I’ve decided to write my own use guide for the Bose L1 since it is somewhat different than what rock bands are used to using at venues.   These are some of the things I’ve found helpful in the transition from using a typical triple soundsystem (mains, monitors and back-line amps)  to the much better sounding Bose L1.

First of all a list of things that will take adjustment and or be different from a traditional system.

• The Bose does not have much of a near field blast. Although it can go quite loud, because of the small size of it’s speakers it will not move a pant leg like say a half stack would.  In fact if for some reason you switch back and forth between a traditional system and the Bose L1, the Bose L1 will seem not to be loud enough when you stand next to it.  All you have to do to readjust it walk out 10′ or so from the amp and you will hear that it is just as loud as when you stand next to it, and in fact covers just about the whole room.
• You do not need near as much volume as you would with a tripple system to throw to the back of the room.
• What you hear is what others hear.  The mix you hear on stage is what others are going to hear.   You may hear a little more of the L1 you are closest to, but for the most part, because of the wedge shaped dispersal, the audience will hear the same mix you will.  So, instead of a separate stage mix where you might only have a little or none of a particular instrument in your monitor, you hear a full live mix.  So, if an instrument is too loud on stage it’s going to be too loud out front. Also you will need to get used to hearing everything the band is playing like on a mixed CD, instead of just hearing your own instrument and maybe the drums.
• What you put in is what you get out.   In other words if your singing voice is sub par you will hear in painful detail all your flaws.  If on the other hand you have a good voice you will probably fall in love instantly with the L1 because with a good mic you can hear every little detail of your singing. This applies to instruments as well. If you don’t like the sound of your instrument then either the instrument needs adjustment, or the the processor/mic between the L1 and the instrument needs adjustment.  While an amp would color your sound, the L1 delivers uncolored sound.  So, if you like the sound of your amp you will have to mic it and put it through the L1.  If you use a processor and wish to ditch the amp you will probably have to adjust patches to sound good through the L1, as it is a different amp.
• No vocal effects.  Live vocal effects are for two things.  To give the illusion of a bigger space in a small acoustically flat venue, and for the occasional special effect.  I’ve never used effects through even my traditional P.A. so it wasn’t an issue for me that the L1 model one doesn’t have effects.  Most sound systems would have a singer sounding very dull with no effects.  To my ear the L1 makes a vocal sound like a professionally recorded vocal.   A lot of singers try to use effects, like a lot of re-verb, to make up for the fact that they are not very good singers.  What they don’t realize is that it only makes you sound worse and actually hurts the mix.  Most rooms naturally have their own reverations, when you add a re-verb effect on top of this it muddies up the vocal and destroys all the clarity.  Ever wonder why in some clubs you can’t even begin to make out what the singer is singing or saying in-between songs?   Re-verb is usually the culprit.   A plus to not having effects and hearing yourself singing crystal clearly through a Bose L1 is that you will quickly improve your singing voice. If you really feel you want effects Bose has just released the T1 which is specifically made for L1 Model 2, but will work as the Model 1 as well.
• You will have to get used to having the sound come from behind you and feel as if you are swimming in it.  With a traditional system a player on stage would get his sound from his back-line amp and him monitor.  Both of which disperse sound in a rather forward shaped cone.  So, if you go off axis you lose much of the sound and tone.
• Having each players sound come from a different Bose L1 amp.  In a traditional system the sound the audience hears comes mostly from the mains.  That means everyone in the band is mixed in and then output through two or more main speakers.   This is great for a really huge venue, where you need a lot of power.  But for small and mid sized clubs it usually results in sub par sound.  With the L1 each performer uses their own L1.  What this results in is a more intimate connection between the audience and the performers.  For instance if a guitar player goes into a solo, the audience won’t hear mixed in and mushed together with five other signals in the mains.  They will be able to through hearing zero in on the guitar player and his position because his Bose L1 is behind him.   Think of it like as if the whole band were playing acoustic instrument in an intimate setting with a small audience.  As you were listening you would be able to hear everyone playing yet still know that a sound was coming from a particular player.
• No sound man, you mix yourself.  This is my favorite.  I always hated having to be at the mercy of house sound and if the sound-man was any good or if the house sound was an old piece of garbage that has seen better days.   Going from the triple system approach to the Bose L1 is confusing for some people who are used to a soundman running things for them.    As a rule of thumb, again, if you are too loud or to low in the mix then you adjust your setting accordingly.  The beauty of the L1 is that it comes with a two channel remote that gets attached to your mic stand.  So, if you need a little more vocal just grab channel one and turn it up ever so slightly. You can do this with a band full of L1’s because what you hear on stage is what the audience will hear as far as mix.  So, you don’t need to run out front and check front of house against your stage sound.
• Be prepared to be spoiled.  If you happen to play shows where you can’t bring your Bose L1 systems for one reason or another, the house sound will of course be a triple system.   You will probably realize very quickly that you now hate playing on a triple system.  Playing in a band with L1’s I can tell you that each show and practice always sounds good.  There is hardly any set up time.  It just plain make practice and show 100% easier and more fun.
• It makes singing much easier.  If you sing and played out live on a traditional sound system with even a moderately loud band then you know it’s ofter very hard to hear yourself sing.  With the L1 you will quickly be able to lose much of the extra effort you probably had to put into your singing just to be loud enough.
• Getting Rid of the Marshall Stack.  My guitarist had a Marshall half stack and yet I convinced her to ditch it and use a pod straight into an L1 instead.  That should say something about the sound quality that comes out of these.  While many Bose L1 guitar player mic amps because they have special sound, I feel it is redundant, when you can just program an amp modeler to sound just as good.  Some guitarists will argue that the sound of amp x can never be reproduced properly by a modeler.  In my opinion, and to my ears that is all in their head.  My guitarists pod patches all sound better than her half stack ever did, and my pod patches for my bass is the one of the best bass sounds I’ve heard.
• Get used to not being able to cover up poor musicianship or mistakes with volume.While the L1 can be used for a rock band ( I use it for my rock/metal act)  it is not a blaring wall of sound.  With the L1 you hear every little musical detail and vocal.  So, mistakes or bad players can’t hide behind a sound-system turned up so loud all the sound turns front of house turns into sonic mush.

