Going wireless worth the switch?

And no one has even mentioned one of the biggest benefits yet . . .
One less dirty slimy cable that you have to wrap up and clean at the end of the night.
I ended going wireless with my microphone, too, just so I had one less cable to wrap/clean/carry. It rarely leaves the stand, but I love not having to run/pack the cable!
 
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I use wireless as well most of the time - in the last band I was the sound guy too so it was essential to double check our setup out in the crowd. Also can be fun in some places when I would just go sit at the bar and play...folks love that.

Oh, I have the Line 6 Relay G75 that I bought here in the buy and sell sub. Been great. Now I do with I had the rack mountable version - but this works fine for now. Might look at a rack option and move this but it is easy and allows me to place it on top the rack.
 
Similar story here. I use a cable when I’m close to my rack, and wireless when I’m not, or need to wander ‘round the venue. Like others I’ve replaced the standard guitar-to-pack cable with something more substantial. The Line6 G55 receiver sits in my rack above the AxeFX, and plugs into Input1 Right. Normal guitar cable goes into the front socket. That way there’s no settings to change if I have to changeover mid set.

However ... the wireless is brighter than the cable. To compensate I use a Filter block on Input 1 Right before merging Left and Right signals.
 
I love playing with a wireless. I love the freedom it gives me to walk around and not be one of those shoegazing zombies who never wander within two feet from their pedal board/amp. Not a big fan of playing with a cable, if only because I have a bad habit of always tripping over my cables.
 
I'll add a +1 to the "go wireless" thread. I go wireless for every show, even when the stage is smallish. My superpower is stepping on my own cable. I can do it even when sitting down. It's uncanny. So, being wireless eliminates that issue for me. Also, it means I'm not grounded, and on touring stages, it's common for there to be a bit of ground potential between the mic and the backline power ground. I don't enjoy completing that circuit with my face :) Also, FREEDOM! I'm usually over on stage left, and I like to wander to stage right occasionally.
In summary, go wireless because (1) you avoid making yourself fall down (2) you avoid making painful faces due to lip shock (according to the great book of rock, painful faces are reserved for really dramatic string bends and stuff) (3) most importantly, make a point of visiting your bandmates on the other side of the stage. Sometimes they have beer over there.
 
I picked up a used G30 base and transmitter from a guy on TGP for $60 a few weeks ago. It's been sitting the FedEx envelope it arrived in until this afternoon. Cleaned it up, powered it all up and..wow! I have been missing out! This thing is fantastic! I certainly love being free of cables and I don't notice anything untoward in my tone. I'm running it without any of the cable emulation stuff turned on. The signal cuts through walls at the house. I've walked around a 10 m radius or so and everything is strong and clear. No problem with a shoddy cable on this one -- the G30 transmitter has a normal 1/4" TS input so it's just a short run 1/4" TS-TS cable.

Can't wait to try this out live next week!

The G30 necessitates keeping a supply of AA rechargables on hand, but that's not so bad. If this gets through some gigs I'll consider a G70 upgrade. I was going to buy a nice A/B/Y box anyway for doing unit-to-unit comparisons, so I could say the extra cost of the G70 is just covering one more pedal I would have otherwise dropped coin on, right? :)
 
guitarfreak365 said:
I've been contemplating going wireless for a while now. First I wanted to hear from some people who have changed already to see if it was worth it to them. I play 2 times a week in an environment that it would be helpful. I'm specifically looking at the Shure GLXD14R but I'm open to suggestions. I'm more curious in general if switching to wireless was worth the extra cash and you ended up liking it or more of a take it or leave it kind of situation. How many of you guys run wireless with your AXE FX units and was it worth it? I have heard some people getting creative with sticking their wireless unit behind their AXE FX so any advice on that would be helpful too. Thanks guys!
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I recently (approx 3 months ago) upgraded my wireless receiver to the GLXD-R version and love it. The sound is excellent and battery life is amazing. I recently did a personal listening test of several cables along with the GLXD-R and the cables just aren't worth the time and/or hassle. I don't believe the cables had ANY sonic benefit. Short runs or long I'll take the wireless every-time.
 
