Going wireless worth the switch?

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 fist 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.
When I was 15 (1989) i joined a covers band and the bass player had a Samson wireless. It compressed the shit out of his tone lol but it still sounded great and while he was dancing on bar tables the rest of us looked on in jealousy.

Your post reminded me of that... thanks!
 
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.
I remember a gig (playing bass) where I was wandering the crowd.. and the birthday girl thought it would be amusing to reach out and swipe at my strings.. She hit them full on!! UGGHHH !!
I've since learnt to wander less, and guard my strings a little more when I do.
 
Thanks for that info, makes sense, the Axe has dynamic loading correct?
The II and the III both have a variable load input on the front input.

And, is a 1M ohm load good/bad/no difference for humbuckers with passive electronics?
1M is good across a very broad range of input types. It provides for good voltage transfer into the A/D. Should be fine with active and passive pickups.
 
The II and the III both have a variable load input on the front input.


1M is good across a very broad range of input types. It provides for good voltage transfer into the A/D. Should be fine with active and passive pickups.

Thanks, now the question is whether it's worth waiting for a wireless maker to provide a digital out for those of us using modelers. Line 6 had a model which was supposed to have it, but never actually brought it to market. It can't be that hard for a manufacturer to provide both analog and AES/SPDIF outs, since there is A/D/A going on inside already, right?
 
Thanks, now the question is whether it's worth waiting for a wireless maker to provide a digital out for those of us using modelers. Line 6 had a model which was supposed to have it, but never actually brought it to market. It can't be that hard for a manufacturer to provide both analog and AES/SPDIF outs, since there is A/D/A going on inside already, right?
These already exist: http://www.shure.com/americas/produ...al/ad4d-two-channel-digital-wireless-receiver

Analog output is far easier to make widely-compatible with all other gear one might want to hook a digital receiver up to. Digital I/O is finicky and hard to get right at a price point anyone but someone with deep pockets could afford. With good A/D/D/A it really makes no difference if you go through one more conversion stage.
 
These already exist: http://www.shure.com/americas/produ...al/ad4d-two-channel-digital-wireless-receiver

Analog output is far easier to make widely-compatible with all other gear one might want to hook a digital receiver up to. Digital I/O is finicky and hard to get right at a price point anyone but someone with deep pockets could afford. With good A/D/D/A it really makes no difference if you go through one more conversion stage.

Thanks again for all the info, yeah that unit is obviously overkill considering it's price tag and that it's two channels.

Obviously the prosumer wireless units out there work well enough for most folks. As a recent modeling convert, I am still concerned with feel/latency and fidelity issues. I'll take your word that digital integration is sometimes difficult at a reasonable price point, however all of my other rack gear AES interfaces work trouble free with each other. I'm sure the converters in the Axe are better than the ones in the Line 6 G90, so I will probably wait till they or someone else comes out with an AES out unit for 1000 or under. It seems modelers will only increase in popularity so I'm betting somebody will come out with one in the near future...
 
Been using the Line 6 G50 for about 7 years now. Never had any issues with it. From big stages to outdoor stages and everything in between. Never a single dropout.
I think a G50 will be a future upgrade for me. Reading G70 reviews it seems like they might have some issues to iron out in that unit. But the G50 reviews make it seem like a solid unit.
 
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Like I have said I have the G75 and it has worked well, but with the III it won't fit in my 4U rack...so looking at G90 or similar. Just seems odd as there hasn't been any new releases in this area lately - at least for less than $1000? Or am I missing something? Just seems wrong to spend even $300 or so on something that hasn't been updated in so long.
 
I did end up switching to wireless! I went with a shure unit (see bellow if you care what unit). I seriously love it! I am sad I didn't change sooner. The tone and feel seems the same as my mogami cables I switched from. I still felt that way after A/B testing them. Thanks so much to everyone who responded to this thread!

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GLXD14RG--shure-glxd14r-guitar-system
 
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Well, count me in also as a wireless user! I always use the wireless irregardless of stage size. In fact, smaller stages are better for wireless because with limited room comes even more chance of tangling with the cable. I still use an older Shure unit (PGX??) but I'd like to upgrade at some point to a unit that I could put in the rack. Of course, I always have the cable as a backup. I personally have never noticed any major tone difference between wireless and wired.
 
Well, count me in also as a wireless user! I always use the wireless irregardless of stage size. In fact, smaller stages are better for wireless because with limited room comes even more chance of tangling with the cable. I still use an older Shure unit (PGX??) but I'd like to upgrade at some point to a unit that I could put in the rack. Of course, I always have the cable as a backup. I personally have never noticed any major tone difference between wireless and wired.

