Quote:

I'm def checking out the L1 with B2 bass. But funds do not permit that at the moment and to be honest I cannot justify the cost because I'm not gigging yet. When I do, depending how that pans outs will determine the purchase of L1 but they do impress. I get the I impression the bose L1 with subs is akin to Hi Fi sound?



Paul, I've been gigging for 40 years and have used everything under the sun for it. I NEVER buy anything music related brand new. Never. There's way too many idiot wannabe's who walk into a music store all wide eyed knowing squat about anything and buy the wrong stuff. They discover they have no talent and no gigs and it just sits gathering dust. Finally, they sell it used for less than half what they paid new.

Three names, JBL, ElectroVoice and RCF ART. RCF is Italian and while I've not heard them they're readily available in the UK and have a stellar reputation as good bang for the buck.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=752230&Q=&is=REG&A=details

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/electro-voice-elx112p-active-12-loudspeaker

http://www.frontrowelectronics.com/rcf-a...CFUlxQgodd2UANA

I have the EV 112P. I picked it up used from a wannabe DJ less than a mile from me I saw on Craigslist for 380 USD. Any one of these speakers by itself will absolutely blow the windows out of a small venue and I use mine for keyboards including playing organ bass with a small jazz group. I also play with an 18 piece big band and use it for piano. My EV is just a killer speaker and it weighs 36 pounds. There is NO WAY I'm paying Bose money for about fifteen $100-200 gigs a year.

Around here you see JBL and EV everywhere and from reading lots of keyboard forums I know for a fact RCF is well known and liked in the UK. All three are the pro's choice for both keys and PA work.

Trust me, if a speaker set up works for keyboards it'll work for you. Keys are the absolute worst thing for a powered speaker. They go from thundering bass to hf synth and flute type stuff and usually all at the same time. Among other things I do some gigs using an arranger keyboard where I'm the one man band behind a sax player and vocalist. His two powered JBL Eon's sound just great. True, maybe an L1 would be a bit better but not for that kind of money. His Eon's are at least 10 years old are only worth now maybe $300 each and still work great. I was on a cruise a couple years ago and every venue on the whole ship had Eon's from the main 600 seat theater to all the little lounges with either a single or duo playing. There were also about 8 of them around the main pool for the band that was playing there. Nobody had individual instrument speakers, everything went through the JBL's. JBL's and EV's are the industry standard for PA work. Oh yes, QSC too forgot about them. They're a bit more than the others but very good also.

I rarely see Bose anywhere most likely due to the price but the vocalist did bring his L1 to a big band rehearsal, he set it up behind the band and it cut through and sounded great. I have no quarrel with the Bose sound quality, just the price. JBL and EV have been at each others throats for at least 40 years. I've heard them in every type of venue from a huge Elton John concert to small clubs my whole life. If they're good enough for everybody else, they're good enough for me.

Bob

Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.