AKG WMS40 GB

Could not be easier - plug the bug into your instrument and the receiver output to amp, console, whatever and play.

HUGE LETDOWN. There is, as other reviewers have pointed out, a bit of a hissing sound, but that is the least of my worries. The compander effect is so pronounced, brightening my guitar sound to a glassy tone, that it basically renders the unit useless. When compared to the sound straight from the guitar, anything upward of 300Hz has to be brought down. And I'm not talking about a couple of db here - from 10 - 14 db to more or less match the wired sound.
I've used it at several gigs anyway, trying to adjust it with the board EQ, but have now stopped using it altogether.

The bug does not seem well-made and despite claims by the company that it is springloaded to keep it from moving around it does in fact bounce all over the place. Were I to continue using it I believe it would soon break. The receiver is also not the toughest-looking piece of gear I've ever owned but if kept in a rackmount unit would probably be OK.

Haven't used it and since I'm not using the unit anymore I guess I won't have to.

Perhaps if this were used for voice the compander effect would be less noticeable, maybe even useful, but for guitar it is simply not acceptable. To add insult to injury the range is quite limited and is somewhat prone to interference.

Very easy to use. Just plug it in, set your levels, and play.

Terrible! I am running it through a Eden WP100 Pre into a Crown CE1000 amp into a Carvin RL410 cab and a Mesa Boogie 2x15 cab. Tone seems to be ok but there is a terrible hiss whenever you play a note. It always goes away when you stop playing, but rears its ugly head when you start again. If I was playing a distorted guitar, I could see how I wouldn't hear it. I play bass, and basses don't hiss. Judging by the other reviews here, it seems to be a common problem. Maybe AKG should read these reviews and fix the thing!

Nope, I used it twice. Once for practice, it did ok. Tonight I was just playing along with my favorite CD with my stack across the room, when I got up and walked around a little, it started making a crackling sound. I changed the battery with no improvement.

Didn't even try.

I am a little dissapointed in the overall quality of the "bug". The receiver seems to be built to last. I wish the bug was as well. I packed it back up in the box and am taking it back in the morning. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone else.

Very easy. Turn it on, plug it in and play. Make sure you turn off the bug between sets to save the batteries.

I've seen a lot of comments about it affecting sound but have to say whilst I can hear a small difference (just a little more toppier), it's not significant enough to put me off. Pretty happy generally, especially with my strats. I did find feedback with my 335 was a bit more of a problem.

My big issue is this. At a number of different venues I have found that my signal is picked up by the venue's in-house music system. My guitar has been heard downstairs, in the pokie room, the restaurant etc. A bit annoying really as I then have to go back to the 'old fashioned' cables!

Pretty interested to hear if anyone else had had this problem and what (if any) fixes there are for it.

No problems for me, although the other guitarist in my band uses one as well and it's getting pretty loose and scratchy. I always have leads for a back up.

Haven't taken it to them yet but probably will have to.

I think this is a great unit. It works well, battery life is OK, it's noiseless and I'm pretty happy with my guitar sound. I've been playing for a long time and gig about twice a week. The only issue is this frequency thing which needs to be sorted out. Being on a single fixed UHF frequency is an inflexible arrangement so if I was to change anything it would be to offer multi frequencies - even 2 or 3 would offer more versatility.

Very simple to use.

Great sound. If you're not careful with setting the output level you're sending to your amp - you could hit your pre-amp pretty hard and break up the front end - mild distortion.

Oh, but don't forget the cracking and popping issues.

Nope. I'm on my sixth (6) one. I had 4 of them break off on the transmitter. Now, I understand I can be rough on things but one of them we had on film - I was dancing with my guitar on stage and the shaking from side to side made this thing snap off.

Yes, I use velcro to hold it in place. Yes, I've used other wirelesses before. Yes, one of the transmitters pissed me off so much that I smashed it to bits on stage.

Yes, audience members complained about the popping and hissing noises it was making through my amp.

Yes, I went to the AKG booth at NAMM to discuss this with them. I was told in a very cold european snobbish type of way that 1) they've never heard of these things breaking. 2) they've never heard of them making the popping and hissing noises.

