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Who I has gone totally wireless?
- Thread starter Baker69
- Start date
I've been completely wireless for years with a Lekato WS-50 5.8 GHz pod system for the bass, Lekato wireless pods for my dynamic and harmonica mics, and Xvive pods with phantom power for my Shure condenser mics. A Zoom battery digital mixer/recorder. I also have a laptop battery for my Phil Jones Double Four Plus, and put together an inverter and lithium motorcycle battery for my Carvin MB15 combo amp and 115MBE extension cabinet. I do keep a cable in my gig bag in case the bass wireless has a problem, and an A/C power supply for the amps and mixer.
s0c9
Supporting Member
No, I do not “need” one, but it’s really convenient with the wireless units in one rack. Power is supplied by a single multi-outlet power strip and all I do is manage my rechargeable batts.
I went that route when my (now defunct band of 10 yrs) was doing 100+ gigs a year.
One venue we played a lot (as house band) often had national acts we opened for.
We setup on the same stage in front of them after their sound check was completed. Sometimes all we got was time for a line check. Two X 45 min sets, then move your stuff off the stage. If the headliner finished early enough, we had to put all our gear back up on stage for another 1-hr set. Venue was open until 2am. Trust me, wireless is/was the ONLY way to go for that.
I’ve kept that model with bands since then.
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Like sOc9, we’ve been fully wireless for several years, Shure mics, Sennheiser IEM, and mix of Shure and Sennheiser instrument systems. Clean stage, quick setup, almost no cable bird nests to undo at the end of the night, and they work. Wasn’t cheap, but reliable and easy to use. Our instrument stuff is on pedalboards, and the mics and IEMs are mounted in a single 6 space rack box. Easy to transport and setup in venues that provide sound but not IEMs. We’re quite happy with it all…
s0c9
Supporting Member
With that much wireless in your signal path, I'd hate troubleshooting an intermittent dropout. I do wireless to the pedalboard and then wired after that. Also have a cable to bypass it if there are dropouts. In some locations there are. Boss wireless stuff doesn't work at all for me at home but is fine in other locations.
The wireless items I have are;
Sennheiser G4 IEM system
Lekato 5.8ghz wireless guitar system
(sometimes I use my Line 6 G50 instead, which works on 2.4ghz)
New Lekato MW-1 5.8ghz wireless mic system.
I can’t speak yet for the new wireless mic thing but with all of the other items I have never ever had any issues or drop outs. I do always have cables with me ‘just in case’ but have never needed to swap to wired. The only danger I find is making sure everything applicable is charged before the gig.
I did have issues sometimes with my LD MEI 1000 G2 wireless IEM system with white noise and other artefacts but upgrading to the Sennheiser solved that.
Sennheiser G4 IEM system
Lekato 5.8ghz wireless guitar system
(sometimes I use my Line 6 G50 instead, which works on 2.4ghz)
New Lekato MW-1 5.8ghz wireless mic system.
I can’t speak yet for the new wireless mic thing but with all of the other items I have never ever had any issues or drop outs. I do always have cables with me ‘just in case’ but have never needed to swap to wired. The only danger I find is making sure everything applicable is charged before the gig.
I did have issues sometimes with my LD MEI 1000 G2 wireless IEM system with white noise and other artefacts but upgrading to the Sennheiser solved that.
My mic stand holds all my stuff: mic - Shure Beta58a, vocal pedal, personal monitor mixer (Micromon MA400), oh, and the obligatory cub holder, all within easy reach. Power is permanently attached to the stand with a short lead. I run an extension cord to it.
* Mic and monitor cable to go to the PA are in an easy to wrap and store harness
* My bass is wireless to my SGT-DI (which stays on top of my cab) plus I keep a cable handy in case of unexpected interference
* I am testing out an IEM that only transmits from my mic stand (via the monitor mixer)
I walk out for initial sound check and occasionally during the set if something seems off, or if we get a comment from someone out front. So, having wires tying me to the stage is a detriment.
