Review: Line 6 Relay G90 Wireless System
Free yourself from the tyranny of wire 20-Jul-10
No flash plug
| MP4 | 7:21 mins |
You only have to have played a couple of gigs to appreciate just how much of a PITA leads can be. Especially if you are doing gigs where the stage is regularly of a decent size, you’ll need miles of the stuff, and if you are a bit of a performer and like to roam around, cable management is probably not of primary focus while you strut your stuff.
Line 6 - know this and have created a range of wireless systems, built especially for guitars and basses - The Relay line. We’re looking at the top of the range Relay G90.
It comes in two parts, the transmitter - which is a belt/strap pack, powered by 2xAA batteries (+/- 800 minutes) which you plug your axe into, and the reciever - a single units 19’ rack.
Both are reassuringly well built and clearly designed to withstand the rigors of touring life.
Its Digital
Line 6 use a digital 2.4mHz system (same as WiFi) for transmission of signals, which means that there are no international frequency bands to conform to and you wont be getting any interference from other sources. They also give you a full bandwidth audio of 10Hz to 20kHz - for an extremely full sound suitable for both bass and guitar.
Both are reassuringly well built and clearly designed to withstand the rigors of touring life.
Its Digital
Line 6 use a digital 2.4mHz system (same as WiFi) for transmission of signals, which means that there are no international frequency bands to conform to and you wont be getting any interference from other sources. They also give you a full bandwidth audio of 10Hz to 20kHz - for an extremely full sound suitable for both bass and guitar.
In practice, this can be a little shocking, if you are used to crappy old leads (or even good ones) that shave off considerable amounts of top end. But not to worry, the Reciever has built-in cable emulation so you can get a more familliar sound by dialing in cable lengths of up to 125 feet.
Each unit has up to 12 channels on offer with plenty of antenae points on the reciever to suit the amp top or flight-cased storage, or even daisy chaning multiple units.
In Use
Pretty darned simple to use, plenty of status lights - the transmitter tells you signal presence, wireless strenght and remaining battery life, while the reciever shows, audio signal level, wireless signal level and an LED strip for battery strength so you and your tech can see it.
All settings - channel and cable length setup are recalled in both units at powerup from the last edited, so you can really plug-n-play.
We successfully managed around 70ft (the bottom of the garden) without problems, though inside , the range was lessened when we tried through a few solid walls (understandably). The Relay system is really designed for line of sight use, but should be able to manage indoors if you wanted to put your amp in the next room.
The G90 is the daddy and has:
300ft range
12 channels
and a price to match: $599 / £499 recommended street
But if you want wireless but at a lower cost, there’s also the Relay G50 ($399 / £299 and Relay G30 ($299 /£229) which offer less channels and less range.
Finally
Murph was finally convinced that wireless was the way to go after using this system. Which is about as good a recommendation you can get. Not cheap - but reliable, the Relay system just works and doesn’t mess with your sound, its what you want in a wireless system aint it?
-
More Information
- Line6.com
More From: LINE 6
- Guitar Tone Wherever You Need It 06-Mar-24
- Line 6 Announces HX One Effect Pedal 25-Oct-23
- Line 6 Announces DL4 MkII Delay Pedal 23-Mar-22
- Plug-Ins For Metal Guitarists 21-Mar-22
- NAMM 2020: Line 6 Reveals Latest POD 17-Jan-20
Even more news...
