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Best wireless for gigs?

Hey everyone.

I am looking for a high quality wireless set up so I can go cable free during gigs. What is the most reliable and best quality product? I have a number of fender P and J basses.

Thx in advance for the advice/recommendations!
 
These day the lower end are very good for smaller gigs. Been using them for years without issues.
That most likely is true and has worked for you and many others

But OP asked for 'Best' not Very Good🙂

$600 is steep for a wireless but I was around in early days of wireless and all the incidents/problems I saw others indure never even considered using one but yes further down the road players seemed to have considerably less problems but if needed wireless I would bite the $600 bullet just for piece of mind even though a good chance nowadays cheaper would most likely be fine
 
That most likely is true and has worked for you and many others

But OP asked for 'Best' not Very Good🙂

$600 is steep for a wireless but I was around in early days of wireless and all the incidents/problems I saw others indure never even considered using one but yes further down the road players seemed to have considerably less problems but if needed wireless I would bite the $600 bullet just for piece of mind even though a good chance nowadays cheaper would most likely be fine
Well id hardly call $600 'best' lol. The best is much, much more expensive. I bet he isnt going to look at the end of the market, so what does 'best' mean? Thats why I asked about budget etc.
 
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I have a few different cheap "dongle" style wireless units I use for home and with my weekly (never going to get out of the) basement jam session. They're great for that kind of use.

For gigs, I have a Shure GLXD16+. Certainly not at the high end of the spectrum, but a solid, dependable system.
 
If i ever had a complaint about some of the high-end units is the fact that the cable between the transmitter and the bass is proprietary.
I used a Line 6 G30 for over 10 years without any problems at all and would still be if it hadn’t been discontinued. Made my own cables in various lengths with some angled and some straight depending on the bass and strap. Worked flawlessly. Transmitter doors started getting loose and began failing. Bought a couple of used ones but not much better.
I’m back to going direct.
 
I bought the NUX B-8 wireless a few months ago on a whim. A buddy has the dongle style for playing guitar and he loves it. However, I am vain enough to pay more for something that wasn't a dongle style. I wanted a cable. At the same time, I didn't want to pay $500+ for one (Shure, etc). So I was picky.

Walked into GC one day and saw the NUX B-8 on sale. Normally $249, they had it marked to $199. New in box, I figured I'd take it and give it a try, I had 45 days to make up my mind, right? The sales guy did the old, hey, buy the warranty for $20, but I wouldn't, so he did some calculating and gave it to me, with warranty, for $199 + tax (he marked the kit to $179, the sneaky kid). Don't care, he gets a pat on the back for selling the warranty.

I tried it out at home and it had all sorts of radio noise. I traced it to the small patch cable running from the receiver to my compressor pedal. At home, practicing, it was pretty nifty. I could go upstairs, onto the deck, outside, and still hear the bass amp in the basement. So far so good. I took it to rehearsal and for the most part, it was fine.

However, it did drop signal a few times. Twice, to be exact. Not *too big a deal, at first. It would drop for about 1-3 seconds, and then come back and everything was fine. The next week at rehearsal, it did it again, but twice in one song and I didn't love that. At that point, I was still within return and planned on taking it back.

Did some more reading and the signal drop was a common complaint for purchasers of this kit. There were recommendations to adjust the input from the bass. I was playing my L1K with the MFD pickups, so yeah, the hottest bass I own. The NUX pedal does also allow the input level to be reduced, so I knocked that down a bit, while keeping the volume on the bass at full. Back to rehearsal and then some gigs, and I am happy to report that it has been great. No signal drops. Freedom to roam, no tip-toeing around cables. It's great.

The good about the NUX B-8?
  • The aforementioned freedom. I am pretty active on stage, but always tethered by a cable, no matter how big/small the stage is, or how long/short the cable is. Not having to worry about it is pretty cool, really like it.
  • The build of the pedal and receiver. Stout, hearty, thoughtful. The transmitter you wear on your strap or pocket, it has contact points and a magnet on it that allow for it to charge when attached to the pedal on the board! You can also use a USB-C cable to charge as needed. Hold the power button to turn on and connect, tap it to mute your guitar.
  • The "value-add" features of the pedal:
    • the aforementioned charging capability of the pedal/transmitter combo
    • built in tuner with multiple viewing options
    • built in boost, up to 12dB
    • tap or long-press pedal switch to choose tuner or boost, either can be assigned to either
    • can add custom wallpaper to pedal, as well as boot-up animation (have not done that)
    • pedal has XLR to act as DI
  • Detachable 1/4" cable from transmitter. Screws in for security
The not as good about the NUX B-8?
  • The random signal drops. But, as mentioned, once I adjusted for it, it has not failed for me since
  • The detachable cable is way too long. One YouTuber made a shorter version. I have a soldering iron, just need to learn how to do the same
  • The battery pack clip is tough to get on a thick strap. Makes it more secure, but it's sort of a pain
Not having used any other wireless before, I have nothing to compare it to, but knowing what I know now with the NUX B-8, I feel pretty good about what I have.

20260621_193411.webp

Put on the board before I rotated it. I removed my Korg tuner to make space.
DSC01260.webp

Long wire around the back, pedal rotated 90° on the board.