Bose PAS - vs - Mackie SRM450

[s***@yahoo.com]

i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.

the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.

interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.

-scott
www.scottvon.com

[Sherm]

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.
-scott
www.scottvon.com

I use a couple of srm350s but I played through the Bose once a few
months and I thought it was great. Not sure I'd want to haul it
around though.

Sherm

[Bmoas]

Post by Sherm

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.
-scott

The bose is not high on my list of rigs I like to see when playing out
I find it rather flat sounding(not open and full )
also it doesn't "reach" well into a room

the 450 also is not "A" list pa for a good acoustic sound
I like the 350's much better

But if LOUD is what you need , the 450 does get loud

The Bose really doesnt like loud IMO
George

Post by Sherm

Post by s***@yahoo.com
www.scottvon.com

I use a couple of srm350s but I played through the Bose once a few
months and I thought it was great. Not sure I'd want to haul it
around though.
Sherm

[John Sorell]

Post by Sherm

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.
-scott
www.scottvon.com

I use a couple of srm350s but I played through the Bose once a few
months and I thought it was great. Not sure I'd want to haul it
around though.
Sherm

I thought the Bose system's portability was supposed to be one of it's
good points. Are it's components heavy?

John

[Larry Pattis]

Post by John Sorell

Post by Sherm

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.
-scott
www.scottvon.com

I use a couple of srm350s but I played through the Bose once a few
months and I thought it was great. Not sure I'd want to haul it
around though.
Sherm

I thought the Bose system's portability was supposed to be one of it's
good points. Are it's components heavy?
John

I wouldn't trade my Bose for any system...the base/amp unit is a tad
heavy, but less so than the small rack I used to travel with...and no
cables, no speaker stands...set-up and tear-down take a fraction of the
time I formerly spent dealing with a traditional PA..

Oh yeah, for once I'm disagreeing slightly with George on PA/sound
issues, but I *love* the way it sounds for amplifying solo guitar.
Clean and powerful.

I wouldn't want to use it in an auditorium larger than, say, 200-250
seats....at that point I want a pro, with his/her gear controlled from
the correct vantage point in the audience.

[Bmoas]

Post by Larry Pattis
Oh yeah, for once I'm disagreeing slightly with George on PA/sound
issues, but I *love* the way it sounds for amplifying solo guitar.
Clean and powerful.

not really , your style of music and the venues you tend to play are
IDEAL for that
product
if fairs much worse with the "acoustic rock dou" at nibsys pub on
friday nights
but it is easy to transport, set up.store.
sorry it just sounds like heavily processed "bose" sound to me with all
sorts of weird missing freq and lackluster highend extention
but then again I have not heard anything worth hearing through one
either so my impression is biased from the experiances I have had
(none that were good)
george

[a***@contractorcom.com]

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 07:23:31 -0800, Larry Pattis

Post by Larry Pattis

Post by John Sorell

Post by Sherm

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.
-scott
www.scottvon.com

I use a couple of srm350s but I played through the Bose once a few
months and I thought it was great. Not sure I'd want to haul it
around though.
Sherm

I thought the Bose system's portability was supposed to be one of it's
good points. Are it's components heavy?
John

I wouldn't trade my Bose for any system...the base/amp unit is a tad
heavy, but less so than the small rack I used to travel with...and no
cables, no speaker stands...set-up and tear-down take a fraction of the
time I formerly spent dealing with a traditional PA..
Oh yeah, for once I'm disagreeing slightly with George on PA/sound
issues, but I *love* the way it sounds for amplifying solo guitar.
Clean and powerful.
I wouldn't want to use it in an auditorium larger than, say, 200-250
seats....at that point I want a pro, with his/her gear controlled from
the correct vantage point in the audience.

We used to use a 3Kw Bose system for the soul band years ago.
Absolutely smashing - very small, heavy individually but so compact
the whole lot would go into the back of an average sized saloon.

I remember seeing King Crimson in about 1970 using a Bose system at
the Free Trade Hall in Manchester (a 2500 seater). The P.A. must have
been about 10 square metres in all.

Deafening. It's cool stuff.

Pete

[Larry Pattis]

Post by a***@contractorcom.com

Post by Larry Pattis
I wouldn't trade my Bose for any system...the base/amp unit is a tad
heavy, but less so than the small rack I used to travel with...and no
cables, no speaker stands...set-up and tear-down take a fraction of the
time I formerly spent dealing with a traditional PA..
Oh yeah, for once I'm disagreeing slightly with George on PA/sound
issues, but I *love* the way it sounds for amplifying solo guitar.
Clean and powerful.
I wouldn't want to use it in an auditorium larger than, say, 200-250
seats....at that point I want a pro, with his/her gear controlled from
the correct vantage point in the audience.

We used to use a 3Kw Bose system for the soul band years ago.
Absolutely smashing - very small, heavy individually but so compact
the whole lot would go into the back of an average sized saloon.
I remember seeing King Crimson in about 1970 using a Bose system at
the Free Trade Hall in Manchester (a 2500 seater). The P.A. must have
been about 10 square metres in all.
Deafening. It's cool stuff.
Pete

Well, the Bose PAS (or L-1, as I believe they are now calling it) is a
horse of a different colo(u)r compared to what you're describing,
Pete...but the use of the PAS/L-1 for me in the right venue (a smaller
room) is both "absolutely smashing" and "cool stuff."

