|
|
Post by lar on Jun 27, 2019 13:50:40 GMT -5
Wireless guitar systems have been around for a long time. I've purposely shied away from them because I don't see much sense in wandering around the stage or going out in the audience so they can watch my guitar virtuosity close-up. In the first place my playing isn't that impressive. Aside from that, I'm afraid that I'd trip over something and injure a perfectly good guitar.
Recently, though, I got to thinking that a wireless rig might be just the ticket for Jan. She plays sitting down and doesn't need the freedom a wireless rig would give her. But the mics in her concertinas are high impedance, and they are old (the concertinas were built in the 70s), and they make noise. All of them emit an audible hum. I've tried everything I can think of to get rid of the hum. Nothing works, or at least nothing works all of the time. I've tried several versions of hum eliminators and such and the best I've been able to do is reduce the hum.
I got to thinking that a wireless hook-up might be a way to separate the electronics in the concertina and the electronics in our sound system. I don't know enough about electronics or electricity to be able to speak with any authority on the subject but I thought it might be worth a try.
So I ordered a Boss WL-20 system from Amazon and we tried it out last night. Hot damn! It wasn't an exhaustive test but the results were everything I could have hoped for. I plugged the transmitter in one of Jan's concertinas and plugged the receiver into a Boss EQ. The cable out from the EQ goes to a direct box and the cable out from the direct box goes to the PA. No hum!
Everything was loud and clear and the wireless system doesn't seem to affect the tone of the concertina at all.
I also tried the Boss WL-20 with my Telecaster and Fender Pro Junior III amp. It's a great little amp but like many Fender tube amps it tends to be noisy when I connect a Fender guitar with single coil pickups. Not this time. The amp was silent as a lamb.
I'm looking forward to trying the new set-up at our next gig.
One nice thing about the Boss WL-20 is that it's one of the relatively new breed of wireless systems. Both the transmitter and receiver have 1/4" plugs that go directly into the instrument and amp. There's no messing around with belt clips or a box with antennas sitting on top of my amp.
I like this product so much that I intend to order two more. One for my electric guitars and one to use with my D-28 and Deering tenor banjo. I'm still not going out into the audience but I like the idea of eliminating two more cables from the stage.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marshall on Jun 27, 2019 13:55:19 GMT -5
|
|
Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,855 
Member is Online
|
Post by Dub on Jun 27, 2019 14:19:01 GMT -5
Holy <fecal material> there, Batman. That’s a pile of dough. I just bought something similar for $25.00 or thereabouts. I saw an ad on FB for these so I clicked and found that they wanted $70.00 for them. But the name on the picture of the product didn’t match the vendor name so I Googled the name on the picture and found them for $25.00. Mine will allow six pairs on stage without interference or one could channel one instrument into six different receivers simultaneously. The just came (from China) the other day and a quick test made them see great. We’ll see. Here is a link though I don’t think this is where I bought mine. I may have lost track of where I made the purchase. Suffice it to say that these are all over the Net at various prices. www.dealnews.com/Muslady-Wireless-Guitar-System-Transmitter-Receiver-for-25-free-shipping/18017937.html |
|
|
|
Post by aquaduct on Jun 27, 2019 14:33:15 GMT -5
For reference, virtually all passive "sound pickup" devices (mics, pickups, etc.) are Hi-Z at the origin. The signal degrades the longer the length of cord gets (noticeably starting at about 5 or 6 feet). Mic capsules are actually Hi-Z. They become Lo-Z almost immediately with a transformer in the casing. That's why Hi-Z mics are so cheap- fewer components. Lo-Z (balanced mic cords with 3 conductors) can go a long ways (longer than practical to try) with no/low noise.
What you accidentally did was exactly what a Lo-Z mic does. Starts high and almost immediately switches to low to finish the run to the equipment (I'm assuming into balanced inputs).
Nice job.
