Wire-Lists #54 – Lectrosonics Wireless for Guitars & Basses
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For decades now, Lectrosonics wireless systems have been used by some of the top touring guitar and bass players. In the early 2000’s – Guitarist Dan Spitz swore by his UM200/UDR200C analog wireless rig. Steve Stevens picked up a Digital Hybrid Wireless® IS400 system in 2006. Bass player Ricky Phillips has used Lectrosonics since about 2007. The Dixie Chicks toured with an extensive Lectrosonics wireless system in the mid 2000s. Fast forward to today, when bassists Eva Gardner and Phil Soussan, and guitarists Doug Aldrich, Jerry Horton, Howie Simon, Oz Fox, and Paul Jackson Jr. among many others rely on the sound quality, range, and reliability of Lectrosonics wireless for touring.
The secret of the Lectrosonics wireless system is mainly that these systems do not compand (compress and expand) the audio signal, and are designed to be as phase linear as possible through the audio band. With the proper input cables matched to the instruments and transmitters, a very clean transfer can be obtained, so that the guitar dynamics, tone, and volume/gain settings are preserved. These systems are the closest thing you can get to a good cable, with a lot more freedom of movement.
Because Lectrosonics units have been used for this purpose for such a long time and through multiple generations of product, there are some complexities to these systems, and some details have changed over time. Let’s start with the two current main series of product: