Presets 1.0

If you have a L1 Classic then you probably want to read Presets for the Model I and Classic

This is from a post on the Bose^® Pro Portable PA Community by Cliff-at-Bose December 3, 2003.

It is here because it gives some interesting insight into the thinking behind those original presets.

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Presets 1.0 exposed! (actually, explained)

Presets 1.0(!!!)

Both inputs 1 and 2 employ 99 “presets”, which are predetermined signal processing combinations (mostly equalization) that allow personalized system adjustments to be made easily, depending on the artistic preferences of each player. Most of these were developed by ear, simply by making each instrument sound is most attractive through the Personlaized Amplification System™. You should audition these, at home or in rehearsal before you perform, and see how they enhance the sound of your instruments and/or microphone. As a reference, you can always go back to “flat” preset “00” or use flat inputs 3 or 4. Using the flat preset, commercial recordings will sound their best and the system can be used as a fine reference for making your own recordings. So, when you use the flat setting (00, others), you will hear what your instrument or microphone sounds like on its own. In many cases this will be very revealing. Set up one channel using the recommended preset and set up the other using 00. Then plug into one, then the other, for a quick A/B. We invite you to try this. What follows is a description of what went on to get some of these particular presets:

00 flat - This is the standard non-processed “reference” preset. As of this writing, there are other flat presets, shown on the preset list that comes with all systems. Use the flat settings for most electronic and digital keyboards and synths as well as for “standard” or commercial audio recordings, like CD/MP3 etc. Also, this preset is a useful comparison for listening to how your instrument sounds on its own v/s with a Bose preset. Since this preset basically makes things sound normal (or “truly great”, if the recording is “truly great”), it is a good preset to use in a recording, mixing or editing/mastering studio. (Keep in mind that channels 3 and 4 are flat also).

Vocal Microphones

01 Shure SM 58 – We did pretty much the same thing for the all of the popular mics listed here: We tried to maintain each microphone’s basic sonic signature but we optimized individual behavior to produce a more natural voice presentation for each microphone. For instance, the SM58 is somewhat hot in the low midrange. We de-emphasized this, brightened it up a bit and made it sound better over the Bose system for close vocal work. We also added a sharp low-cut filter, keeping only that part of the audio spectrum where the mic is useful, so that using the microphone with this preset minimizes bass regeneration. Turn the knobs on the remote if you want to change the tone or use preset 00 to see where we started from. All these mic presets were developed for close microphone use (“eat the mic”), which is the best way to improve your vocal signal.

02 Shure SM 57

03 Shure SM 58 beta

04 Shure SM 57 beta

05 Audix OM-5

06 Electro-Voice N/D 357

07 Future microphone

08 Future microphone, 85 Hz highpass

09 Future microphone, 105 Hz highpass

Utility

10 80 Hz Highpass – This rolls off the deep bass. This is a very useful preset, especially for electronic keyboards and “flat” condenser microphones. For instance, many digital pianos will have a giant gob of bass in the lower left-hand. This never happens in a real piano, unless you listen right next to the soundboard. Many keyboards have a lot of deep bass and this part of the audio spectrum really tends to muddy the mix of a live band. If you insist on mega-bass levels from, say, your big fancy synth, go ahead with your bad self. But at least try cutting the deep bass with preset 10 and try to be objective with how this improves the sound of the whole band. This is a whole theme for live playing, by the way: Play your instrument, or play the tune? Play with the band, or play with yourself? With this new system, you can now hear your instrument and the whole band. How you sound and how the whole ensemble sounds is no longer a mystery.

11 5 kHz Lowpass – This rolls off the treble range of audio. This is useful for electric guitar with distortion, especially direct output of amplifiers using “amp load” boxes such as “Power Soak” and the like. These create a lot of high end, due to added harmonics caused by distortion, and de-emphasizing them might be a pleasant and welcome addition to this kind of sound. Try it also with any distortion processor or amp/speaker “modeler”.

12 80Hz/5Khz bandpass - This is also very useful for taking distorted guitar direct from a preamp or amplifier and making it sound a bit sweeter. This filter is also very useful for a lot of things and will sound a lot like 00 for some instruments that are “midrangey”. There are several other band-pass filters in the preset list that you can also use. Read on.

13 200 Hz, 1oct, -6dB midrange cut - A lot of acoustic and semihollow electric guitars resonate around 200 Hz (sound or “f” hole) and will howl uncontrollably at higher volume levels. This preset is a nice fix for that general condition. For instance, a semihollow jazz or blues guitar played thru a guitar preamp into the Bose system will probably sound a lot better, have much more even note-sounding over the fretboard and be much more feedback-free. Some electric guitarists actually stuff their (expensive and resonant) instruments with foam or rubber f-hole plugs to combat this. This actually dulls the sound of the instrument and reduces its responsiveness a lot. Try this preset as an alternative.

