Recommend me a wireless system

[Al Krow]

8 hours ago, peteb said:

 

So then, had the Nux for nearly a couple of weeks now and have done three rehearsals with it (obviously used the Shure for the gig in that time). Last Thursday, I had two rehearsals with two different bands - the first one I took a passive P bass and it worked really well (as it had done for a previous rehearsal); the second rehearsal took a Stingray and it didn't work at all so I had to use a lead. So I'm wondering, does the Nux system just not work with active bases? Does anyone else have problems with the Nux and active basses?

 

My basses (Elrick, Spector and Ibanez) are all active and the Nux works fine with all 3, Pete.

 

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

My basses (Elrick, Spector and Ibanez) are all active and the Nux works fine with all 3, Pete.

 

 

I suspect that the Nux is designed to work with active basses when the ring and sleeve are wired the normal way round (battery negative to ring, ground to sleeve) and some basses have this the other way round. This certainly applies to the Boss WL series.

 

 

https://www.boss.info/uk/support/by_product/wl-50/support_documents/eade711c-1f5a-4951-988b-e8e863611c64/

"*1 The typical TRS output jack wiring of guitar active circuit is audio to tip, ground to sleeve, and battery ground to ring. In rare cases where ring and sleeve are wired reversely, the guitar active circuit doesn't work properly with the WL-T."

 

So an alternative to the small extension lead is to do a little rewiring and swap the wires to the sleeve and ring of the jack socket.

[peteb]

10 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

My basses (Elrick, Spector and Ibanez) are all active and the Nux works fine with all 3, Pete.

 

 

It's all a bit odd...! 

 

The Nux is definitely working fine with my Xotic active jazz. I've now tried the Stingray with it through my home amp (PJB double four) and it seems to be working, but I'm not sure if it is at full volume! I will investigate further when I get the time, but I am at a loss why it wouldn't work at all in a rehearsal room with the Stingray (that was fine with a lead). 

 

Edited November 4 by peteb

[Twigman]

11 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

It's all a bit odd...! 

 

The Nux is definitely working fine with my Xotic active jazz. I've now tried the Stingray with it through my home amp (PJB double four) and it seems to be working, but I'm not sure if it is at full volume! I will investigate further when I get the time, but I am at a loss why it wouldn't work at all in a rehearsal room with the Stingray (that worked  fine with a lead). 

 

 

 

I stil haven't pulled the trigger on any wireless system yet.....my gut is telling me to go with the Shure but my head has been telling me I don't need to spend that much and should go with the Nux.....that said my main bass is a EBMM USA Sterling HH with the 3 band EBMM active circuit...probably very similar to your Stingray...this story about the Stingray possibly not working with the Nux is steering me back to the Shure...

 

Decisions decisions.

[Jack]

Either system will work just fine with your Stingray. With the Nux you might need a cable, with the Shure you will need a cable.

[tauzero]

23 minutes ago, Twigman said:

 

 

I stil haven't pulled the trigger on any wireless system yet.....my gut is telling me to go with the Shure but my head has been telling me I don't need to spend that much and should go with the Nux.....that said my main bass is a EBMM USA Sterling HH with the 3 band EBMM active circuit...probably very similar to your Stingray...this story about the Stingray possibly not working with the Nux is steering me back to the Shure...

 

Decisions decisions.

 

Lekato.

[Chienmortbb]

Many or these systems use the ring of a TRS plug to charge the wireless transmitter. Many active basses use the ring of a TRS as a battery switch when the mono TS plug is inserted. Hence the two will not work together. Look for a systems with a standard jack plug NOT a TRS.

 

You can see the difference  between the Lekato and the NUX below, Incidentally, I am not recommending the Lekato, just showing you the difference.

 

Edited November 4 by Chienmortbb

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Many or these systems use the ring of a TRS plug to charge the wireless transmitter. Many active basses use the ring of a TRS as a battery switch when the mono TS plug is inserted. Hence the two will not work together. Look for a systems with a standard jack plug NOT a TRS.

 

They will work together if the bass is wired the appropriate way round, battery negative to ring and ground to sleeve, and the transmitter caters for it (which both the Boss and the NUX appear to).

[mikeswals]

On 16/10/2024 at 04:21, Twigman said:

Shure GLXD16+ seems to tick all my boxes........any feedback from anyone who has this system? - Where do you put the Tx?

I have been using the Shure GLXD16 (before the +) since 2015 and absolutely love it still. Rechargable and lasts many hours, unlike my previous G50 that ate batteries like crazy.

Built in tuner is great with a 5 string, range isn't an issue at all, and the gain adjustments if you want to add more transmitters with basses with different outputs is great.

Firmware updates are easy to load in, and the signal search locks me in every time.

I use a Neotech pouch to attach it to my strap. 

Edited November 4 by mikeswals

[warwickhunt]

My Lekato 5.8kHz have done me well for this last year but I'm upgrading (new band, better gigs) and I'm going all 5.8 and bought the NUX unit and I'm waiting to get my MiPro MI58 IEM delivered.  

