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#250125 - 12/02/08 07:52 PM Demoed the Fishman Solo Amp today...
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2202
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Tried it out today here in Dayton...

I actually A-B-ed it against the BOSE L1 model 2...

The Fishman after I played with some EQ's, really didn't sound bad...

It had strong mid ranges, decent high but weak lows (as advertised...)

Volume was ok, but when pushed by a psr arranger, it buckled, crackled and sonically yelled "uncle" at me...

Adding a powered sub made a huge difference. It was quite a bit better than without it, but output was still a little weak. (For me, I could use it for most of my nursing home jobs and it would be perceived by my clients and audience as fine volume wise.)

I do think if I daisy chained two Fishman Solo Amps to each other and added a small powered sub, it would sound pretty darn good...

***The tower on its own merit, using an arranger kb and vocal mic through it I'd give an score of 65 / 100 (Not usable for me in any circumstances...)

***The tower with a sub wooofer, same set up-I'd give a 75 / 100 (It helps noticeably, but it doesn't blow me away...)

***My current set up, (Yamaha box mixer, digitech vocal harmonizer, two Behringer 15's PA speakers I'd give a 95 / 100 (Loud as hell, clear, has a nice sizzle to everything, its great but heavy...)

***I'd give the BOSE a 90 / 100...just under my current set up, but after I really set it up properly and tweaked it to my liking, I'm confident the BOSE would surpass the current rig easily...

Comparing the Fishman to the Bose...No contest...There's nothing to really think about whatsoever. It would take 2 Fishman tower and a sub to begin to approximate the single bose tower and sub. It would not be quite as good, certainly not better, no way...

Cost...

Bose tower model 1, 1 sub inc - $2500

Fishman Solo Amp $1000 each...(Since I'd need two of these and a sub to get in the same neighborhod as the bose...I'm quickly in the same price range but having to transport 2 fishman systems plus buying a sub, which is something else to carry...)

Two BOSE towers connected would be insanely loud...I could easily do any solo or duo venue I currently have with the single tower bose and its sub. I'm unsure though, how the quartet would translate through it for a 300 person dance. I have no doubt 2 towers and a sub would handle it just fine...Actually, for a quartet like mine...it wouldn't break a sweat-so maybe a single would suffice...

If I purchased something today-it would have been the bose...I would not have bought the tone engine...I'm happy with my current yamaha mixer and digitech processor...I'd run a balanced signal from the yamaha board to the input on the base unit of the bose and go from there...

Again, the clarity of a decision once you have adequate information is so often very easy. Reading other peoples experiences, researching online, etc. gives you one perspective, but nothing beats hands on.

We'll work this puppy into the old budget and figure out how to get her done.

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Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 12-02-2008).]

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 12-02-2008).]
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Bill in Dayton

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#250126 - 12/03/08 03:37 PM Re: Demoed the Fishman Solo Amp today...
GlennT Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 12/01/02
Posts: 1790
Loc: Medina, OH, USA
Bill, thanks for the review. The Fishman Solo is an interesting amp. Good to see your Bose comparison.

Glenn

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#250127 - 12/03/08 03:55 PM Re: Demoed the Fishman Solo Amp today...
Fran Carango Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 05/26/99
Posts: 9673
Loc: Levittown, Pa, USA
No thanks to all of the above..

I will stay with my trusty 23 year old Roland Cubes..
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