Bose L1 Pro8 Versus Bose L1 Compact Acoustic Guitar Demo 

Am going for the Bose L1 pro8. Thank you Gary!

I wanted to stop back by and thank you. I just bought the Bose L1 pro 8 and I am really pleased with it. After watching your review, it really helped make my mind up. tonight will be the first live show I will be doing with it, so we will see hoping for the best. Thanks again friend keep posting you have fantastic content.

I have been kicking through a pair of Bose L1 compacts for years now. I think I bought them the year that came out. I have used external mixers of all kinds with great results. I run them at 12:30 with no sub, a 15” TC Electronic BG250, or a JBL Eon 18” powered sub, depending on the gig, room, etc. Currently, I am running just the two compacts with an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar through a TC nova, a mic’d grand piano, two vocal mics, and backing tracks which include drums, bass, synthesizers, and other guitars. All of it goes through a sound craft notepad 124 FX running in stereo, unity gain structure, master at -5 db. The room is roughly 70 feet deep and 150 across, with a 35’ acoustic tile ceiling. The Bose are placed ~ 45’ apart to either side of the band and about 4-5’ behind the frontline. We use no monitors or guitar amps. It sounds amazing. We’re playing contemporary Christian music which, these days, can have a pretty big “wall of sound” approach. It’s not face-melting, but plenty loud and evenly dispersed across the room. Something that always delights me is when a particularly robust song is playing and the live instruments are all in, I step up to sing and the vocal comes out with such clarity and headroom. Careful coordination between the gain levels of live instruments, mics and track are very important when using the Bose to get the best results. If I had the $$ I would go even bigger, get the Tonematch and the Bose subs but, for what I’ve got and how well it’s working, I am totally satisfied!

Nice demo. This helped me with my choice. Thanks!

outstanding review !!! thank you ! one of the best on you-tube

Just an FYI, if you are playing solo in smaller rooms, the Bose S1 pro is a great alternative to the L1 compact. It is battery powered, has built in reverb and Bluetooth. It’s obviously not as loud and full as the L1 but for a small room it works great IMO. It’s also super light and portable.

Very nice, the both of the systems, thankyou

Gary, they both sound great. I agree the L1 Pro is fuller sounding. Plus with the added features, it sounds like a winner. I would be interested to hear it with the various tone match settings. Great comparison demo.

Thank you for the demo. I currently have a L1 compact that I use with my Yamaha CP88. I recently upgraded from a Yamaha P80 I purchased in 2003 to the CP88 and it was amazing. Now I’m series considering a L1 Pro8.

Gary that’s a really good demo, I have the compact n the L1 model 1s with the tone match it works well for me but I don’t gig just enjoy at home . That pro model is definitely an improvement wow

👏👏👏👏 Loved it when you started looping.

I like L1 compact better. Love the plug-in and go. Also the knobs on top

Thank you Gary you just convinced me to get the L1 pro system. You are a great guitar player by the way.

Very nice!! Thank you, had Bose for years and went to a QSC system, but at 70 I’m going back to my “roots”!:)

Really enjoyed the presentation and your playing. It was hard to to tell the difference between both speakers. I presently have the compact and l’m thinking about purchasing the Bose L1 pro 8. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Gary, like yourself I have been using the Bose L1 Compact for over ten years. I love it and it has met my needs. I really appreciated your demo and it was very helpful. I subscribed to your channel and look forward to more of your demo's.

Awesome playing! I'm thinking of upgrading my bose system from an L1 compact to the L1 Pro8. Thanks for the comparison!

A good review AND nice playing! Well done man, thanks.

Great review! I have the Bose L1 Compact. Just got it about a month and a half ago. Had been looking for a good comparison between both systems. Thanks for posting.

I wanted to thank you for an excellent comparison I have an L1 pro coming tomorrow based on the demo that you gave putting both of these side-by-side I to have spent the last 10 years using an L1 compact I can definitely hear the tunnel differences between the two systems And listening I came to the same conclusions that you shared so again very much appreciated keep up the good work

Great to see you hit the 1K+ subscribers! Nice videos!

Sound great

Just now subscribed !!!! Thank you for the comparisons !!! The video is not too long. You demonstrated the acoustic and an electric guitar. The length was just right because you did not unnecessarily over explain. That’s when a video becomes too long when repeated information takes place. Thank you

love the comparison would be more helpful to have an A/B box for these kind of video to the switch back and forth can be more immediate i think the differences would stand out even more. great playing and phrasing and video comparison would good as well

You sounds great man Thank you for the demo 🙏

Excellent Review Thank you! I just Purchased the Bose L1 Pro 8

I am thinking of buying L1 pro 8 and your video helped me with my decision. Thank you Gary~!

