John –

Your observation about the lack of acoustic feedback from the Bose system is one of the big reasons I’m a fan of their cabinets. Although I don’t use the L-1 system discussed above, it’s worth emphasizing the advantage of Bose speaker systems in feedback reduction. Sorry I failed to mention it in my post above.

When I use my Bose 800 cabs in a P.A. configuration, I typically position two of them at the left and right rear corners of the bandstand area on tripod stands, at a height of about 6 – 7 feet, and face the speakers pointing toward the diagonally-opposite corners of the room. In other words, before reaching the audience, the sound must first pass above and “through” the band.

There are two extra bonuses to this setup:

1. The band hears exactly what the audience hears (unlike the more common method of setting the P.A. speakers out in front of the band). If the volume is comfortable for us, it’s plenty loud enough for the audience.
2. On-stage monitors are completely unnecessary – less stuff to carry.

With five Shure mics on stage, feedback has never been a problem – even in good-sized rooms with upwards of 500 people in the audience. With most other P.A. speakers, this setup would not only invite feedback, it would be virtually guaranteed! But not with the Bose cabinets.

In a similar vein, I’ll never forget a wedding I once played. Bandstand space was extremely tight. I brought my P.A., but there wasn’t enough room for the usual pair of tripod speaker stands. I had to set just one Bose cabinet on top of my Fender Showman head, which in turn sat atop a Kustom bass cabinet (two 15” speakers). This brought the Bose cabinet about 5 ½ feet above the floor – just about head level. Due again to the tight quarters, I had to stand directly in front of this stack of stuff, with my vocal mic pointed right at the Bose cabinet, a distance of 2 – 3 feet. Only my head separated the two.

Much to my amazement, I was able to talk and sing through the mic at a volume adequate to fill the room without a bit of feedback! I attribute this to three factors:

A. The Bose 800 cabinet, which has the speakers mounted on two facets that direct the sound away from dead center, but rather a bit to each side.
B. The use of a very directional Shure mic.
C. Keeping the volume down to a very sensible level.

For me, the combination of Shure mics, a Shure P.A. head, and Bose cabinets has proven to virtually eliminate feedback.

Jon