GEAR REVIEW
I
ntroduced in the late 1970s, early
generations of wireless systems could
be buggy, fragile, and expensive.
Worse, they occasionally picked up local
radios stations or nearby CB radios during
your best guitar solos. Oh, how the times
have changed. The Audio-Technica System
10 Stompbox (ATW-T1501) sports digital
circuitry and a 2.4 GHz digital frequency
range for accuracy and high-fidelity. Let’s
find out more.
The System 10 is based on one simple
premise: you plug the foot pedal section
into your amp and the transmitter into
your guitar input. And it works. There is
no fussing around with finding the right
frequency or making sure the transmitter
(AT-T1001) and receiver (ATW-R1500)
achieve a proper “handshake,” which is
parlance for how they begin to communicate.
This is a great relief for the musician who
wants a sturdy wireless system that’s ready
to go at a moment’s notice.
The basic parts of the Stompbox are a
transmitter that clips onto a guitar strap and
a floor-based receiver unit. The transmitter
runs on two AA batteries, and its send and
receive antennae are all but invisible to the
user; but they’re definitely in there hard
at work. Audio-Technica uses a “diversity”
system for clear communications—Frequency
(signal sent on two frequencies to avoid
interference); Time (sent in multiple time
slots); and Space, using two send and
two receive antennae. This may sound
complicated but the skinny is that the
System 10 is sending out your guitar signal
in many different ways to ensure that it’s
received and sounds great on the other end.
That other end, by the way, is a simple
stompbox-sized unit that you can put on the
floor or in a pedalboard. It runs a standard
9v-DC power supply, so make sure to have
juice available for the unit. The pedal has
a single footswitch and a digital readout to
show the channel number (1-8) signifying
the digital pairing between devices. The
Audio-Technica folks have preset this at the
MAY / JUNE
DIGITAL EDITION
GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
69