People who love pick attack... wireless units you've been happy with.

N

Nickerz

New member
So I gotta be honest, I am a cork sniffer of the highest degree. Having a pure analog signal path to the front of my amp, running wet dry setups, these are all things I do because I love having perfect pick attack and not having to lose it getting chewed up by AD\DA and loop dynamics. But I'm starting to get into a bind here as I start to finish building my rig.

I'm just starting to get into the effects switching and all that and I have to pay the piper somewhere, either through a decent cable run of say 20' from my board to the rack\poweramps etc, or with a wireless unit. If I run wireless, I can have literally everything in the rack and cut down on cabling. Right now, I'm probably more willing to need to buffer\accept some top end roll off on cable than I am to lose pick attack.

Interested to hear what you guys have played with and used. I'm open to both analog and digital units and although I have a rack of guitars, I'd be okay switching the wireless pack for each guitar rather than needing to manage 7 or 8 packs.
 
Think it is widely known to stay away from the analog ones. Shure Gldx 16 is what a lot of us use. Many on rig-talk have been talked into it by us. If you can find one of the illegal wireless units for under 3grand, I bet those are better. But since the shure feels like a mogami gold 10 ft cord and I have never had a hiccup or cutout no matter how far I have gotten away from the receiver, through walls/brick/etc, I really don't see how it can be beat. It does add a slight color to your tone, but it is sexy and bonebreaking.
 
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I’ve heard nothing but great things about the above shure.

i have the Sennheiser xswd pedalboard set and have been completely happy. I initially bought it with low expectations, thinking it would just be handy for band rehearsals or playing at home.

I cannot tell the difference from a cable and have used it everywhere for the last year, zero dropouts. Transmitters are only $180, so not too expensive to have a spare or two.
 
Plus 6 on the Shure. I was also recommended by the fine gentlemen here. Outstanding! Worth the money for sure.
 
I got the cheap Xvive wireless units a month or two ago and so far they sound and work great. Love the form factor of em
 
Devin said:
I got the cheap Xvive wireless units a month or two ago and so far they sound and work great.
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I used those for about a year and they are a nice setup.
My only gripe was that the charging was a little awkward.
 
I have been using the Sennheiser XSWD pedalboard units just before covid and still am using them today. They have been great for live, rehearsals and at home.
 
Another happy Shure GLDX16 user here.

Minor gripe is that I hear this ever-so-slight static/crackle/hiss ADDED when playing really clean and hitting some lower notes on the low E and A strings.
This is only noticeable in a studio/home environment and negligible live, but it's something that I never experienced with my old Nady VHF or Line6 G30 systems. Since the Line6 was kinda flimsy and I loved the pedal-formfactor of the Shure with mute/tuner button integrated, that made me sell the Line6.
But looking back, since I never play close to militairy airfields (where apparently, if you *do* use VHF systems, you may get fined and your gear confiscated, is at least what I've been warned about), I shouldn't have sold that Nady in the first place. Yes, it was old, but worked fine, the transmitter used a nice 9V block and had great (true diversity) reception.
But build-wise and feature-wise, the Shure is definitely #1.
 
Speeddemon said:
Another happy Shure GLDX16 user here.

Minor gripe is that I hear this ever-so-slight static/crackle/hiss ADDED when playing really clean and hitting some lower notes on the low E and A strings.
This is only noticeable in a studio/home environment and negligible live, but it's something that I never experienced with my old Nady VHF or Line6 G30 systems. Since the Line6 was kinda flimsy and I loved the pedal-formfactor of the Shure with mute/tuner button integrated, that made me sell the Line6.
But looking back, since I never play close to militairy airfields (where apparently, if you *do* use VHF systems, you may get fined and your gear confiscated, is at least what I've been warned about), I shouldn't have sold that Nady in the first place. Yes, it was old, but worked fine, the transmitter used a nice 9V block and had great (true diversity) reception.
But build-wise and feature-wise, the Shure is definitely #1.
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Yeah. I didn't know about the old ones. I was just like how did pink floyd and all them have great wireless setups back then. My buddy told me about the illegal ones. I think you brought up the cleans on the last thread, or someone did. I have got to play something clean to try it. I never play true cleans, just a volume roll. If I am playing clean, usually on acousitic. I just mic the acoustic rather than plugging in.
 
Speeddemon said:
But looking back, since I never play close to militairy airfields (where apparently, if you *do* use VHF systems, you may get fined and your gear confiscated, is at least what I've been warned about),
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😁

tumblr_m7flqi1dGE1qedb29o1_r1_640.jpg
 
I used a Line 6 G50 for about 12 years, and it was great, but in the process of consolidating things, I just got a Shure GLXD16 a couple of days ago since it has a built in tuner, and so far its great.
 
I've been using Line 6 Relay G75 for the last few years. I have one for my main stage rig, and one mounted right in the pedal board of my more portable rig. I haven't looked lately, but when I was initially researching digital wireless, it was the lowest latency of any consumer-grade wireless. I want immediacy in my pick attack. I'll never go back to analog; what you might lose with 24-bit AD/DA is imperceptible compared to the clarity and dynamics you keep by going digital. I'd be willing to bet my amp is seeing a more accurate representation of what my guitar is putting out than it does over a 25' cable.

