Has anyone used Line-6 wireless in theatre?

Lyle Williams

Well-Known Member
Hi,

I've got a junior school musical to deal with. The kids can't really project well. I've been asked to wireless mic them.

I have half a dozen channels of Sennheiser EW100. This stuff I'm confident with.

I also have four channels of Line-6 wireless X-DV 55/75 running in RF1 mode.

Does anyone out there have any experience with Line-6 wireless? It runs fine but will this continue to be the case once the audience show up with their phones?

Thanks,

Lyle
 
The Line 6 folks say your bigger problem will be 2.4gHz access points than phones but I've not used them.

I'm not sure who the official Line 6 person is these days but @donboomer worked for them prior to his current spot at RF Venue. Perhaps he can comment.
 
I was just reading through the ETC Information Guide for ArcSystem Wireless and it calls out Line-6 Microphones specifically. This is what they say about RF1 and RF2:

RF1 Mode - The transmitter sends encoded audio on 4 separate carrier frequencies spread out over the spectrum. This allows the signal to be received even when interference from other systems is present on some of these frequencies. When operating 12 transmitters in this mode, pretty much all of the spectrum is utilized. All other systems operating in the 2.4GHz spectrum will suffer including WLAN.

RF2 Mode - The transmitter sends encoded audio on 2 separate carrier frequencies spread out over the spectrum. RF2 mode was introduced to allow WLAN to be used at the same time as the microphones.


To me that makes it sound that the issue will not be with the microphones but with other 2.4GHz devices operating in the area.
 
Thanks Tim. By phones I meant "portable things that will try and use wifi and aren't present during rehearsals" :)

@Harrison Hohnholt found the factory word... I was running on memory that the mics would interfere with APs (and presumably portable devices as well) rather than the other way around.

Another "IIRC" moment: Line 6 uses SSFH - spread spectrum frequency hopping and that's part of the reason it's unfriendly to Wifi stuff...
 
Hi, I have both sennheiser analogue & digital and line 6 digital all running in the same venue and they play together well. I try to stay clear of the 2.4ghz WiFi range to avoid issues. I worked one show where I was only contracted to do lighting and someone else contracted to do sound. They have a rack with 12 digital wireless kit. I don’t recall the name...A Korean Brand I believe. But they were having interference in the auditorium with a full house. I pulled out my phone and saw several WiFi hot spots. They had to make an announcement asking everyone to turn off their phones or out them in airplane mode. I watched on my phone as they went off. They even called out 1 for still being on but it finally went off as well. So the only WiFi in the auditorium was the schools and that resolved the interface.

when I’m looking at digital wireless mic systems I check to see if they can use other than 2.4 ghz, either 5.6ghz or sennheiser digital can use 900mhz which I think works best.
 
My experience is that anything on the WiFi band is asking for problems which are largely or seemingly unpredictable. We only use Shure SLXD, QLXD, ULXD and Axient. Rarely have issues.
 
I have eight Line 6 receivers that I operate in RF1 mode with a variety of receivers in the 490-608 range. Up to 26 devices on shows in the past. I have never had an issue with the Line 6 when I had pretty good line of sight to the actors. My rack has the Line 6 Antenna distro. I typically keep my receivers on stage in the wings and though I have remote paddles I often don"t need to use them.
I did have a situation when a wedding DJ was counting on using his phone to download his songs and his phone kept dropping connection. Turned out my Line 6 was trashing his connection. Once we figured that out we made sure to keep a distance and the Line 6 mic off when not used.
 
Hi,

I've got a junior school musical to deal with. The kids can't really project well. I've been asked to wireless mic them.

I have half a dozen channels of Sennheiser EW100. This stuff I'm confident with.

I also have four channels of Line-6 wireless X-DV 55/75 running in RF1 mode.

Does anyone out there have any experience with Line-6 wireless? It runs fine but will this continue to be the case once the audience show up with their phones?

Thanks,

Lyle
Or perhaps the director and vocal coach can start to teach them to project? Seems like that’s their job- speaking as a director/ actor!
 
Or perhaps the director and vocal coach can start to teach them to project? Seems like that’s their job- speaking as a director/ actor!
What, have teachers teach a technique they themselves did not learn?

"Don't worry, the mic will pic that up" has been around for 30 years. It is sad that 2 full generations of actors never learned this aspect of the craft.
 
It's been lockdown year. Not so much time for rehearsals.

And the educational outcome teachers are looking for isn't "projecting". :)

I'm painfully aware of the "quality of output to expected quality of input" ratio... 🤬 I think there are various forms of alchemy and/or Voodoo rituals involved in making things work, and significant delusional thinking in creating the expectation.

Part of how I kept my youth theater company gig was having every kid heard at the important times, whether or not it was the "artiste" thing to do. Directors were happy, the company president was happy, the kids had a good time making good theater, and the parents felt their time and money were well spent. Getting there was not half the fun. After 6 months off, I'd do it again.
 

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