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Wireless problems

chris4001asat

Reverend Guitars Production Manager
Commercial User
Dec 16, 2002
1,012
300
57
Toledo, Ohio
www.polkafloyd.com
Disclosures
Warehouse Manager : Reverend Guitars
So my band finally convinced me to get a wireless. It's a Shure, "The Guitarists Diversity" Model I think it's called. I get to the soundcheck and hook it up, sounds pretty decent, no noticable loss in quality. But when I start moving aggresively, jumping, running, what have you, I start getting a crackle. The sound man even shut me off through the mains for fear of blowing something. Anyone have this problem before?
 
I'm not familiar with that specific unit, but if you're getting a crackle when you move around a lot, it's likely that you're not getting a good contact either at the bass's output jack or at the input for the wireless transmitter pack. That, or the something's wrong inside the transmitter itself. Jumping around shakes everything a bit, and if a contact is loose it will make a crackle.

Mike
 
My opinion: Never use a wireless unless you get one of the expensive, pro-level units ($$$). The cheaper ones are frought with various and numerous problems, from noises like you describe, to signal loss/tone sucking, to gain issues, to flakiness, to physical component failures. They are truly the weakest link in your chain.

I look at it this way. Why on earth be concerned with a great sounding bass, fresh and good-sounding strings, a great amp/preamp, good cabs, compression and/or effects, if a stupid cheap wireless is going to ruin all of the above?
 
I wouldn't consider Shure cheap. I think it may be your jack as I had the same problem once. The 1/4" plugs most wireless units use are a micrometer smaller than a lot of instrument cables so you have to make sure your contacts are in place and your connection is a really tight one. I eventually replaced the jack and that solved my problem. I have an Audio Technica VHF system and a Samson VHF system and both work fine for me although the Samson drains batteries twice as fast. I own a high end AKG UHF receiver that I got for free and once I buy a transmitter pack, it will be my main system and I'll get rid of the others.