Wireless Tone

FruitarGeek

I am just wondering. If you use a wireless kit for your guitar? How can you possibly get a good (or should I say) unique town that your specific vintage amp makes? There is no signal running through a cable (as there is no cable). I'm completly at a loss here. Someone explain this too me please.

Skywalker

I've never used the normal run off the mill wireless units but have just recently picked up a line 6 Relay G30 system.

Digital as opposed to UHF/VHF. I'm not too clued up on all the lingo and technical jargon etc. on this but what I can say is that the Line 6 rocks.

It has different settings to emulate the tone of using a cable and it actually sounds pretty good to my ears.

I avoided wireless in the past for fear of losing tone and for frequencies getting all jumbled up etc. but the Line 6 really does sound good and works like a charm.

Check it out

http://line6.com/relay/

This looks like an interesting read aswell

http://www.thomann.de/gb/onlineexpert_129.html

Hope that helps 8)

Gearhead

You seem to think either the cable makes tone or the interaction between preamp and pickups is important. I think either one of these is true, but you are right that the jury is still out on the interaction thing. Many guitarists prefer cable over transmitter, but in fact there is no real difference between a buffered pedal between amp and guitar and a good quality transmitter.

FruitarGeek

Oh ok.

Because I was watching the documentry with The Edge, and he has soooooo much stuff that the signal needs to pass through, and he also uses a wireless setup, but he is very pedantic about how and where his Vox amp is micked, and I was just wondering if there is even a distance. Cause surely not using cables has a massive massive down effect on overall tone.

Gearhead

FruitarGeek wrote: The Edge {...} has soooooo much stuff that the signal needs to pass through

I don't think it passes through that much at once, just the one thing or the other

FruitarGeek wrote: he also uses a wireless setup

No he does not

FruitarGeek wrote: he is very pedantic about how and where his Vox amp is micked

what's that got to do with it?

FruitarGeek wrote: surely not using cables has a massive massive down effect on overall tone.

Just go on believing that, then?

deefstes

Gearhead wrote:
FruitarGeek wrote: he also uses a wireless setup
No he does not

Confused. How on earth did he walk all around the 360 degree stage then if he was not using a wireless setup?

Gearhead

Read an interview with his tech the other day (was it linked from here?) where he was saying that they tried it and then didn't use it anymore. Maybe he does go to wireless for some songs and not for others, I dunno.

My point was, that Fruitargeek seems to want to confuse himself and he shouldn't. Going wireless instead of top quality cable has a minute affect on your tone depending on the effects chain and the quality of your wireless kit. It is certainly not the case that your tone is 'made' by your cable, it's more likely you roll off highs if you have bad or long cable. OP asks us to explain something and then does not believe the answer ?

deefstes

Gearhead wrote: Read an interview with his tech the other day (was it linked from here?) where he was saying that they tried it and then didn't use it anymore. Maybe he does go to wireless for some songs and not for others, I dunno.

My point was, that Fruitargeek seems to want to confuse himself and he shouldn't. Going wireless instead of top quality cable has a minute affect on your tone depending on the effects chain and the quality of your wireless kit. It is certainly not the case that your tone is 'made' by your cable, it's more likely you roll off highs if you have bad or long cable. OP asks us to explain something and then does not believe the answer ?

OK, good answer, but I think you might be a tad unfair on Fruitargeek or I must have missed his not believing the answer. His second post references a documentary with the Edge in which it is shown how many things happen to his signal before it reaches the amp and then he is pedantic on how the amp should be mic'ed up. I know very little of electric guitars but I thought this was a valid observation, and one which I'd find rather perplexing as well.

I have also heard/read before that the true purists would not use wireless as it is claimed that it does indeed affect your tone. As a complete layman I can well imagine that it is true. I mean, in a system where fine nuances in pickup design, choice of wood, quality of pots and caps etc. are considered crucial for that perfect tone, it seems odd to be sending that perfect tone through an analog to digital converter, broadcast it over UHF (or is it VHF?), send it through a digital to analog converter again and then feed it into only the best of the best of amps.

Let me reiterate, I am by no means an expert, but I find it hard to believe that mic'ing up an amp slightly off from perfect affects the tone more than sending the signal through a wireless transmitter. I believe that's what Fruitargeek was getting at.

So while I'm glad to hear you saying that your tone is not "made" by your cable (because I was also curious about that), I'm pretty sure your tone is not exactly "made" by mic'ing up your amp perfectly either.

AlanRatcliffe

deefstes wrote: Let me reiterate, I am by no means an expert, but I find it hard to believe that mic'ing up an amp slightly off from perfect affects the tone more than sending the signal through a wireless transmitter. I believe that's what Fruitargeek was getting at.

Believe it. Can have a huge effect on guitar tone. That's why engineers spend days experimenting with different mics and positioning. Most of the complaints against wireless come from people using the cheaper systems that have cruddy compansion..

Most wireless systems are not digital. BTW.

singemonkey

deefstes wrote:
Gearhead wrote:
FruitarGeek wrote: he also uses a wireless setup
No he does not
Confused. How on earth did he walk all around the 360 degree stage then if he was not using a wireless setup?

Cos he's tetherballed to his amp ?

Ok. If we don't understand the technical stuff that Gearhead's talking about, we're morons. I can accept that. But Alan's saying that using a high-end system instead of a good cable is not going to cause a tone catastrophe - is that what I'm understanding?

I'd love a wireless system for the surf stuff. Great to get out into the audience while trem-picking like a mofo.

FruitarGeek

Well I appreciate the answer. As 'interesting' as they may have been phrased.

Btw Gearhead, The Edge definitely does use a wireless kit, as so stated by deefstes already. As a matter of fact, I only saw him once throughout the entire set, using a cable.
But yes, both the guitar and amp are responsible for the unique tone, I understand that, I suppose the idea just seemed to confuse me. I got it now tho. Thanks