Which wireless?

[Woodinblack]

I would say it doesn't affect my lekato 5.8 too, but I just looked and they are Cuvave. Although I am sure they are the same thing.

[Al Krow]

Really good run through of wireless systems generally:

 

 

In terms of 5.8GHz systems - he gives a big thumbs up to the Nux (14.20) and also recommends the Lekato (14.44) as a more budget option.

 

My own experience is that the Nux works better with my active basses (apparently it's advertised as being designed for active bass compatibility) and doesn't have the distortion that the Lekato had when digging in.

 

With the Nux, I'm finding that if you max the treble EQ and with certain directions / positions of Nux transmitter you can get a high-pitched whine, but having the treble at normal settings and lining the transmitter bug either towards or away from the very bottom of the bass, depending on which bass and where the preamp is located, pretty much eliminates that whine.

 

PS - liked his point that we're never going to eliminate the risk of drop-outs with wireless, even Metallica with some of the highest end gear on the planet and large sound crews suffer from occasional wireless drop-outs!

Edited August 3, 2023 by Al Krow

[Woodinblack]

I have the ones on the left on the bottom row, next to the nux 2.4GHz ones, I use them in the house. My 5.8GHz ones look a bit like the ones next to them except they aren't amoon. And I also have (and have never actually used!) the red and black ones directly above those, which claim to be stereo.

Oh and obviously the waza airs work with something that look like those boss ones.

 

None of the 2.4GHz ones are useable plugged into the bongo, but the 5.8 ones are. The 2.4 work with everything else.

[tauzero]

10 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

I have the ones on the left on the bottom row, next to the nux 2.4GHz ones, I use them in the house. My 5.8GHz ones look a bit like the ones next to them except they aren't amoon. And I also have (and have never actually used!) the red and black ones directly above those, which claim to be stereo.

Oh and obviously the waza airs work with something that look like those boss ones.

 

None of the 2.4GHz ones are useable plugged into the bongo, but the 5.8 ones are. The 2.4 work with everything else.

 

I've got the same ones on the left on the bottom row, branded Muslady. They were fine for quite a while but a little while ago I started getting a high-pitched whine from them which came and went according to how I orientated the transmitter. That was when I got the 5.8GHz Lekatos, which have been fine.

[Lozz196]

I recently bought a set of the Nux 5.8s, used them at band practice last night and all good, only minus points are that the transmitter & receiver logos are too small for middle aged eyesight, and the pads to rest against the instrument body are on the wrong side, other than that all good.

 

I daftly sold 2 wireless sets a few weeks back as wanted to go back to leads but our singer - who had half his leg cut off last year due to a motorcycle accident - bought one of the Shures and said he’d done so as he couldn’t afford to have leads around his prosthetic leg.  This rattled around upstairs and thought I’d best re-enter the wireless world.

[BassAdder60]

Get the Shure system .. it really is amazing 👍

[Lozz196]

If the receiver unit ran on batteries I def would but I’m having to reduce the amount of leaning over amps & looking for plug sockets so sadly these aren’t right for me.

[Al Krow]

6 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I recently bought a set of the Nux 5.8s, used them at band practice last night and all good, only minus points are that the transmitter & receiver logos are too small for middle aged eyesight, and the pads to rest against the instrument body are on the wrong side, other than that all good.

 

I daftly sold 2 wireless sets a few weeks back as wanted to go back to leads but our singer - who had half his leg cut off last year due to a motorcycle accident - bought one of the Shures and said he’d done so as he couldn’t afford to have leads around his prosthetic leg.  This rattled around upstairs and thought I’d best re-enter the wireless world.

 

I agree about the transmitter and receiver logos being tiny Lozz, but there's a super-easy fix which will cost you a few pennies tops, and will have saved you £400 upgrading to a GLXD16+...😊

 

You're right about the pads though...

 

6 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Get the Shure system .. it really is amazing 👍

 

You've definitely got the zeal of a convert, for Shure! 😅

Edited August 4, 2023 by Al Krow

[Lozz196]

Yep a bit of tape from the Dymo at work will sort it

[peteb]

2 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Get the Shure system .. it really is amazing 👍

 

I was once told be a guitar player 'buy once, buy right - it will save you money in the long run'. He was quite right and I have always followed his advice. 

