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Best Wireless ‘Bug’ Devices for Home Use


Deedee
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11 hours ago, Deedee said:

The WL-20 finally arrived today and I’m very impressed. Only question is, why didn’t I buy one sooner?? No cables strewn across the floor, just plug-in and play.

Many thanks for all the advice folks. Greatly appreciated 👍

That's great to hear.

On 30/11/2020 at 21:24, dave_bass5 said:

Top of the list Paul. 😁

I appreciate I was only ever an after thought 😁

...but I've now got one incoming (courtesy of Mr dB5) in the new year which I'm looking forward to - even more so after your positive comments Deedee.

 

Dunno if any folk have had both the WL-20 and the Smoothhound and been able to compare? I do like the fact that the WL-20 will free up the space for an extra pedal which the SH transmitter would otherwise be taking up, although in terms of pricing it's very much in line with the SH.

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25 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Dunno if any folk have had both the WL-20 and the Smoothhound and been able to compare? I do like the fact that the WL-20 will free up the space for an extra pedal which the SH transmitter would otherwise be taking up, although in terms of pricing it's very much in line with the SH.

What i like best about these sort of systems is the convenience. Not the wireless part, thats common to all, but that fact that you can just pick them up and plug them in. If you have your transmitter on a strap and the receiver on a pedalboard etc it’s bit more hassle to just pick an instrument up and get playing. The bug system is truly plug and play.

Edited by dave_bass5
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10 minutes ago, ped said:

I'd like to try the Boss ones but I found the latency too much on my Smoothound.

I’m not sure i could tell the difference between the two, but i must admit the SH’s high figure made me wonder if it would be more a problem if i was using more digital devices in the chain. I never got to try my SH outside of the house, or with my Helix. I only had it for a couple of days. I found it problematic with how it was powered and too much hassle for what i was hoping for.

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49 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

What i like best about these sort of systems is the convenience. Not the wireless part, thats common to all, but that fact that you can just pick them up and plug them in. If you have your transmitter on a strap and the receiver on a pedalboard etc it’s bit more hassle to just pick an instrument up and get playing. The bug system is truly plug and play.

It's definitely neat.

For folk currently just going straight from bass --> amp & cab I take your point about plug & play convenience.

But if you have a pedal board with the SH integrated into it - which is a one off thing to get done - the convenience factor is pretty similar i.e. you similarly just plug in the transmitter into your bass directly. The SH is hinged, unlike the Boss one, and so can be even more discrete. So the key benefit for me is not needing to take up the space that could be given to another pedal, which the SH receiver currently does.

If the latency on this is actually noticeably less than the 8ms / 5ms on the SH as well, I could be putting up my SH for sale in the new year too! Although I must admit the 8ms latency SH has never particularly bothered me - probably because most of my pedals are analogue rather than digital (which add in further latency issues) and we are using an analogue rather than digital sound desk. Did I recall correctly someone mentioning the latency on the Boss was around 3ms, or am I just making that up?!

@ped on the SH did you try out the shorter 5ms latency setting which is available (which cuts it down from the default 8ms) - but is "only recommended for low interference environments"?

Edited by Al Krow
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6 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

It's definitely neat.

For folk currently just going straight from bass --> amp & cab I take your point about plug & play convenience.

But if you have a pedal board with the SH integrated into it - which is a one off thing to get done - the convenience factor is pretty similar and you similarly just plug in the transmitter into your bass directly. The SH is hinged, unlike the Boss one, and so can be even more discrete. So the key benefit for me is not needing to take up the space that could be given to another pedal, which the SH receiver currently does.

If the latency on this is actually noticeably less than the 8ms / 5ms on the SH as well, I could be putting up my SH for sale in the new year too! Although I must admit the 8ms latency has never particularly bothered me. Did I recall correctly someone mentioning the latency on the Boss was around 3ms, or am I just making that up?!

@ped on the SH did you try out the shorter 5ms latency setting which is available (which cuts it down from the default 8ms) - but is "only recommended for low interference environments"?

Yes - still very noticeable. I use quite a lot of ghost notes and finger striking and it's very easy to spot when they arrive a tiny bit late. Probably wounds notice it live but it was really off-putting at home. Think I'll stick to a cable for that.

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Yes, the latency is very low on the Boss. 2.3ms, and that’s across the board, unlike the SH which i think you have to reduce the range to get lower?

For live use i agree about the convince, its all there in front of you, and no worries about battery level etc, but I’m thinking more at home with multiple basses, or you want to take it to another room etc. No need to unplug the pedalboard and move it if you are only using it for the wireless, and no need to change straps each time you change basses, unless you’re standing up of course.

The Boss also has (IIR) 14 channels to lock on to. 

The only downside ive found is the lack of a proper on/off switch like the Xvive has. Thats the reason i used my Xvive at home, as i could leave the receiver plugged in to my Stomp. Just one less thin got hunt around for when I want to play. 

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1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yes, the latency is very low on the Boss. 2.3ms, and that’s across the board, unlike the SH which i think you have to reduce the range to get lower?

That's great - very low latency for a wireless transmitter.

