Wireless Recommedations

I'm about to replace my old Samson wireless system. Anyone have any advice, recommedations, etc. on any new wireless systems for guitar? I would like to keep it under $500 if possible.

What did you not like about the Samson? My son uses one and I think its good.

Just curious.

brianf

Shure UT "guitarist" UHF. Best sounding wireless I've ever tried for under $1000 ( let alone under $400). I've tried many, BTW, but as a caveat I must add that I've never tried the digital XWIRE (now owned and marketed by Sennheiser) but I have heard good things about it. It's also under $500 now, I believe.

Thanks, I'm also interested in the new AKG stuff. Anyone had any experience with the AKG wireless systems. There's nothing wrong with my Samson, it's just very old. I think the newer wireless systems would be a big improvement over what I currently own.

One other question. How long do the batteries last in these systems you guys recommended? One of the problems with my ancient Samson is it really eats batteries. I get just over an hour on an alkaline 9V.

Tried a couple of the AKGs--not as good as the Shure IMHO. The signal compression was a touch more evident, and the unit felt less durable to me.

Samson Airline sounded just plain bad.

My older Nadys lasted about 3 hours per battery. The AKGs seemed to clock in between 6-8 hours. My Shure UT lasts about 10-12 hours per battery.

Has anybody tried the Sennheiser EW-1? It's the digital system.

joey, the digital wireless is called the "Digital 1000," not the EW-1.

I know two people who used the X-wire, and to me it sounded fantastic. The X-wire technology was bought by Sennheiser when the guy who invented it couldn't afford to market it anymore, although I notice that Sennheiser lowered the operative frequency response a little from the original ($1000) product.

I'd love to find someone who has one also, to see how it compares.

Your right it is the Digital 1000. I'm going to go get one today. I have a friend at a local store who will give me a killer price on it. I have 30 days to return if I don't like it, so why not. I have a gig this Sunday, so I'll try it then and report back.

Cool. Can't wait to hear the review. Thanks!

Wow, I forgot all about this thread. I haven't been here for a while. Well since I last visited I tried the Shure UT, the transmitter broke after 2 hours of use. I took it back. It did sound good while it lasted. Next up was the Samson Synth 32. It was very noisy, and dark sounding. Back it went. Then the Sennheiser Digital 1000. It had it's good points, it was very quiet and had no compression what so ever. But I found it sounded brittle on the top end. Kinda like the difference between a record and a cd. So back again. I now have the Sennheiser EW 172. So far this one looks like it's going to work. It's very quiet, doesn't sound compressed, and it's very warm sounding. The receiver and transmitter are made of metal instead of plastic. I think I finally have a keeper. I'll be gigging with it soon.

I had a Sampson that eventually fritzed out, and I replaced it a few years ago with a Sony unit, which is pretty cool. It has programmable frequencies, so I'd imagine you could take your rig, say a Steinberger and smuggle it into a concert, plug in the programmable wireless, get within range and then play along with the band thru their equipment.

Samson Airline.

I used a VHF Samson wireless unit onstage since about 1989, and it never broke, or let me down. The only problem was being in clubs with f*&cked up electrical wiring - badly-wired light dimmers would drive it crazy.

About a year ago, I bought a Samson Airline used off ebay for about $200, and have been using it live with my band ever since. LOVE IT. No noise; impervious to stray signals; transmitter batteries last up to 14 hours... GREAT STUFF. The receiver on mine is the stomp-box-size version which sits neatly out on my pedal board. My keyboard/second guitarist finally got jealous and had me hunt one down for him.

My old VHF Samson? My bass player uses it now. Still going strong.

hey i used to own a nady 901 guitar wireless system and it wasnt that reliable always hummin buzzing and annoying noises i used to quiet it down with a noise gate lmao
anyway that model did me no justice soo i parted ways with it
plus i love tons of gain so maybe my setup wasnt the right combination but i think my next wireless rackmount system will be shure or sensheiser or samson i did have great luck with samson products so i probably will be auditionioning their guitar wireless true diversity dual antenna rack mount gear very soon
i use major gain i think it is hard on the signal when using wireless i dont kno i have to try more wireless systems out
let me kno how many of you out there like lots of gain and are you sucessful wiithout tons of feedback and hums with a particular brand ?wireless system