I've heard people complain of drops with the Line 6, but I've never experienced that. It's 2.4GHz which is the most common wifi range, so there's lots going on there, but it can scan and tell you what channel to use to avoid contention. That, and the usual wisdom about not blocking the receiver with metal or anything that'll stomp RF.

I've probably played a couple hundred gigs with mine, and no issues that I can recall. I also use Eneloop rechargeable batteries, and that may help. They deliver consistent voltage across most of their charge level, versus conventual batteries whose voltage decreases as they lose charge (which is what wireless systems use to tell you how much battery life you have left).
 
blacknoizemachine said:
I'll never go back to analog; what you might lose with 24-bit AD/DA is imperceptible compared to the clarity and dynamics you keep by going digital. I'd be willing to bet my amp is seeing a more accurate representation of what my guitar is putting out than it does over a 25' cable.
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Well, sometimes when people 'compare it to analog', they actually mean an ANALOG wireless, not cable.
That Nady VHF of mine was analog for instance.
 
Speeddemon said:
Well, sometimes when people 'compare it to analog', they actually mean an ANALOG wireless, not cable.
That Nady VHF of mine was analog for instance.
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Hmm. this is interesting. I thought the OP was talking about possibility of the analog wireless, but now I am thinking he was just saying analog path vs wireless. I don't think anyone is cheering for an analog wireless now. I definitely misunderstood if so...ha.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
Hmm. this is interesting. I thought the OP was talking about possibility of the analog wireless, but now I am thinking he was just saying analog path vs wireless. I don't think anyone is cheering for an analog wireless now. I definitely misunderstood if so...ha.
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I think something can be said for both cases.
In the case of analog wireless, you need a compander to limit and restore dynamics, before and after transmission, which can (and probably does) affect your signal in a negative way, but...since there's no A/D and D/A conversion involved, the transmission speed is theoretically faster.

In the digital wireless, you probably end up with more dynamics, but at the cost of a slight -and probably negligible- delay, due to the A/D+D/A conversion.
The Shure has 4ms of latency...but that's the same as walking another 4ft (or ~1.20m) from your amp, when playing with a cable.
Apparently, according to some, once you get past +10ms latency, that's when you start to notice things.

The Line6 G50 claims 2.9ms latency and the G70 claims even 1.5ms!

Interesting read:
https://performwireless.com/shure-glxd-16-vs-line-6-g70-vs-line-6-g50/
For me, a big plus with the Shure is the battery life. And even though it uses a propietary battery type, it
-lasts 16 hours (and really, it does!)
-doesn't discharge noticable when idle. Due to Covid, there was 1,5 years between gigs for me and all this time I had stored my GLXD away at 4/7 bars charge. Still had the same charge 1,5years later. Didn't even recharge it for the first gig this July and played a 1.5h show with no hiccups.
-You can charge it through the belt pack with either the included charger or any micro-USB phone charger! And surely nowadays, those are everywhere. If you're without charged or fresh AA batteries on the Line6, you're shit out of luck. Also, I never reached their claimed 8 hours. More like 5-6 at most. Disclaimer, I was using rechargeable Energizer 2450mAh AA's for my G30 at the time.
Mind you, I got the G30 quite early on when they were just released, and at the time it was priced around $300, basically what the G50 price is nowadays. The G50 at the time was more than $500 IIRC... if it was priced then how it's now, I would have gotten the G50, if only for the metal, not plastic, beltpack.
 
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Speeddemon said:
I think something can be said for both cases.
In the case of analog wireless, you need a compander to limit and restore dynamics, before and after transmission, which can (and probably does) affect your signal in a negative way, but...since there's no A/D and D/A conversion involved, the transmission speed is theoretically faster.

In the digital wireless, you probably end up with more dynamics, but at the cost of a slight -and probably negligible- delay, due to the A/D+D/A conversion.
The Shure has 4ms of latency...but that's the same as walking another 4ft (or ~1.20m) from your amp, when playing with a cable.
Apparently, according to some, once you get past +10ms latency, that's when you start to notice things.

The Line6 G50 claims 2.9ms latency and the G70 claims even 1.5ms!

Interesting read:
https://performwireless.com/shure-glxd-16-vs-line-6-g70-vs-line-6-g50/
For me, a big plus with the Shure is the battery life. And even though it uses a propietary battery type, it
-lasts 16 hours (and really, it does!)
-doesn't discharge noticable when idle. Due to Covid, there was 1,5 years between gigs for me and all this time I had stored my GLXD away at 4/7 bars charge. Still had the same charge 1,5years later. Didn't even recharge it for the first gig this July and played a 1.5h show with no hiccups.
-You can charge it through the belt pack with either the included charger or any micro-USB phone charger! And surely nowadays, those are everywhere. If you're without charged or fresh AA batteries on the Line6, you're shit out of luck. Also, I never reached their claimed 8 hours. More like 5-6 at most. Disclaimer, I was using rechargeable Energizer 2450mAh AA's for my G30 at the time.
Mind you, I got the G30 quite early on when they were just released, and at the time it was priced around $300, basically what the G50 price is nowadays. The G50 at the time was more than $500 IIRC... if it was priced then how it's now, I would have gotten the G50, if only for the metal, not plastic, beltpack.
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Battery life is incredible. I don't notice latency at all. I play and it plays. I have gotten used to whatever is there. From the time I started using it, and had the freedom to spin in a chair or walk around the house while playing.. it honesly made me play more, cuz it is always hooked up.
 
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