# Boss WL - 20 Wireless (opinions needed)



## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

I’ve heard good things about these wireless systems. I like how compact they are. Does anyone have any experience using this system in a live system. 

-does it pick up on any other musicians wireless lines?
- is it noisy?
- can it take the jumping around on stage?

Any advice, tonal difference, experiences would be greatly appreciated. 

Cheers


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Only advice I can give is they won't fit guitars with recessed jacks like the Ibanez S body guitars.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

I'm interested in this one as well, so I'm curious to see what others say. 

It would be nice if someone made something that you could clip to your strap like a typical wireless, and then just use a short 1/4" cable to go from the transmitter to the guitar.


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## jimsz (Apr 17, 2009)

skiddypop said:


> I’ve heard good things about these wireless systems. I like how compact they are. Does anyone have any experience using this system in a live system.
> 
> -does it pick up on any other musicians wireless lines?
> - is it noisy?
> ...


The unit doesn't pick up other wireless, but our bass player said it used to cut out on him, apparently if there are phones in the crowd with their bluetooth on, it can cut out. It's not noisy and it can take jumping around, it's a pretty good sound, our keyboard player said it sounded better than with a cable. The big issue is that it's a throwaway item in that once the battery starts to go, you can't replace it.


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## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

jimsz said:


> The unit doesn't pick up other wireless, but our bass player said it used to cut out on him, apparently if there are phones in the crowd with their bluetooth on, it can cut out. It's not noisy and it can take jumping around, it's a pretty good sound, our keyboard player said it sounded better than with a cable. The big issue is that it's a throwaway item in that once the battery starts to go, you can't replace it.


Good points. I never thought about that. Luckily my axes all will work fine in terms of the jack. 

The cutting out because of phones Bluetooth couple be a massive issue though.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

skiddypop said:


> Good points. I never thought about that. Luckily my axes all will work fine in terms of the jack.
> 
> The cutting out because of phones Bluetooth couple be a massive issue though.


You might want to look for something in the 5Ghz band range. Get out of the way of Bluetooth and most WiFi routers at the same time.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

1SweetRide said:


> You might want to look for something in the 5Ghz band range.


Didn't you acquire a Carparelli system a little while back?
How's that working out?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

laristotle said:


> Didn't you acquire a Carparelli system a little while back?
> How's that working out?


It’s been flawless.


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## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

laristotle said:


> Didn't you acquire a Carparelli system a little while back?
> How's that working out?


Very nice. Great advice. I wana try this system you speak of.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

You should be able to find them on his website.


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## Mike316 (Apr 23, 2014)

I have one as well and they work great. I plug the receiver into my wha at the front of my pedalboard and cable out to my amp. If I’m going to be jumping around I tape the sending unit to my guitar’s input jack.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Not for active pickups. 
Yeah, battery can be a pain, but the do last a full night gig.(IMO)


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Nope, no wireless for me. Two guys in our band have them and sometimes they get mixed on the same channel or battery goes dead in the middle of a song. Old school cable for me.


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## jimsz (Apr 17, 2009)

I checked the FAQ for the Boss unit, it said that if you didn't want to get interruptions, make sure to turn off Wifi routers, anything with bluetooth and don't use a microwave oven. I still can't recall anywhere I've gigged that doesn't have a Wifi router, bluetooth phones that are on and microwave ovens. I don't think they thought that one through very well.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

jimsz said:


> I checked the FAQ for the Boss unit, it said that if you didn't want to get interruptions, make sure to turn off Wifi routers, anything with bluetooth and don't use a microwave oven. I still can't recall anywhere I've gigged that doesn't have a Wifi router, bluetooth phones that are on and microwave ovens. I don't think they thought that one through very well.


Not just Boss. All 2.4Ghz systems will suffer from the same issues. Boss is just being honest about it.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

Hmm, the above revelation about the 2.4Ghz units and Bluetooth/WiFi interference is a deal breaker for me!! I'm also running a couple Godins with the Hi Def Revoicer circuit (so essentially active pickups) and a BIG question for me is if the Carparelli 5.8Ghz can handle that?

I'm assuming the Carparelli 5.8Ghz is rebranded MIC product that looks a lot like this one (Wireless Guitar System - ZXK CO 5.8GHz Rechargeable Guitar Wireless Audio Transmitter Receiver - Electric Digital Guitar System Transmitter Receiver Set: Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio) and this one (Huhudde Wireless Guitar System - 5.8GHz Rechargeable Guitar Wireless Audio Transmitter Receiver - Electric Digital Guitar System Transmitter Receiver Set: Amazon.ca: Electronics) on Amazon.ca for quite a bit less?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Dunno, but buy from a Canadian company? Mine worked in all situations. Still do, also worked with my active pickups.


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## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

1SweetRide said:


> You should be able to find them on his website.


I ended up ordering them. I’m excited for them to come in. I’m going try them out at rehearsal ASAP.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

skiddypop said:


> I ended up ordering them. I’m excited for them to come in. I’m going try them out at rehearsal ASAP.


Looking forward to your review/experience. Still sitting on the fence here...


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## skiddypop (Oct 21, 2019)

DavidP said:


> Looking forward to your review/experience. Still sitting on the fence here...


Hi david,

I'll let you know asap. I play in a funk, blues, rnb band. Lots of horns lots of guitars ect. There will be a-lot of wireless systems being used on our live gigs, so i'll take it to rehearsal right when i get them, see how they hold up.

The second project is alot of rock, glam metal, hard hard blues. We do fire shows, alot of jumping around and other non-sense, so will see how it works with type of playing.