* Mic and monitor cable to go to the PA are in an easy to wrap and store harness
* My bass is wireless to my SGT-DI (which stays on top of my cab) plus I keep a cable handy in case of unexpected interference
* I am testing out an IEM that only transmits from my mic stand (via the monitor mixer)
I walk out for initial sound check and occasionally during the set if something seems off, or if we get a comment from someone out front. So, having wires tying me to the stage is a detriment.
Wireless microphones are not that unusual. If you like to move around the stage, it completely makes sense to have a wireless transmitter on your guitar, wireless IEM’s in your ear, and a wireless headset mic on your head. This would give you complete freedom to walk, sing, and play anywhere in or out of the venue.
Now, wouldn’t it be convenient if someday they combined all three into one single wireless unit?
Now, wouldn’t it be convenient if someday they combined all three into one single wireless unit?
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As a band (6 piece pop/rock cover band), we’ve been totally wireless for about 7 years. Shure GLXD wireless mics, Sennheiser wireless IEMs, guitars and bass are wireless to their pedalboards, everyone is ampless, direct to FOH. Our 10 on stage XLRs are 3 guitars, bass, keys, and 5 drum mics. 18 channels to X32R/DL32, IEM mixes and mixer control via WiFi through Ubiquity router.
There’s a lot of radio happening but it all works. Much cleaner stage, faster set up and tear down.
There’s a lot of radio happening but it all works. Much cleaner stage, faster set up and tear down.
Attachments
Nope Our real issue with the drums isn’t cable count, but rather controlling room dynamics. Our drummer is a great guy and very talented, but he’s a physical dude and can be, um, enthusiastic. He is working on a set of e-drums that he’ll actually enjoy playing. Once he’s done that, his 5 mic cables will become a stereo LR pair. Truly good e-drums are remarkably pricey.
s0c9
Supporting Member
The sound guy in me suggests getting a snake (not a stereo cable) to go from the back of the e-drum module (most are 1/4” out) to the stage box or mixer. Stereo drum feeds give FOH ZERO control over the drum mix, especially with an “enthusiastic” Drummer who MIGHT suddenly hit the snare (or rim shot) that much harder mid song. FOH only has balance and EQ control with a stereo feed. Mix levels are set on the drum module, so one cannot adjust individual drums beyond sound check.
YMMV.
I really strive to have as clean a stage as I can, so I go wireless guitar (Shure GXL-D+) on pedal board, with Sennheiser G4 wireless mic and wireless IEM's in a compact rack with my Allen and Heath CQ20b mixer and an external router. I have 3 channels of audio coming out of my pedalboard (acoustic guitar, guitar/bass loop, percussion loop) where they are all seprately mixed on the CQ. I have a Radial Catapult pre-wired on my pedalboard and one in my rack. I run a simple Cat 5 cable from my board to my rack which I tape down. Up and running in all of 5 minutes. short cable from CQ20 to whatever main I am using that day (Bose L1 PRo8, Yamaha DXR10).. No dropouts. I do run a search for clear frequecies each time before I start a show.
I served over 15 years in a church ministry going 100% wireless. Three services on Sunday and Many on Saturday with weekly rehearsals. I also have recorded over 500 songs going direct to the board. I can honestly say it’s no big deal and doesn’t affect me as an artist.
That said, I much prefer playing wired with players that know how to play in concert, and they are a dying breed. The problem with wireless is there is no sense of group dynamics in an ensemble and no way of knowing how you are effecting the other bandmates mix.
I certainly get the advantages of wireless play in terms of a better more consistent sound quality mix in the house and less stuff you have to haul around, less set up and tear downtime… but give me 5 guys that understand dynamics and the impact of them and it’s another world.
Happen to have a picture of that? I just picked one up this weekend for a practice mixer / recorder / IEM rack. Really looking forward to putting it through its paces this weekend. Letting the wallet cool off a bit before I rack it up, but I have a design in mind.
will post some later but its a 6 space, 8" deep rack that I got off of Amazon. The CQ is 4 spaces racked, have Sennheiser units together on one rack space and antena connections out front on another. In the back I have 1u power strip and a back panel where I can tap the vocal signal if I ever want to run it out to a vocal pedal for harmonies...