So, those are the things that I can of off the top of my head that will need adjustment when going to the L1 system.  Not bad things.  Just different.

If you have just purchased your L1 then here are my recommendations for your first day out.

• If you have it available set it up in a rehearsal sized at least.  I play with mine in our garage, but when I first got it I had it set up in my bedroom and this blinded me to the fact of it’s amazing throw and coverage, because it does not seem very loud when you are a foot in front of it.
• Use proper microphone technique.  This is very important for the L1.  Although it is very feedback resistant because of it’s properties, your vocal will sound much better with proper microphone technique.  Proper microphone technique is as follow: Your lips should be touching the mic screen almost all the time, the only time you should back off to a couple of inches is if you start singing a very loud shouty note.  Ever see a singer hold the mic a foot away and arch back while they sing?  That is horrible mic technique they just cut off most of their vocal sound.  This is where you need to learn the term, “gain before feedback.”   By being right on the mic you get the best gain.  The mic will pick up more, and you will have to work less to sing.  If you have to use a lot of force to sing through an L1, either your gain staging it not optimal, you microphone technique is not close enough, or your have very weak vocals or a weak mic.  Also with the L1 DO NOT aim the mic parallel to the floor and aiming straight at the L1.  The best position for the mic is to aim it up and to the side of the top of the L1.  Myself I find I’ve get the best gain before feedback by pointing my mic straight up.   Some of my friends at the Bose forum have termed this the, “reverse Lemmy.”
• Adjust your gain staging.  This is important to get the vocal as loud as you can and to make sure any instruments have all the gain they need.  It’s important that you set this as loud as you can without clipping.  Even if you don’t need it all it’s best to have a lot of overhead room.  For singing the best way to adjust gain before feedback is to turn the volume and master all the way down or most of the way, so that you can stand next to the bass and watch the clip meter.  This is a little light next to the gain button.  Now you will sing into your mic as loud as you intend to.  Keep turning up the gain until it consistently blinks between red and green.  This means you have attained your maximum gain with that microphone.  If it goes pure red then you need to turn it down a bit.  The difference in gain setting can be very touchy and minute, just as the volumes on the remote.  Sometimes even a very slight adjustment is all you need. 
• Now that you’ve adjusted your gain staging for your vocal and your instrument the next thing is to set your levels.  Start with channels one and two and the master all the way off on the remote.   With proper gain staging you should find that noon on the master is as loud as the system will go before feeding back with a microphone in it, but this is very loud.  Most people who use an L1 rehearse with the master at 11 or 11:30 and the channels at appropriate volume for the desired mix. So, turn up the master to about 10:00 for starters.  Now adjust your vocal level to where it is comfortable for you to sing.  Now adjust the level of your instrument channel to the level desired in the mix.  It’s important to remember that you are now responsible for your own mix.  As a rule of thumb you mix the rest of the instruments around the volume of the vocal.  If the band is playing so loud the lead vocal can’t get loud enough without feedback then everyone should turn down and mix around the lead vocal.  Luckily with the L1 it’s very easy to get a nice crispy loud vocal. Now that you have the levels of channels one and two balanced you can experiment with turning the master up.  So as you turn up the master you will keep the same mix on your L1 system but the volume of both instrument will go up.  While you can do this individually on the channels, the master gives a much quicker boost if you find you are needing more ooomph.
• After you get it set up right it’s simply a matter of practicing with the L1 to get used to the new sound set up.   I suggest playing over it as much as you can as you will very much enjoy it and improve because you can hear your self much better without inducing hearing loss.
• I suggest setting it up in as large a room as you can and then walking around many points of the room as someone plays your instrument for you.  You will be amazed the coverage it sweeps out in a wedge.  So, even though it is pointed forward you will still hear it just as well off at an extreme angle to the side.
• Understand that L1 is not meant as a P.A. for a whole band.  It is recommended that you have one per performer.  I run my bass, lead vocal and electronic drums through my L1, but none of those frequencies really compete.   Once you start putting 2 or more competing frequencies into one L1 it starts to lose it clarity.   I started out with one and had my guitarists electric guitar in it as well .  It sounded good but the guitar player would complain that it was hard to get her guitar loud enough as when we hit the same note my voice, being louder, would somewhat muffle her guitar.  When you put to many instruments into one L1 you get back to the same front of house problem that traditional P.A. systems have.  That being that the sound is lacking clarity and all mushed together as it comes out of two main speakers.