I've had fewer problems with my Samson beltpack that cost $50 used. I just really loved the idea of having the transmitter thing right on the guitar and no beltpack.

I'd give this a rating of -5 if I could.

I went to their booth at NAMM to discuss this with them - I got 2 guys that were colder to me than a Kraftwerk song and had the personality of a refrigerator.

On the flip side the folks at Guitar Center (well, the two guys I deal with) were extremely helpful. And I mean that - I'm used to dealing with the usual idiots there but two guys at GC I will deal with and them only. If they ever leave GC, I'm screwed.

This unit has let me down many, many times. I kept trying to get a new one or whatever (I tried 6 times!) I'm done with AKG.

I play rock and roll through 3 custom telecasters that I made (one is a 12 string) and acoustic guitar. I also play accordion, lap steel and mandolin. I used the wireless on all of them. I can split the signal from my board to send it where it needs to go.

This system was perfect for my needs. If only it would work.

Ok this thing is very easy to use just plug and play but it looses points because you have to weld a jack to the receiver in order to plug in as it comes only with bare wires on the receiver end output cable.

Great sound in general you will notice a very slight tone couloring but only very slight. I still think a good cable beats this thing especialy if you are recording dont use this. I have noticed the hiss whenever a note is played and then goes away when silent as mentioned before. This is very annoying to me so I had to bring the gain on the reciever to the minimum possible and use my fatboost pedal to compensate for the loss this did minimize the problem and is use the unit for practice around the house so I can jsut crash anywhere with the guitar and practice all the time without worying about cables. This has increasd my sticking to the guitar litteraly carrying it around the house all the time and is a positive for my playing. At a distance also I dont notice the hiss at all as well as in a mix or band or live situation you cant notice it. good to use if you plug directly into an amp.

OK so its not built like a tank we know and expect this dont abuse it! It will fail if you do. Batteries have good life and it always works when I use it.

Dont know

Great tool at a good price and good for live or practice tool dont use for recording and you will have to tweek in order to get rid of that hiss. Overall a good little divice and has its place in the toolbox. Get one even if all it does is increase your playing around the house because you can just wander around with it all day then it will make you a better player. I think that is its real nitch for trio or quartet live with individual amps its OK too but if you can use a good cable then do. Just wrap that cable around your strap and load it on the amp side then thrash around all you want if your into that but dont try to do that with this thing.

I play bass in a professional cover band.
The transmitter is decently easy to use, since it has very few features.
It is non-diversity, so it is stuck to one frequency and one only.
Then, the features are very basical :
Sensitivity level control
2 LED's (one for power, one for UHF reception)
One antenna
Line out
D.I. out
Power button

This 9.5" unit can be rackmounted in a 19" rack, but it does not come with the adapter (23 EUR extra).

The sender bug is an all-in-one system (sender + jack). It has a switch for "on", "standby" and "off", with a control LED. Its shape causes that, despite of what AKG states, there are some basses it does not fit (mainly basses with recessed cavity, such as Dingwall). The on/off/standby switch is tiny and thus not ergonomic.

My system scheme is : bass > AKG WMS40 > Akai tuner > Ashdown MAG 300 amp.

I play a 5-string bass (Music Man) and this system covers the whole range, including the lowest note, without cutting the signal. I'm talking here about the frequency range, since you will read a few lines later that it actually cuts the signal.
I can hear no difference between the direct signal with a cord, and the signal with the UHF.
Good point here.

The compliments stop there.
After only 4 months of use (a dozen rehearsals and 5 gigs), the bug began doing bad contacts, so the signal was cut on stage.
My dealer told me several customers had the same problem with the same model recently.
He swapped the GB40 bug for a PT40 more traditional sender (sender on belt, linked to the bass by a cord).
The GB40 sender is very disappointing on the reliability department.

My dealer is fine, but he let me know another customer was billed the repair, though the GB40 was under warranty !
Not acceptable at all.

This system made of cheap plastic is pretty disappointing.
I've been playing bass for 30 years, and guitar for almost 35 years.
I'm going to check now how it works with the PT40 sender and will take a decision after my series of summer gigs.
No, I would not get another one if this one was stolen or lost.

about as simple as a wireless gets. I just plugged it in, put a battery in, turned it on and walla instant wireless. I have mine set with the squealch and gain off and it works fine. Not having to deal with a body pack is a godsend. At first I was having a problem with it flopping around but using the supplied velcro cured the issue and keeps it from making any noise from bumping around.

