Best guitar wireless systems 2023: set your playing free, from the rehearsal room to the stage (2023)

If you’ve ever felt the desire to be free of the shackles of traditional cables, then it’s time you invested in one of the best guitar wireless systems. Technology has come a long way and there are now a wide variety of wireless systems perfectly suited to different players’ needs.

A wireless system enables you to roam the stage, rehearsal room or even just your bedroom without the need for a cable between your guitar and amp. This means you’re not getting all tangled up if you move around a lot whilst playing – particularly handy if you’re playing with other people on stage.

Gone are the days of having to bust out huge manuals to get your kit working, either – many of the best wireless guitar systems are easy to use and allow for fuss-free operation. There are all sorts of different models out there, all with different wireless ranges, estimated battery life, number of channels and more. We’ve put together a list of what we reckon are the best wireless systems available today and included some buying advice below to help you find what’s right for you.

Best guitar wireless system: Our top picks

There are some great options around at the moment, but the best wireless guitar system for us is the Line 6 Relay G10S (opens in new tab). It’s easy to use, offers up to a whopping 40m range, delivers crystal clear guitar tone, and will automatically select the strongest frequency to operate on depending on where you are.

The Shure GLXD16 (opens in new tab) is a great choice too, especially for more pro-level players. It’s super reliable, gives a 20-30m wireless range, offers automatic channel selection and even has a built in tuner making it one of the best options for pedalboard users.

Best guitar wireless systems: Product guide

Designed for use with guitar or bass, the Relay G10S can be housed on a pedalboard or beside your guitar amp as a standalone unit. It uses a transmitter with a 1/4-inch connector that attaches to your guitar’s output, much as a Wi-Fi dongle would for a laptop or TV.

With a full frequency response, a wide dynamic range to ensure your signal does not get compressed en route to your amplifier, 24-bit lossless digital audio quality, and Line 6’s Cable Tone tech to emulate the capacitance of a regular guitar cable, the G10S is an excellent system for the price, and offers fuss-free setup.

This system ships with Shure’s first pedalboard receiver, the GLX-D6, the GLX-D1 transmitter pack, and the WA305 Premium 1/4-inch to TA4F guitar cable that has a locking thread for secure connections between the transmitter and your guitar. We have to say, everything feels secure here and super-tough.

The GLX-D6 has a metal enclosure and is built to be positioned where it may get stepped on, and its bright LED tuner (strobe and needle) is a huge bonus. The unit features Shure’s LINKFREQ Automatic Frequency Management, so it will always find you a solid signal. If there’s interference, the unit will simply switch to another so that you can keep on playing.

As you might demand of a Boss unit, the WL-50 has a receiver that’s at home on your pedalboard, offering a convenient but excellent sound-quality performance. In our experience, the WL-50 offers ultra-low latency, excellent dynamics, full frequency response and a very respectable 65-foot range - not to mention it also has two onboard cable simulations to mimic the capacitance of a cable - It's exactly what we are looking for in a wireless system.

You’ll get up to 12 hours of playing time from a single charge, while the receiver also has a DC output for powering external pedals. The unit is compatible with most guitars or basses with passive pickups.

As far as plug in and play options go, you’re hard pressed to look past the NUX B5RC. A relatively new option on the scene, the B5RC has been designed with usability in mind and can be played right out of the box thanks to its use of automatic frequency matching. It’s also compatible with all types of electric guitars, acoustic-electric guitars, bass guitars and ukuleles, no matter with active or passive, piezo or magnetic pickups, making it a great option for people who need to use it on a few different instruments.

With 15 hours play-time and the inclusion of a portable charge station that can fully charge the unit three times, it’s well suited to life on the road. Factor in it’s high, zero-latency performance and you have a pro quality unit at an amateur-friendly price.

