.
• House systems that, if they exist at all - are likely the unkind result of technology that is decades old.
• Not knowing how we sound, our perceptions of our performances must be shaped by our audiences, and we know that these audiences, no matter how kind may well be lying. Why? Because they could not hear.
• Having no basis to understand our worth in society, we accept the lowest estimation.

In a world of changing values, is there a future for live music when we compete with recorded selves for the eroding remnants of society's regard?

So what's the problem?
We do not know our value in contemporary society. We do not know how are regarded, but suffer for lack of adequate regard. We do not know how to regard ourselves.

Join the discussion

Okay - I know that this should really be hombre a mono or something like that, but once a something hits a chord it just doesn't ring true if you correct it.

I hoped we could talk about "How many L1®s does one guy need?" or more politically correct - "What is the correct ratio of L1®s to performers?"

We seem to run the gamut from ...

• Can I run my choir through one L1®?
• I have an eight piece band ...
• If we run just our vocals through it, what are the least number of L1®s that we need?
• Can I use one (or two) as a PA?
• Ensemble around a microphone.
• Big Bands
  (Chris Walden)
• One L1® for each performer.
• Vocal plus tracks into two L1®s. 
  (recently, Karen littleswan)
• Stereo-way to heaven for Electric Guitar.
  (bdotson comes to mind)
• Stereo Soundscapes for Keyboards.
  (Alan Steinberger)
• Dual pickup systems in a single Acoustic Guitar to separate L1®s
  (Rick Jordan rwj)
• I don't think anyone has mentioned three L1®s for one performer, but I think I have seen pictures.

I've got a pretty simple view of this. If you have enough that you and the audience can hear everyone clearly, then you probably have enough L1®s. As long as we are serving the Music, then we are probably doing okay. But I think that is easier to do as we narrow the gap between the number of performers and the number of L1®s.

When we get to more L1®s than performers then we can start talking about how many 'voices' that performer has and if that performer is the whole show or part of an ensemble.

Somewhere in there we get to talk about how to make the connections, dual-mono: whys and why-nots, routing through the T1®, and a whole bunch of other details. People most frequently ask "how" but I think the first question is probably "why" or "when".

What do you think?

Last week an old musical pal called me to give him a hand at an open stage event on Sunday. We've hosted lots of open stages doing the warm-up and closing sets and helping folks in between. I like doing these so I didn't give it much thought. "Sure! I'm in". But I blanched when he told me that where it was - well over an hour's drive and not a fun drive at that.

So I arrive at the appointed time, 7:00 pm. It is in a recently renovated entertainment complex, a restaurant, lounge, nightclub and pub all in one building. The open stage event is in the restaurant.

The stage is pretty much setup with conventional gear with an empty spot for my L1® just slightly off-centre at the back of the stage. A couple of minutes later I'm ready to go. There seems to be a lot of interest in my L1® and the T1®. Fellows from the audience come up and ask about it and remark on the quick setup and absence of speaker wires and "Don't you need to do a sound check with the other guys?" and you probably know all the questions I am hearing at this point. What is odd is the number of people  that are interested.

I pause to survey the audience. There are a lot of people that could be "Dads" and a lot of people who could be their kids with their "Moms". Then I remember - It is Fathers' Day.

A couple of minutes later we are into our opening set. I look around and things seem oddly familiar with my old musical pal on one side and ... Oh yeah, I remember the Drummer - we were in a band together years ago. Okay cool. The Bassist and the vocalist are new to me but we're all having fun.

Now we start inviting the open stage guests to come to the stage. To my surprise and delight, most of them are under five feet tall. Then it all falls together as I recall that the Drummer has a studio and a Drum school. The vocalist and one of the other Guitarists also teach in that studio. This is stage night for the students. The rest of us old guys are the backup band for a parade of fledgling Drummers and Guitarists and singers.

I now understand all the interest in the L1®. Those guys were the Dads who were thinking about gear for their kids.

Hey! It was a great night, and in some respects more fun than I've had in a very long time. I'll be back.

Within a few months it was clear that this new system was going to extend my time playing by at least a decade. Four years into that decade I am more optimistic than ever.   Today I did a show and it was as though the clock on the time remaining was reset.

