Line6 G70 -Should I...

[PerS]

Hi
I am planning of buying a Relay G70 – The spec fits my needs ea multiple inputs, build in tuner, multiple transmitters and so on. Just a good add on to my Helix LT. Can and my Variax 500 (line not digital), my LP and my Strat. I can get rid of my Korg Black Pitch (which  is excellent) and some other stuff.
But, when looking at some posts there is a long history of problems. 
• Dropouts
• Significant difference to g50 in quality
• Battery problem causing dropouts
• RF1 vs RF2 (looks like a difference from the G50)
• … and so on
So, it’s natural that negative comments popping up. But is this a hit or should I back off.
I know f 2.4G band, overlapping channels and how that can interfere with WIFI, crowded channels in cities, microwaves and other stuff. But how does this unit handle this and does it mean its unusable?
Let me know before spending $200. Have been a happy owner of Line6 gear since POD 1.0, want to stay that way… Highlight me please.

 

Thanks //Per

[fukuri]

See my post

I would stay away

The fact that not a single person has jumped in to defend it tells you all you need to know

I'm a big fan of the G30 and I've done a side by side comparison with the G70 and it has more range and more reliability than the G70 which is expensive but with a lot of issues

I really regret buying mine (and I have a line 6 pa,Helix etc)

Most of the time the stuff is excellent. This is a turkey. They should withdraw it. It's not fit for purpose

[PerS]

Hi fukuri

 

Sorry post my reply in your post... :-). Same answer but in the right place...

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I read your post. And many others. That was what made me doubtful. Why does it work so badly for some but not for others? Use to be immune to negative posts, they are always there. Instead, try to read between the lines and learn. Have lived through the forum comments with my POD Pro HD, which some thought was very unusable, which I loved and could get to do everything I wanted ... There I can only say that it is patience and an interest to learn, even if there is a learning curve.

This time it's a bit more serious, not so much you can change yourself more than knowing its the 2.4 band and is open and that its houses a lot of other equipment. Crazy to find the best channels. We did a channel search on WiFi / 2.4G at a customer, w found 510 other disturbing wireless bases in the neighborhood. Many pretty strong. Should be impossible to compete in that spectrum. We shift the customer to 5.0-band. It was in the middle of town. I myself have about 10 access points around me and live outside the town... Had expected that type of responses, that its sensitive to other equipment, or you have to trim something or that the location should be in a certain way ... The closest I think I came to for an answer is that someone wrote that modulation changed from RF1 to RF2, ie from a band made for this type of devices to a band made for "home WiFi", bigg difference ... But certainly, motivated by finding a band allowed worldwide.

The difference between G30/50 and G70/75 looks like to be RF1 changed to RF2 and not configurable. My conclusion...

To sum up, I'll park this purchase at this time. Learned something new to look for when looking for a wireless system.

 

Again, thanks for your feedback fukari

 

//Per

[FarleyUK]

I've owned the G70 for about 2 years now I think - and the ONLY time I have ever had a drop-out in a gig is when I go for a walk outside the bar while playing a solo, and the walls are so thick they block the signal.

 

I have played over 100 gigs with it - hopefully that gives you some idea that it DOES work, and it works very very well.

I used to own a G30, and the G70 is MILES ahead of it - and it's very handy I can take an output from it into my talkbox directly as well.

 

(PS. I'm also using it with a Helix, and it works flawlessly)

[jbuhajla]

But, when looking at some posts there is a long history of problems....

 

That is the problem when doing research on forums. 75% or more of posts on forums are concerning something negative about a product. Take this particular forum for example. Line 6 has probably sold thousands of G70s, but you have a relative small number of users on here posting about their issues, which occupy about 75% of the posts, and about 1/5th of those are users who did not read the manual or do not understand something about the system. Those represent probably less than 2% of all G70 users. 

 

Line 6 has excellent customer service and will take care of you if you have any issues. 