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Jun 27, 2019 14:38:36 GMT -5
Holy <fecal material> there, Batman. That’s a pile of dough. I just bought something similar for $25.00 or thereabouts. I saw an ad on FB for these so I clicked and found that they wanted $70.00 for them. But the name on the picture of the product didn’t match the vendor name so I Googled the name on the picture and found them for $25.00. Mine will allow six pairs on stage without interference or one could channel one instrument into six different receivers simultaneously. The just came (from China) the other day and a quick test made them see great. We’ll see. Here is a link though I don’t think this is where I bought mine. I may have lost track of where I made the purchase. Suffice it to say that these are all over the Net at various prices. www.dealnews.com/Muslady-Wireless-Guitar-System-Transmitter-Receiver-for-25-free-shipping/18017937.htmlI've seen the ones you bought in a couple of places. There is no shortage of competitors either. The Boss product is at the high end of the spectrum. After giving it a lot of thought I decided to go with Boss because of the success I've had their products over the years. If I was even somewhat knowledgeable about the technology that makes these things tick and what I needed to look for or avoid I might have made a different choice. As it was I decided to swallow hard, let a couple of moths out of my wallet, and get the Boss. |
|
|
|
Post by amanajoe on Jun 27, 2019 15:02:31 GMT -5
Holy <fecal material> there, Batman. That’s a pile of dough. I just bought something similar for $25.00 or thereabouts. I saw an ad on FB for these so I clicked and found that they wanted $70.00 for them. But the name on the picture of the product didn’t match the vendor name so I Googled the name on the picture and found them for $25.00. Mine will allow six pairs on stage without interference or one could channel one instrument into six different receivers simultaneously. The just came (from China) the other day and a quick test made them see great. We’ll see. Here is a link though I don’t think this is where I bought mine. I may have lost track of where I made the purchase. Suffice it to say that these are all over the Net at various prices. www.dealnews.com/Muslady-Wireless-Guitar-System-Transmitter-Receiver-for-25-free-shipping/18017937.htmlI've seen the ones you bought in a couple of places. There is no shortage of competitors either. The Boss product is at the high end of the spectrum. After giving it a lot of thought I decided to go with Boss because of the success I've had their products over the years. If I was even somewhat knowledgeable about the technology that makes these things tick and what I needed to look for or avoid I might have made a different choice. As it was I decided to swallow hard, let a couple of moths out of my wallet, and get the Boss. I guess Dub doesn't appreciate all the benefits of "cable tone simulation", whatever that is. That's coming from an engineer that designs just such devices. |
|
|
|
Post by Marty on Jun 27, 2019 16:56:45 GMT -5
Lar what pickup does your D-28 have, active or passive?
If actice the WL-20L is the best choice but the WL-20 will work.
If passive, like K&Ks, the specs do not give a input impedance but a level of -10db. So I'm not sure if there is enough gain to match direct piezo input levels but modern inputs on most devices are quite forgiving of input level.
|
|
|
|
Post by amanajoe on Jun 27, 2019 17:00:21 GMT -5
Great, now I'm going to get ads from facebook for these things forever! I need to scrub my history again!
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Jun 28, 2019 11:11:48 GMT -5
Lar what pickup does your D-28 have, active or passive? If actice the WL-20L is the best choice but the WL-20 will work. If passive, like K&Ks, the specs do not give a input impedance but a level of -10db. So I'm not sure if there is enough gain to match direct piezo input levels but modern inputs on most devices are quite forgiving of input level. My D-28 has an active piezo pickup. According to Boss either of their products will work with the piezo. My understanding is that the difference between the two is that the WL-20 has the cable tone simulation. Up until now I've been using a cable with my guitar. I must have been getting that "warm 10' cable sound" that Boss talks about. It doesn't seem that the cable tone simulation would change my tone at all. I also plan to use the Boss wireless rig with my tenor banjo. I mounted a passive piezo pickup under the bridge on the underside of the head. I use a Boss EQ between the banjo and the PA to beef up the signal a little and to give me more control over the tone of the instrument. |
|
|
|
Post by PaulKay on Jun 30, 2019 10:54:37 GMT -5
hmmm. I may pick up one of these. It sure would be more convenient than being tethered to a chord.