Some milestones.

The L1® Encyclopedia, FAQ and wiki (previously the  Unofficial Bose L1™ Wiki) will be two years live in  August.  Earlier this year the traffic had overcome the bandwidth to my server so I moved it to an external hosting service. Today it  has over 350 articles, 600 illustrations and images, there have been 364,000 page views. and it is seeing 200-400 unique visits per day split nearly 60/40 with new and returning visitors.

Bose announced the L1®  Model II and the T1 ToneMatch® Audio Engine at the end of March 2007. Most of the 150 new articles in the wiki have been related to those products, and there have been hundreds of revisions to the existing pages as our understanding of the L1® (all models) continues to mature.

The Sketcher has been stable, and the revisions from last year have served us well. You can read The Sketcher chronicles for more details.

A year ago I posted some numbers.
Here is the update:

The conversations on the Bose Musicians Message Board continue to be about the L1® system, but while that remains the reason that many visit for the first time, there are those that return to talk about raising the state of the art.

At the L1® conference in North Carolina I asked why people continue to visit the message board after they have asked and had their questions answered.  In answer to "Why do you come back?" these were some of the responses.

• To learn.
• So much good information.
• It may be hard to understand the L1 System at first, but people get answers to those questions on this forum.
• People share their own experience; you hear (read about) others who have similar situations to your own.
• So much information ... related to, but well beyond just the L1 System (such as about music career, how do present yourself in a performance, about microphones, guitars, room acoustics, ...)
• Learn more by accident than I know what to ask.
• Learn by watching how others answers questions.
• Not a high number of 'idiots' posting -- even questions that have been asked before are treated with respect ... the recognition that this is a new question for that person.
• Learn new ideas.
• Negative postings ARE posted, not deleted.
• I come back because I learn.
• I like to help.
• I like to answer questions. It's like teaching.
• I feel like owe something back to the others for the help I've gotten.
• The moderators and key others have established a 'forum of respect'.
• A sense of creating something more than simply an understanding or pushing of a commercial product.
• A means of helping others solve a "little problem" so they can "move on" to something more important -- like making music.
• I'm aware that for ever posting there are ~400 people "watching". So I know the answer I may have to contribute may have ongoing value; so taking time to answer one person's question will potentially have value beyond just that person -- and that answer will persist over time (particularly in the Wiki).
• I'm a teacher at heart; I like to help others learn. By doing my part to help create an atmosphere of openness and sharing of knowledge in this on-line form, I have an opportunity to contribute to many more than I could ever do in person, or in a classroom.
• It is a means, in some small way, to join with other like-minded folks to help co-create a 'different' future ... perhaps related to music ... perhaps in other ways. I can only do that by exposing who I am and the way I think and understand and struggle to communicate that understanding with you and to seek to understand your viewpoint. -- and I can take time to really think about it, much more easily (for me) than in 'live dialog'.

 I am still honoured to be a member of this community.

 

Last weekend I did a solo set in front of about 150 people - most were musicians. Many of them have known me for years, and I have played with lots of them. They were very appreciative and supportive. At least 15 of them made a point of finding me later to say something like ... "I didn't know you could sing". I've been singing harmonies and call and response things with bands and duos all this time, but I guess this doing it alone made a different kind of impression.  Of course it helped that I had brought along my L1®.

I normally would have "done sound" for a gathering like this using several Bose L1®s, but the headline band's lead singer was the son of the hosts. The band had volunteered to provide sound reinforcement for the night and I got to take the night off. Still, I would no more use the house system than use a house Guitar or microphone so of course, I brought my L1® for at least my part of the show. I wish that everyone who performed that night had been heard as well as I was. The fellow at the far end of the 100 foot snake did his best but his sound system suffered by comparison.

It's been a big year for me in that I have really gotten back to my roots playing mainly Acoustic Guitar, singing and having discovered the PorchBoard Floor Bass.

I also played an electric set with a band made up of old friends and new. It was loud, but we were following a band of young twenty-somethings. Now those guys were LOUD and seem almost anticlimactic  to turn down even a little.