[PerS]

Hi jbuhajla and FarleyUK

 

Thanks for commenting on my post and you are absolutely right… Have been a most happy owner of Line6 gear since first POD v1 and though a numerus of gear. Today a happy owner of a Variax 500 (since 2014…) that is still going strong and a Helix LT owner since about a month back. Really love the gear and the few times I have had contact with the support, just have one thing to say – Top notch, best in industry. The decision to go from my POD HD Pro to Helix was very easy.
And yes, I know that the negative parts are always dominant on the forum, it’s the character of getting help. But it’s also to read the answers and read between the lines. I have get a lot of ideas from those forums and helped me on the learning curve. The POD HD forum has been “hot†sometimes. I have not had much of the problems, if any. But the cool guys that answers add knowledge that I used, also the best support. 
I’m a bit sad that I did not wrap this thread up. I had a thread on TGP and some dialog there. My conclusion was actually that I reconsider to get G70. To summarize pros and cons.
Cons – I think the weak point is the radio and how it handles the channels on 2.4G band and RF1, 2 and 3 (yes, I missed the 3’d one in my previous posts). I think as it need to be rescan manual and often the risk to get drop-outs are quite high. Some competitors listen on multiple channels and dynamically change channel when it gets crowded. The risk is that after you made a scan someone activates some other gear, e.g. IEM, and you can get smoked. 2.4G is crowded. We move our customers on WiFi from 2.4G to 5G-band because 2.4G is not possible to use in the cities and crowded office complex. 
My conclusion, even if I don’t have all the facts, is that there may have been problems and that the one that upgraded the software in the February release found it much better. The ones that also learned to rescan had even fewer problems. I got a feeling that some with problems hadn’t upgraded and/or learned to rescan.
Pros – The G70-unit solves all the needs I have with multiple guitars with its own transmitters and possibility to even have a guitar connected with cable and all in one unite. Can get read of my Korg PB+ some other gear… I will not have problems at my home. I’m not a gigging musician, but do play with friends and some of those places are crowded.
Summery – In almost all my playing career I have succeed to get gear that really works for me, very few exceptions. My decision to buy the G70 was crystal clear, until I started to read on the web. It took me some time to sort things out, but I’m confident today to go for the G70 knowing that rescanning will be a part of it, but so is also tuning my guitar
So again, thanks for the reminder to wrap this thread up and end it in a, I hope, positive way.

 

//Per

[PerS]

 

So, my G70 is orderd and on its way. Will get it tomorrow...

 

//Per

[PerS]

Hello
Got my G70, but I can't get it to work ... hoped not to end up here. So, lets see what I'm doing wrong.

Packed up everything, put the batteries in the transmitter. Mounted receiver on my pedalboard. Updated software in the receiver to latest and checked that the transmitter connected via Updater. All worked at once.

Started transmitters and receivers as it was configured, channel 1. The receiver does not see any transmitter... and the footwatch continues to flash.

Trying to enter and search channel and it is trying with channel 9, 13 or 15 on different scannes. Changing channel on transmitter but it does not synk to anyone of the channals. It display "No TX" on the receiver display. Factory reset all and start over with the same result. Turns off all my WiFi at home but no difference.

Made a scan (an app in my Samsung tablet) of WiFi networks in my environment and and to my surprise when i found the most crowded channels are the channels to be 7 and above. Channel 1-3, are more or less clean, anyway nothing detectable.

I thought I could separate the problems if there is something wrong with the receiver (it ask me to use channals that ar more crowded...) or sender (does not look like it has any "radio"), but see no systematics here. Aux in in receiver works great.

So, what have I forgotten... Is it more complicated than to add the same channel. Is there a different peering method I haven't found?

Hoper for a suggestion...

 

//Per 

[jbuhajla]

Call Line 6 Technical support and open a ticket. Did you read through the advanced users guide?

 

http://line6.com/data/6/0a064339312b551b201bd3ec1/application/pdf/Relay%20G70%20&%20G75%20Advanced%20Guide%20(RevA)%20-%20English%20(%20Rev%20A%20).pdf

[PerS]

Hi

Thanks for reply, jbuhajla.

