From shrockrob@aol.com Wed Aug 03 09:36:24 2005
Subject:Re: Bose PAS

I went to a private demo last year of the Bose/Line6 system.

In a nutshell, yes, the band sounded quite good and clear at moderate levels
and the system sounded similar both onstage and in the audience. Acoustic
guitar and vocals sounded especially clean and intelligible.

However, the band was flat on the ground at audience level. I wondered what
would have happened if the band was elevated, say, 6 feet on a stage. I wonder
if there would be some impact on the sound for the audience with the sticks
that high. Maybe not.

The problems with the Bose system for me were these:

1. The bass simply did not carry a lot of punch and power. In fact, it
sounded kind of wimpy. Definitely nothing like an Ampeg with a little grind going
on.

2. There was some issue with the drum kit sounding out of balance. I don't
know why, but the cymbals vs. kit didn't "gel" with the live sound, even though
everything was miked.

3. The electric guitar was run through a Line6 Pod, so... well, if that's
what floats your tone boat. (Actually, I own a PodXT Live and a Variax 700, but I
use them with a tube guitar amp.) The electric guitar absolutely did not have
any balls to the sound. It sounded like, well, digitally-emulated distortion
and amplification and "processed" overall (ie. bad tone), even when the guy
was definitely going for just a simple, classic rock tone a la Santana or Jimi
Hendrix.

To my ears, bass and (especially) electric guitar need their traditional amp
rigs for most types of pop/rock/blues/jazz music. For the sound most electric
guitar players are going for, I feel you still need a good, tube amp with some
decent-sized speakers moving some air. That instrument (electric guitar and
amp combination) is what it is, and a good guitarist knows how to handle their
sound, even though it is very directional and they usually stand a little
off-axis. (In fact, I oftentimes don't want to hear the guitar player as loud as
he likes it while standing in front of his amp--I'm GLAD it's directional and
not dispersed!)

I can't imagine it would be in any way satisfying as a rock guitar player to
hear your sound through such a "polite"-sounding rig. Yuk. In an opposite kind
of way, it's like trying to get a an amplified quartet of electric violins,
viola and cello to sound like a real classical quartet--it's just never gonna
sound right if THAT'S the sound you're going for. Maybe new guitarists will
approach the Bose system as a new part of the instrument chain equation and
actually play differently because of it and go for new sounds--now that might be
interesting. (That's what happened with electric guitar and bass players 50
years ago--they incorporated the technology into a new "sound.") But I don't
really know if that's possible except for the most clean and polite of sounds.

While the Bose system does sound nice and clear, it doesn't have a "sound."
At least not a sound with any character, which may be great for a singer with
an acoustic guitar that simply wants to be intelligible in a coffeehouse. It
DEFINITELY did not rock. I don't think it can get loud enough or distort in a
pleasing way that we've come to like in both rock recordings and PA rigs. (It's
kinda like the analog vs. digital discussion in recording we've been dealing
with for 15 years or vintage preamps vs. sterile.) So if you're a rock band
that needs to play at cocktail-hour levels (ie. NOT really rock)... then sure,
fire up your Pod or Rockman and drum pads or whatever and... well, probably
nobody is going to be raving about your tone, anyway.

So, once you introduce electric guitar amps and bass cabinets back onstage,
the control and balance you were striving for simultaneously for the audience
and onstage with the Bose has been shattered.

However, as a hybrid, I'm interested in it. I think they may work great as an
individual element onstage for a keyboard player or an acousatic guitar rig;
even vocal monitors. I went to the demo because I'm both a Contributing Editor
for Electronic Musician magazine and also Music Director for Burt Bacharach.
Onstage, we are very soft and organic with the MINIMUM of onstage monitors
necessary. We have a grand piano, drum kit, two horns, keyboards, three singers
and, oftentimes, a symphony wrapped around us.

So for the bass player and myself (keyboards) onstage we try to create levels
that roughly match the acoustic output of the surrounding instruments. Of
course, things like pianos, drum kits, cellos, etc. create sounds that RADIATE to
a large degree, even if the optimal tonal balance is somewhat directional
(cello sounds better in front than standing behind it, etc.) Even the bass player
benefits from the fact that low frequency waves are pretty omnidirectional,
so he has good spread onstage. My rig suffers the most onstage, as I am
COMPLETELY reliant on some sort of reproduction system to be heard around the stage.
(I use Fostex hot spots up close, as well as the traditional dialing around a
little to the monitors and side fills.)

The Bose system may be EXACTLY what I need, because: 1. I don't rely on the
actual electronics to create my sound, like an overdriven guitar amp; and 2. I
need something like the natural dispersion that everything else on stage has
inherently (to greater and lesser degrees).

In a hybrid situation, especially for keyboard players, I think the Bose
system could be great. It may help alleviate the keyboards being buried to the
audience and the loud-ass guitar player not paying attention to what you're
playing because he can't hear you anyway. I just don't know if it can truly compete
at rock band volumes.

However, your organ clone is gonna be subject to the same limitations as a
guitar player using a Pod-- you're gonna have to get the Leslie simulation,
grind, etc. somewhere else. It ain't gonna feel like a real Leslie sitting 6 feet
away--it's only gonna be as good as the simulation. (There, back on-topic.)

Regards,
Rob Shrock

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