Don’t be fooled – for the money and the unassuming dongle construction, XVive’s U2 has a very respectable range, a full frequency response and transfers excellent- quality audio. With only 6ms of latency, there is really little to complain about here - hence why it's also one of our picks for the best cheap wireless guitar systems.

Some might find the transmitter/receiver designs a little primitive, but for an easily configurable wireless system offering this performance and change from 150 bucks, we can live with that.

It comes in a variety of finishes, too, including gold. The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries offer up to five hours of playing time.

A smarter take on the dongle transmitter/receiver setup, Sennheiser’s XSW-D set is another wireless system that offers fuss-free use and high performance. In our test, we found the latency to be super-low - less than 4ms - meaning you play without noticing a delay. The XSW-D also boasts a maximum range of 250 feet in optimal conditions, which is more than most of us would need.

What if the conditions are sub-optimal? Well, the transmitter and receiver will flash green and red when the signal gets weak. Charge the system via the attached USB-equipped charger or any USB port.

The AirLine 88x is an upgrade on its previous iteration and offers a low-latency and high-range wireless solution.

The transmitter is powered by AA batteries and offers up to 12 hours of playing time, while the receiver is a rack-mountable standalone unit, with 100 channels across a 25MHz bandwidth (a big improvement on the previous version!).

The receiver has options for a 1/4-inch output or balanced XLR (hello, bassists, this can be DI’d to the PA), and there's an adjustable level on the receiver for variable gain control. Samson says its Tone Key tech will shut out interference and the True Diversity design will prevent signal dropout.

If you were looking to explore the wireless option and didn’t want to over invest, you could do a lot worse than the Ammoon 5.8 GHz system. Firstly, we found that this wireless system is simple to use and set up, and can be used straight out of the box. Secondly, operating on a 5.8GHz band means it is far less likely to suffer interference from devices operating on 2.5GHz like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth or other household items, so this system gets a tick for that as well. But it’s the price that sets it apart from a lot of others on this list.

It’s easily one of the most reliable and efficient products out there under the $100 mark, and even gives some of the more expensive ones a run for their money too. Not quite zero latency, but at 5.6ms this is probably something most people wouldn’t notice anyway. And its 100-foot range is nothing to be sniffed at, making it suitable for even larger-sized stages.

It does, however, only have five hours working battery life. While that’s enough for most gigs or sessions, it might mean charging the device more often than you’d like.

AKG is a renowned name in the world of microphones, so you’re in safe hands here. As you might expect, they’re precious about audio, so the WMS40 helps preserve your guitar’s inherent tone and delivers a crystal clear sound. It also comes in at a great price, making this one of the best budget options.

Another great thing about this system is how easy it is to set up and use. It offers a plug and play style operation – basically all you have to do is plug the jack cable into your guitar, attach it to the transmitter – switch it all on and it will find the receiver without having to dial anything in. It really is one of the most fuss-free wireless guitar systems out there and it offers a massive 30 hours battery life. Whilst it’s not the most premium system, it does the job well, plus its compact size makes it even easier when transporting to and from gigs.

While systems such as XVive’s U2 and Boss’s WL-50 are a great entry point for those looking for a wireless system, the DKW3GT has them beat on price, and offers enough range to make it a credible proposition.

The system uses a WGT transmitter that has a locking mini-jack to secure your connection between the instrument and bodypack, while the battery-powered bodypack has an LED that illuminates to let you know if it’s running low. The transmitter has an input-level adjuster, and Nady promises zero pop when switching it on and off.

Best guitar wireless systems: Buying advice

What to look for in the best guitar wireless systems

When looking to invest in one of the best guitar wireless systems, there's one main thing you should consider before buying. Most of today’s best wireless guitar systems are very easy to use with many offering a 'plug in and play' experience, so you won’t need a background in audio-engineering to set yourself up - but you will need to ask yourself a few questions before taking the plunge.

What is a wireless guitar system and how does it work?