|
|
|
|
Post by billhammond on Jun 30, 2019 10:55:48 GMT -5
hmmm. I may pick up one of these. It sure would be more convenient than being tethered to a chord. Todd is tethered to a G chord. |
|
|
|
Post by PaulKay on Jul 22, 2019 10:50:02 GMT -5
I got one of these yesterday and I am very impressed. So easy to use and all frequency searching is done automatically. Plug it in and play. Totally transparent sound from what I can tell.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachdoc on Jul 22, 2019 12:15:30 GMT -5
I use the XVive U2 system. Works great out of the box. Plug the transmitter into the guitar (any kind with a 1/4" plug) and the receiver into whatever sound system you're using and you're set up to go. I use it all the time at Farmers Market and senior center gigs. The most reliable piece of gear I have owned. (a minor exaggeration. they use a rechargeable battery).
|
|
|
|
Post by Marshall on Jul 22, 2019 13:02:10 GMT -5
What's the range on these things?
|
|
|
|
Post by coachdoc on Jul 22, 2019 13:16:17 GMT -5
What's the range on these things? Enuf for almost any situation you will encounter. For examples, back of a medium sized auditorium to stage. |
|
|
|
Post by Marshall on Jul 22, 2019 13:24:12 GMT -5
That was what I was wondering. . . . , not that I'm playing any large auditoriums soon. But I do play in church and once somebody wanted the guitars to lead in from the back some children singing a song with the music in the house system. They bought some devices (about 8 years ago) and had a hard time syncing them up. And the reception was spotty.
|
|
|
|
Post by PaulKay on Jul 22, 2019 13:46:03 GMT -5
What's the range on these things? According to the manual, 15 meters (50 ft). Line-of-sight, but may vary based on local conditions. |
|
|
|
Post by Dan McLaughlin on Jul 25, 2019 10:14:15 GMT -5
I have a K&K pickup, no preamp and a Boss Acoustic Singer amp.
Lar, do you use and/or recommend that I use a preamp if I purchase these?
|
|
|
|
Post by lar on Jul 25, 2019 10:49:09 GMT -5
I have a K&K pickup, no preamp and a Boss Acoustic Singer amp. Lar, do you use and/or recommend that I use a preamp if I purchase these? In my opinion it all depends upon how you want to sound. The mics in Jan's concertinas sound a little tinny so she uses a Boss EQ between her concertina and the board. The resulting sound is much better than we could get otherwise. If you like the sound you are getting out of your amp now you'll probably still like it if you add a wireless rig. The Boss wireless setup we're using seems to be transparent. For our polka band gigs I play a tenor banjo. It has piezo pickup mounted on the inside of the head and right under the bridge. Like your K&K there is no preamp. I like the way it sounds through our PA without a preamp. I also use my Epiphone Sheraton II with the polka band. It doesn't sound good through the PA with or without the wireless setup. I have a tiny 5 watt tube amp that I use between the Sheraton and the board. It works great and I get a sound that is remarkably similar to my Fender amps. When I'm playing with the country band I use my Martin D-28HD and the Sheraton II. The Martin has a preamp and I send the signal directly to the board. For acoustic guitar I like my Mackie board a lot better than the Allen & Heath board we use with the country band but that's just me. Still, I'm getting a sound I can live with. I use my Fender Mustang IV amp and the Sheraton II on country band gigs and send the output signal directly to the board. Works very well. |
|
|
|
Post by majorminor on Jul 25, 2019 10:55:09 GMT -5
For our polka band gigs I play a tenor banjo. Good Lord... |
|