14 500 Hz 1oct -6dB midrange cut - Reduces “honk”, possibly for horns and some vocals.

15 flat, -90dB gate - For noisy systems, try this and the other gates that follow.

16 flat, -80dB gate

17 flat, -60dB gate

18 flat

19 flat

Acoustic Guitars

20 Taylor 810 with expression pickup system – We de-emphasized the low midrange and boosted the midbass and upper mids, making this modern 3-pickup acoustic guitar sound really pleasant and useful thru our system at most volume levels. It’s a modified smiley. Compare to 00.

21 Guild D25 with Fishman Piezo - We have found that most piezo pickups on acoustic guitar “quack” a bit in the mid-midrange (1KHz). It’s almost a “signature” sound of piezo systems. So, we added a de-emphasis in this range, which should improve the sound of a lot of guitars with piezo-pickup systems.

22 Guild D25 with Fishman Piezo and sound hole notch - When you play loud with an acoustic guitar, feedback usually starts in the lower midrange (200 Hz). This is the principle resonance of the sound-hole and the air in the body of the instrument. So this preset is basically the same as 21 with additional de-emphasizing of the sound-hole resonance.

23 Acoustic guitar with AKG 451 mic, ~4” from sound hole - The 451 is typical of a lot of cardioid condenser mics used for acoustic guitar. They are all very similar in spectral content. Putting the mic over the sound-hole seems to be where most of the sound of the instrument can be picked up. If you put it closer to the instrument, it will roar in the 200-400 Hz octave. Have someone play a guitar and put your ear up to the hole to understand this. As you back away, you hear more of the total sound of the instrument. And so, this excessive lower midrange level is one of the artifacts of close mic pickup. If you take the mic and move it around you will find that other parts of the instrument are not as full- or representative-sounding as the sound hole area. Our preset tames the roar and makes for a very useful presentation. At higher levels of output, this kind of microphone will feed back much more than a standard vocal mic, so beware. If you use this method of amplifying your acoustic, you will be playing with your back to the sound system. This will provide a lot more gain before feedback, as you will be “shadowing” the mic (pointed at the system) with your body and with the guitar itself. When you get up (taking a break, etc) the mic will be “unprotected” and will feed back if the gain is high enough. In general, miking an acoustic guitar is only a good idea if you can play at moderate sound levels.

So do this: Set your remote control master gain to minimum when you are not playing. When you play, bring it up to where you want it, adjusting your microphone level also, if you are singing.

24 Acoustic guitar with Shure SM57 mic, ~4” from sound hole – Same as for the 451, but using this popular and ubiquitous microphone.

Electric Guitars

30 Fender Telecaster clean/direct – The Tele is a bright instrument and pretty much sounds fine on its own. It’s one of the various electric guitars that sound balanced when recorded “direct”. Others like this include the Gibson Les Paul and Yamaha AE800. We tamed the deep bass and upper mids a bit for the Tele, but it’s pretty much untouched otherwise. Because it’s mostly flat, this is a very useful preset for many things. You might like it a lot if you intend to use a Line-6 Pod, other modeling device or one of a universe of distortion pedals. Always compare to 00.

31 Fender Stratocaster clean/direct - This famous electric sounds very different from the Tele, very “stringy” in comparison, but sounds like a Strat without much help needed. We rolled the lows and highs for a “normal” Strat sound. This, like the Tele preset, is flat with the ends rolled a bit; a bandpass filter. Thus it is similarly useful for a lot of other things. This preset allows more bass but less high end than the Tele.

32 Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 clean/direct - Direct and on its own, the PRS is very midrangy. This is a relatively complex EQ, but the PRS sounds like a grand piano as a result. Spectacular.

33 Gretsch Country Gentleman clean/direct - Brightened it up. Nice.

34 Ibanez Artist clean/direct - Brightened up, some de-emphasis in the mid midrange. This preset should work for a lot of semihollow electrics.

35 12” Guitar Speaker Sound – 10” and 12” speakers for electric guitar typically have a strong midrange “shelf” from 2-5 Khz or so, thereby giving them a characteristic and familiar sound. The difference here is that everyone will hear it, not just those in the “sweet spot”.

36 Gibson Les Paul Classic clean/direct - The Les Paul sound really nice into a flat setting. Here’s an alternative voicing you will probably prefer. We de-emphasized a bit of “honk” in the midrange and brightened the upper harmonics. Nice.

37 Gibson ES335/345 clean/direct – This famous instrument is pretty midrangy on its own. So we de-emphasized this range and brightened it up a bit. If you play a 335, you should be in love with this preset. All the woody tone comes out, and it’s real pretty.

