Wireless Bass?

One of the frustrations of playing the bass for me is the cables all over the place especially the one from the bass to my pedals.
It always seems to get stuck under the wheels of my chair or caught around something etc.
Does anyone use a wireless guitar system with their bass and if you do, which one?
I am thinking about getting something like this.

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For a while I was getting constant ads on Facebook for the angled version, but being sold under half a dozen different names and slightly varying prices. That’s usually an alert to me that the product is cheaply made and sold to numerous re-branders - it never instills confidence in the quality.

That said, I did look at the first few and thought it’d be a nicer arrangement than tripping over the cables, and with a possible benefit for those of us with active basses.

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Welcome to 2020

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I’ve tried the hinged ones on Amazon and they all clip on the low end playing bass. But on my guitar they sounded ok.

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Thanks @dfabb and welcome to the forum

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Welcome to the forums, @dfabb. Interesting to hear about the clipping. Do you lose much of the lowest frequencies?

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Just received my AKG WMS40 wireless system and so for so it it is fool proof.
As soon as I plugged it in and turned on the transmitter it was as if I just plugged direct.
No noticeable lag, just sounds normal.
No more leads everywhere and I can wonder around and not get tangled up
For £70 including postage it is a bargain

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Glad to hear that Paul @studio . . . :slight_smile:

I’m considering whether wireless is worth it, or whether it will just add more complexity for anyone who’s not playing professionally.

Cheers, Joe

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@Jazzbass19 The problem I have is the only place I can practice in in my workshop/office which I try to keep trip hazard free if I can.
The cable has always been an annoyance and now my workplace is wire free again
At the moment the unit is atop the amp but I am thinking of integrating it into my pedalboard so I just have one thing to plug into the wall and one to plug into the amp

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That’s also what I was thinking about, @studio I don’t have any pedals, but I do use a Korg in-line tuner between my bass and my amp. :slight_smile:

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Whew, where to start… I’ll have to make a more complete post about this sometime, BUT:

ACTION PACKED BULLET POINTS

  • Analog wireless units can’t do anything below 40-50Hz… which is no good for bass. Something you won’t notice at home, but not a good option for gigging. (low E string is ~43hz)
  • Digital wireless units in the lower price range have a lot of issues with competition in the 2.4Ghz frequency band (i.e. beware if your gig is near an airport, or the house sound is also using wireless to mix, etc.)
  • Digital wireless units that DON’T use 2.4Ghz are really expensive
  • Bluetooth wireless is fairly gimmicky and not used in pro sound environments, AFAIK

For those exciting reasons and more, I personally recommend against going wireless in gig context, unless you super super know what you’re doing, have really good gear, have done a lot of research, have a redundant cabled set up ready to go, and are skilled in the art of dealing-with-crazy-s**t-on-stage.

A wireless that works 99% of the time… might as well work 0% of the time, for the nerves it’ll cause you on stage.

BUT for practice, it doesn’t really matter! Whatever sounds good to you and gets you practicing sounds good to me.

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I use XVive U2 Guitar System for my wireless. They work in the 2.4Ghz band (as mentioned above), but they make it clear that you could encounter interference. The transmitter and receiver are both really small, and I have had no issues in using them (for about a month now). The system is rechargeable, so no batteries to remember (just a USB charging cable). There is no noticeable difference in sound quality to the ear when they are in use. I would recommend them for practice spaces.

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i bought these on azon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L5B64RG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

you can read my review there (search the 3 star reviews), but the upshot is they work great for practicing my course, and would also work well for band practice. but in my case, i get momentary dropouts so they would not be a great choice for stage, and a definite no go for studio.

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Any idea what causes the momentary dropouts? Do you think it was interference at 2.4 Ghz?

very well likely, i practice in my living room which is loaded with things that could interfere. so your mileage may vary. they sound great though, and are damn convenient so i’m pretty happy with them. but there is a reason that pros use expensive bulkier wireless setups though i guess.

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