Question For Bose Compact Users

There are times when I am playing where I cannot place the Bose very far behind me, yet I need both extensions to reach the back people. This means I cannot adequately monitor my sound when I have no on board speakers. Even though I may get great revues from patrons, I want to hear it myself.

I suppose I could use a mixer and send in an in-ear feed. Suggestions please.

Bernie
I have the same problem except for most jobs I'm using a JBL 515xt on a stand. If I'm backed up against a wall which is the most frequent situation I have the speaker stand next to me and all I hear is Bass. I've been using my Roland CM30 as a monitor and it sounds great and helps my vocals tremendously. I run it right off the JBL . Another thing to carry and set up and if there's nothing to put it on I also need a mic stand.
I'm really leaning toward one or two Eon Ones but I'm afraid they might not cut it on some larger outdoor gigs. I'd also be hoping they have enough dispersion so I could hear them clearly from the side.

Bernie, have you tried headphones? I keep a small, unobtrusive set in my kb case for just those occasions where the room is not monitor friendly. This is the primary reason I use keyboards with on board speakers, but I have had success with using the Bose directly at the edge of my kb - takes up hardly no space, and depending on room reflection, you might be able to hear pretty well. I think, for your situation, a small monitor (facing you), or headphones could be the answer.

Occasionally when the venue demands, I'll use earbud phones. Audience generally won't even notice them.

Because of the broad horizontal coverage with the Bose, 210-degrees, I just placed the PA on my right side and never had a problem hearing myself. Never had to use on stage monitors and ended up giving the one I purchased away to Hank Bowman. Never used ear buds either.

Good luck,

Gary

We've elevated the Compacts on stands or chairs(no extensions) and put them right next to us.

We can still hear ourselves through the Compacts and at the same time avoid feedback.

The problem with elevating the system is that you lose the sub quality and sounds, which travel best at floor level. You may want to do what Don Mason did which was to use just a single extension and place the Bose directly at his sides.

Gary

That works too.

We elevated the Compacts with smaller crowds.

When I want sub quality, I look to our JBL Eon One now.

I could use small headphones from the keyboard jack, but wonder about actual speaker volume if I am hearing headphone volume only. Having the Bose along side would still not allow me to hear the balances of L&RH and bass mix accurately with full extensions. For that matter, headphones would be good, but would not reflect the speaker difference if any.
I do have a pair of CM30's, and could try one, although I am not so vain as to avoid small headphones either. Maybe if I keep the phones at a low level, I could still judge speaker volume. I will have to experiment.

At the tail end of the banquet, I took off one extension and slipped it under the base of the Bose. This allowed me to hear, but not sure if it reached 100 ft or so back with 200 people. I have some ideas to try anyway. Thanks.

Bernie, I always have mt Bose set up right beside me and I've never had a problem.

God Bless,
Don

Hi Bernie,
Anywhere I place the Compact L1, i can hear myself clearly. That's what it's designed for, to eliminate extra monitoring gears. What you hear is what the audience hear.

While I agree with the premise of "I hear what they hear" ... many of you know that I am a huge fan of on board speakers to bring the experience right into my face. There's a big difference in hearing something from a few feet away as opposed to a few inches away. Personal monitors are very important to me, and I love being able to adjust the volume of the room, and leave MY volume where I like it. Just another viewpoint.
If I had to monitor the Compact alone, I think I'd find myself playing louder than normal.

Jimmy,

Under most circumstances I agree with you, but, in my described situation, I do not. I am at a banquet in the corner of a large room seating around 200 people, all talking. There is virtually no room to place the Bose far enough away from me to hear what is coming from mids and highs. The reason is, I had to use both extensions to reach the back of the room, which put the tower over my head and 18 inches in back of me. The bass, being in a corner, seemed to overwhelm the sound.

Actually, I have encountered this before, and understand the audience thinks it is great, and, it very well may be, but I have to hear it for myself, the way it is being received. Period.

Dave, the only drawback with using the onboard speakers as monitors is that we tend to have them turned up louder than the PA system, which can be a real problem when an output cable goes bad. Ask me how I know that.

I was playing at an upscale retirement community, big party, about 300 PPL in the audience, and had the onboard speakers turned on as a monitor. The audience just didn't seem to be reacting the way they normally did, and after about three songs a lady came up to me and asked if I could turn up the music a bit because the folks at her table, which was only about 15 feet away, could hardly hear what I was playing or singing. I plugged in my dead plug, which kills the onboard speakers and realized that nothing was coming out of the Bose L1 Compact - nothing! The damned output cable from the keyboard was broken and I had no idea it was because I could hear everything just fine from the onboard speakers. I never used the onboard speakers as monitors again after that. Now, if you think this is not a problem, try turning off the Bose L1 Compact and just listen to the keyboard's onboard sound system while you play. If you're like most folks, you won't notice the difference.

With my setup, the Bose L1 Compact was always just a foot or two away from me on the right side of the keyboard, and I never had a problem monitoring myself or getting the volume levels right where they needed to be.



All the best,

Gary

Who Dat? Gary Diamond and the Zirconias?

Gary and a group of kind hearted saleswomen making Gary's day ...

BTW, that's a great line ...

I have an mp3 of George Benson's "Breezin'" that I use for a sound check on gigs ... I like it because it has a great range of 'highs' to 'bass' ... once I have the on-boards where I want them, I walk out and listen through the PA speakers ... I will also check my mic volume at the same time and adjust the PA accordingly ...

Oh, I'm pretty sure I'd know it if my mains went off!
My hearing is still 100% - bugged the crap out of my high school students that I could hear all those annoying high frequency tones they tried to torture us with on their phones.
I attribute my stellar audio health to never being in front of loud mains all these years. Monitors were always a priority for me.

Bernie if you need to hear your set up better buy a small monitor. Plug the monitor into the output of your Bose. (I think it’s LINE OUT)

Then before the people come play a recorded song on your keyboard and go out and check the volume. Then adjust the volume on your monitor.

Hope this helps, John C.

Thank you John. I had forgotten it even had an output. It makes sense to me.

Monitor has to be powered also.

I could use one of my CM-30s on those few times I am in that situation, although it is one more piece of gear.

One more piece of gear... another audio cable... and another power cable to plug into the power strip. Also add 1 minute to your setup and tear down. Would you need the mount the CM30 closer to ear level? Then you need a mic stand or a table.

It's best for you to hear so you can give the best performance.

I agree. It bothers me no end to not hear accurately, especially, when I hear very well. I have a wealth of options from my friends at Synthzone, and in case I am backed up against the wall again, I will handle it.