# Bose L1 Compact in an Outdoor Gig



## Chito

Just wondering, has anybody done an outdoor show with the Bose L1 Compact? We're doing one this Thursday and I haven't had the opportunity to witness or do an outdoor show with it. We will be playing in my driveway. I have rented another L1 Compact coz I thought it's be better with 2. But I realize having 2 will not increase the volume but rather just increase the coverage. Maybe having 2 will help because our street is narrow and having 2 will probably give us a bigger spread.

BTW this gig is for a Front Porch Concert Series scheduled for July 9th at 7pm where performers play either in their porch, driveway or garage , here in our neighborhood. Right now, there are 30 performers signed up including full bands, duos, solo artists, etc. I thought it was a great idea. My duo is live streaming our performance on Facebook Live too.

So has anyone done an outdoor show using an L1 Compact?


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## Merlin

Not out, just in, but coverage was great, and we didn’t need monitors.


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## Chito

We've done a few indoor ones too. And actually we're very pleased with it. I've got vocals, sax and guitar into the compact. I have used 2 when we played in a retirement home which had a big dining room. But even that was overkill I think. We also use it when we do our livestream.


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## DaddyDog

Saw a solo with acoustic at a backyard party. Sound was excellent with the Bose. And loud enough for the cops to show up at midnight.


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## Chito

I'm leaving a note on my neighbours mailboxes to let them know what's happening on Thursday. Don't want bylaw to just show up LOL.


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## GuitarPix

I haven’t used the L1 outdoors but have used the S1 outside a few times and that works fantastic 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Milkman

I guess by now you've already made a choice, but having had people show up at events with these Bose sticks, I can tell you the only way I was ever able to get any volume out of one was by putting a mic close to it and pumping it through a conventional PA.

They sound good. My opinion is they just don't penetrate a crowd and or move air.

Maybe people (including me) just expect too much from them.


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## Chito

Yes I've gone the 2 Bose L1 Compact route. I think the idea of getting more spread is more appealing specially after being told that the covid-19 rules like distancing and a max of 10 people each group is being enforced. I'll put in my observation here after the show tonight.

We're actually stoked by this. 30 solos/duo/bands in such a small town area of just 3 square miles with a population of 40,000 people. So many musicians. Should be fun!


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## Milkman

Chito said:


> Yes I've gone the 2 Bose L1 Compact route. I think the idea of getting more spread is more appealing specially after being told that the covid-19 rules like distancing and a max of 10 people each group is being enforced. I'll put in my observation here after the show tonight.
> 
> We're actually stoked by this. 30 solos/duo/bands in such a small town area of just 3 square miles with a population of 40,000 people. So many musicians. Should be fun!


True, maybe in the face of social distancing, these devices won't need to "penetrate". The ambient sound of them is very nice.

I'll look forward to your impressions.


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## KapnKrunch

Milkman said:


> I guess by now you've already made a choice, but having had people show up at events with these Bose sticks, I can tell you the only way I was ever able to get any volume out of one was by putting a mic close to it and pumping it through a conventional PA.
> 
> They sound good. My opinion is they just don't penetrate a crowd and or move air.
> 
> Maybe people (including me) just expect too much from them.


Ditto. Beauty sound at short range tho'.


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## 1SweetRide

The only outdoor concert I did was with two Cerwin Vega 1000 watters mounted on stands. They were plenty loud. I think your Bose system will be fine though.


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## bw66

For a small outdoor audience, you'll be fine.

Like others, I love the Bose line arrays for small venues and doubling them up can be quite effective, but for people who have shelled out good coin for one, there is a temptation to use them for everything and once you try to push them too hard, they fall apart. I played a fundraising gig a while back and supplied a nice sized PA for all of the performers to use as it was a decent sized space. The last act of the night insisted on using their own Bose system because they were "comfortable with it" - I even offered to take a feed from their system and run it through my PA, but they were adamant. Unfortunately, they got lost in the room but their well-meaning friends said it was "amazing" so they were happy - meanwhile everyone was coming to me asking why they couldn't hear the last act.


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## Milkman

bw66 said:


> For a small outdoor audience, you'll be fine.
> 
> Like others, I love the Bose line arrays for small venues and doubling them up can be quite effective, but for people who have shelled out good coin for one, there is a temptation to use them for everything and once you try to push them too hard, they fall apart. I played a fundraising gig a while back and supplied a nice sized PA for all of the performers to use as it was a decent sized space. The last act of the night insisted on using their own Bose system because they were "comfortable with it" - I even offered to take a feed from their system and run it through my PA, but they were adamant. Unfortunately, they got lost in the room but their well-meaning friends said it was "amazing" so they were happy - meanwhile everyone was coming to me asking why they couldn't hear the last act.