I'm not sure if they had some issues with earlier versions or what but mine doesn't have any of the issues a lot of the reviews are talking about as far as noise or sound quality. I a\b'd this thing extensively with a chord and it's the same which is what you want. I tried this out with an acoustic at the shop and have spent a few hours with it and my rig and it's been great. I have it set up in my basement and was able to go outside and had no signal loss at about 100 feet so it should hold up well for live playing.

seems sturdy but only time will tell.

I have used four different wireless systems in my lifetime and up until I got this I was using an old Telex G-10 prostar which was good but the body pack was an annoyance and it seemed to affect my sound a little. The guitarbug seems 100% transparent and is so much easier to deal with. The AAA batteries are nice as well since it lasts longer and the batteries are a lot cheaper than the 9v's I am used to. I would buy one again in a heartbeat but shouldn't need to.

Very easy to use, most of the features have already been listed. I got mine off ebay "open box"

I'm using it with my Flextone II -> Line6 Delay setup playing a Gibson SG. A little bit noisy when the battery life is low but I bought (and deff recommend) rechargable AAAs. At first, it would make my gain lose some punch. My clean was hardly affected; of course there was some signal loss but I fixed that with my amp settings. One thing I recommend with this wireless though (and this improved the sound drastically!!!) is to get some sort of signal booster to run it through. I myself use an ART Tube preamp to boost the signal to eliminate the signal loss (I actually get an awesome sound out of it, better than I did plugging straight in). I'm not for sure, but I think the Boss SD-1 could get about the same result (no tube though).

Very awesome unit!!! I have been gigging with it for a while now (6+ mos.), but I always bring a cable just in case!

Haven't had to deal with em

I play a harder blend of rock. I'm always using settings for the Soldano SLO on my Flex II, and Fender clean tones. If it were lost or stolen, I would deff buy it again!!!

This unit is so easy to use it is almost rediculous, just plug and play. Mine required no tweaking at all. The manual is quite sufficient (if you're in to reading manuals). Very thorough.

The sound quality is excellent. My set-up demands a strong signal : Various American Strats or a '52 Reissue Tele - Ernie Ball Volume pedal - Boss TU-2 Tuner - Original Digitech Whammy - Boss Overdrive - EH Big Muff - MXR Dyna Comp - Vox Wah - Boss Blues Driver - Ibanez Sonic Distortion - Boss Temolo - Boss RV3 Delay - Line 6 DL4 Delay - Dunlop Crybaby Wah - Fender DeVille 410. I also add various other pedals to the chain when I need them. There is absolutely no noise or hiss when using the unit, no tone changes (which is a miracle considering the number of pedals I use.

I've only used it a couple of times but it seems very dependable, it's an AKG!! I would gig without a backup.....but I would bring cables just in case I was in an area with lots of RF interference. Hey it's wireless, there will be some instances when it will not work.

Never had to deal with them.

Overall, this is an excellent product. I play mainly rock and blues. It suits the styles very well. I have been playing the guitar for about 18 years and have owned several wireless systems, this is the best one by far. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely purchase another one. I compared it to the Shure and Sennheiser models and found that this sounded better with my setup. I do wish the power switches were larger on both units, but I guess anything larger on units that small would look out of place or just get in the way. Oh, one more thing.....contrary to all of the other posts, the transmitter has never "flopped" around, not even with my Tele.

Very easy to use. It's got a preset frequency so you will not need to program. You can buy different color code sets, each with it's own frequency. You only have to make sure to buy different color sets for each musician. Load battery on the transmiter, turn on reciever first an then turn on transmiter and that's all. The manual is good. Battery life is about nine hours.

The sound quality is good on both my acoustic nylon string and solidbody. My sound technician says there's a slight increase in mids on the acoustic but that's easy to solve. Otherwise the sound is pretty much the same as before. The downside is that there's a hiss whenever a note is played and disappears when you're not playing. Very much like a noise surpresor and it's a little annoying. This is only audible when playing alone and in a band situation you won't notice it.