Gary, that was one of the best head-to-head comparisons I've seen, thanks for the effort. The big take-away for me is that the quality is comparable enough that when I expand I can look into a second L1 compact instead of dumping mine for a pair of Pros. I always run a digital mixer for our bluegrass band, so no effects/EQ are required at the PA itself. The Pro does sound very nice and if I had to buy my first today (or before the compact was discontinued), I'd probably pop for the pro. I look forward to more of your videos. Great playing as well!. Btw, mine pops also- but no different than most of my amps- I just try to remember to turn them down first.

Great value in this review Gary, thank you. Currently deciding between these two units.

Great review!! I could listen to you play that acoustic all day long!!!

thanks for this awesome demo! and great playing also!

i came because the L1 Compact, but stayed not only about this, but to listen the musics!! congrats!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Gary for your excellent demo. I have the Bose L1 Compact and just use it for karaoke purposes and I just love it but now that I heard the Bose Pro 8 it sounds better than the Compact L1, I’m thinking about upgrading to the Pro 8!😁

really really important demo! thank u

Another great review and content Sir! Thanks for showing us this review about the Bose L1 Pro8 and L1 Compact.

Played through a pro 8 yesterday, amazing sound! Not sure if it would be powerful enough for gigs I do but I was blown away with quality of sound and the thump from the sub.

Hi Gary, excellent demonstration...really enjoyed listening to your playing. I have the L1 compact with the bose tone match pa...excellent kit.

Can’t wait to upgrade from the compact🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Fantastic demonstration

Outstanding video. Thank you. Very tasteful and soulful playing as well.

Thank you for the review! So nice to check that out from the comfort of ur home :D If your interested in improving this review, it would have been nice to kinda cut the video and switch between both, without the talking an switching. But other than that im very very thankful for u doing this great video! Thanks again and keep playing :)

Thanks Gary, great demo!

GREAT demo Gary. !! :) THANK YOU. You've convinced me purchase the Bose L1 Pro 8. Was thinking of the Hughes & Kettner amp but I believe this one sounds better + more wide use of applications!

Hey Gary. Thanks man. That was a very helpful (and well-done) comparison demo. I currently own the L1 Compact (which I like a lot), but find it sometimes a bit too bassy sounding. I use a loop pedal with my own pre-recorded backup tracks and just do strictly background instrumental guitar music. I just bought the S1 Pro a couple of weeks ago. Mind-blowing!! The channel EQ made all the difference in the world. I am a Taylor diehard. I am going to buy a second S1 so I can do the wireless stereo (or mono) thing. But, now, after seeing your demo here, I think I will also buy the L1 Pro8 system and sell the Compact. (I had a bad accident a couple of years ago and broke a bone in my back, so the insurance company has been very gracious with me. So I have some "disposable" income to go Bose crazy! LOL Thanks again for your demo. I have done my time in music retail 18 years and know a good sensible demo when I see one. I also subscribed and triggered the bell (just so you know. Cheers.

I came here to see the comparison. I have a couple S1 Pros I gig with now. I used a Ketron SD40 with midi tracks. All my fx are in the ketron so I run a mostly flat setup on the S1's in a stereo config. Love to see a comparison of the L1 compact to an S1

Great demo, thanks for putting in the effort!

Great, thorough review for guitar. A vocal review would be awesome too! Thanks!

Thanks Gary Gosh you're getting a beautiful sound out of that guitar. Well done.

I have an L1 Model 1 classic I love the sound and that it is Full speakers from top to bottom and have the bass unit.. my only hangup is the weight of the power base it's just brutal . Feels like 50 lbs

I love the way you play. I have two L1 systems and I love them.

I too have a compact and just got the Pro 16, the cable does in fact power the T8S and both the compact and the Pro 16 sound great with the Pro 16 being much more dynamic and far more bottom end. So far, I love it and that's after one day as of this comment ;)

Sounds good . I have the first one they came out with . I believe it has 12 speakers in the towel. Haven’t used it in almost a year but watching your video if you want to take it out and try it again. Stay safe my friend.❤️👍👍👍

I got the compact but thinking of upgrading to the pro 8, interesting to see/hear the difference.

Nice introduced, thanks a lot 🙂. I can hear the diffrence. The L1 compact is a little wonder for the size, the L1 Pro8 is more brilliant and has more power.

L1 pro sounds amazing!

Great review... Love your guitar playing. I was really impressed with the acoustic but when you plugged in the electric.. Wow... Just fantastic in tone and how technically smooth your playing is.

hey Gary....thanks for this demo....Im buying a pro8 today....cheers

Nice review finally someone who actually does a demo that is credible!

Wonderful review. Both sounds great!