[Rosie C]

On 17/10/2024 at 19:59, ped said:

I’ve got a Boss WL20 which sounds good and battery life is fine but for some reason (probably the band?) it cuts out a fair bit in our practice studio. 
 

 

I have a WL20 - generally works well, but if I use the Bluetooth channel on our PA it can drop out. 

[JohnDaBass]

On 04/11/2024 at 04:42, Al Krow said:

 

My basses (Elrick, Spector and Ibanez) are all active and the Nux works fine with all 3, Pete.

 

@Al Krow does the NUX receiver work fine with the Zoom B1Four? 

[Al Krow]

4 hours ago, JohnDaBass said:

@Al Krow does the NUX receiver work fine with the Zoom B1Four? 

 

Yes, indeed it does John!

[Al Krow]

21 hours ago, peteb said:

 

It's all a bit odd...! 

 

The Nux is definitely working fine with my Xotic active jazz. I've now tried the Stingray with it through my home amp (PJB double four) and it seems to be working, but I'm not sure if it is at full volume! I will investigate further when I get the time, but I am at a loss why it wouldn't work at all in a rehearsal room with the Stingray (that was fine with a lead). 

 

That does sound really odd,  Pete. Any chance it could have been something as simple as one or both of the units being out of charge at the second rehearsal?

[peteb]

42 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

That does sound really odd,  Pete. Any chance it could have been something as simple as one or both of the units being out of charge at the second rehearsal?

 

Nothing that simple I'm afraid. I used the Nux the next day with the Xotic and it still had plenty of charge. The Stingray seems fine with a lead and with the Shure, so the only difference seems to be the second rehearsal room (that is a bit of a s***hole to be honest), but I can't imagine how the room could affect a wireless system! 

 

I'm not too bothered, the Nux has worked fine in every other situation and I think it seems to be OK with the Ray in the house. I will investigate further when we next rehearse in that room (probably after Xmas now). 

 

[SumOne]

On 04/11/2024 at 21:52, warwickhunt said:

My Lekato 5.8kHz have done me well for this last year but I'm upgrading (new band, better gigs) and I'm going all 5.8 and bought the NUX unit and I'm waiting to get my MiPro MI58 IEM delivered.  

 

I've seen good reviews online for the Lekato WS90 (5.8Ghz) and can get them from Amazon (easy returns!) for £48 so I'll probably go for that, or have you noticed the NUX being significantly better? 

 

I like the look of things like the Boss WL50, but it is about £100 more expensive and 2.4Ghz, or the NUX B-8, but that is £200 more expensive and 2.4Ghz....so I think the Lekato seems like a winner, especially as four others in the band use 2.4Ghz wireless so it is probably getting crowded. Or money no object I'd go for the Sure GLXD16+....but I can think of lots of other things I'd prefer to spend that extra £400 rather than the luxury of no cable.

Edited November 8 by SumOne

[Chienmortbb]

On 04/11/2024 at 22:35, Rosie C said:

 

I have a WL20 - generally works well, but if I use the Bluetooth channel on our PA it can drop out. 

Bluetooth works on 2.4GHz, so if you use a 2.4GHz wireless system it may interfere.

[Rosie C]

6 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Bluetooth works on 2.4GHz, so if you use a 2.4GHz wireless system it may interfere.

 

True, and from the Boss website: "Wireless carrier frequency 2.4GHz". That makes it fine for practice at home, but I doubt our PA has a signal particularly different to any other (it's a Fender Passport). In a pub setting anyone might have Bluetooth active - so I don't have confidence to use it live  

 

What I'd really like is a multi-channel system which can send my mic and guitar/mandolin signals to the PA, and bring my IEM feed back. That would be so neat... probably exists for professionals at a price around what my car's worth.

 

[warwickhunt]

6 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

I've seen good reviews online for the Lekato WS90 (5.8Ghz) and can get them from Amazon (easy returns!) for £48 so I'll probably go for that, or have you noticed the NUX being significantly better? 

 

I like the look of things like the Boss WL50, but it is about £100 more expensive and 2.4Ghz, or the NUX B-8, but that is £200 more expensive and 2.4Ghz....so I think the Lekato seems like a winner, especially as four others in the band use 2.4Ghz wireless so it is probably getting crowded. Or money no object I'd go for the Sure GLXD16+....but I can think of lots of other things I'd prefer to spend that extra £400 rather than the luxury of no cable.

If you are talking radio gear for bass (as opposed to IEM); I've been using the Lekato WS50 (5.8) for a year and never had a drop out, I'd say the signal is actually 'slightly' cleaner/clearer than a cable.  I've upgraded to the £150 NUX unit just because I've been impressed with the 5.8 frequency and I feel I'd like the security of a more robust unit... though it isn't to say the Lekato won't have continued to do a great job!  NUX arrived yesterday and will be gigged tomorrow night.