Thankfully it's *not* deafening...although the tinnitus in my left ear
is bad at times, these days (and nights)...

8-)

[Misifus]

Post by Larry Pattis
Thankfully it's *not* deafening...although the tinnitus in my left ear
is bad at times, these days (and nights)...
8-)

Welcome to maturity, Larry. I've had tinnitus in both ears so long, I
can't think of what silence would sound like.

-Raf
--
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
mailto:***@suddenlink.net
blog: http://rafsrincon.blogspot.com/
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com

[Larry Pattis]

Post by Misifus

Post by Larry Pattis
Thankfully it's *not* deafening...although the tinnitus in my left ear
is bad at times, these days (and nights)...
8-)

Welcome to maturity, Larry. I've had tinnitus in both ears so long, I
can't think of what silence would sound like.
-Raf

Thanks Raf...I think...

I like that...maturity...of course, it's been over 2 years for me with
this tinnitus, so I'm almost getting used to it.

Hey, I can hear the crickets even in the dead of winter and with the
windows closed...

8-)

[Ed Edelenbos]

Post by Misifus
Welcome to maturity, Larry. I've had tinnitus in both ears so long, I
can't think of what silence would sound like.
-Raf

Huh? Come again...

Ed

[Jay Paul]

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.

Scott,

I am curious as to how the speakers were deployed. The Bose is intended
to be located upstage of the performer, so that it can perform as a
stage monitor and front of house loudspeaker. Was it used in this
manner? Where was the Mackie located? Was the audience covered by both
the Mackie and Bose, so that the coverage of the two speakers
overlapped?

I'm not surprised that the Bose won in terms of dispersion and
articulation, especially if you were in a reverberent space.

JP

[jingle_jangle]

A few months back, I attended an acoustic concert in a multipurpose
room at the Museum of Making Music (MOMM) in Carlsbad, CA. A number of
fairly heavy-hitters were on the bill, including Paul Kantner and Marty
Willson-Piper. The occasion was the Rickenbacker 75th anniversary, and
I was there (among other reasons) to hear both men play a new
Rickenbacker Jumbo 12-string acoustic, with a LRBaggs pickup system,
which I had built for the occasion.

There were no less than FIVE of the Bose PAS lined up at the front of
the room. The first set saw Mr. Willson-Piper playing some lovely and
lyrical, chimey pieces with vocal accompaniment from his all-goil band,
the Electric Mood Maidens. I was quite impressed at the clarity and
lack of harshness of the vocal material, but was stone flabbergasted to
discover that the Rick acoustic was also plugged into the Bose system.
There were at least a couple of songs in which this jumbo-bodied
flattop sounded like a '60s Rick 360/12, which as we know is a whole
different animal.

Spectacular, was all I could say.

Then Mr. Kantner got up and plugged the same guitar into an older
Fender Twin Reverb for his own set. Sounded like crap in comparison.

--Senhor California

Post by Jay Paul

Post by s***@yahoo.com
i played an interesting show tonight with the main speaker system being
one single Bose PAS with sub, and one single mackie SRM 450. the board
was a mackie. it was a very odd rig for a venue but i was anxious to
hear them both. i brought my duo and had enough chances to hear them
both from out in the room.
the bose was the clear winner both from a dispersion point of view, and
from an articulation point of view. granted the bose rig costs 3x as
much and thus should sound much better, and indeed it did.
it had plenty of headroom, was very articulate and pleasing to the ear,
and we never got close to pushing it hard volume wise.
interesting opportunity to hear them both, and i was surprised how much
i liked it.

Scott,
I am curious as to how the speakers were deployed. The Bose is intended
to be located upstage of the performer, so that it can perform as a
stage monitor and front of house loudspeaker. Was it used in this
manner? Where was the Mackie located? Was the audience covered by both
the Mackie and Bose, so that the coverage of the two speakers
overlapped?
I'm not surprised that the Bose won in terms of dispersion and
articulation, especially if you were in a reverberent space.
JP
--
swap my first and last name to reply

[s***@yahoo.com]

JP -

the bose and mackie were set up in your basic left and right of stage
fashion. the bose was angled a little bit more towards us, but i did
get out front to hear my sideman while he was playing solo. the
audience was covered by both speakers, and the only monitor was my own
fishman performer pro amp wedge which i kept to a bare minimum.

i have a pair of mackie srms350's after downsizing from the 450's. i
still am completely satisfied with the performance of the 350's
considering what they cost, and how well they have handled different
situations. i went without a pa for many years, using only house
systems, but occasional work asked for a PA and so i bought the 350's
and an allen & heath board with nice eq. a simple workhorse set-up
when needed, compact and light.

the venue was a colorado mountain lodge in estes park. noisy, but
classy place, but certainly not a listening room. a fun place to play
but the PA has to work over a lot of ambient crowd noise. the bose
stick was great that night, and we could overall keep things lower in
volume and still fill the room.

hope that helps,

-scott
www.scottvon.com