How Much Does A Wireless Guitar System Weigh? (Transmitter)

Trying to cut the cable but you don’t want to attach a mini dumbbell to your guitar strap? Many of us musicians make a choice to go wireless to dance, jump in the crowd, headbang, better stage presence, and really just to feel like you are finally free.

But how much extra weight are you willing to carry every show? Does this extra weight really make a difference performing? Is the transmitter heavy enough to fractionally tilt your guitar sideways to affect your playing? The good news is, the wireless unit that you either attach to your guitar strap or belt are generally very light. But for some people, during a 1-4 hour gig, every quarter of a pound starts to count. In my opinion, it’s even more important to get a quality wireless system.

So how much does a wireless guitar unit weigh? Not all wireless guitar transmitters are equal. They typically range from 0.16-1.1 lbs. We put together a list of each wireless transmitter and their weight.

List of Wireless Guitar Transmitters Weight

In-Ear Monitor Receiver Weight

With batteries included, In-ear monitor receivers typically weigh anywhere from 0.23-0.44 lbs or 3.68-7.04 Ounces

• Shure P3RA – 0.43 lbs                                                         check reviews 
• Shure P3R – 0.25 lbs                                                             check Product
• Sennheiser ew IEM G4 –  0.3 lbs                                     check Product
• Shure PSM 300 – 0.43 lbs                                                      check reviews
• Audio-Technica M2R- L Band- 0.26 lbs                             check Product
• Audio-Technica M3R- L Band – 0.33 lbs                            check Product
• Galaxy Audio AS-900 – 0.23 lbs                                           check reviews
• Galaxy Audio AS-1100 – 0.24 lbs                                         check Product
• Galaxy Audio AS-1400 – 0.35 lbs                                         check Product
• Galaxy Audio AS-1800 – 0.35 lbs                                         check Product
• Shure P9RA G6 – 0.44 lbs                                                      check Product
• Shure P9RA G7 – 0.44 lbs                                                      check Product
• Audio2000’s AWM6304U- tba                                              check reviews  

Does a Wireless Guitar Transmitters Weight Coincide with Durability.

In a broad spectrum, a heavier wireless guitar transmitter can be more durable than a lighter unit. Heavier transmitters are typically made with more durable materials such as metal, while lighter transmitters are typically made with ABS plastic. Yet, there are a few metal wireless transmitters that are almost as light as some plastic units.

Wireless systems made of metal are much more “roadworthy” than a plastic unit. Your music equipment is consistently being tossed around when you are touring from state to state. Whether it is from the van/bus, back into the van/bus, or being thrown around dancing on stage.

Plastic wireless transmitters typically fall on the cheaper side. If you are looking for a wireless on a budget, check out this link right here. But For metal heads, I highly recommend you not to jump from the stage to the pit with a plastic wireless unit. Use a metal transmitter for your metal shows. (;

Is There A Difference In Signal Strength Between Metal or Plastic Wireless Units?

Whether you are using a metal or plastic wireless transmitter, it has little to nothing to do with signal strength or signal dropouts.
Signal Strength is determined by multiple factors based on the electronics within the metal or plastic casing of your transmitter.

The outer casing of the wireless transmitter is to protect the electronics within the unit. For more Information on reliable guitar wireless systems for signal strength click here

List of Guitar Wireless Transmitters made of Plastic Casing.

• Shure BLX- series                                        
• Shure SLX- series
• Shure ULX- series
• Shure PGXD- series
• Line 6 -G10
• Line 6 -G30

List of Guitar Wireless Transmitters made of Metal Casing.

• Shure GLXD- series
• Shure QLXD- series
• Line 6 – G50
• Line 6 -G55
• Line 6 -G70
• Line 6 -G90

Do You Need A Lighter Wireless Body Pack Unit?

In my honest opinion, no you do not need a lighter wireless transmitter. As a matter of fact, I recommend a transmitter made of metal for extra durability as they tend to be on the heavier side. Clearly, your instrument is the vast majority of the weight you carry. I have used some of the lightest and heaviest wireless transmitters. Either way, after the 2nd hour, I’m dying to take my heavy bass off.

I felt a very minor difference between using the lightest wireless guitar transmitter in comparison to the heaviest unit that I have used. If carrying an extra half pound of weight is all that I need to do (along with a few extra bucks) to have a more durable and longer lasting wireless system, than I will strongly prefer to take the metal unit.

Do Heavier Wireless Guitar Transmitters Cause An Unequal Balance of Weight On Your Instrument?

In short, yes to a minimal degree.

My very first wireless transmitter was a line 6 G50. It weighed 1.1 lbs which is one of the heaviest transmitters on the market. It slightly increased the weight of my bass on the right side causing a fractional tilt. The extra pound leaning towards the right side of my bass was annoying for about 1 to 2 shows. By the 3rd show, I was ultimately used to it like nothing was there at all.

My Line 6 G50 ended up dying by sweat damage but that’s a different story. Article on that story, and how to protect your wireless transmitter from sweat damage Here

Is A Heavier Wireless Guitar Transmitter More Likely To Falling Off The Strap?

A heavier transmitter has a slightly lower risk of flying off of your strap from my experience. But really, all guitar transmitters are very vulnerable to sliding off of your strap. One cool spin move, your transmitter is gone. To keep this from happening, I strongly recommend the Neotech Wireless Pouch.

Ways I Tried Keeping My Wireless Transmitter From Falling Off Before I Knew About The Neotech Wireless Pouch

Liquid Nails
I have used a few tricks myself from stopping this from happening. One of the earliest tricks I did, when I was very new to the wireless world, was using a glue called liquid nails. Liquid nails is an abnormally strong glue that once it is thoroughly dry, it is as strong as cement.

I actually used liquid nails to glue back my old bass neck. Long dumb story short, one of my old friends leaned my old bass to the side of a window, it fell and broke the neck of my bass. Liquid nails worked flawlessly for my instruments neck, but not so flawless for gluing my old wireless to the strap.

Well, the wireless never fell off but…that was one of the problems. It was nearly impossible to take my wireless transmitter off of the strap for any adjustments when I used liquid nails to attach it. I had to cut the instrument strap in multiple areas just to scrub off the remaining glue of my old wireless. This process took about 2 hours.

If you ever need to “permanently” glue anything together, than I highly recommend liquid nails. Just don’t make the same mistake i did and glue your transmitter to your strap.

Electric Tape
I have also used electric tape. There are a few issues I had with taping my wireless to the strap. One of the problems I encountered, which is why I decided to use glue my first time around, the tape had limited room without covering either my antenna or the other switches you will need to access on your transmitter. Most of this depends on the wireless transmitter you use, but I have used tape for three different wireless units. However, all of them had roughly the same results.

Whenever the tape would slightly cover the antenna area, it will negatively affect the tonality and signal strength of your instrument. Perodoxily when the tape wraps around the area away from the antenna on the transmitter, then some of the switches that I need will be covered up. Examples would be the on-off switch or the area to change the channel.

My Recommendation To Protecting Your Wireless From Ever Falling Off Again

My recommendation for protecting your wireless from ever falling off your strap is a pouch called the Neotech Wireless Pouch You can check out their reviews Here. Basically, it is a pouch that comes in 2 sizes that you attach to your guitar strap.

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