As seen in Guitar Girl Magazine Issue 9 – Autumn 2019 – Ladies of Metal
If you’re tired of relying on the sound guy for a great-sounding show, look no further than the brand-new T8S from Bose. The T8S ToneMatch Mixer is a completely compact, high-quality digital mixer that allows gigging musicians to be in complete control of their own performance.
This game-changing 8-channel mixer may be one of the most versatile and self-contained pieces of tech/gear in my arsenal, as it cuts down significantly on set up time, makes sound checking a breeze, and allows me to recall the tones that I love easily.
If you’re not particularly tech-savvy (like me), you’ll find it very easy to use, and you’ll likely have it up and running within a few minutes (and with little explanation).
The T8S allows you to easily save and edit your settings for each instrument in the band. Each channel also has its own trim control, channel edit (where you can adjust your tone settings), and FX mute. The FX mute comes in handy particularly to singers who may want to address the crowd without effects on in between songs.
You can create your settings for each instrument using the ToneMatch knob (which is where you can adjust your EQs, modulation, delays, and more), and you can then assign a category to each tone (for example, guitar, bass, drums, etc.).
The preamps feature is where it gets really cool. Bose teamed up with a number of manufacturers to give different model options for each instrument (for example, you may want that classic Shure SM58 sound for your vocal mic or your guitar to sound more like a Taylor). You can further adjust your EQ settings using the zEQ, and if you’re feeling particularly squirrely, they do have a parametric EQ, which allows you to tweak your level and frequency.
The reverb and reverb type, which work together are also fantastic features as you can control your reverb mix for each channel, and you can elect for it to be as small or cavernous as you’d like.
Perhaps the most beneficial feature of the T8S is the “scenes” feature, in which you can create and save your settings for each channel and store/access them for later use in one bank. This works particularly well for musicians who may play in multiple bands, but have different settings for each band. Maybe you play as an acoustic artist with backing tracks for one gig, and then you play with a full band for another. You won’t have to readjust all your channels for each show you play. Just recall them by accessing your “scene” of choice. Talk about a time saver!
Lastly, if you misplaced your tuner or you just want to plug in and play, the T8S has its own built-in tuner which is a nice little added bonus.
This incredibly handy, portable, and user-friendly mixer has everything you could possibly want as a gigging musician. If you’re looking to simplify your set up and ultimately have more control over your overall sound, then the T8S is a no-brainer for you. Pair it with Bose’s L1 or F1 system for full end-to-end tonal control.