I've been using the Line 6 G10 for about a year now. The greatest thing about it is NO BATTERIES!!!

Just plug it in and go. Recharge between sets. It works great. It's very simple to use and No Batteries to worry about.

It fits snugly in the back of my rack when I'm not using it.
 
I've used wireless since 1983 and currently using Line 6 G90 in my Axe Fxii and a G50 on my Ax8. The G90 seems to be more quiet than the G50, maybe due to it being in a rack and the G50 on the pedalboard. In the 90's I even recorded in the studio with a wireless because it had my sound I was use to not to mention less hassle without a cord
Some people seem to hear a difference but the newer digital units to me sound better than a cord and are a lot less noisy than the old school wireless units.
 
Good to see so many endorsing current wireless technology.

Does anyone know any manufacturers making a receiver with a digital out? It would save one more conversion if you could go straight into the Axe AES in. And I'd bet the D/A converters in the Axe are also much better than the ones in even the most expensive wireless systems...
 
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I'll be the sole dissent on this thread (for now). I detest wireless and I've never used it. I'm known for my lack of stage antics so a cable is just perfect for me. I'd quit any band that required me to walk around while soloing. About all I'm good for is a solid foot stomp during parts I need to concentrate on and maybe a "windmill" or hop in place at the end of the night.
 
I feel so bad for those that haven't adopted a wireless setup.

Add wireless iem and the freedom while having pristine sound quality at reasonable levels and tailored mix....

It is a dream and make performances a joy, and best of all no ringing ears, no strained voice, no headache.
 
iaresee said:
I picked up a used G30 base and transmitter from a guy on TGP for $60 a few weeks ago. It's been sitting the FedEx envelope it arrived in until this afternoon. Cleaned it up, powered it all up and..wow! I have been missing out! This thing is fantastic! I certainly love being free of cables and I don't notice anything untoward in my tone. I'm running it without any of the cable emulation stuff turned on. The signal cuts through walls at the house. I've walked around a 10 m radius or so and everything is strong and clear. No problem with a shoddy cable on this one -- the G30 transmitter has a normal 1/4" TS input so it's just a short run 1/4" TS-TS cable.

Can't wait to try this out live next week!

The G30 necessitates keeping a supply of AA rechargables on hand, but that's not so bad. If this gets through some gigs I'll consider a G70 upgrade. I was going to buy a nice A/B/Y box anyway for doing unit-to-unit comparisons, so I could say the extra cost of the G70 is just covering one more pedal I would have otherwise dropped coin on, right? :)
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Welcome to the 21st Century Ian !! :)
Been wireless for at least 10 yrs.. I'll take it over cables any day, every day..
 
I see various wireless models that purport to model cable length for some sort of more "authentic" plug-in experience. I am primarily concerned with fidelity and suspicious of this concept, and none of the wireless manufacturers make mention of how their system loads the pick up on the transmitter end. Anybody know if there's a better or worse way to approach the question of wireless transmitter pickup interaction from a dynamics/fidelity standpoint?
 
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stereotactic said:
I see various wireless models that purport to model cable length for some sort of more "authentic" plug-in experience. I am primarily concerned with fidelity and suspicious of this concept, and none of the wireless manufacturers make mention of how their system loads the pick up on the transmitter end. Anybody know if there's a better or worse way to approach the question of wireless transmitter pickup interaction from a dynamics/fidelity standpoint?
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Those switches are usually just low pass filters that roll off high end as you turn up the "cable length" setting. I've never seen a wireless system that offered dynamic loading. Most of them present a static 1M Ohm load to the guitar.
 
