Best wireless guitar options that don't break the bank?

Iron1

Iron1

Shredder
TGF Recording Artist
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The lead guitar player in Ghost Shadows, @megametal7 , signed up on here awhile back but his account isn't letting him start threads, so he asked me to start this for him.

He's looking for a wireless guitar rig that's wallet friendly, but reliable. I know there's nothing worse than having a wireless cut out - or worse start feeding back - in mid-performance. But, spending too much might just make the old tried and true guitar cable more feasible.

What would you recommend he look into?

TIA!
 
I've liked the Boss WL-20L I have. As simple as it gets to use, low latency.

My only beef with it is that they have separate models for which one has built in cable capacitance emulation. I have the 20L without the cable capacitance emulation and it works fine even with passive pickups, but I definitely want to roll off the tone control on my guitars down a fair amount. If they had been more sensible they would have just provided a switch to turn it on/off. But I guess they had to save something for the WL-50 and WL-60 models.
 
Define wallet friendly?

I have a Relay G10 I got in 2017 that I still use today. I've done countless gigs with it and in some places was able to completely exit the building while still playing. There was a bar on Alameda island where I couldn't wander 6 feet from the receiver and a few jams where I was set right next to a router and cut out a bit. Edited to add: there is a noise in my guitar signal from the G10 around 3kHz that sounds like a faint digital whine.

I use it at home where there is a lot of 5Ghz internet traffic due to my mesh routers. It lives in my board, but drops out without line of sight when I move it 3 feet up on my desk above my 2.4/5ghz router. I've used it in conjunction with my digital mixer using a wireless router and an IEM system with no crosstalk or dropouts. I've used it on a stage with two other musicians who had different wireless systems with no issues. As long as I'm a few feet away from a router I don't have any problems.

I have the older one (not the G10S) with the micro USB power connection. I don't trust this connection so I use a magnetic USB cable where the connector stays in the port when accidentally stepped on and only the cable disconnects. Keeps the port from ripping out or the connector from breaking off inside.

I also have a Lekato 5Ghz set of dongles from Amazon for a fraction of the price of the G10. They work really well in some environments but not my house (mesh routers) and not anywhere else 5G bands are in use - I jammed at a dudes house that had his MacBook open. When he'd pull up a YouTube video I could hear the digital crosstalk coming through my amp.

I want to try some 2.4Ghz Lekatos to see how they do at home.
 
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New exvive user checking in


So far so good. Bassist has been using them at our shows w no issues.

Sounds about the same to my ears. Charge lasts a long time.

I had been using my shure glxd for a while but it crapped out again. It lasted a very long time, lots of shows and rehearsals. I replaced the battery once. Figured i should just try the xvive before dumping more into the shure.
 
Alex Kenivel said:
It lives in my board, but drops out without line of sight when I move it 3 feet up on my desk above my 2.4/5ghz router.
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Similar experience with the Boss WL-50. The closer you are to other wireless transmitters, the stronger their signal, ... or the more of them there are, the worse it gets for any wireless device.

Systems that can better tolerate this use multiple antennas and frequencies usually with extra cost, power, and/or latency.
 
I think @2112 said in one of his recent podcasts that he uses the NUX system. It looks to me to be about the same price as the X Vive system. Though I’m not sure of any quality differences.

Can I just say though as a guy that played a lot of shows in my life, cables aren’t too bad. Unless you’re playing on a massive stage and everyone in the band is running around, they’re not really necessary. When I played, we had them because my other guitarist and I would switch sides of the stage a couple of times a gig, but other than that novelty I didn’t see the need for one.
 
i move around a lot and tend to step on my cable which is not a good look. i think i play better with the freedom to move around not worrying about it. everyone is different, if you stand pretty still i would probably just use a cable.
 
Desertdweller said:
I think @2112 said in one of his recent podcasts that he uses the NUX system. It looks to me to be about the same price as the X Vive system. Though I’m not sure of any quality differences.

Can I just say though as a guy that played a lot of shows in my life, cables aren’t too bad. Unless you’re playing on a massive stage and everyone in the band is running around, they’re not really necessary. When I played, we had them because my other guitarist and I would switch sides of the stage a couple of times a gig, but other than that novelty I didn’t see the need for one.
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I used to run all over the stage and never had any issues with the cable, so I'm with you. But, like @sleewell said, different strokes for different folks.
 
So, would the lekato be better at not cutting out than the boss around routers because it’s 5.8 and the boss is 2.4? I know my xvive cuts out in my living room, because that’s where my router is.
 
primeholy said:
So, would the lekato be better at not cutting out than the boss around routers because it’s 5.8 and the boss is 2.4? I know my xvive cuts out in my living room, because that’s where my router is.
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Yes. I've been gigging my Lekato's for a couple of years now, from Vermont down to Florida, I've never had 1 issue.
 
primeholy said:
So, would the lekato be better at not cutting out than the boss around routers because it’s 5.8 and the boss is 2.4? I know my xvive cuts out in my living room, because that’s where my router is.
Click to expand...

Knilling Violins | Musician's Friend

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hmmmm . . .
 
primeholy said:
So, would the lekato be better at not cutting out than the boss around routers because it’s 5.8 and the boss is 2.4? I know my xvive cuts out in my living room, because that’s where my router is.
Click to expand...
If you have any 5Ghz wireless devices like I do it will be damn near unusable. Works great away from all of that though.

Baba said:

Knilling Violins | Musician's Friend

Get the guaranteed best prices on Knilling Violins at Musician's Friend. Most Knilling Violins are eligible for free shipping.
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hmmmm . . .
Click to expand...
Couldn't help myself. $32.87 out the door :banana

primeholy said:
How does that compare to the lekato? I see uhf and that is throwing me off
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I'll let you know after I receive mine.

I'll have options now, 5G Lekato, 2.4G G10, and Gemini UHF.
 
primeholy said:
How does that compare to the lekato? I see uhf and that is throwing me off
Click to expand...
UHF is the "old school" Sennheiser/Shure, etc, it doesn't operate on the wifi bands, so, impervious to routers, cell phones, etc.
Alex Kenivel said:
Couldn't help myself. $32.87 out the door :banana
Click to expand...
I am REALLY short on cash this week, and I have TWO Lekato systems that have been flawless, so I REALLY don't need these, but I'm having trouble looking away. This is the first UHF system I have seen in this format.
 
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