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Wireless system for bass guitar - what's being used?

#42
Whatever wireless system you get the first thing you should do is call a local or online cable maker and have them build you a quality mogami cable to replace the cable that comes with your new wireless. They are all pieces of junk no matter what brand you get and they will break within the first few months of heavy use. They start cracking and cutting out. My whole band each got magomi cable replacements and 2 years later still have no problems with them.
 
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#43
Thanks Geri

Geri O said:
I'm aways hesitant to mention what I"m using because it's hideously expensive, but for a good reason. It's the finest and most robust RF unit out there today.

I use the Lectrosonics SMQV transmitter and the R400a receiver with my bass. Lectrosonics is known for industrial, robust RF transmission. Think Superbowl, can't-fail thinking. It's digital-hybrid technology, but in the regular frequency ranges, not the 2.4g range. At the church, we've A/B'ed this system with other wireless gear and even good wire cables and this thing can't be beat.

And for $2100, it had bloody well better be. But I was fortunate enough to be in the position to buy it at the time. And it's been flawless. Never a drop-out.

I know, this isn't for everyone. And I won't "challenge" everyone with the old "if you care about yer bass tone, you'll get a second mortgage on the hacienda and buy the Lectro system for your bass!". That's so crude and rude. But it's worth a look. I'm very happy with it.

From what I understand, the Line 6 systems offer a great level of performance for the money. Nothing at all wrong with that. The Shure, Sennheiser, and Audio-Technica systems work very well, too. These are systems that I've use and are familiar with.
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#44
Great post Max thanks

Max Blasto said:
I'm using a Line 6 G50 these days.

Tone is great, and range is great. I've walked down the street in Waikiki while the band was stuck back in the bar. As you can see, you need to know what you're doing with the batteries. I put in freshies before each gig, cuz if you're playing from 9 to close, you don't want to try to remember how long you had the unit on at the last rehearsal. And I never want to have to play the bass line on "Crazy Train" on the keys again!

So, there you go - Sound is great. Range is great. Keep a pack of AAs in your gig bag and put in new ones each gig, and you're good.
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#45
Slpbass81 said:
I have been using the Sennheiser EW172 G3 for three years now and have never had a problem. It also sounds great. I had a Shure wireless before that and it was terrible. Out of all wireless units under $500 Sennheiser is the only one I would recommend.

Now, if you're looking for a very cheap option this may be worth checking out. I have not tired one but basically they are the AKG wireless but Fender branded them and didn't know how to market/sell them so they sold them all to Sweetwater who is blowing them out.

Fender FW2020 by AKG Instrument Wireless w/IR Sync Band 7 | Sweetwater.com
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I have the less expensive version of this unit that Sweetwater was blowing out for $99. It's great. Any issues I had with sound or reception were fixed with minor adjustments. They are sold out now but if the $179 version is as good or better, then it is a winner in the low price wireless field.
 
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#46
Bassworship1 said:
I purchased the Line 6 G90 and wanted more than anything for it to work and take over my wireless needs but I bought one new and had terrible feedback no matter what channel I used. I finally sent it back and purchased another G30 system. Not near as rugged and nice as the rack mount G90 but I haven't had any issues with it lol.
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That's really weird... I've used the G90 for close to 5 yrs now - for both guitar and bass, indoor and outdoors - and never had a single problem with it and NEVER any feedback.
Either the unit was defective - yes, there ARE units that are defective - or there was something wrong with your setup or environment at the time you tried it.
I run mine on low power, no cable-length settings and on one of hte higher channels (not the default, and I forget which one), and over that 5yrs, I've played with other band members with other L6 units and never had interference.. and I gig pretty much every weekend with it.
 
#48
It couldn't have been my setup because I tested at the same time our guitarist G30 and it worked fine. Had to be something defective with the G90 system. All i know is i was so upset with it I sent it back to the dealer I got it from and purchased another G30 system and it's worked fine. I love the fact that the G90 as rack mountable and the features it had but that one I tried ruined it for me lol.
 