VERY similar to an experience I've had with these.

They're very nice when used for the right purpose, super clean, natural.

With your audience all standing six feet apart they might be just the thing for a small show.


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## Chito

So the show went really well. We had 2 of the Bose L1 Compacts going. It was setup 20 feet apart. I had to actually turn down the volume a bit because we were a bit louder than we anticipated. I thought it was sufficient enough for a vocals/sax and guitar duo. We probably would've needed a Sub if we were playing with a bass player. Otherwise it was all good. We had over 20 people with some just passing by to check us out. And we raised $268 dollars for charity. Someone even dropped a $50 bill. Amazing... I'll try to post a video of one of our songs when I get a chance to give some idea of how it sounded.


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## 1SweetRide

Chito said:


> So the show went really well. We had 2 of the Bose L1 Compacts going. It was setup 20 feet apart. I had to actually turn down the volume a bit because we were a bit louder than we anticipated. I thought it was sufficient enough for a vocals/sax and guitar duo. We probably would've needed a Sub if we were playing with a bass player. Otherwise it was all good. We had over 20 people with some just passing by to check us out. And we raised $268 dollars for charity. Someone even dropped a $50 bill. Amazing... I'll try to post a video of one of our songs when I get a chance to give some idea of how it sounded.


That's awesome Chito. Congrats


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## Chito

As promised here's the video of one of the songs we played. It is a cover of Blood Sweat and Tears 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know'. The quality of the video sucks because FB changed it to a lower resolution after it was saved. In any case, I guess the sound is more important. This is with 2 Bose L1 Compacts recorded with an Audio Technica AT822 stereo mic plugged into the Panasonic HC V770. It was streamed to Facebook Live at 720p @30 FPS using OBS Studio, the videocam was connected to the laptop using an Elgato Camlink 4k Capture card. The camera and mic was around 4 meters away from us. And thanks for watching!

AnjChito - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know


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## KapnKrunch

Well done! Shining example of how to keep musically active.


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## 1SweetRide

Chito said:


> As promised here's the video of one of the songs we played. It is a cover of Blood Sweat and Tears 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know'. The quality of the video sucks because FB changed it to a lower resolution after it was saved. In any case, I guess the sound is more important. This is with 2 Bose L1 Compacts recorded with an Audio Technica AT822 stereo mic plugged into the Panasonic HC V770. It was streamed to Facebook Live at 720p @30 FPS using OBS Studio, the videocam was connected to the laptop using an Elgato Camlink 4k Capture card. The camera and mic was around 4 meters away from us. And thanks for watching!
> 
> AnjChito - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know


Lol, 19 seconds in. "Hot Sex". Loved the session.


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## greco

EXCELLENT !! ....Congrats and Thanks Anj & Chito!


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## Guitar101

Chito said:


> As promised here's the video of one of the songs we played. It is a cover of Blood Sweat and Tears 'I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know'. The quality of the video sucks because FB changed it to a lower resolution after it was saved. In any case, I guess the sound is more important. This is with 2 Bose L1 Compacts recorded with an Audio Technica AT822 stereo mic plugged into the Panasonic HC V770. It was streamed to Facebook Live at 720p @30 FPS using OBS Studio, the videocam was connected to the laptop using an Elgato Camlink 4k Capture card. The camera and mic was around 4 meters away from us. And thanks for watching!
> 
> AnjChito - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know


That was great. Your singers voice and sax playing was fantastic and I really like the sound you were getting from your guitar. Your guitar playing was great too. For an outside venue, you had your sound set up perfectly. Well done.


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## Chito

KapnKrunch said:


> Well done! Shining example of how to keep musically active.


Thanks! It was great playing in front of a crowd after all these months of doing livestream shows. But we also do enjoy the livestream shows as it gives us the opportunity to play for friends and family from all over the world.



1SweetRide said:


> Lol, 19 seconds in. "Hot Sex". Loved the session.
> View attachment 321812


I was going 'what the heck is he talking about'? I showed it to Angie and she said, I said 'Hot Sax' not 'Hot Sex' hahahaha



greco said:


> EXCELLENT !! ....Congrats and Thanks Anj & Chito!


Thanks Dave! Appreciate your opinion always!



Guitar101 said:


> That was great. Your singers voice and sax playing was fantastic and I really like the sound you were getting from your guitar. Your guitar playing was great too. For an outside venue, you had your sound set up perfectly. Well done.


Thanks! I showed Angie this and she told me to thank you for the generous compliment. And that goes for me too.


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## TheYanChamp

Those bose rigs are perfect for that application. Add bass, drums, crowds, busy street or anything remotely loud acoustically and it falls apart. 

Perfect for a jazz trio or quartet.


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