Whats a good wireless system for guitar/AFX?

i doubt your gonna find anything rack mountable in that price bracket worth having, but i would recommend the line 6 G30. you can pick em up used for about 200 and they fit very snug on your pedalboard! (thats where ive had mine in the past anyway)
EDIT: seems that they go for 200 new now...i paid 300 :(
I'd strongly suggest getting the Line 6 G30 for the price and sticking it in the rack anyway - on a shelf, velcroed in the back, that's what I did before I upgraded, it works fine, and the Line 6 really is the best bang for the buck.
 
I really like my Shure GLXD4. I've never had any dropouts or anything. I can't tell any difference in tone quality. One of the best features, in my opinion, is the rechargeable battery. I get about 12 hours of use which is pretty great, and there's no need to buy extra AA batteries. Once the battery is low, you just pop it out of the belt pack and into the charging doc in the receiver. Very convenient. I got mine on ebay for like $365 or so, totally worth it.
 
I've got the Senheiser EW100, digital unit. AMAZE. I actually had the Line G90 and I can safely say the Sennheiser destroyed it - to the point where I sold the G90 the same day I bought it. I bought it because it IS the best looking wireless unit, however sound/tone/performance-wise, the Sennheiser wins all the way.

There was a noticeable difference in sound when A/B'ing the two. You could clearly hear the G90 lost some tone and sustain; and that's whether it was via the front input of the Axe or the rear. I cannot hear any difference in sound/tone etc whether I'm in the front input of the Axe or the rear.

I'm not having a dig at the Line 6 stuff, thing is, if I compare it to my EW100, the EW100 is a more superior unit, however, not cheap. I trust my ears more than I trust options.. your ears might like Line 6, mine like Sennheiser..


I went from a G55 to an EW-D1, and it was like night and day. I liked the G55, small issue of dropout at really wi-fi intensive places, but good overall. The EW-D1 was just that much better in pretty much all categories.
 
The Sennheiser D1 system is pricey but worth it. Rock solid reliability, don't have to worry about frequencies and the best sounding. I also use their rechargeable battery packs which give me about 12 hours of use per charge. An iPad charger is the same spec and a cheaper option than Sennheisers charger.

You're using an Axefx, the Rolls Royce of guitar processors don't cheap out on a wireless. Wait til you can get the right one
 
The StageClix Jack is fully digital and the new one uses the 5.8GHz band for full 24bit audio. I current have the 2.4GHz version and have not had problems in the "crowded" band. Web link http://www.stageclix.com/home

Before I purchased the StageClix, I have tried many brands of wireless and most failed because their frequency response assumes that you don't need much above 10kHz. I have used piezo pups and this unit captured all the "air" at the high end. Currently using standard pups, I can still get that initial attack of the plectrum on the strings to have my near standard Strat sounds like a J200. Latency < 3ms. I purchased from a UK dealer as they have no one representing the company in Australia. Service and support has been great as I needed to replace the batteries. Easy job for self servicing.

While I'm aware that the OP had a budget, you save by making a good investment such as StageClix just like the Fractal Audio device you have because you are buying enjoyment rather than problems!
 
I have a Line6 G90, and a G50. I use the G90 (rack version) for my touring / big performance rig. The G50 is on my grab-and-go board. They're both very transparent, have great range, and have been 100% reliable. Do they sound exactly the same as a cable? Well, not really. But... I have 1/4" cables by George L, Mogami, Belden, and Canare, and they don't sound exactly the same as each other.

I would say the G90 sounds very much like the Canare star-quad cable, which is supposed to be a very neutral high-fidelity cable. The George L cables also sound very similar, with (perhaps) a tiny bit of high-end magic sparkle. The Mogami and Belden cables are also quite good; I think they sound smooth and warm, which could be due a bit of high-end rolloff that is typical in conventional guitar cables.

I know players who swear they can tell the difference in their electric guitar tone based on the composition of the pickguard; they'll tell you a bakelite pickguard is vastly different from a single-ply PVC, and don't even get them started on the binding composition of multi-ply pickguards... and I believe them when they say they can hear it. More importantly, they believe they're hearing a difference and it changes how they play. Perception is reality. So, if you feel anything in your setup is negatively impacting your tone, then it's worth working on it, and possibly looking for an alternative that works better for you.

