ANy wireless players out there?

[Teleblooz]

I recently got an award from work that included a $250 AmEx gift card. For a while now I've been thinking about getting a wireless unit. A quick look at eBay a couple of days ago showed prices ranging from about $100 up into the 4-digit range.

Conveniently enough, my new Sweetwater catalog arrived today. There's a Samson AirLine unit right at the $250 mark that looks interesting. The case is stompbox-sized to fit on a pedalboard and the transmitter is small and plugs right into the guitar's output jack (no belt/strap pack).

Reviews are pretty good, by and large, with the main concern being the vulnerability of the transmitter unit and a white noise issue that some players experience and some don't. My main concern is that it doesn't act as a tone sucker, and that aspect of it is pretty universally rated as good.

Before I pull the trigger - anybody got any experience with this unit or some other at about the same price point?

[spellcaster]

I use wireless a lot and I'm a big fan of Samson units. I don't use the more modern UHF units, prefering the old VR1/VT1 units though, so I can't comment on the performance of the new ones. Based on the quality of the older ones though, I'd probably look first at the Samson Airline units if I was out to buy a new one.

I notice that a lot of the current model wireless units use diversity technology. This seems to be a good thing. When I worked in the car audio field years ago, diversity tuners (which were new at the time)delivered much better performance in fringe reception areas than standard FM front ends with a single antenna, and I'd assume that a diversity wireless would be less prone to dropouts.

[spellcaster]

Did uou pull the trigger, 'blooz? Not trying to rush you, but I am interested in hearing your assessment of the Airline system if you go that route.

[Teleblooz]

Not yet. I've been talking to a friend who highly recommends the Line 6 Relay G30 system, which clocks in at only $50 more than the Samson, so I'm considering that one as well. And this guy's recommendation carries a lot of credibility for me.

In any case I'm not buying anything until after next Friday's payday.

[Teleblooz]

I did it and it's here!

I opted for the Line 6 system and ordered it from Sweetwater last week. It arrived yesterday, and I'm very pleased so far. The transmitter is small enough to be comfortable on the strap. The receiver is stompbox-sized, so integrating it into the pedalboard was pretty easy. It's powered by a 9V wall-wart in standard configuration, which means I can power it with my 1-Spot along with all the other pedals.

One nice thing about a "pedal" that doesn't have an input jack is that you can position it in the middle of the pedalboard. Nothing needs to access it from off-board, so it doesn't need to be near an edge. I rearranged my board slightly and it fit right in. I'll try to get in a pic after work/before practice tonight.

An interesting feature on this little unit is a "cable simulator" switch that purports to give the effect of a 15- or 30-foot cable. It does make an audible difference, giving the effect of signal degradation over a long cable run. Being that the guitar signal through this beastie is absolutely clear as a bell, I may actually give this a try and see how it works for me. If nothing else I can set it to 30' when I put on new strings, until they're played in.

[Teleblooz]

...and here it is!

[die Bullen]

Good luck with it!

Is a 30' cable really that much signal degradation??? I never used one...

[Teleblooz]

Good luck with it!

Is a 30' cable really that much signal degradation??? I never used one...

I never have either - 20's my limit. I'm just going to have to take their word for it.

[spellcaster]

Glad to hear that you've found one you like, TB. It sounds like it's got some innovative features.

I think one of the biggest benefits to wireless, that doesn't get mentioned often, is that it eliminates guitar patchcords as a contributing factor to noise. Not talking about the sonic effect of the cable simulator in the Line 6.....I've had a number of guitars over the years that suffered from ground loops caused by the direct mechanical connection between guitar and amp, but those same guitars, physically disconnected from the amp by using a wireless system, are breathtakingly quiet.

[Teleblooz]

There may be a downside to that lack of hard-wired ground as well. When I tried it out at practice Wednesday night I was getting crackling noises whenever I turned the volume pot, which caused me to suspect maybe a dirty or defective pot, but I noticed I was also getting a pop when I worked the pickup selector switch. As long as I wasn't working the controls it sounded absolutely crisp and clear, but when we stopped for a break and I turned down the volume to put the guitar down, the crackling noise made the whole room flinch.

Figuring to eliminate the simplest possibilities first, I stopped at the local music store and picked up a replacement pot, which I plan to install this weekend. What makes me have doubts is that when I tried the unit out the night before at home, it was absolutely dead quiet in operation. Also when I plugged into a cable last night, while I was getting a tiny bit of "dirty pot"-type noise, it wasn't nearly the volume of what was coming out of the wireless the night before.

The possibility occurred to me that the susceptibility to extraneous noise was getting masked in some way by the hardwired ground, but then today one of my friends suggested that maybe it was picking up some interference from the wi-fi at my drummer's house (which I don't have at home). He said that the wi-fi operates in the same 2.4 GHz band as the Line6 unit.

One thing I'm going to try next practice on Sunday is switching to different channels on the unit to see whether that makes any difference. And of course, it'll have a pristine new Alpha pot installed. We'll see.

[spellcaster]

THat's interesting. I've never experienced the noise you're talking about, but I'm using older VHF units rather than the newer UHF diversity units.

I do think there's a chance that the difference in volume you were experiencing might just be how high you dialled the sensitivity of the wireless receiver.....I'm assuming that all wireless units are alike in that respect, with pot on the receiver that let's you turn the incoming signal up and down.

The fact that the noise is apparent in one environment but not another suggests that it's something external and not inherent in the wireless unit.

Switching channels is definitely worth trying. I use RCA 900 mHz cordless headphones and a Weber Headphone Tap when I practice late at night, and some channels on the headphones are a lot noisier than others.

[Teleblooz]

This unit doesn't have a sensitivity adjustment, unless that's what the "cable simulator" is supposed to be. Maybe I'll try futzing with that on Sunday as well.

[Teleblooz]

OK, just got back from practice after changing out my volume pot and checking that it produced no noise when wired. I fired up the board and it behaved exactly the same way, with all the snap, crackle and pop whenever I adjusted any control. I tried switching channels but it made no difference. So my drummer went upstairs and switched off the wi-fi hub, and presto! It worked absolutely perfectly. So now we know what the deal is. I'm hoping this won't be too big a problem if we play a place that has wi-fi. I suppose I can always plug in a cable in that case.

I also noticed that my rig was noticeably louder and clearer through the wireless than with even just a 10-foot cable. Hmmm...

[die Bullen]

I also noticed that my rig was noticeably louder and clearer through the wireless than with even just a 10-foot cable. Hmmm...

now THAT's weird... I'd never expect this...

[Teleblooz]

Yeah, I noticed it the first time I tried it. I suspect it has something to do with the impedance of the guitar's output vs. that of the receiver's output. Not a deal-breaker by any means.