Going wireless with Bluetooth

[Hactar]

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Prehaps simultaneously press a button on 2 devices to pair so you don't 'cross beams' with anyone else. I don't know how you'd organise a signal path though, perhaps numbered dip switches, or a small display on each device where you set it's location in the path.
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This would be handy, although I'm sure many people would want to stick with good ole cables. However, one of the biggest hurdles in this scheme is the fact that the wireless spectrum is getting ever more messy and additionally the FCC sees no benefit in giving consumers access to swaths, as evident from both past and possible re-allocation (selling spectrum to TV/cell/etc providers).

 

[the explode man]

Do you have ANY idea how cool this would be?

Man, I came into this thread hoping that there was going to be some revelations and advancements in bluetooth.

Unfortunately not!

 

[leasecard]

I am looking to revisit this, it looks like this was from several years back, I'm hoping the advancements in Bluetooth have made this dream a posibility! If anyone has tried this more recently, please let me know. I already own a nice BT headset, so I'm just looking to buy the transmitter. I want to use this as an in ear monitor system for the whole band, if it works for me, then we may have a couple other people use it too.

 

[walterw]

i don't think the huge latency hurdle has been cleared yet, so no.

 

[gumtown]

The whole universal pair and connect concept is great,
but..... so long as it is blue-tooth,
there will always be latency with A/D conversion sample & hold, buffering, then D/A conversion.
The best you can expect would be about 20ms on a good day.

A universal multichannel BT like system using analog would work, that would be great built into pedals and amps and IEMS alike.

 

[Bob Hughes]

Thanx to all of you for your input on this, I was wondering all of the same questions. I am going to risk it. I just ordered a BT TX and BT earbuds. I'll let y'all know what I find out.

 

[Bob Hughes]

Well, it's still a no-go. The latency is way to long. I'm sad.

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Welcome to TalkBass Bob Hughes.

I'm sad.

Not too surprised about it though I hope?

There was a thread not that long ago about a kickstarter project for a cheap MI wireless system, but that one just used generic far east modules in a 3D printed enclosure.

Edit: Here's the thread http://www.talkbass.com/threads/uncompressed-wireless-connectivity.1089322/#post-16136083

Regards
Sam

 

[Dominic D]

The latency will just as much of a problem there, unless you're planning to play really far behind the beat...

Latency is way more noticeable with in-ears than with guitars. That's why Line 6 hasn't made a digital in-ear system yet.

 

[Big_Daws]

Latency is way more noticeable with in-ears than with guitars. That's why Line 6 hasn't made a digital in-ear system yet.

this doesn't even make sense.....lol

 

[Dominic D]

this doesn't even make sense.....lol

I don't know the exact science, but basically when there's more distance between you and the speaker your brain expects and compensates for a certain about of delay. With a digital wireless guitar system, you already have distance between you and your amp so the latency is barely noticeable. With a digital wireless in-ear system, because the speakers are pressed right against your ears, the slightest bit of latency is instantly noticeable. I've tested this myself with a Wi Digital system and it's definitely true in my experience.

 

[Big_Daws]

they have it too like 4ms latency or less...UHF has a higher latency (i think pls correct me if im wrong) in which case my stated of what you just said doesn't make sense...im going to check into this a bit deeper...

 

[kiat]

There's a new guitar transmitter based on wifi, which looks very promising - available soon hopfefully!

Invalid Link Removed

 

[RoadRanger]

There are at least three BT (?) wireless systems available for guitar/bass:

Intellitouch Freedom WT1 (receiver is also a tuner pedal!) ~$70, Transmitter runs on a single AAA for 10 hours, Receiver rather sensitive to noisy wall-warts (one spots no good ). ~20' range. Lifetime $15 repair policy. I've had one of these for a while.

Rowin WS-10 $37, transmitter and receiver both need three AAA for about 6 hours of use (unverified) No AC option for the receiver although one could wire in a 5 volt supply I suspect.
Transmitter's plug doesn't fold like the Intellitouch's so quite vulnerable to breaking off or damaging your instrument jack IMO. Wouldn't fit a strat style jack. I'm going to fabricate a 2.5' extension cord for the plug so I can use it as a "regular" bodypack style.
Just got this in today, I'll try it out at tomorrow night's gig. Range at tonight's rehearsal seemed to not be any better than the Intellitouch's even though the ~5x power consumption of the transmitter hints towards better range? Seemed quieter and less latency than the Intellitouch? Seem to be only available from China so possibly not 100% legal?

Joyo JW-01 , rechargeable but only 2 hour life? ~$80

Note that none of these explicitly say they are BT but they operate on 2.4GHz, are digital, have typical BT range, allow multiple simultaneous units operating, and need to be "paired" so if it quacks like a duck...

 

[RoadRanger]

Kinda funny, the Rowin sounded great on guitar (I let the rhythm guitarist who owns the PA use it last night) - but on the 4 hour gig with it shut off between sets the system started howling a few seconds after the last tune because the "transmitter" batteries went dead. I had put in new off brand (AC Delco) alkalines and only used it the previous night for maybe 5 minutes. Unfortunately neither of us was watching the status lights to see if there was any "warning" as I figured the advertised 6 hour life would be fine. I suspect the "receiver" will be much better on batteries although Bluetooth is a bidirectional protocol so the "receiver" does transmit to the "transmitter" but less often than the other way 'round. Makes me appreciate the Intellitouch more with its single AAA transmitter and wallwart compatible receiver (vs the six total AAA for the Rowin) - plus the tuner is easy to see and works fine on bass. OTOH a set of Rayovacs would probably last a night in the Rowin . Oh, and an off brand (CVS) AAA lasted for two rehearsals in the Intellitouch so less than the advertised 10 hours too.