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Few experiences match the rush of playing guitar on stage, but you’re always restricted by the length of your cable. If it’s too short, you risk pulling it out of your amp as you strut the stage. If it’s too long, you may trip over it. This restriction is also present when recording in the studio, where a yanked cable can ruin a take. You can solve both of these issues by ditching your 1/4 inch cable for a wireless guitar transmitter.
This gadget comes in two pieces: a transmitter that’s plugged into your guitar, and a receiver that’s connected to your computer interface or amp. The transmitter and receiver pair wirelessly, and let you send an audio signal from one to the other. It’s the same concept as connecting your phone or tablet to a Bluetooth speaker to play music, except you’re the one providing the sound.
Wireless guitar transmitters use the same 1/4 inch connector as a standard guitar cable, so you won’t need an adapter to connect it to your guitar and amp. This is the same audio jack found on many electric instruments, so you can use these same transmitters with a bass, keyboard, or some microphones.
The receiver and transmitter are both battery-powered, and we made sure to select options that can last several hours per charge. When fully refilled, you should be able to get through an entire live set, or part of a recording session without issue.
One downside to using a wireless guitar transmitter is that it does introduce some latency (lag) between when you strike a note, and when you’ll hear it through your arm. It’s a matter of milliseconds, but still something to keep in mind if you’re strumming along with players on acoustic instruments. This isn’t a flaw with the transmitters we’re recommending; latency is present in all wireless connections. It’s virtually imperceptible, but it’s there.
Guitar cables aren’t going anywhere, but if you’d like to see what life is like on the wireless side, our recommendations can give you a good taste.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Wireless Guitar Transmitter
There are many factors to think about when choosing the right wireless guitar transmitter for you; below are the most important ones, which we considered while we were researching this list.
Wireless Frequency:These transmitters send a signal to the receiver over a 2.4Ghz or 5.8Ghz frequency band, which is a standard used by WiFi routers, cordless phones, and other wireless electronics.
Range:The whole point of using a wireless guitar transmitter is to feel less constricted, so we made sure to pick ones with a maximum range of at least 70 feet, so you can move freely without worrying about dropping your connection.
Number of Devices:Using wireless technology on the same frequency bands can sometimes cause interference. To negate this problem we chose wireless guitar transmitters that can connect to one another using different channels. Because of this feature, you can use multiple pairs of transmitters and receivers in the same room at the same time without being impacted by wireless congestion. This feature is only available on some transmitters, and is a really nice extra.