 

Yes, have read the manual and opend a ticket. Reply is a broken unit. Radioproblem. I will get it a new one. Sad it happend, but still confident its a good choice.

 

Must say that the line6 support is top notch. So helpfull and so polite. Feel safe with them as vendor

 

/Per

[Zefinho]

Hello.

I bought a new Relay G75 wireless transmitter received it in the mail today. Like you, despite having read some not so good opinions, even in this forum before buying, I decided to take a leap of faith. I read the advanced manual beforehand and updated the firmware for both transmitter and receiver right out of the box like sugested. I used the scan option to search for the best channel with less interference. It worked well for about 10-15 minutes. Then the LED started to turn off and on. Persistently every few seconds, making it completely useless. I turned the unit off and back on and it did the same thing: Worked impecably well for about 10 minutes, than the same problem.

I really think it could it be defective. Already sent a ticket to support.

Can I try anything else before returning it? tried turning off all wifi devices, as well as diferent 9v power supplies, besides the included usb power supply.

I think it's a great product but it seems something in production or quality control isn't going well, since more than a few people are buying defective devices. Or just bad luck on my side?

[PerS]

Hi Zefinho

 

I allso tured off all wifi devices to be sure of no interferences, router, tv, chromecast, chinnema receiver, sat tuner... just in case. But my units never connected so it was like a last test.

 

Open a ticket. Line6 support help you, they are great.

 

About quality I do not want to say, I have a good experience so far of Line6 gear and that was why i desided to go for the g70. In my investigation before buying I have not found hardware beeng a spred probleme. I can have missed it... but not in my mind. I'm confident that this was just bad luck. Will contact my vendor today to initiate an exchange.

 

Hope it goes well for you too.

 

/Per

[Zefinho]

Hi.

 

Yes custommer support is really good, they replied almost immediatly. Super fast. The bad news are that according to them it is most likely a hardware issue, as in your case.

I still tried the factory reset and re-installed the firmware updates. No change in the behaviour.

Also contacting the seller today for a replacement. Hopefully we get  to be luckier the second time around and don't have trouble again. I bought it online but i'm thinking I'll drive to the physical store to try out the replacement in the store, even if I'm going to spend more time and money that way. I also still think this is exactly the right wireless connector for me, as long as I get a properly working one;)

Best of luck for you too.

I'll post some news.

 

Cheers

[SjaarD]

The more I read about this unit, the more I regret that I bought it....

I always used the G50's but the transmitters were to weak and broke easily (battery holder) so tried the G70 now. 

I understand that people have good experience, because in small gigs it works ok. On big stages/events however with lots if WIFI in the air it sucks balls....bigtime, cannot walk away from my pedalboard sometimes, even the middle of the stage is not possible, dropouts all the time.

Also I have the battery problems sometimes, new batteries last for 10 minutes, that's it. Same batteries I have always used for my G50's by the way. I feel stupid cause I bought 4 transmitters but didn't check any reviews upfront. I thought Line6 was able to make something good as a followup for the G50.... :(

[phil_m]

The more I read about this unit, the more I regret that I bought it....

 

I always used the G50's but the transmitters were to weak and broke easily (battery holder) so tried the G70 now. 

I understand that people have good experience, because in small gigs it works ok. On big stages/events however with lots if WIFI in the air it sucks balls....bigtime, cannot walk away from my pedalboard sometimes, even the middle of the stage is not possible, dropouts all the time.

Also I have the battery problems sometimes, new batteries last for 10 minutes, that's it. Same batteries I have always used for my G50's by the way. I feel stupid cause I bought 4 transmitters but didn't check any reviews upfront. I thought Line6 was able to make something good as a followup for the G50.... :(

 

Well, I'm one of the people who've not had any issues with my G70... Seriously, I've not had one dropout, and I've used it on some pretty big stages. So I'm not sure. Are you doing the channel scan when you get to the venue, and have you installed the latest firmware?

 

As far as batteries, are you using rechargeables? I pretty much stick to the ones I get in bulk from Amazon, and haven't had any problems. I don't usually run them all the way down, but I can easily get two shows from one set of batteries.