Seems fragile but if you treat it with care it will last.

D'ont know yet.

It's great not to be attached to a cable. And for that reason it's worth it. The format is very atractive too so for the moment I'm going to keep it. In the near future I'll buy another one to have both guitars wireless. Perhaps the superior model reciever is quieter so I'll check it out.

You plug it in and turn it on. There is a squelch adjustment that I have never needed to use. So far so good.

My rig consist of G & L guitars (single coil), Gibson ES-335's (HB) Fender Deville, Bassman, and Carvin (Vintage) Tube amps (JJ tubes), Stampede Overdrive, vintage analog delay ... sometimes the G-Major and BBE when I feel like pulling out the rack! Soundwise, I cant tell if it colors my sound (I have never AB'd it). I have the older type receiver with a songle antenna (non diversity) and it seems to keep my signal within 50 to 75 ft or so. I have never really tried to travel the 300 ft as claimed by the company. Sounds fine to me.

So far so good. I dont have a back up ...I just plug in the ol fashioned way if I suspect there might be trouble with interference and drop outs (only did this once during a large festival when all the sound engineers were walking around with wireless mics, headsets and walkie talkies). I am not sure if this would happen with more expensive units. But like i said I only had a drop out problem once. Though I did bend the antenne before a show once and used it that way with no problems. WHen I tried to bend it back after the show it broke off. I ordered replacement antennae (I just realized that this is a word I am not sure how to spell) from AKG USA and it was very easy to install.

Like I said I called the company direct and and they returned my call the next day and shipped the items promptly. Very friendly and courteous.

I play rock, blues, and rockabilly swing! This is my first wireless so I can't compare it to others. I am super picky about my sound and equipment and dont buy things because they are cheap. I looked at the Shure and Seinheisers - they required a cumbersome body pack, were more than twice as much money, and used a 9V battery with approx. 3 - 5 hours use time. The Bug's battery longevity is major plus (I can use one AAA battery over two + shows. The freedom of movement with the Guitar bug is excellent. I hang out by the pool with one...very comfortable and convenient. I lost the long flex jack to use with strats so it moves around a bit much on my G & L strat type guitars (has never fallen out or gotten in the way of my strum or tremolo). The biggest conveneience is that I tend to switch guitars during the night and all I have to do is mute the bug, unplug it from one guitar and pop it in a another. No wires or body packs to deal with. Why spend 600.00 to be uncomfortable, inconvenienced, and worry about battery life. If stolen I would definitely buy another. In fact, I am currently looking at the new diversity model, so I can give my other guitar player my old one. I love the BUG!!!!

I ordered the GB40 guitar bug along with the very small PR40 receiver and the CU40 charging unit.
I returned it the same day it was delivered, because it was not possible to get a good sound out of that thing.

When I plugged in the unit first, there was a constant hissing that was superposed by some kind of a "whistle-noise" that was tedious and just not bearable.
I talked to the manufacturer then, and they told me to change a little srew, that is very hard to reach inside the GB40, they call "squelsh".
The result of that operation was, that the "whistle-noise" disappeared, what did not disappear was the hissing, that's simply always audible, when you do not play.
But much worse than that was, that it turned out, that the unit definitly affects the sound of the guitar.
Depending on the volume of the receiver (PR40), there is a distinct attenuation of distortion, sustain.
The colour of the tone seemed somehow to be "compressed" to me at all - I can't explain that better.
If the volume of the receiver is increased to get rid of this sound effects, the unit starts to give "distortion" of it's own to the sound, which was not good either.
Every attempt to find a setting, where the transmitter meets the cable-sound failed.
So I gave up trying to make the unit work and returned it the same day - like stated above.
Recapitulating this unit can not be recommended - it looks great and I wish it would have worked fine, but it does not!

I just had it for 1 day

I reached them at the phone without a problem (the call was routed from Germany to Austria for what reason ever)and got immediate help - so far so good.

Constant hissing and effect on the guitar sound - can not be recommended.

