Proper use for Bose PA

November 10, 2006 8:38 AM

I have a Bose L1/PS1 Personalized Amplification System. Does this take the place of all my other amps?

I have a Marshall amp that I normally use but I received the Bose L1/PS1 as a present. Does that take the place of the Marshall or do I run the Marshall through that? Can I plug my guitar into an effects pedal and then into the Bose like I normally would with an amp, or is that too much voltage for the Bose? I basically don't understand whether it takes the place of an amp, or if it is truly like a PA, where I would need to run the guitar through the amp first and then into the PA (Bose). If my question is confusingly worded, it's because I am confused. Thanks for any help anyone could provide!

posted by jitterbug perfume to media & arts (4 comments total)

It takes the place of your Marshall- or you can run them BOTH by splitting the signal.
It will accept the signal from a pedal without damage- that'll be fine. (And besides, if it didn't, how would you put any effects on the sound?)
posted by wzcx at 8:51 AM on November 10, 2006

I read the manual to find this out.
posted by wzcx at 8:52 AM on November 10, 2006

You don't run the Marshall through it, unless you want to destroy it and sound awful.

If I remember correctly (and I'm quite sure I do) you can run your guitar through effects and then into the Bose system.

It's like a very unique PA. But you wouldn't run your guitar through an amp and then direct from the amp to the PA, either.

I've heard people play guitar through a PodXT Live and a Bose PAS, and it sounded pretty great. It won't sound like you're playing through a tube amp, but it will sound exactly like if you were playing through a tube amp that was then mic'ed up to an amazing PA (which is what you hope for in a live situation anyway).

The Bose PAS is an incredible system. But, as you've noted, it's an adjustment to figure out how to use it in your rig. I suspect the user's manual has a ton to say about it. Once you get it dialed, it will be surreal. If your Marshall is solid state or hybrid, it's probably not worth keeping at this point. If, on the other hand, it's an all-tube Marshall, you should hold onto it -- using it in tandem with the Bose system would be very cool (not through the Bose, but in addition to it).

Hope that helps.
posted by JekPorkins at 8:55 AM on November 10, 2006

Someone gave you one as a present? Aren't these things like $1700? Nice present!

The PA is basically an amplifier and speakers combined. It is expecting either mic-inputs (XLR) or line-level inputs (the output of a preamp). Plugging your guitar straight in, or through an effect pedal, will not hurt it but I don't think you'll get ideal sound. You probably want to go through a pre-amp that has line-level outputs. An active DI box might work OK.

If you use something that does amplifier and speaker modelling (like the POD) I think you'll be fine, provided you like the sound of a POD. Otherwise, I don't think you're going to get realistic electric guitar sounds - too much of good guitar sound is in the amp + cabinet (or simulations thereof). I've used a setup similar to this using a laptop and "Guitar Rig" which is sort of like a very configurable pod, in software form. I think Line 6 has something like this also (a piece of hardware that plugs into your computer, that you plug a guitar into, and software you run that does the effects, amp modelling, speaker modelling, etc).

If you have a marshall, like a nice tube head and a 4x12 or 2x12 or something, you might not consider this a real replacement for it. Depends on what you're after, I guess.
posted by RustyBrooks at 11:51 AM on November 10, 2006