A wireless guitar system is usually made up of two parts – a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter normally consists of a jack plug leading into a small pack via a cable that then wirelessly transmits your guitar’s signal to the receiver. In some cases the transmitter actually has a jack plug built in so this simply plugs into your guitar. The receiver then – yep, you guessed it – receives the signal and sends it on to your amp or pedal via a regular guitar cable.

If your receiver is sat on top of your amp then you’ll only need a really short cable to patch into the front of it. You can mount the receiver onto your pedalboard too – this gives you the freedom to move around as much as you want, but remember, you’ll still need cable running from your pedalboard to your amp.

The receiver is normally powered by mains supply – some of the more pedalboard friendly models accept your typical 9V pedal power supply which makes things easier. The receiver is often powered by batteries though many of them now feature a built-in battery, so you just have to make sure you’ve charged it up before use, and check out the estimated battery life offered by various models.

Wireless range

Different wireless systems offer different features and wireless ranges. A big consideration should be how far you need it to reach. If you’re playing big stages, or you like to wander around the venue, then look for something that covers a good distance. Having a big wireless range is also really handy during a soundcheck as it lets you roam around the empty venue so that you can hear how you and your band sound in different parts of the room whilst you play. If you’re only playing at home, then don’t worry about range too much, as you’ll probably only need a few metres.

Channels

If you’re playing big or medium sized shows, then you’ll likely want something that’s of a premium quality for reliability. It’s also worth looking for something that offers multiple channel options – if you’re on a bill with another band using wireless equipment, you might get interference if you’re all on the same channel. Having the ability to switch your system to another channel or frequency range should get rid of this.

Quality

Quality plays a part too of course. Generally, the more you pay, the higher the quality. Whilst cheaper stuff might work and do everything that you need it to, some of the more expensive models will likely help retain your guitar’s inherent tone. A better quality transmitter is going to keep the strength of your high and low frequencies so that you still get a really balanced sound and broad frequency range; a must if you’re precious about your tone.

How much should I spend on a guitar wireless system?

This path of wireless system self-discovery starts with probably the most important question - where will you be using it? We all love buying the coolest, best, most expensive version of the product we want, but is there much point when you'll only be using it in your bedroom whilst practicing your stage moves?

Honestly, the answer is no. If you're using a wireless system for anything other than big shows, any of the cheaper or mid-range systems will suffice. The sub-$250 price bracket is packed full of killer choices like the Line 6 Relay G10S, Boss WL50 and NUX B-5RC, all of which would be plenty good enough for any practice session, jam or club show.

Obviously, if you've got more to spend and want the very best, any of the more expensive $250+ options will do you right - with increased durability, larger range and arguably a better tone - although the returns in tonal improvement will be very much diminishing.

How do wireless guitar systems work?

A wireless system comprises two parts: the transmitter and the receiver. The transmitter connects to your guitar via its 1/4-inch output jack, and can often take the form of a dongle, or a pack that can be attached to your belt or guitar strap. The transmitter sends your signal to the receiver, which can be rack-mounted, sit on top of your amp desktop-style, or sit on your pedalboard, and this has an output that is then sent via cable to your amp’s input.

One thing to be aware of, however, is that many wireless systems are not compatible with guitars with active pickups because of how the TRS jack output is configured. Always check your guitar and with the manufacturer before you get started. If you find yourself with such an issue, don’t go reversing your jack output just yet – a more simple fix might be to use a 1/4-inch adaptor or a 1/4-inch to 1/4-inch mono patch cable.

As for power, most receivers will more than likely take DC power, while the transmitters will be powered by batteries. A good guitar wireless system should offer many hours of playing time, so there should be no worries about running out of juice.

Aside from good battery life, features to look out for include high-range, multi-channel functions, wide frequency response and dynamic range, and low latency. As with most gear, you get what you pay for but you needn’t spend much for high-performance wireless audio.

Find out more about how we make our recommendations, how we test each of the products in our buyer's guides and our review policy.

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