I found the guitar bug to be very easy to use. There is a squelch control on the bug itself that you might want to adjust but I just plugged and played and it worked fine. Also, on the receiver there is a gain control that I recommend adjusting. I play with distortion and I did notice a slight reduction in sustain when I first played with the unit. After a whole 5 seconds it was fixed. It's that easy. The manual is fairly small but I guess it's informative. I don't really think you're going to need to read it much.

The sound quality is great. I'm running a Les Paul Studio equipped with invader pickups into the AKG. The wireless unit is going through an effects processor and finally into my workhorse, a '72 Marshall Super Lead 100w head. The only difference in sound would have to do with the notes clipping. It's not a big deal because it still feels and sounds natural but I did notice a slight difference in tone. Other than that, unless you're walking through multiple layers of walls or different rooms, there aren't really any dead spots to worry about. The only model I tested is the high frequency model which is supposed to give you a stronger signal. I didn't check the cheaper model because I was satisfied with the one I had tried.

It seems as though it's very dependable. There is a rumor going around that the battery cover is constantly coming off but I haven't experienced that yet. I guess if your going to let your bass player smash into you or something I could see it happening. I'm pretty active on stage and it's stayed in place just fine. The receiver is made of a light weight plastic material so I suggest you keep it away from harms way. Just don't be stupid, use common sense and it should last you.

Haven't had to use them, knock on wood.

I play hard rock/metal for a band in Chicago. I've been playing for over 10 years and I've never felt so free. I recommend that anyone who plays live and has a problem standing still get a wireless unit.

It's so easy to use. Just buy it and put it into your system.And, it works.

In my opinion, the tone of WM40 is really not bad. With little increased gaining and compressor. But when you're playing. The sound of my WM40 system will be broken. It's really really true. My friend's WM40 will produce some noises in his system. How can you image the two WM40s have all the problems that the guys had talk about?

Every Guitar Bug have two input jack in its package. Unfortunately, my short one broken since use it during one month. I presume the sound broken is caused by the input jack. The joint point parts of the jacks were not made well in the producting process.

My friend bought it to me to Taiwan last August, from Guitar Center L.A. When the shorter input jack broken I sent a E-Mail to the International Department of AKG to ask how can I buy a new one.
But I have never get the answer from AKG. This January, my friend went to Guitar Center L.A., they told him that I should buy it from the web of AKG. So, what can I do ???

My career in guitar playing is more than twenty years with styling of folks, rocks and metals. My system include: Marshall 1962, JTM45\1960A, POD, Gibson 57 Re-Issue, Fender 1979 Stratocaster\ E. Clapton Signature\ Y.J. Malmsteen Signature, and Washburn N-4 Custom Shop.
I will not suggest anyone and everyone buying the WM40s again. What can I say? Me and my freind can't depand on our "two" WM40s in the playing. My friend had never touched again his WM40 since the first time he put out the Bug from his system.
I hope I can get a new system of Samson in nearby future. And, hoping the Samsons will be more stable and durable.

This thing is incredibly easy to get started with and to handle. Like said before all you really need to do is just plug in and play. Some minor settings might need to be adjusted for your amp and guitar, but VERY easy!

The quality is very, very good and on my clean channel it sounds as good if not a lot better than a regular cord. I can move 20 feet away from it and it still comes out clear. Only at a couple hundred feet does it start to drastically drop out. There is a little bit of distortion sometimes when you first set up, but moving around and moving the transmitter and antenna seems to help. (playing through les paul special and marshall vs100)

I have never had any problems with the bug. I put velcro on my guitar and bug as said below and it works pefectly. Our band is big on jumping around and going crazy and it has not yet once fallen out, etc.

Never had to deal with AKG.

This is an absolutely amazing piece of technology. I am in love with it and if it got stolen i would cry, and then find the person who took it. This system is VERY helpful when you have large crowds and you need to walk around to get everyone involved. It has helped me play to my full potential and will definately give you a better stage precense.

Very easy to use - plug and play, only adjust gain to match your setup.

This thing adds a noise to your tone. I guess if playing with loads of pedals and / or distortion, you might not notice right away. But if playing clean, say bass, it is really bad.
It does not hiss when you're not playing, but I guess AKG has built in a expander-like feature, gating noise when not in use, btw a very good feature. But it just is not good enough...
But it is cheap

Though I tried it with the PT pocket transmitter, It never came to use on stage.