Great presentation coming from your personal experience and point of view. L1 Pro 8 has a bigger soundstage and offers more utility than the compact. Your D18 pickup system sounds great especially through the Pro 8. The PRS sounds surprisingly good too. Btw- Love you guitar and amp demos. 👍🏽

Great vid!!! I’ve had an L1 Compact. Opted to upgrade to the L1S w/ B2 Bass, but inevitably it was more than I needed (weight/carrying/sound). This L1 Pro 8 might be the perfect solution.

Great video. Appreciate hearing a demo with acoustic guitar. I would dearly love to know if you are using an open tuning on the guitar and if so, what is the tuning. Sounds awesome !

Thanks Man, I have an L1compact...I got a newer FISHMAN Solo Amp for the reverb and mixer If the L1pro 8 had been out then, I would have gotten it instead But with gigging the way it is. I’ll wait. Cheers and good job

The Pro8 is definitely a step up. The fact that it has a lighter and easier to handle subwoofer makes it a no brainer.

im sorry i have the Bose l1 pro16 and its a wonderful piece of kit i also have the s1 pro and ive got the Yamaha Stagepas IK also a nice sounding line array . Im only here to listen to your wonderful guitar playing and wish i had taken up playing when my grandfather offered me your playing reminds me so much of his style of playing

Thanks Gary. Great review!

Super demo, thank you!

That was great Gary. I have the L1 Compact myself and I really like it...but now...I don’t know 😳😄👍

Excellent demo!

Thanks for posting this .. good stuff

Somehow I seemed to have gotten led astray from your channel. I hit the bell icon so that won't happen anymore. :) Looking to upgrade from my Fishman SA220 and this is what it will be. Thanks

Thank you so much. Enjoyed the demo.

Good review. Well done. I found the L1 compact to be way underpowered for any but the quietest gigs. The pro seams to have a little more horse power. I like head room.

I READ IT IN THE MANUAL PROBALY FOR THE OLDER l 1 COMPACT THANKS BROTHER HAVE A BLESSED EVENING

Gary..I use the L1 compact with the Bose T1 mixer...would love the extra power but don't need the mixer and effects....think I will add another L1 compact.

You have a new subscriber... :-). Well Done Gary! The Martin sounds awesome through both, but I can hear the difference! I’m going to get the Pro soon.... Best!

Both are amazing quality.

Thanks so much for this! Very helpful. I hear some reviewers say they are not comfortable with the L1 Pro 8 not having a master volume. Has that been an issue at all for you? Nice playing, btw.

I like the L1 pro8. I am buying this

wow this was very surpising and professionel sounding+++ i like

Nice demo. I saw the S1 Pro in the background, it would have been interesting to have heard that on a speaker pole compared to the other 2 models. The ToneMarch switch changes the center frequency on the bass and treble nobs to be more guitar friendly. Does the L1 Pro 8 have a USB in /out for recording? :Line Array speakers like these only drop 3db when you double the distance from the speaker, whereas Sourve Point (regular) speakers drop by 6 db when you double the distance.

Fantastic review Sir. greetings from Chile

L1 Pro 8 sounds fuller and also considering the many tone options. I wonder how the vocals go for the Pro 8.

Great video Gary!……….. keep them coming!!!!👀😎👍👏🎶🌟👋✌️🇨🇦

Good work and playing talent!

Hi Gary. Thanks for the demo. Aside from the obvious added features, would you say the L1 Pro is more powerful than the compact? I've been using the compact for the last couple years and had been considering an upgrade prior to the pandemic. Cheers!

That pro 8 looks wobbly

L1 compact sounds much better. I don't know how you hear more fullness in the bass of the pro 8 cause it sounds like the compact has way more fullness and a more pleasant bass. The pro 8 sounds rather thin, bass & treble. Maybe its different in the room?

Gary. Gorgeous playing. Just got pro8

I’ve heard some criticism about the L1 pro8 tower and its construction/fit. Particularly that the speaker section doesn’t seem as secure on the tower as it should. Would you comment on your observation?

Hi Gary, love your demos, so is your acoustic giging set up now: Martin > Baggs Anthem > Tuner >Xotic boost > Bose T4 mixer > Baggs imix tonematch > Boss Pro8 lets us know! cheers

The L1 compact sounds warmer to my ears the Pro sounds bright almost thin.

I wonder how they would sound together.

WOW Gary! Great playing. What are you using for camera. Has a great mic. Besides - I've had pretty much all Bose systems by far and I must say; Pro8 is something else. :) Thanks again for the through video!

TLDR: Pro 8 is better in every way than the compact except two key areas. The pro 8 doesn’t come with a sleeve ($50 extra) and the compact is lighter and easier to set up (such a minor nitpick difference)

Woouuu you doing soooo good ... you got me

Awesome Sound!!

Hey sounds great! Why did you go with the l1 pro 8 vs the 16?

Good comparison video. Thanks.

The sound is just beautiful. May I know the names of songs you were playing?