“Plenty of great functionality to make your life easier and assuage any fears of signal or battery loss”: Boss WL-50 review

We put Boss’ pedalboard-friendly wireless guitar system to the test, seeing how it holds up to some stiff competition

A Boss WL-50 wireless system on a pedalboard
(Image: © Future/Matt McCracken)

Guitar World Verdict

Packed full of useful features and providing top-tier sound, the Boss WL-50 is a perfect option for pedalboard users who want to break free from the shackles of their guitar cables.

Pros

  • +

    Excellent sound quality

  • +

    Transmitter charges in the receiver

  • +

    Useful DC output

  • +

    Long-lasting battery life

Cons

  • -

    Cable tone doesn’t do much

  • -

    Doesn’t work with active pickups

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Guitar wireless systems are freeing, but they also come with a sense of anxiety. Will I pick up interference on stage? Is my transmitter going to die minutes before I go on stage or even worse, mid-way through the set? The truth is over shorter distances 2.4GHz wireless systems are incredibly reliable and the chances of you picking up the venue WiFi over those distances are highly unlikely.

If you’re thinking about freeing yourself from the grasp of your guitar cable, then you’ll have considered getting yourself a wireless system. There’s a lot of choice on offer nowadays and many systems are well within the grasp of the average guitar player, with one such reasonably priced option being today’s subject, the Boss WL-50.

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Matt McCracken
Junior Deals Writer

Matt is a Junior Deals Writer here at Guitar World. He regularly tests and reviews music gear with a focus on guitars, amps, pedals, modelers, and pretty much anything else guitar-related. Matt worked in music retail for 5 years at Dawsons Music and Northwest Guitars and has written for various music sites including MusicRadar, Guitar Player, Guitar.com, Ultimate Guitar, and Thomann’s t.blog. A regularly gigging guitarist with over 20 years of experience playing live and writing and recording in bands, he's performed everything from jazz to djent, gigging all over the country in more dingy venues than you can shake a drop-tuned guitar at.