I play bass, in this review it means clean tones in low frequencies where audio artifacts are very audible. I have played for several decades, in case it matters...

Bought this item with the minature receiver instead of the larger receiver (cost extra $50) but was well worth it because the receiver could fit in my shirt pocket and quite possibly in my wallet if it were empty (though I wouldn't do that, it's fragile!). Now it is velcroed to my pedalboard. When I first used it there was some distortion, that was solved by turning the gain down on the "bug" transmitter and also the receiver. Now it is just plug and play!

Sound quality is very good, but degrades significantly when batteries are running out. You need to tweak the gain on the transmitter to make sure there is no distortion when playing through the clean channel of your amp. Using this with a Schecter guitar and Marshall/Fender amps.

Item is very reliable, but I am concerned about one thing. Each Guitar Bug and receiver comes with a color coded battery cover to indicate which frequency it operates on (it also comes with a black battery cover). The transmitter will have a color band on the back which is the same color so you can match the receiver and transmitter. However, you won't know what color you are getting until you open it, so if you and a bandmate are buying these together make absolutely sure you get different ones. I don't like that it operates on a predetermined frequency. Theoretically, nobody else will be using the frequency range that the unit operates on, but since it uses a fixed frequency in that range and doesn't 'hop' channels to avoid interference or improve reception, you could run into problems if someone has some electronic device which shares that frequency. I strongly recommend bringing instrument cables with you in case you run out of batteries (and forget spare ones) or something happens with the unit and you cannot use it (the show must go on!).

Haven't dealt with the company yet.

Would recommend a better transmitter, it flops around if you dance on stage, and I don't really want to stick velcro to my guitar to make it sit still. If you wear your guitar low, you could inadvertently crush the small antenna sticking out of the transmitter if it shifts. Also the 'on' switch for the 'bug' transmitter is a little hard to push, you get used to it but it would be nice if it were a button or if the switch was slightly raised to make it easier to push. Also the battery cover has fallen off a few times, I must have hit it during a show and it just slides off, beware. One last thing, this thing eats batteries. I replace them every other week (a short time if you only rehearse twice a week). But fortunately both the transmitter and receiver have lights that tell you when the battery is running out so you have time to change them, even during a show (1 AAA battery for the transmitter, 2 for the small receiver). I really recommend getting the smaller receiver, unless you have rack space for the larger receiver (though it isn't a rackmount unit). If you are a pro, go for the better/more expensive units, but for most people this is an excellent unit.

It's really easy to use - plug in, turn on - play. The manual explains everything, but I didn't needed it at first. After playing some time for myself I wanted to adjust the units using the small squelch screws - the manual was of great help and adjusting everything a no-brainer.

I never had any problems with sound quality - neither in the rehearsal room (air shelter), nor in various stone-walled cellar clubs, nor on some open-air stages with lots of possible interference. I think if you take some time adjusting it correctly for your setup (like described above), you will have no problems.

I'm using a digitech 2112 after a cry-baby wah-wah. The digitech is directly plugged to the mixing console. My main guitar is parker fly deluxe with magnetic and piezzo pickups.

All in all I noticed no difference between using cables and using the guitar bug.

One thing to all of you using any wireless system: ALWAYS have a cable around as backup. You never now what can happen. I once played on a stage where a photographer was roaming around - he accidentaly unplugged the powerchord of my wireless system. I didn't realized what was wrong, so I quickly changed to the backup cable and after a break of 10 seconds I was back playing.

Back to the guitar bug: As everybody else noticed, the spring isn't very powerfull and the bug tends to swing around. Therefore I taped velcro to all my guitars (you only need 5mm / 1/5? of velcro and that's not so bad) and to the guitar bug. Voila! No problems with swinging since then.

BUT there's another problem with the guitar bug - the battery cover goes of very easily. Almost everytime I unplug the bug, the cover goes off.

All in all the system is reliable if you do some adjustments (similar to the ones I did).

Didn't needed it.

Well I have to disagree with the others who had problems with their WMS40 - I had almost none. Only the guitar-bug could be built more robust.