 

If you are going to commit to gigging with a wireless system , then get the best one that you can - even if its more expensive than you would like. I've used wireless systems on and off for the best part of forty years, right back to the early Nady systems. None of them were great, so I kept going back to using a lead. Eventually, I got the Shure and it has never let me down on many gigs over the years. I wish it had been available in the 80s when I first got a wireless, it would have saved me a fortune... 

 

[tauzero]

Not buying a Shure system has already saved me a fortune.

[dand666]

+1 for the shure. Has never let me down.

[Chienmortbb]

In every industry there is a company that you will “never get fired for buying”. In our industry, Fender are one and Shure is another. It does not mean that they are the best, they certainly are not always the best.

 

if you find something that works for you, be happy, let others know but don’t ram it down the throat of others.

 

Me? I have a Japanese Aerodyne Jazz bass, a P/J. I have never played a Jazz or Precision from the USA that I liked. I did have a Squire in the Early days that was great, wish I had never sold it.
 I sing BVs but do not own an SM58.  I use Sontronics Solos. Of course they are made on the hill above my old house in good old Dorset but they are just a great mic. 
https://youtu.be/RfQCLQrsPyA

Of course there is nothing  wrong with Fender USA basses of Shure Microphones so please don’t look down on those poor souls that have to make do with an SM58 and a pre CBS Fender.These designs may be older than me but we can all still shake a tail feather!

Edited August 5, 2023 by Chienmortbb

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

12 hours ago, peteb said:

 

I was once told be a guitar player 'buy once, buy right - it will save you money in the long run'. He was quite right and I have always followed his advice. 

 

If you are going to commit to gigging with a wireless system , then get the best one that you can - even if its more expensive than you would like. I've used wireless systems on and off for the best part of forty years, right back to the early Nady systems. None of them were great, so I kept going back to using a lead. Eventually, I got the Shure and it has never let me down on many gigs over the years. I wish it had been available in the 80s when I first got a wireless, it would have saved me a fortune... 

Well said. I remember those early wireless kits. Not sure if it was Nady I had, but like you, it put me off them for a while. The connection was patchy - not solid, but the latency was completely unacceptable. I went to cable for many years. I’m happy to recommend the Shure system to anyone who’ll listen for the reasons you’ve given, but I’m done with arguing about which is the best. If a £50 dongle does it for them, then so be it.

[EBS_freak]

Supplying Shure PSM200 IEMs deserves a firing.

[Al Krow]

Tried the Nux 5.8 GHz out in anger today at a couple of function gigs. Worked really well. These are in £100 to £150 range and seem to provide the combination of quality and value for money I'm comfortable with for a wireless. 

 

So I can't see any particular need to spend another £400 on a bulkier Shure GLDX16+ system and it seems my wireless journey, which has so far taken me from significant use of the Smoothhound 2.4 GHz via the Boss WL-20 2.4 GHz now to the Nux 5.8 GHz is, at least temporarily, over. Many thanks to @thisisswanbon for the recommendation on the first page of this thread. 

 

For the record, it would be daft to argue that the GLXD16 / 16+ is the "best" wireless.  There are plenty of higher-end systems available, even from Shure. But it's great there are so many contended users of these units, which is a very good recommendation to anyone thinking about getting one. 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Al Krow

[thisisswanbon]

46 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Tried the Nux 5.8 GHz out in anger today at a couple of function gigs. Worked really well. These are in £100 to £150 range and seem to provide the combination of quality and value for money I'm comfortable with for a wireless. 

 

So I can't see any particular need to spend another £400 on a bulkier Shure GLDX16+ system and now looks my wireless journey, which has so far taken me from significant use of the Smoothhound 2.4 GHz via the Boss WL-20 2.4 GHz now to the Nux 5.8 GHz is, at least temporarily, over. Many thanks to @thisisswanbon for the recommendation on the first page of this thread. 

 

For the record, it would be daft to argue that the GLXD16 / 16+ is the "best" wireless.  There are plenty of higher end systems available, even from Shure. But it's great there are so many contended users of these units, which is a very good recommendation to anyone thinking about getting one. 

Glad it's worked out well for you, Al! I'm still using mine every week without any issues. The cable tone function is great, I've not had a single drop out (bar the lighting incident, but I do wonder if that was something else now), and I quite often go for a run through the crowd at shows. 