I've A/B compared the G90 with Sennheiser and Sure wireless systems. They all have great qualities, and yet, they all do sound a little different. I'll point out that my guitars all sound different from each other, even the ones that are "identical". None of them are bad sounding. But they do have different personalities. I happen to use the G90 at the moment. It works really well for me, and I haven't encountered any significantly compelling negative aspects that make me want to switch it out.
 
I play small pubs and sports bars, where we mix the sound from onstage (simple setup). The primary reasons for me to run my guitars wirelessly are 1) no cable tangling around my feet, and 2) I can step out front to listen to the mix and make adjustments if necessary.

Fair enough. Also, I always overlook your first point since I don't move around a lot. :)
 
Actually, I need to re-do my math (on the latency above), I think I'm off by an order of magnitude an embarrassing amount... but it's late, I'm tired and don't have the headspace to re-do it :p

The delay due to distance is approximately one millisecond per foot.
 
Hm, I wouldn't go that far with it, TieDyedDevil. I play some pretty large stages (90'+ x 30'+ in some instances) and have never had latency be an actual issue. 5ms of latency is probably not even noticable.

It's not the size of the stage that's important, but rather how far you are from the nearest monitor carrying your guitar.

I know that some players claim to hear (feel?) a 5ms difference. I'm not one of those players. For me, the delay starts being quite noticeable at around 20ms. Maybe if you have really fast reflexes (I don't) shorter delays are easier to notice.
 
Er... no it's not. Radio waves practically travel at the speed of light in air.

Uh, sorry. I should have said that I was talking about the speed of sound.

You're right: the flight time of the wireless signal is negligible. But the time it takes the sound to travel from the speaker to your ears is about a millisecond per foot. So if you walk twenty feet from your guitar rig's speaker, you're going to hear a delay of (approximately) twenty milliseconds.

Of course, if you're wearing IEMs, this is a moot point.
 
- Piezo equipped you say?? Not true mate. Well, if you have an EBMM JP with the dual inputs, then yes. I have an ESP Eclipse with a piezo bridge installed on it (after market, Graph Tech Ghost I think?) and I can flick the second toggle switch on the guitar and not have to worry about dual inputs etc. Depends on the guitar/your rig setup I guess. THIS DEFINITELY doesn't affect me/my sound/my tone at all.
I know that some guitars have a toggleswitch to route the piezo to the magnetic output, but you lose some of the advantages and synergies with the Axe that way. A stereo output allows you to mix & match the piezo and magnetic output in the Axe grid, so you have a lot more options (and don't have to flip a switch during your performance).
Most of my retrofitted guitars have a stereo output. It's just damn convenient to blend magnetic and piezo with an expression pedal.

Batteries.. not an issue. My rehearsals go for anywhere between 4 - 6 hours, and I'll get two rehearsals out of two AA batteries no problem. I don't smoke, I don't drink, (I do have G.A.S. though :D) so buying a big bulk pack of 20+ batteries for $10 is nothing in the broad scheme of things every few months isn't so bad.
It's still annoying as hell. And bad for the environment to boot. I'd probably still use cables at rehearsal and only go wireless at gigs.

Lastly, frequencies, also not an issue. It took me aaaaages to find a good, frequency-worthy wireless unit that was durable and reliable. Hence, nothing could beat Sennheiser for me. Ultimately, your rig will only be as strong as your weakest link.. The band-width of my EW100 is.. errm, massive? If that's the right word?! I did a lot of homework before handing over serious $ for the EW100. Here in Australia, it's ok for now.
Australia, huh? I'd say the amateur radio frequency bands are a lot less busy there than in europe, considering australia has only three times the number of inhabitants than even tiny ireland. ;)
 
Another Line6 user here. I have a G50 on a shelf in a rack for the AxeFx. I use a G55 on a board with a tube amp rig. Another reason I like to be wireless: you're electrically disconnected from your amp. No tingles when your lips brush the mic, etc.
 
Another Line6 user here. I have a G50 on a shelf in a rack for the AxeFx. I use a G55 on a board with a tube amp rig. Another reason I like to be wireless: you're electrically disconnected from your amp. No tingles when your lips brush the mic, etc.

Such a great point; the lips tingling.. so true. I watch the guitarist and bass player in the band always get a bit cautious when they're about to do backing vocals - for that very reason!! :D
 
I got a G50 mounted with velco inside the back of my rack case.
Works like a charm. Never had any problems with it.
Batteries in the transmitter last for approx. 8hrs.
 
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