May 2025
A Wireless Odyssey
The other day I saw a guitar that I thought was really boss and I quite fancied getting one. It would have cost me about £190 to go for it. I didn’t click on it (I almost did), but stepping back from making that decision I thought (sensibly) to myself that “hold on, I’ve got two semi acoustics and an electric and why not us them to improve rather than spending good money on something I didn’t really need (however good it looked).”
To use the guitar I was looking at (a Sonicake electric travel guitar) I’d have needed to wear headphones or connect to an amplifier. It made me think. I mean I always just strum either the Takemine or the Tanglewood unamplified—and I never play the electric at all. I’ve a 15W Marshall unused (and an old Gorilla 80, which I’m not entirely sure works). It made me think I should use it again. But tethering myself to the amp (or to the Gorilla) didn’t seem attractive. And so it is that I’ve bought a wireless system to make it a bit easier to strum away without trailing cables around.
I’ve gone for a relatively cheap system (less than a third of the price of the Sonicake guitar): Joyo JW-06 . I very easily paired the transmitter and receiver and got strumming away with the Takamine and the Marshall 15. The low battery light was showing on the fiddly Tanglewood controls which means I’ll have to undertake the even more fiddly change of the battery soon (the battery goes in through the sound hole and fits in a wee bag stuck to the inside of the body; I’ve only put in a battery once… and then never connected the thing to an amp anyway!).
It was good to play through an amp again, which I haven’t done for many many years (other than those periodic times I have played on other people’s amps at Open Mics). I’ll have to try the Telecaster tomorrow, though I dare say that will require new strings (I think I have some, but I may miss recall that). Hope the next door neighbour isn’t too upset by the new arrangement. Also hope it helps me improve on the guitar too. So while it’s not been a hello to Sonicake, it is a hello to Joyo. Hi.
To use the guitar I was looking at (a Sonicake electric travel guitar) I’d have needed to wear headphones or connect to an amplifier. It made me think. I mean I always just strum either the Takemine or the Tanglewood unamplified—and I never play the electric at all. I’ve a 15W Marshall unused (and an old Gorilla 80, which I’m not entirely sure works). It made me think I should use it again. But tethering myself to the amp (or to the Gorilla) didn’t seem attractive. And so it is that I’ve bought a wireless system to make it a bit easier to strum away without trailing cables around.
I’ve gone for a relatively cheap system (less than a third of the price of the Sonicake guitar): Joyo JW-06 . I very easily paired the transmitter and receiver and got strumming away with the Takamine and the Marshall 15. The low battery light was showing on the fiddly Tanglewood controls which means I’ll have to undertake the even more fiddly change of the battery soon (the battery goes in through the sound hole and fits in a wee bag stuck to the inside of the body; I’ve only put in a battery once… and then never connected the thing to an amp anyway!).
It was good to play through an amp again, which I haven’t done for many many years (other than those periodic times I have played on other people’s amps at Open Mics). I’ll have to try the Telecaster tomorrow, though I dare say that will require new strings (I think I have some, but I may miss recall that). Hope the next door neighbour isn’t too upset by the new arrangement. Also hope it helps me improve on the guitar too. So while it’s not been a hello to Sonicake, it is a hello to Joyo. Hi.
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