I'm using the WMS40 together with a NADY wireless 201 (because of the two pickups systems of my parker guitar) and right now I'm thinkig of buying a second WMS40, because it's so much easier to handle than the NADY sender with it's wire. 'nough said!

If you're unsure of buying the WMS40, just try it out. Ask your local dealer if you could play a gig with it, or at least take your guitar along with you to the store and play some time with the system.

I can recommend it (from experience).

Very easy to use. Plug it in and go. Extremely portable. The receiver and bug all fit easily in a guitar case compartment.

Not very good. It has a little hiss that seems to come and go. It kicks in when a note is played and disappears after the note fades. I guess it's probably best described as a kind of distortion and not interference in the signal because it is only present when the note is played. I eventually sold my unit for a Sennheiser 1000 because of the poor sound quality.

I had it only a couple months but no problem. Batteries seem to last about 10 hours.

Didn't use it.

Not worth the loss of sound. I highly recommend a Sennheiser 1000 instead. It's a little more expensive but it's got digital clarity and improves the sound. Also has 4 channel diversity and 4 frequency
to choose from.

Not too bad. Spend a little time switching between a cable and the wireless, set the trims get the sounds exactly the same, and you're all set.

Somewhat noisy. Cuts out occasionally. But, I've never seen a perfect wireless system before. So, I put up with it for the mobility.

Has broken in the middle of a show 3 times out of 9 shows. This thing is built like garbage.

E-mailed about the breakage problem -- no response.
Called -- no response.

Stay far away from this product unless you are going to sit down and play while using it. It's way too fragile for any guitarist that has any kind of stage presence. Great concept, but executed poorly.

Great! got it two hours before a gig, opened the box, plugged it in and that was it, no setup time required at all.
plug and play at its finest.

Great sound quality, little distortion due to electrical interference, solved this buy sticking the reciever under the stage instead of next to my gear.
Im running an Epiphone studio les paul through the wirless into a danelectro metal distortion, then into a dunlop crybaby into my marshall avt150 combo.

No problems here. Lasted four bands (i let them use it just to show off) of pure metal heaviness. and you know how rough us types are with our stuff.
jack comes loose occasionally, but that was due to my not using the velcro strips supplied (doi!).

not needed to deal with them, cant see myself having to either.

Overall id recommend this to anyone whose looking for a wireless and is on a budget. Great for both craped stages where you really dont want to fall over the spaghetti that is a small stage setup or a large stage where your 20 foot cable jsut wont cut it.
NIce sound form it, no tweeking needed, no colouration of tone, huge range (about 400ft at my estimate) and great battery life (about 12 hours in this case)

I really liked the idea of the guitar bug, but that's as far as it goes.

The sound of my guitar through this was fine, if only it wasn't for this annoying hissing sound in the background.
No matter what I adjusted on the thing, it wouldn't go away; the "squelch" trimmer didn't even change anything.
Therefore, IMHO, absolutely useless for any kind of music.

If this thing sounded good, I wouldn't feel good gigging with it; it's all just cheap plastic..............

I'm lucky enough to have a music store, that lets me test things like this at home, with no obligations.
It's going back tomorrow.
And I'm going back to cables.....
However I may try to get some good sounds out of my German Zeck D.A.I.S.Y. wireless system,.... they're pretty good you know...

Just plug in and use. Very simple and straightforward. Didn't have to do any tuning.

I don't know if its my guitar setup, amp or what, but when I turn my volume dial to 9 or 10, I receive alot of feedback. This problem only exist if I'm standing near the amp or receiver.

I get the feedback when I play infront of my computer monitor too. Guess its the 19" cathode ray interference.

Other than that, I am impressed by the range and clarity. I can close my room's door, go to the basement, and play in the toilet, my mum who's in my room says the sound quality remains the same everywhere I go.

It can be very clear, but not very reliable, as stated.

Sometimes I can get lots of feedback. So far, I use it mostly in my room. I used it once to jam, and once on the gig.

On the jam, I got feedback easily because the room is small and I stand infront of my amp. So I have to move away, which then causes problem cause I cannot hear my playing clearly.

On the gig, I went out off the stage and played in the rain! The sound is very good! ...until the battery ran out halfway through my third solo (!!!).