When the night was over an old pal, and the Drummer with whom I have played in several bands came up to me as I was packing. Pointing at the PorchBoard Floor Bass he said, "When you get a little more confident with that, it is going to be your new best friend."

Over the weekend I played a solo gig and managed to do it without my Tablet PC. One of the reasons that show did not fall apart was because I had my new partner - my PorchBoard Floor Bass. Whenever I struggled to remember the lyrics, or just wanted to take a little break from singing, I let the PorchBoard hold down the rhythm and I went a free-form with the Guitar or indulged some story-telling or vocal scatting. Even spritzing with the audience can be more fun with some background pickin' and what feels like a moving bass line.

It has taken a long time to get to this place, but adding the PorchBoard to the show has been easier than I expected. I didn't take to it as readily as most people. By all reports, if you naturally tap your foot as you play then you can play a PorchBoard. I'm not one of those natural toe-tappers so it took me a bit longer.  But if I hadn't given it a few days, I would never have figured out that it was possible at all.

More info:

• PorchBoard.com
• PorchBoard Floor Bass in the Bose Encyclopedia FAQ and wiki

How I got here

I have been aware of the PorchBoard for several years but dismissed it as "not for me" because I didn't think it would work for me. Perhaps more to the point - I didn't think I could make it work.

Two Left Feet

One of the reasons that I have always sought the company of others on stage was the challenge I have with rhythm. For whatever the reason I've been with blessed with two left feet, and neither of them can keep a beat. Now let me play against a strong rhythm section and I'll do fine, but ask me to be that rhythm section and I start to wander. Whatever internal sense of meter I might have always ends up syncopated by the time it hits my extremities.

When I first heard about the PorchBoard Floor Bass I dismissed it because I just knew that I would not be able to make it work.

About eighteen months ago I got a chance to hear one at the 2006 Fall East Coast L1® Musicians Conference. I liked the sound but found it distracting when it was being played by someone other than the main performer. When there was even the slightest disconnect between the main performer and the stand-in foot stomper the rhythmic dissonance threw me off.

I didn't really have much time to try it personally. I came away from that experience unconvinced that this was something that I could use. But I wasn't playing solo gigs yet so I didn't really perceive a personal need.

Roll Yer Own

Last year, as I pondered playing solo shows I remembered hearing the PorchBoard. I rigged up a home-brew version using an AKG C411 I had lying around here. I stuck it to a piece of plywood. I had to prop this up at one end in order to get a decent sound, and then had to EQ it so that there was nothing above 100 Hz in order to make it sound sort of passable. This was pretty awkward, required phantom power, wandered around as I tapped on it, and didn't sound all that great. I didn't give this much of a chance because it was just too cumbersome to set up and very distracting. Distracting? Well trying to hit it consistently was tough. It moved around too much just from the action of my foot.

What Changed

I had a nice conversation with Nadene Isakson at PorchBoard a couple of months ago. She told me about a music teacher who had had great success helping a student with rhythm issues by using a PorchBoard. That music teacher said that it had taken about only three days' practice to help that student. Hearing this, I figured it was worth a shot.

The Metronome

While waiting for the PorchBoard to arrive I practiced tapping my foot with a metronome. I had tried this a couple of times over the years but not getting decent results I had just abandoned it. I wasn't doing very well this time around either. I did make the effort to use just metronome and tap my foot (no other instruments). Man that was boring.

Thump

When I got the PorchBoard, I decided to give this at least several days' practice and by the third day I was feeling pretty good about the results. There is definitely something different about hearing and feeling the resounding thump you get from the PorchBoard. This is so much more visceral than just tapping your foot.

I now rehearse with the PorchBoard and actually enjoy it. I have become much more aware of my rhythm and feel much more confident about it. I still have a long way to go as I work it into my arrangements, but that part is going well and it is fun.

I have been playing the PorchBoard at my solo gigs. It has been great to notice people in the audience nodding, clapping and tapping their feet right along with me. I cannot imagine playing alone, without it.

