Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar Bass system

Gear Review- Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar/Bass system

May 30th, 2007

Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar Bass system I would like to thank Michael Menege for submitting this great review. You can check him out at http://www.funkwire.com. If you would like to submit a gear review to be displayed on this site you can Contact Me Here

Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar/Bass system

Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar/Bass system Pros:

Well-designed

Affordable

Comes with molded carrying case

Clean sound

Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar/Bass system Cons:

Eats up 9 volt batteries quicker than advertised

Comes with cheap cord that doesn’t hold up very long

General Samson Stage 5 Wireless Guitar/Bass system Comments:

I needed a wireless because some of the gigs we play require us to supply our own production. We don't use a soundman, I run the mix from the stage. I needed a wireless that would let me wander around and check the sound levels around the room.

There were less expensive units than the Samson, but I stayed away from those, having had experiences in the past where trying to save some money ended up costing me more!

I felt good going with Samson, I have been using the Samson ZOOM 505II effects unit for over five years now, and they have a good reputation for their wireless gear. A big attraction for the Stage 5 is that it comes with a protective carrying case. It's made of high-impact plastic. The case is filled with foam that has cut-outs for the components to fit in snugly without moving around. For anybody who has tried to pack a wireless unit carefully in whatever case or bag is available, this is a feature that is really nice!

The Stage 5 doesn't color the tones of my guitar at all. I have played 4 different guitars through it, from jazz boxes to Strat-style. My ears couldn't discern a difference between going direct and going wireless.

The factory settings are pretty hot, on the verge of overloading. I play through a tube amp, so it sounded pretty cool, but it's not desirable for all applications, I guess. You can either adjust the gain on the wireless pack itself, or there is an attenuator on the front of the receiver. I turned the gain down to match the input I would have plugging directly into the amp.

The on/off switch is located under the battery cover. There is an additional 'Audio On' switch easily accessible on the top of the transmitter. I like this feature, because it noiselessly shuts off the signal, allowing me to switch guitars without unwanted noises.

The cord that goes from the transmitter is detachable, it plugs into the pack with a mini-plug. I thought this was a good feature, since many wireless cords tend to fray at that point. After a few weeks, however, the mini plug end started shorting out anyway. The cord that comes with the unit is kind of cheap. I picked up a better quality cord at Radio Shack (mono mini-plug to mono phone plug) and I haven’t had any further problems.

Samson claims 10 hours of battery life, my experience is that the battery starts to go after 4-5 hours or so (which isn't that bad, really). I can do one night (three 1-hour sets) on a nine-volt battery. I just figure I’ll use a battery every night and stock up accordingly.

And yes, I have accidentally dropped it on stage. It came unplugged from my guitar, the battery popped out, and it started making a horrible noise. This was in the middle of a song. I hit the standby switch on my amp, unplugged the unit, and used a spare cord to plug directly into the amp until the end of the set. After we went on break, I put the battery back in the unit, plugged everything back in, and it worked like a charm. This was over two months ago, and the unit is still working fine.

For $100, a great value. I am very pleased with the Stage 5.