Guess I'll have to be careful and change a new battery very time. But I brought my backup cable and will always bring along the cable for future gigs.

I think this is good enough a transmitter/receiver. Only complain is that the receiver is too damn big. The size is due to its multi-function and it can be use to receiver wireless mic or other products from AKG. I don't need that!

About the case that the GB don't stay in place, I took the advice here and bought a nice velcro for it. Now, it stays in place very well and don't give me any problem. The little piece of velcro on my guitar doesn't bother me as it camou nicely (both are black) and I don't notice it at all.

If it were stolen or lost, I will look for alternative. But I will not upgrade. Better to save up the money for a new guitar! =)

The bug is real easy to get a good sound out of it. Just adjust a couple of gain knobs one on the reciever and one on the bug and you're set to go. It moves alot though. Thats why I sent it back. It comes with a velcro piece, but if you're like me and you place a expensive axe, I'm not all for sticking things to my guitar. I can walk and it bounces. Its really annoying and that is the main reason I sent it back. If you play a strat style guitar with the angled inputs and no other kind I would say get it, it won't move. But if you play a les paul style or one with the input on the bottem I wouldn't get this wireless. I would recommend it to any guitar player who stands still or walks around. If you're in a band with alot of movement I would say not get it. Be Shure :)

I play a Mesa Single Rec. with a 4x12 cab. I have 3 pedals: Boss Flanger, Boss Stomp Box Tuner, and a Bad Horsie 2 Wah. I'm in the process or adding at least 3 more but that will be the limit for me, I'm not real effects oriented. I just want a Delay for solos, a Chorus for some clean sounds, and a reverb since my Mesa has NO reverb. The wireless doesn't change the sound at all. You have to play the the gains for about 2mins to get it just right. I turned the bug gain to about 8 or so then just turned the reciever up until it sounded good. No hiss, its harder to get feedback sometimes when you like using it, but its great sound wise.

I didn't keep mine for long I wasn't sure about the swinging around. I play new modern rock not metal, but I've been known on big stages to do some jumping and running around. I can walk normal and the unit bounces ALOT. I never used it in a gig it never broke. the input is just screwed on so I was worried about it breaking off or coming unscrewed. That was the ONLY reason I sent it back. But like i said before if you play ONLY guitars with angled inputs...go for it. It won't move.

Overall......Sound = YES. Physically = No. Thw is absolutely NO NO sound problems with it once you get it adjusted. But if you're in a band where you jump or move alot or run then I would suggest a pack. Samson had a bug design that didn't swing but you could only use it on one kind of guitar, you had to buy a angled or a striaght. These guys at AKG had the right idea, they just need some kind of locking thing on it once you get it placed. Then I would definately buy one.

Easy as can be, plug it in and adjust transmitter output to the equal that of a patch cord, with the reciever volume at about "7".

I play with a touring artist that uses a Nady system. This AKG "Bug" is a whole lot quieter. Very little hiss. Quite acceptable. I dare anyone to tell me if I'm using a cord or the wireless while they are blindfolded.

Xlnt sound quality. I am REALLY picky about tone and noise.

My main amp is a Reverend Hellhound 40/60.

The unit can move around. I am a blues player and do not thrash, so I have non issues with it. Th unit could be a little more solid, but in 50 or so gigs I have not had 1 problem.

Battery life is about 10-12 hours. Not bad at all.

No issues, no contact.

I have been a blues guitarist/vocalist for 30 years. I have been touring internationally for several years.

I play a Reverend Sligshot (2 P-90's), Andersen Hollow T Classic Tele, a '58 Les Paul reissue, a home built swamp ash "Swampcaster" Tele (neck Humbucker), a Gretsch Double Anniversary, a '59 Guild M-75 (like a hollow Les Paul)with DeArmond P-90 style pickups, a Gibson Tal Farlow reissue, a '53 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent, and a few more guitars.

My main amps are a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 1-12 (with extra 1-12 cab),'65 Super Reverb, and a '65 Vibrolux.

I would buy the Guitar Bug again if stolen.

I LOVE not having cords on the floor. I use no stomp boxes. This gives me a clean, great sounding setup.

This is a well designed unit with great sound quality and range.