Geoff said:
I'll be the sole dissent on this thread (for now). I detest wireless and I've never used it. I'm known for my lack of stage antics so a cable is just perfect for me. I'd quit any band that required me to walk around while soloing. About all I'm good for is a solid foot stomp during parts I need to concentrate on and maybe a "windmill" or hop in place at the end of the night.
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I'm a fairly low-motion guitar player too but I'm excited to not have a cable dangling from my guitar at the gig tonight.
 
iaresee said:
Those switches are usually just low pass filters that roll off high end as you turn up the "cable length" setting. I've never seen a wireless system that offered dynamic loading. Most of them present a static 1M Ohm load to the guitar.
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Thanks for that info, makes sense, the Axe has dynamic loading correct?

And, is a 1M ohm load good/bad/no difference for humbuckers with passive electronics?
 
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I find folks are always surprised at how much tone loss cables causes, especially cheaper cables/longer cables. That isn't always to sound the loss makes things sound worse of course.... Its just like when you get one of those really high end cables (I personally don't like those as I do stupid stuff like roll my desk chair over them and when its a $100 cable under your wheel its not really ideal cable care lol) and are surprised at how much brighter your tone can sound.

I use a G55 myself (DIY rackmount) and had a G90 before as well. The "Cable tone" feature does in fact work, and works pretty well. Sounds essentially like cables of a different lengths, rolling off some highs. This is well and good in a traditional guitar rig, where one might be lacking tone shaping tools, but into the Axe I find its not really too important because there dozes if not hundreds of ways you can exactly shape the highs and roll things off a bit to achieve a bit more of a "cable tone". Still can be nice to have it at the press of a button though....

One downside to wireless though is its putting a buffered fixed impedance into the Axe, which works fine and good for most purposes, BUT, you do lose the change in frequency response of different input impedance settings on the II and III (not a factor on the AX8). When your guitar pickups are connected via a cable and the impedance changes there are some frequency shifts from the loading, and this can make certain effects like uni-vibes and fuzz sound a bit more authentic. Change nothing but the input setting for 1M to 90K and it changes the tone a bit. Not huge, but still a feature that matters enough that the II and III have the ability to change the impedance. When your running into the front end out of the wireless the impedance changes don't do anything because your no longer loading the pickups.

hat is really the only real downside to wireless though as far as I'm concerned. Overall I think it delivers a bit of a clearer and louder input, without worries over bad cables, tripping over leads etc. I can tell zero tonal loss with my 10 foot cable or my wireless....

That said, recording I might still use a high end cable, but live... wireless all the way!
 
Shure wireless user here. I got the GLXD16 because I like to have a tuna at my feet. I even use it for band practice. The rechargeable battery is insanely good. Upgraded the xmitter cable, kept the OE as a spare.

:guitar:
 
I was the first regularly-gigging (6 nights a week) guitarist in my town to have a wireless unit back in the late '70s/early '80s. It was one of the original Samson units. I eventually toured with it and it never let me down. It did get me in trouble a few times when I'd go running around the venue in the middle of a solo. I remember one asshat in Pueblo Colorado who thought it'd be fun to trip me as I went running by his table. I wiped out two tables full of drinks on my way down to the floor, but I ended up on the right chord, lol.

Fast forward a lot of years, and when I got back into gigging a wireless was one of my first purchases. I started with a cheap Samson that was utter crap. I moved up to a Line 6 G30, and it never failed. I eventually sprung for the G90 and haven't looked back since. I did upgrade the transmitter cable to one made by Bestronics, and I carry a spare with me just in case it fails. I still keep the G30 in my gig bag as a backup (the transmitter works with the G90), but haven't ever had to use it. I use rechargeable lithium batteries and can get two gigs out of a single charge. (I still charge the batteries after each show, though.) These days I mainly play on small stages and don't move around a lot, but I'd never go back to a cable if I could help it. My Roland G55 synth is still wired, and it bugs me to have to deal with the cable on it.
 
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