 

The charger case is the real MVP though! Rigid enough to keep them safe, and ensures plenty of charge, just remember to press the button on the front to initiate charging, otherwise you'll have a dead wireless set in no time!

[police squad]

so I've plumped for a lekato at 47 quid on amazon. Cheaper than saturday afternoon when it was 59 quid

 

I'm going to try it for my 80s duo. I get tangled up every time I pick up or put the guitar down (I dont play on every song)

I'll be stood right next to the receiver at all times, so we'll see what happens. If it's no good, I'll send it back

[warwickhunt]

4 minutes ago, police squad said:

so I've plumped for a lekato at 47 quid on amazon. Cheaper than saturday afternoon when it was 59 quid

 

I'm going to try it for my 80s duo. I get tangled up every time I pick up or put the guitar down (I dont play on every song)

I'll be stood right next to the receiver at all times, so we'll see what happens. If it's no good, I'll send it back

 

I got the same unit, with the intention of sending back when (if) it was cack; turned out to be perfectly acceptable.  It is NOT a pro unit and wouldn't stand up to hard road use but for the price I can 'hear' no discernible difference between it, my previous £250 Line 6 unit and a £500 unit I borrowed.  I'm sure with studio headphones or on a test machine, you'll note differences but in the pub/club with a band/PA going I can't see you'd grumble.

 

[police squad]

On 07/08/2023 at 11:49, warwickhunt said:

 

I got the same unit, with the intention of sending back when (if) it was cack; turned out to be perfectly acceptable.  It is NOT a pro unit and wouldn't stand up to hard road use but for the price I can 'hear' no discernible difference between it, my previous £250 Line 6 unit and a £500 unit I borrowed.  I'm sure with studio headphones or on a test machine, you'll note differences but in the pub/club with a band/PA going I can't see you'd grumble.

 

well I tried it last night and it sounded very similar to using a lead. Wandered around the house a bit, it cut out when I went 2 rooms away and came back in when I got a bit closer. All good really as I'm not going wandering when I gig. I'll try it saturday night for proper gig

[BassAdder60]

1 hour ago, police squad said:

well I tried it last night and it sounded very similar to using a lead. Wandered around the house a bit, it cut out when I went 2 rooms away and came back in when I got a bit closer. All good really as I'm not going wandering when I gig. I'll try it saturday night for proper gig

I still have my low cost Lekato which work fine. 
I do much prefer the Shure of course since investing in it and would always gig with that naturally. 
 

It’s a great time to get low cost alternatives and I’m happy either way.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by BassAdder60

[police squad]

so I gigged twice over the weekend, with the Lekato and it was mighty fine, except (this is operator error BTW), I do a bit of 'violining' with the volume knob on my guitar and I managed to knock the transmitter in just the wrong place and managed to switch it off. I am now aware of this ham fisted thing I do and was more careful for the rest of the set.

 

I gigged it with my duo and my full band, where no one else is wireless. (except my vocal mic which is channel 38 anyway). I was never more than 2 metres from the receiver which was plugged into my vox tonelab thing on the floor in front of me.

[Al Krow]

On 06/08/2023 at 02:09, Al Krow said:

Tried the Nux 5.8 GHz out in anger today at a couple of function gigs. Worked really well. These are in £100 to £150 range and seem to provide the combination of quality and value for money I'm comfortable with for a wireless. 

 

So I can't see any particular need to spend another £400 on a bulkier Shure GLDX16+ system and it seems my wireless journey, which has so far taken me from significant use of the Smoothhound 2.4 GHz via the Boss WL-20 2.4 GHz now to the Nux 5.8 GHz is, at least temporarily, over. Many thanks to @thisisswanbon for the recommendation on the first page of this thread. 

 

Just a quick update from me: I've now had the Nux 5.8 Ghz for a couple of months and used them at a variety of gigs with no drop outs and very good range. The Nux performed admirably with no drop outs even at a large venue corporate event with a "full fat" sound set-up and plenty of competing mics. Very happy with it and to recommend to anyone looking for a compact wireless in the £100 to £150 price bracket

[Lozz196]

Same here tho only managed 2 gigs in the few months I’ve had mine, but similarly no problems with them at all, very easy to use and the dedicated case is very useful.

[skidder652003]

another Lekato user here, so far, 3 gigs in its been great and saved my hearing,,