#49
Bassworship1 said:
It couldn't have been my setup because I tested at the same time our guitarist G30 and it worked fine. Had to be something defective with the G90 system. All i know is i was so upset with it I sent it back to the dealer I got it from and purchased another G30 system and it's worked fine. I love the fact that the G90 as rack mountable and the features it had but that one I tried ruined it for me lol.
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that sure is a bummer.. I'd wanted a rack mount unit, and it's been great!
 
#50
I've been using a G90 for several years after running a G50, and they are great units. My problem now is the the 2.4Ghz spectrum is getting really congested. My band has 4 Relay Units in service right now (my G90, a G50, a G55, and an XVD75 microphone) and coordinating that with needing a clean Wifi environment for mixing via tablet at a lot of shows is not fun at all. Most of the time I'm seeing 3-4 bars of RF across all available channels which takes the range down significantly. It works fine for the stage itself, but if I need to wander out in the crowd to check levels I've found that my transmitter will actually knock my tablet off the wifi, which means no level adjustment from there. I could put up paddles to enhance the reception of the units, but that doesn't fix the problem of coordinating wifi for mixing and the wifi that's invariably present in the clubs we're playing along with 4 units. I might be switching back to a UHF unit for that reason.
 
#51
Barisaxman said:
I've been using a G90 for several years after running a G50, and they are great units. My problem now is the the 2.4Ghz spectrum is getting really congested. My band has 4 Relay Units in service right now (my G90, a G50, a G55, and an XVD75 microphone) and coordinating that with needing a clean Wifi environment for mixing via tablet at a lot of shows is not fun at all. Most of the time I'm seeing 3-4 bars of RF across all available channels which takes the range down significantly. It works fine for the stage itself, but if I need to wander out in the crowd to check levels I've found that my transmitter will actually knock my tablet off the wifi, which means no level adjustment from there. I could put up paddles to enhance the reception of the units, but that doesn't fix the problem of coordinating wifi for mixing and the wifi that's invariably present in the clubs we're playing along with 4 units. I might be switching back to a UHF unit for that reason.
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Sounds like you need to get a dual-band router, and relieve some of your 2.4Ghz congestion..
That's what we did and have our mixer/IEM apps connecting on the 5Ghz band.. unsure whether that relieves us from all the local cellphone wireless traffic, but we seem to have very few issues with FOH mixing.
 
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#52
I run an old Shure pg4 unit. The only problem I have ever had with it was that the cable crapped out on it. Picked up a new one off Amazon for about 20 bucks. I got it used and have been running it for a couple years now. Works great and I have yet to find a venue that we play that I could get out of its range.
 
#54
I've got maybe 100 shows or so on my line6 g30- and it has been awesome. I've dropped signal maybe once? And I was the only one to notice....it happened and recovered so quickly.

I just buy dollar store sunbeam batteries and easily get 4hrs out of a pair. So that's two shows for a dollar. Just change them as part of my pre show fire up/tune/ test routine. No problems.
 
#55
on large stages I use a Sennheiser XSW72, its good but I have used less expensive systems that are just as good. The Battery lasts about 4-5 2 hour gigs then gets recharged. I only had one show where I had to switch to wired as the signal Kept dropping. It was a steel framed building with sheet metal outer and Lots of aerials close by.
 
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#56
I too have a Line 6. I have a load of their handhelds and am quite impressed so bought one for my bass for just one gig, because a cable would have been in the way. I now use it, or not on a whim, depending on each gig - and you cannot hear a difference. In exactly the same way as swapping to crazily priced exotic cable. If you clip the transmitter to the strap, then the short cable supplied has been totally fine. It's a bit stiff, but is pretty tough. The idea of PAYING nobody to make a cable up also goes against the grain. Learn to solder and save a fortune over your lifespan. I make most of my own cables, but to be honest, the days of rubbish cables are over, assuming you avoid the truly cheap and nasty ones. It's sad that many guitar shops make more money on selling a cable than they do on the guitar!

Sensible cable and Neutrik connectors have never let me down. This means a short cable would cost around $10 in parts here in the UK, made from quality components, and a cheap moulded one that you could throw away if it eventually cracked or tarnished is maybe $4.
 
