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Comments
Firstly, I'd echo the comments about avoiding the cheap rubbish. Also, avoid anything VHF.
Apart from VHF, there are 3 frequency bands that you can use.
863 - 865 MHz (Channel 70) - no licence needed.
I've heard stories about interference from 4G mobile phones in this range but I don't know how common this is. Shure have stopped making mics that use this band. That's worrying. Having said that, we've got two mics at our church that use this channel and haven't had any problems. We haven't been using the channel at the bottom end of the range though. I was at an event at my daughter's school recently though where they were getting noises that they blamed on interference from mobiles.
606 - 614 Mhz (Channel 38) - licence needed at around £75 per year
Not worth the money for the licence unless you are a hiring company or venue running multiple devices.
2.4GHz - WiFi frequency - no licence needed
It's digital and uses the same frequencies as WiFi devices but is designed to be ok with devices around.
It's quite a recent development. Line 6 were the first with this around 2010. The heavyweights are now jumping in. Shure and Sennheiser both have systems that use this now although they are not the cheapest.
We've got a Shure Beta 58 in our church that's pretty decent. I like the look of the latest version of this with the digital 2.4Ghz system. It has USB rechargeable Li-ion batteries as well so you would save money on batteries long term if you do a lot of gigs. I think that was aorund £385 new last time I looked.
We've had an AKG system that was a bit cheaper (around £250 I think) that has been pretty good - not as nice as the Shure or Sennheiser stuff but probably as good as a wired SM58. It's a plastic case on the mic which is less robust but it is very light - which some people like.
I'd be wary of second hand stuff. Even without fakes, you don't know how it's been treated. If it's been repeatedly dropped then it's not going to work well. I prefer to get mics new. You can sometimes get a replacement mic and keep the receiver, but that's probably only with the more recent stuff. We had a G1 Sennheiser where the mic died, but we couldn't get a replacement mic that would work with the receiver. Looking on Ebay a lot of other people had the same problem. There were loads of receivers for sale but no mics.
I'd be interested if anyone has any experience with the Line 6 stuff. The reviews I can find are quite positive but there aren't many of them.
They also sound great - go for the G50 or higher, though. The G30s are pretty good but rely on a lot of plastics...
I'd avoid s/h - early versions had a fragile battery carrier/cover that could break easily and rendered the mic unrepairable.
I play guitar and take photos of stuff. I also like beans on toast.