Sometimes your instrument cable can leave you feeling tied down; maybe it’s a tight stage, maybe your ear is in a direct line of a crash cymbal or, well, maybe your lead singer’s personal hygiene just isn’t up to snuff.
Whatever the case may be, a wireless unit can come in handy.
Freedom One is the latest wireless unit/tuner pedal combo from Intellitouch. Unlike most wireless receivers that clutter up your stage rig, the Freedom One’s receiver is tucked nicely into a tuner pedal. The tuner can be used simultaneously with the wireless, or it can be used as a standalone pedal tuner, the same way you’d use any others.
I had no problems getting started. All you need to do is pop in the supplied batteries (a 9-volt for the receiver and a AAA for the transmitter), power both units on and you’re ready to go. The manual suggests using the wireless within a 30-foot range and away from any Internet wireless hotspots.
There is a very useful feature called Soundcheck Mode, which when activated, makes the pedal light up green. During that time, you can walk around and test the limits of your pedal. It will flash red when you are out of the wireless’ reach.
The product claims the batteries will last 10 hours. After 10 hours of use, I tested the batteries and the 9-volt in the receiver was nearly dead, but the AAA battery still rated at 66 percent life left.
Note that you can run the receiver/tuner off a standard 9-volt power supply if you want to conserve battery life. So unless your band is ripping Phish covers and encoring with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," you can easily get one gig, maybe two out of the wireless. Hey, if you’re like me, sometimes you need to know exactly how far past E the arrow in the car can go!
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If this is your first gamble in the wireless world, the Freedom One is my prime suggestion. The wide 10hz-20khz frequency range means it can handle anything you throw at it including bass and hey, if you learn wireless isn’t for you, you still get a nifty pedal tuner out of deal.
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