I haven't used a different system but if you are looking for a new Shure wireless the GLXD14R is working amazing for me. I'm very new with it but the quality range and battery life is so great! Its pricey but I can tell its going to be one of those things I'm so thankful I bought and will use years and years to come.
 
I’ve just started using a Shure GLXD16. The impedance thing with the pickups—it’s so slight I’m probably just imagining it. No sound quality issues. Running around and acting (even more) ridiculous is awesome. I think I’ve been won over. Also, it has a tuner so I can deep-six my backup tuner. Anybody wanna buy a Peterson Strobostomp with a worn-out display?
 
I play wireless for around 25 years now, starting with a Nady 201 VHF system, then a Beyerdynamic VHF system with switchable frequencies and - short after they have been available - a Line6 XD-V55 receiver and a Relay G50 transmitter (they're 100% compatible). You should either get a Relay G50 transmitter or a XD-V75 transmitter for both have the possibility to transmit with lower power. I usually do that for I never had any issues in the area of 300ft or even more, but the the batteries last really loooooong (more than 8h with two Eneloop rechargeable batteries!). If there are issues, you can see it on the LED bargraphs that the channel is busy and you can easily switch to another of the 16 channels.
That brings me to another tip:
Only go for wireless systems with switchable channels!
Noise (hissing) was an issue with the Nady, less with the Beyerdynamic, but none at all (even with highgain sounds) with the Line6. To me it sounds even better for there is just the short cable between guitar and the transmitter with an input impedance of 1MOhm. Even acoustic guitars with passive pickups (I have Schatten pickups in a Tricone, a 12-string and two classical guitars that I don't want with battery for I use them not regularly...) sound right this way. The loss can already be heard with a 10ft cable...
Soundwise I can't hear any difference to the cable, you lose only the AXE-FX feature of switchable input impedance according to the amp you use - the connected receiver output is already buffered.
Two more tips:
1. Put the transmitters in a small belt bag for digital cameras. I'm sure you'd find a nice one for less than 10.-USD. The belt clamps are not that reliable and even if you drop the receiver it will be padded by the bag.
2. Get yourself a better and more flexible cable between guitar and transmitter and keep the original one as a backup in your guitar case.
 
I don't know if you guys have seen something like this but I got one to hold my receiver and it works perfectly!

I guess I cant post links but if you search (Levy's Leathers MM4 Wireless Receiver Holder For Guitar, Black) you will find it on amazon.
 
Is anyone here using the WIC wireless from PRA with success? I have owned one for a while and whilst I love using it, the sudden dropouts periodically for no apparent reason make me too nervous to use it with confidence. Every now and then I fire it up again but even walking in front of the stage about 15 feet during sound check sometimes causes a quick dropout, then I get my cord out again
 
My AxeFX rig lives in a stack of rack cases that sit next to our drummer (contains our IEM system and laptop for tracks, click, midi, etc). Wireless is almost a necessity for me simply due to the location of my rig. Makes for a clean stage though. We don't have any racks, amps or cabs on the backline, just pedalboards (MFC for me, AX8 for our second guitar player).

I was using an X2 XDR95 (predecessor to the Relay G90) and had absolutely no issues. We started playing a song where our singer would play an acoustic guitar and I'd play a bass, both routed through the AxeFX simultaneously, and I got tired of having wireless for myself, but having to run a lead for the acoustic. This led me to ditch the X2 and pick up 2 Relay G55s (basically the G90 tech in a half-rack). I was worried about this because my X2 ran in the 900mhz band, but the Relay runs on the 2.4ghz band. Even in venues with tons of interference, I've experienced very few dropouts. Granted, I've never had dropouts with the X2, but I was impressed with the performance of the relay. Just scanning through the channels and picking the one with least interference seems to work well enough for me.

I have both my wireless units mounted in the back of my rack. The main input goes to the front input of the axefx. I do this so that I can just unplug the wireless and plug in a cable if I need to instead of having to change the settings in the axefx menus. It's much faster in case of emergency. The second unit goes into input 2 on the back of the axe. I also have the balanced output of the first unit going into the rear input 1 for redundancy, but it's not actually being used at the moment.

From what I understand, the Axe 3 can automatically switch between the rear input and the front input if it detects a cable in the front input, which is super cool and would prevent the need to run the wireless output to the front panel (for emergencies)




Man! What is that patch bay you have? That's awesome! I'd love to have something like that in my rig
 
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