Talk soon


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## juvzleyn (Oct 30, 2007)

Hi. Just sharing my experience with the Boss WL series. 3 of us in our band use the WL-50 system. every now and then we get signal drop offs and when we were using them initially we would experience signal crossing over to each others amp. The signal drop outs were very sporadic though and would sometime be very annoying. We found a remedy for the signal crossover by powering our systems one after the other so it would actually scan a signal thats open and then connect. Then the next guy will turn his system on, and then the next etc.

However we had a very bad experience when we opened for a major band at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster BC. We could not get a solid signal and our systems kept dropping (during soundcheck). No cross overs though, but the signal drop off was bad to a point were we just ditched the wireless systems and just decided to use cables.

Also i could not use my system at home due to the proximity of my pedalboard to our wireless Modem, the signal is very problematic. 

Cheers!


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

Hmm, check out this review/ demo of the ZXK CO 5.8GHz unit I linked above: 




Assuming the Carparelli model is just a rebranded version, its pretty impressive!!


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

juvzleyn said:


> Hi. Just sharing my experience with the Boss WL series. 3 of us in our band use the WL-50 system. every now and then we get signal drop offs and when we were using them initially we would experience signal crossing over to each others amp. The signal drop outs were very sporadic though and would sometime be very annoying. We found a remedy for the signal crossover by powering our systems one after the other so it would actually scan a signal thats open and then connect. Then the next guy will turn his system on, and then the next etc.
> 
> However we had a very bad experience when we opened for a major band at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster BC. We could not get a solid signal and our systems kept dropping (during soundcheck). No cross overs though, but the signal drop off was bad to a point were we just ditched the wireless systems and just decided to use cables.
> 
> ...


I tried out a Boss WL-60 this weekend. Couldn’t get more than 5 feet away before dropouts happened. Tried every channel. What a piece of junk. I returned that thing in a hurry.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Informative vid. A couple of points that popped in my mind;
How long does one charge last? Maybe I missed it.
Regarding the spin (not too secure), instead of dbl sided tape, press the 'tip' tab of the input in to make it tighter?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

laristotle said:


> Informative vid. A couple of points that popped in my mind;
> How long does one charge last? Maybe I missed it.
> Regarding the spin (not too secure), instead of dbl sided tape, press the 'tip' tab of the input in to make it tighter?


It lasts about 4 hours. Yeah, it's very slightly smaller than a standard 1/4" jack. I wouldn't adjust the output jack on the guitar, you can usually fold the unit against the body of the guitar in such a way it stays put (I put little foam pads on mine where it touches the body).


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

laristotle said:


> Regarding the spin (not too secure), instead of dbl sided tape, press the 'tip' tab of the input in to make it tighter?





1SweetRide said:


> Yeah, it's very slightly smaller than a standard 1/4" jack. I wouldn't adjust the output jack on the guitar, you can usually fold the unit against the body of the guitar in such a way it stays put (I put little foam pads on mine where it touches the body).


I wonder if you could put the transmitter in your back pocket or somehow attach it to the guitar strap, and then make a little 1-foot extension cable to connect the transmitter to the guitar without harming the signal quality.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

troyhead said:


> I wonder if you could put the transmitter in your back pocket or somehow attach it to the guitar strap, and then make a little 1-foot extension cable to connect the transmitter to the guitar without harming the signal quality.


I guess you could make your own with a male 1/4" and a female socket. I just haven't seen any mono 1/4" female sockets that aren't some type of input jack. Do you know of any?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

1SweetRide said:


> I guess you could make your own with a male 1/4" and a female socket. I just haven't seen any mono 1/4" female sockets that aren't some type of input jack. Do you know of any?


Like this?
Switchcraft SW121


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

1SweetRide said:


> I guess you could make your own with a male 1/4" and a female socket. I just haven't seen any mono 1/4" female sockets that aren't some type of input jack. Do you know of any?


I found a few mono female sockets on Amazon, but it looks like someone already makes the whole cable one might want!
https://www.amazon.com/Seismic-Audio-SA-QFSMR1-2Pack-Extension-Interconnect/dp/B01AKT8JFI/


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

troyhead said:


> I found a few mono female sockets on Amazon, but it looks like someone already makes the whole cable one might want!
> https://www.amazon.com/Seismic-Audio-SA-QFSMR1-2Pack-Extension-Interconnect/dp/B01AKT8JFI/


Good sleuthing. Any with a straight end?


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

greco said:


> Like this?


I found these too:








https://www.amazon.com/Neutrik-NYS2202P-Metal-Cable-Female/dp/B07KQL2N84


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Oh, I remember what I couldn't find. It was an adapter that was 1/4" mono male on one end and 1/4" mono female on the other. It was so I could use the XVive into an Ibanez guitar with a deep recessed jack.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

skiddypop said:


> Hi david,
> 
> I'll let you know asap. I play in a funk, blues, rnb band. Lots of horns lots of guitars ect. There will be a-lot of wireless systems being used on our live gigs, so i'll take it to rehearsal right when i get them, see how they hold up.
> 
> ...


@skiddypop what's the final verdict on the ZXK?
In particular, any loss of high frequencies & volume due to the wireless transmitter loading the pickups?


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## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

I tried using 2 of them in our church and they interfered with each other a lot. Had to return them. They sounded fine and I think at home they are great.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

I bought the ZXK / M5 / Carparelli system. 
Sounds fantastic.
I'll post something somewhere to show it off.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

CathodeRay said:


> Carparelli system


I've considered those too. 5.8ghz vs 2.4 from others.


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