Is it worth getting a wireless system.? pros/cons

[jay_esplana]

The title says it all!!

-jay

[Munjibunga]

Yes.

The answer says it all.

[tplyons]

Yes, only if it's a good one. Cheaper ones tend to compress the signal a bit losing highs and lows. Tape it to your strap so it stays with you, and just make sure you have plenty of room in the budget for batteries and you're set.

[Steph Dawe]

What brands would you recommend?

[Petebass]

Moved to Misc.

This has been discussed here before. I recomend you do a search on "Companding". This will give you a clearer picture of exactly how a wireless works and why they never sound 100% like a cable. Some get pretty darn close though. I owned my Samson Airline Bass wireless (the tiny one) for ages before I started to notice a difference.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Petebass

Moved to Misc.

This has been discussed here before.

Yes, but only 2,347 times. What's your point?

[Eric Cameron]

Things to remember when buying wireless:

1) You get what you pay for. The mroe money you spend, the longer the range you have and the better the sound quality.

2) True Diversity is good. Quad diversity is better. 113 recievers is best.

3) You location will ALWAYS affect your wireless signal. Sometimes just not as much.

With that in mind, I can give you a few recommendations. Sennheiser is a great series of wireless. Their EW100 series of WS are well built, have a good long range, and are multiple frequencies. These usually run about $450. If someone tries to sell it for more, they are ripping you off.

Audio Technica also makes a great sustem, the AT3100. Same kind of construction, but with the added feature of frequncy agility, which means that it changes channels for you if it experiances some sort of inteference. These systems usually run around $500.

Shure does have some good systems, but you have to spend out your butt in order to get them. The SLX and ULX systems start at $600, and the body packs are STILL made of plastic.

IMHO, Sennheiser is the way to go. I have a EW172, and it's a great little system. The only time I had problem with it was when I ended up playing at a club that sat under a Digital Cable transmission line. But then again, NOBODY had reception that night, including anyone with a cell phone.

Rock on
Eric

[brianrost]

Is it worth it? Don't forget that at the prices E.C. mentioned above you could easily buy a new bass or amp for the price of a good wireless.

So I'll be the devil's advocate here: why do you think you want/need one? It adds some complexity...more stuff to hook up, more stuff to fail on a gig (that includes the batteries for the transmitter), in some rooms it won't work right and you'll have to use a cord anyway, etc.

I own one but never use it anymore even though it works and sounds fine. I used to use it when I was running sound from the stage so I could walk around the room during sound checks; it was great for that but otherwise being forced to stand within 20 feet of my amp is a non-issue. I very seldom get chances to play on huge stages where the mobility of a wireless would be nice to have.

[KPJ]

I use a wireless in the Country band that I am in because the singer and I do a lot of running around because the other players are stuck to their stations due to what they play (drums,steel guitar, guitar w/Roland synth).

Otherwise, I would just hook up to my pedal board with a cable. Don't bother with a wireless if you don't need one!