Join the discussion: Going it alone - Observations

del.icio.us Tags: PorchBoard,Bose L1

• Reformatted things to work with the higher resolution (1280 x 800  vs. 1024 x 768).
• Rehearsed using the touch screen interface instead of digital pen.
• Arranged the songs to work in OneNote (my current choice for keeping lyrics and lead sheets).
• Remembered to put the correct power adapter with the unit into my backpack along with a new screen cleaning cloth.

For the finale, I  somehow managed to get to the gig without the computer. I can't remember the last time I went to a gig without a Tablet PC. Even if not using it for lyrics, I use it to check in on the Bose Musicians Community Message Boards during breaks. How very odd it was to be without it and all the song lists, music and lyrics.

• Level -10 dB
• Freq 500 Hz
• Width 2.0 oct

Last week I decided to install a pickup in my C-10BZ Larrivée (pictured to the right).

Today I picked it up at the shop. It had  the new LR Baggs iMix No Cut installed and proceeded to a gig. Actually I was several hours early so I just got set up and got to know the Guitar and the iMix.

I play through a Bose L1® Model IIBose L1® Model II (the new one) with the LR Baggs ToneMatch® Presets into my T1® just before I headed out the door. It was very simple to find a sound with this combination of gear that sounded great.

During the gig a very busy local musician dropped in and enjoyed a great meal and the music (so he told me). He was really impressed with how natural the Guitar sounded. He made a point of telling me so. My main Guitar for acoustic gigs for the past ten years has been a Morgan with a Florentine Cutaway, curly maple back and sides. I do a lot of acoustic lead work and this has always allowed me to cut through the mix with a Fishman Acoustic Matrix Under Saddle Transducer. About a year ago I added David Enke's PUTW Quackbuster. This has been working extremely well for me.

Compared to the Morgan, the Larrivée C 10 BZ is about the same size and shape, the neck is just a little narrower and seems to have a narrower radius. The Morgan radius is almost flat and I have it set for really low action and almost no relief. I am a finger style player and this Morgan has been terrific for giving me the room I need to work. The lovely Larrivée has seen very little play time over the ten years that I've had it because I rehearse with the same instruments and gear as I use when performing. Since there was no pickup in the Larrivée I wasn't playing it out and I wasn't playing it much at all. The net result was I needed a little time to get used to the Larrivée and the new strings they put on at the shop when they installed the iMix. I guess these are Cleartones. I normally play John Pearse strings on my acoustics and really like them. The new strings seemed a little noisy. Squeaky by comparison. On the way to the gig I picked up some Elixer 20/80s to try when I take the Cleartones off.

Anyway, after a couple of hours of playing and listening, a three hour gig, and some comments from players who happened by... The iMix was a good choice. I think that I am going to be very happy with the Guitar and the iMix. I will have to get used to changing between the I-Beam and the Element pickups on the fly. I may switch over to stereo mode and manage the pickups independently in the T1®. The Guitar sounds phenomenal (except for the squeaky strings). I'll have to see how that works out.

Twenty seven years old and still a beauty. I played it at my solo gig last Sunday. It was wonderful!

It has a passive under saddle piezo pickup.

I love the sound with an AKG C451 E (small diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone).  It also sounds great with a Neumann KM184 but the AKG is a little brighter. I am running through the T1 ToneMatch™ audio engine to an L1™ Model II.

Presets:

With a microphone (either 3" from the fingerboard half-way between the 12th fret and the sound hole - or - 6" back from the sound hole).
Category: Acoustic Guitar
Preset: Nylon String w/cond

Using the Pickup 
Category: Acoustic Guitar
Preset: Nylon String w/Piezo

I really liked it with Pickup and
Category: Taylor Guitars
Preset: G. Concert Finger
but it was difficult to control at higher volumes. There was a tendency for some low end howl.

It was a super busy month. It  is nice to take a breath.    

I reconnected with an old duo partner and we have been playing steadily since the new year. My regular duo partner and I were not quite as busy as he was out of town for a couple of weeks.

Ken-at-Bose has started a new series of discussions called  Succeeding in the Performing Arts on the Bose Musicians' Community Message Boards. This has led to lots of great input from the community. Check out the link that goes to a summary of the main ideas in the wiki.

Succeeding in the Performing Arts

Little did I know in January, just how much I would be thinking about this in the days to come.