#57
Barisaxman said:
I've been using a G90 for several years after running a G50, and they are great units. My problem now is the the 2.4Ghz spectrum is getting really congested. My band has 4 Relay Units in service right now (my G90, a G50, a G55, and an XVD75 microphone) and coordinating that with needing a clean Wifi environment for mixing via tablet at a lot of shows is not fun at all. Most of the time I'm seeing 3-4 bars of RF across all available channels which takes the range down significantly. It works fine for the stage itself, but if I need to wander out in the crowd to check levels I've found that my transmitter will actually knock my tablet off the wifi, which means no level adjustment from there. I could put up paddles to enhance the reception of the units, but that doesn't fix the problem of coordinating wifi for mixing and the wifi that's invariably present in the clubs we're playing along with 4 units. I might be switching back to a UHF unit for that reason.
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I've been using my G30 since 2010 without any problems until I started using a GoPro Hero 3+ at some of my gigs. It and the G30 do not get along. The first time I experienced a problem, I was at a venue that provided free wifi to patrons via a couple of different wifi networks. The G30, in that case, kept cutting out. Tried different channels and ultimately had to stop using it because I couldn't find a channel that it would work on. GoPro worked fine. I had used my G30 at this venue before without problem. No biggie, I know it can happen. As of late, the G30 has been working fine but when I try to control the GoPro via wifi on my phone, the app on my phone locks up, the wifi disconnects or just doesn't work. Turn the G30 off and it works just fine.

I have thought about upgrading to the new G70 or maybe something else. But, I'm not sure that would solve the problem since 2.4 is just plain crowded. Until then, I still really like the G30. While I haven't beat the thing up, for being a plastic receiver and transmitter, it's held up remarkably through hundreds of gigs. Heck, I had even been running the same four Energizer rechargeable batteries until two quit taking a charge a couple of weeks back.
 
#58
KaseOfBass said:
I've been using my G30 since 2010 without any problems until I started using a GoPro Hero 3+ at some of my gigs. It and the G30 do not get along. The first time I experienced a problem, I was at a venue that provided free wifi to patrons via a couple of different wifi networks. The G30, in that case, kept cutting out. Tried different channels and ultimately had to stop using it because I couldn't find a channel that it would work on. GoPro worked fine. I had used my G30 at this venue before without problem. No biggie, I know it can happen. As of late, the G30 has been working fine but when I try to control the GoPro via wifi on my phone, the app on my phone locks up, the wifi disconnects or just doesn't work. Turn the G30 off and it works just fine.

I have thought about upgrading to the new G70 or maybe something else. But, I'm not sure that would solve the problem since 2.4 is just plain crowded. Until then, I still really like the G30. While I haven't beat the thing up, for being a plastic receiver and transmitter, it's held up remarkably through hundreds of gigs. Heck, I had even been running the same four Energizer rechargeable batteries until two quit taking a charge a couple of weeks back.
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Interesting, I think it ultimately will boil down to individual users' usage. I love my G90, I'm just frustrated at times now because it used to be that running it in RF1 mode would ensure rock-solid stability at the expense of other wifi in the area. Now it seems that there's so much going on in 2.4Ghz land that system range is nothing near what it used to be. I've coordinated my wifi channels on my routers, etc., but unfortunately I can't control what the venues are installing and using in terms of wifi, so we simply accommodate the best we can and accept the limitations of the systems. So far it's never been anything close to a show-stopper, but I do miss the days when I could wander even the biggest clubs with no sign of a dropout, and now I'm lucky if I can get far enough from stage to evaluate the sound without experiencing consistent dropouts. We're probably going to start putting up the directional paddles to help with our XVD75/G90/G55, but that's only a band-aid to what seems to be an ever-increasing issue with 2.4ghz congestion.
 
#60
lowtom said:
another question here: anyone noticed a tone loss in low frequencies with 5 string basses using line6-G-units or Shure?
thanks.
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I've never used my G90 with anything other than 5-string basses.. don't own a 4-String, and NO noticeable loss of tone at all.
When I hit that low B at one venue (G90 into house PA) the SIX dual-18 subs under the stage do not complain!! :thumbsup:
 
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