 

[Simon C]

We’ve a gig in early December for which I am going to have be the sound tech (me as roadie was already baked in for it).  I figured being able to hear the FoH sound, at least during soundcheck, is probably going to give the audience a better experience.  I’d been thinking about wireless for a while, so being the sound tech was the required push.  After reading through this thread (thanks to everyone who responded) and a bit of YouTube research I went for the NuX C- 5RC.  The main things for me were: 5.8GHz, easy to charge and not too expensive.  I checked them out at home today- they seem to work well.

[tauzero]

14 hours ago, SumOne said:

I've seen good reviews online for the Lekato WS90 (5.8Ghz) and can get them from Amazon (easy returns!) for £48 so I'll probably go for that, or have you noticed the NUX being significantly better? 

 

I've got the WS-50 and the WS-90. The WS-90 has longer battery life (which won't be a problem with a gig unless you're playing the entire Ring Cycle), can be switched between four channels, and has a longer nose so it will get to sockets that other dongles can't reach like the Ibanez SR ones. The WS-50 has performed reliably, nothing wrong with it and it still has a battery life of perhaps five hours.

[Al Krow]

17 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

I've seen good reviews online for the Lekato WS90 (5.8Ghz) and can get them from Amazon (easy returns!) for £48 so I'll probably go for that, or have you noticed the NUX being significantly better? 

 

I like the look of things like the Boss WL50, but it is about £100 more expensive and 2.4Ghz, or the NUX B-8, but that is £200 more expensive and 2.4Ghz....so I think the Lekato seems like a winner, especially as four others in the band use 2.4Ghz wireless so it is probably getting crowded. Or money no object I'd go for the Sure GLXD16+....but I can think of lots of other things I'd prefer to spend that extra £400 rather than the luxury of no cable.

 

The Lekato 5.8GHz is a decent piece of kit, but a few of us on this thread, who have had both, have upgraded to the Nux 5.8GHz for differening reasons (in my case I found the Nux to be noticeably quieter with a couple of my active basses).

 

I spent a bit of time A/Bing the Lekato WS-50 (5.8GHz), Boss WL-20 (2.4 GHz) and Nux C-5RC (5.8GHz) and settled on the Nux 18 months back and have been very happy with it since.

 

Others seem to have found the Lekato or Boss has ticked the box for them. 

Edited November 9 by Al Krow

[SumOne]

7 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

The Lekato 5.8GHz is a decent piece of kit, but a few of us on this thread, who have had both, have upgraded to the Nux 5.8GHz for differening reasons (in my case I found the Nux to be noticeably quieter with a couple of my active basses).

 

I spent a bit of time A/Bing the Lekato WS-50 (5.8GHz), Boss WL-20 (2.4 GHz) and Nux C-5RC (5.8GHz) and settled on the Nux 18 months back and have been very happy with it since.

 

Others seem to have found the Lekato or Boss has ticked the box for them. 

Nice one, I'll give the Lekato a go. For £48 (and free Amazon returns) I'll be happy if it's good enough for home and rehearsals for that freedom to un-tether myself from the pedalboard/amp. If I take to wireless and feel the need for something more reliable for live use then I'll upgrade. 

Edited November 9 by SumOne

[warwickhunt]

I now own both the Lekato WS-50 (5.8GHz) and Nux C-5RC (5.8GHz).  The Lekato was bought as a 5.8GHz upgrade to my Line 6 2.4GHz unit (which was good but suffering 'occasional' drop out, probably due to the bands I was in moving to digital mixers) and I was very happy and have zero complaints.  I've recently however, joined a new band (and resurrected an old band), so felt that the NUX's ability to recharge on the fly if needed, was useful; added to which the NUX seemed a better quality unit (inc the on/off switch). 

 

A/B there is nothing in it between the units... literally nothing.  I tried them with passive basses, actives (inc 18v), piezo loaded bridges and a bug on a Double Bass; no difference between either unit.  I will say that there is a tiny bit of difference (through quality headphones) between the 2 units and a regular 1/4" lead BUT that could simply be that the lead had no boost which the electronic devices must have been giving (they were slightly louder cleaner/toppier).  If I could put them on a scope maybe I'd find detail but in everyday use 'nadda'!  The NUX certainly feels more premium but on a budget, the Lekato would suit many.  However, I appreciate in some situations, certain basses/equipment appear to not work as well with some units but I couldn't replicate any issues that others had.

 

£50 v £150 (approx) you pays your money...

 

 

[ped]

I’ve fallen out of love with the NUX. In some environments you can hear a level of background noise which is sort of ‘gated’ with an Audible ‘pop’. I also think even with cable tone engaged it’s too trebly compared to my cable. I only really noticed this when using my Eich combo in lean back mode so I can hear the top end super clearly. It wasn’t too noticeable on my last gig but at practice the other night it was, and once I noticed the signal noise it was kind of game over. I think perhaps I’m a bit too analytical about signal noise but I’m not willing to compromise on it. I think with a less clean rig then this wouldn’t be an issue and even less so in a band mix but in my situation it sort of robs me of the clank and makes it too sharp. The tone with the cable - bang on. 
 

I think the perfect mix for me would be the sound of the Boss unit combined with the form factor, case and bandwidth of the Nux. The boss altered the treble range too but in more of a curtailed way at a lower frequency.