Have you ever been in the middle of putting on an epic onstage performance, only to accidentally unplug your guitar cable right in the middle of a solo? Or maybe it wasn’t even your fault and your singer stepped on your cable while he was working the crowd, unplugging your guitar from your pedalboard and resulting in a few unintended seconds of silence. To some, these are simply the byproducts of live performance. But to others, these unexpected cable issues are something that they’d go to great lengths to avoid.
It goes without saying that trusty quarter inch cable is a mainstay of rock and roll; when we unravel them, tuck them behind our straps, and triple-check that they’re plugged in all the way, it’s with the understanding that these simple tools are the lifeblood of our rigs - that is, until they are unplugged or tripped over. For performance-minded musicians, implementing wireless systems into your setup can be a big upgrade. Here are a few ways that making the move to wireless can help you perform your best.
Carvin Audio’s WG5 Wireless Guitar and Bass System offers unparalleled simplicity in a compact package. It is very easy to set up; simply power on the transmitter and receiver, select a channel on the receiver and pair the transmitter to it, and you’re ready to rock.
The WG5 comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery which only requires two hours via an included USB charging cable to reach full charge. This is as simple as charging a cell phone and reduces environmental waste caused by batteries. An LED will conveniently flash when the battery is low, taking the guesswork out of wondering how much power you have left.
There is a fourth reason to use a wireless, and is the main reason I used one for a very long time.
Plug circuit analyzer into the wall outlets of the average borrower Clubview playing. The results will scare you. Absent grounds, lifted rounds, polarity problems…you name it. Especially when I was playing up to Banff with 440 votes on the plates, I did not want to be physically connected to anything that was plugged into the electrical system in that place! So eliminating the solid commection— whether it be via direct cable or through pedals— between me and a high-voltage tube amp—was a really good idea. The secondary benefit was that you never walked up to a microphone and got shocked on the lips. Because you are not plugged into any other system, you didn’t have grounder polarity problems. You were simply “lifted” and you eliminated that possibility, too. Most of us had the experience of having her lips completely paralyzed for a few minutes after such a shock. That usually comes just before you have to sing lead on the next song.AND…. The chances of being electrocuted are substantially reduced.
Not only do I enjoy the freedom of my wireless, it also isolated me from poor electrical systems. No more shocks from the microphone!
Mark Westers, the answers are “yes” and “yes”.
My tuner is first in my pedal chain. If I plug this into my tuner will I be able to tune wireless? Will tuner still act as a kill switch?
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There’s nothing quite so beautiful as well-recorded acoustic guitar. Whether it’s a 6 string, 12 string, nylon string, old and scruffy, or bright and shiny, acoustic guitar is an amazing instrument to put “on wax.” But it can be a little tricky to get right.
So here we’ll go over some basic guidelines that should help you on the way toward capturing that perfect acoustic track.
If you’re a guitar player, you drag around an amp and cabinet. That’s just how it goes, right? Well, what would happen if your cabinet fell off a building or failed to get packed? Or, what if you simply got tired of lugging the heavy thing around? Could you still play gigs?
Unless you’ve decided to try gigging with only a direct box and some pedals, you’re going to end up miking up a cabinet both on stage and in the studio. Of course, if you’re doing big gigs, the sound team will take care of it, and similarly in the studio, you may not have to think about it.
Dennis Schilligo
December 28, 2020
All are very good points. This relates to the first point, “Freedom of movement”, being able to walk out front to hear how things sound is also very useful in many situations.