38 Gibson ES335/345 split neck pickup clean/direct - This option thins out the 335 by using only half of the neck pickup. With this preset, it sounds very Strat-like, not as much of a midrange de-emphasis as the stock 335.

Keyboards

40 Wurlitzer 200 - This is an “ensemble mix” preset. Most Wurlitzers buzz hellishly on both the high end and low end and don’t sound good with much low end content anyway. This preset emphasizes the midrange and will sound totally authentic (“like the record”) if you just plug it in and play. Use the headphone output of the instrument so that you cut off the internal speakers. You want all the sound to come out of the Bose system. This preset will not prevent you from breaking reeds.

41 Fender Rhodes 73 tine accent - A Rhodes 73 direct into a flat input sounds just about right. This is a “mix” or “ensemble” preset, with an accent in the upper midrange that brings the (beautiful) sound of the tines out a bit more. Ding!!

42 Hohner Clavinet D6 de-quack – This original clav sounds great direct, just fabulous. Here’s another “mix” preset that de-emphasizes the mid midrange a bit and it won’t “quack” quite as much in the mix. You’ll love flat also, so compare. This preset de-emphasizes the 1 KHz octave and so it might be useful for reducing a “nasal” quality in anything. Try both this and 00. Some players will like the latter better.

Bass

50 Upright 3/4 Bass with Fishman pickup - The instrument we tried seemed to have a broad emphasis around the “honky” octave, 500 Hz. So we tamed this a bit and added some upper bass and upper midrange, de-emphasized the high end to reduce string squeak but still maintain that “stringy” quality an upright bassist loves. It sounded really nice with all the “brown” tone you could want.

51 Fender Active Jazz Bass - This is a very useful preset. We simply rolled the low and high end a bit. This is a modern Jazz bass with active buffer amps, c.2002. It’s basically flat and pretty much sounds right on its own. Compare to preset 00. We think you’ll like it better in the mix. This preset, because of its relatively mild filtering, is also highly useful for electric guitar using various processors, including “modelers”. If you want to try something like this, compare it to the Fender Strat and Tele direct presets and see what works for you. Always compare to 00.

52 Smiley Bass - Most bass amps, even big (SVT-sized) ones have limited deep low end, and for good reason (another possibility is that’s just what they are and have evolved this way): In an amplified ensemble with drums, a lot of deep bass gets in the way of a lot of instruments, “swamping” them. This is especially true of kick drum re: its low-end attack definition. So, we de-amphasized deep low end, gave low midbass and mid-midrange a boost (thus “smiley”) and rolled off the very high end, reducing string and fret noise. Most bassists playing a “passive bass” will like this preset a lot. It’s a nice big sound with good definition, and it’s pretty much a plug and play. We tried this with some true collector basses (old Fender P and Jazz, Danelectro, etc) and with some more modern basses and got good results with most. Compare to 00, but compare at rehearsal or on the gig for best results, not in your living room.

Percussion

60 Kick drum, Sennheiser 601 - Use this preset with a “prepared” kick drum, and watch your levels (trim way back, lots of signal here). Prepare the kick drum with a good bottom pillow, pad or other kick head dampening and fill the shell with sound absorbing material. The Bose Dacron® kit has enough for any kick drum. If you use a second head (not necessary) dampen it too and give it minimum tension. This will be for appearance only. Set the mic head right on the beater target area. This will sound great for kick in the mix, a little “sharp” on its own. It works really nice for the whole ensemble. Make sure you use enough bass speakers for the application.

61 Drum overhead, experimental

62 Kick drum, AKG D112 - Same as for the Senn 601 but making it work well for this mic.

63 Kick drum, Shure Beta 52a - Same as for the Senn 601 but making it work well for this mic.

Special

71- Crucionelli Accordion with LIMEX “Micro Professional” pickup/preamp system - We think this is a popular configuration on a “better” accordion. It is a 1:1 mix of the bass and treble (left and right hand) systems, which can be accomplished with a “Y jack” or by putting both LIMEX outputs into channels 1 and 2 using preset 71. The former is useful if you want to use a vocal microphone in one channel and need that channel’s preset for the mic. As a dedicated accordion amp, however, use channels 1 and 2 for the two LIMEX outputs (grey and black jacks). This system was very midrangy through our system and needed brightening. If you have this system, you will love the sound, just like the real thing only now you can play for 500 people if you want. This works really good without the bass box, by the way. Is this the ultimate accordion amp?

72- AT35Pro mic- This popular mic for trumpet is optimized for close-mic trumpet. Sounds like a trumpet now.

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Original Post and ongoing discussion

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