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

For live use i agree about the convince, its all there in front of you, and no worries about battery level etc, but I’m thinking more at home with multiple basses, or you want to take it to another room etc. No need to unplug the pedalboard and move it if you are only using it for the wireless, and no need to change straps each time you change basses, unless you’re standing up of course.

Not sure I follow this? I guess my PB would be always plugged in for home use - just put the pedals in bypass mode** when I don't want to use them, and just a case of swapping the transmitter over between basses. But either way I'm looking forward to the WL-20s as currently my SH is not on my board and there's no space for it!

** I did notice that my EUB was significantly noisier going through my PB with everything in by-pass the other day, and the noise disappeared when I went EUB --> amp directly, which I wasn't expecting!

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

The only downside ive found is the lack of a proper on/off switch like the Xvive has. That's the reason i used my Xvive at home, as i could leave the receiver plugged in to my Stomp. Just one less thin got hunt around for when I want to play. 

As you know I couldn't get on with my Xvive's - found them to be very glitchy. As Bassfan mentioned - that's probably due to the fact it only seems to work well with certain bass input sockets and not others.

Edited by Al Krow
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.

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

 

Not sure I follow this? I guess my PB would be always plugged in for home use - just put the pedals in bypass mode** when I don't want to use them, and just a case of swapping the transmitter over between basses. But either way I'm looking forward to the WL-20s as currently my SH is not on my board and there's no space for it!

For me rather than everyone. I never use a strap when playing at home, so having to have one hanging off the bass is not something i want. I also dont have the luxury of leaving my gear set up, so the faster i can get set up and playing the better. I’m not lazy as such, but when i get another bass out all i need do is unplug the transmitter (as you would a cable). None of the hassle of changing straps as well. 

I also sometimes play in the living room, so taking a bass and the bug system in is much more convenient than taking a pedalboard from one room to the next and having wires trailing across the room etc (and still with the strap hanging off).

Not 1st world problems, but a nice easy way of doing things. I’m not sure how robust this sort of thing is compared to the transmitter pack systems, but ive not had issues with the Boss so far. Even walking around the room at sound check. 

Happy to pop over any time, more or less. Just let me know when’s good for you. 

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5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

But if you have a pedal board with the SH integrated into it - which is a one off thing to get done - the convenience factor is pretty similar

Agreed. For me, my pedalboard never comes in, it lives with all my gigging equipment, and just goes out when gigging. I have some other effects I use in the house if I need them, but not tripping over another cable when out is great, and its something to not need to plug in which is even.. greater.

I use the SH live, I have never noticed the smoothhound live (and why would I in a live context - 5ms is like being 1.5m from your cab), and it works well on the pedalboard but it would be too much hassle for home.

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I have a pedalboard with a Line 6 G50 attached to it, and also use a Smoothhound live with one band with just a Zoom MS-60B. I don't notice the SH's latency when playing live, and it gets left in the gigbag at home so one of these bug systems would be handy too, for home and non-effecty rehearsals (when eventually we get to rehearse again).

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I picked up a Getaria GWS-8 2.4ghz wireless system off Amazon. It is doing the job so far and I am getting around 4 hrs use before the transmitter battery is fully discharged. No noticeable latency although they quote <12ms (then again I'm only 3ft away from the receiver) put I don't go through a pedalboard.

I purchased to use at home (and hopefully at rehearsal) in order to get rid of the cables (small room at home and the gear arrangement at the studio), so one test down one to go.

Cost of these was under £40 so I've got the sister in law to buy me a second set for Christmas as a backup.

 

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10 hours ago, Bobthedog said:

Is anyone using the Boss WL-20(or L) with an active bass? Is anyone getting a clicking noise as some seem to be? I am tempted by the WL-20 for home use. I have my SH but as I do not used a pedal board at home, the Boss may a quick fix

Just started using the WL-20s with both active and passive basses and so far so good. 

No question it's an easier set up than the SH, particularly if you don't have a pedal board with the SH set up on. 

Early days and home use only so far, given Covid, but first impressions are positive. 

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9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Just started using the WL-20s with both active and passive basses and so far so good. 

No question it's an easier set up than the SH, particularly if you don't have a pedal board with the SH set up on. 

Early days and home use only so far, given Covid, but first impressions are positive. 

Thanks and have just ordered the L version; apparently designed for active set ups.  A couple of comments read about clicks but will give it a go. 

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5 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

Thanks and have just ordered the L version; apparently designed for active set ups.  A couple of comments read about clicks but will give it a go. 

The L doesn't have the cable tone feature, so is a bit more open and has more top end. Thats the only difference as far as I could see when i had both. 

As an example, i couldn’t use the TC Electronics tone print beaming system with my non L version, as the top end was messed with. The L version worked perfectly. 

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17 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

The L doesn't have the cable tone feature, so is a bit more open and has more top end. Thats the only difference as far as I could see when i had both. 

As an example, i couldn’t use the TC Electronics tone print beaming system with my non L version, as the top end was messed with. The L version worked perfectly. 

Now he tells me! 

Best go sell my TC BG 250 then asap...oh wait I did that already...back in 2014, phew! 😂

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