Astral® Wireless Guitar System
User Guide
Table of Contents
Setting Cable Capacitance and Input Impedance 7
Mounting the Optional Guitar Strap Clip to the A20-TX 8
The Sound Devices Astral Wireless Guitar System is a paradigm-shift in sonic purity and range for the demanding, professional guitarist/bassist. It is designed to replace a premium guitar cable without altering the tone or feel of the sacred guitar/amp interaction.
The Sound Devices Astral Guitar System is comprised of the following products:
*Please refer to the associated product user guides for complete operational instructions and detailed specifications.
Why Use The Sound Devices Astral Wireless Guitar System?
It is commonly known that guitars, guitar cables, pedals and amps all interact with one another to give a unique character to each rig. It is also well known that replacing the guitar cable with a wireless system can dramatically change this character. Much of this is due to the imperfect nature of many wireless systems, but less well known is that every cable's added capacitance (depending on the type and length of the cable) interacts with a guitar’s pickup. This is why many cables sound different from each other. The input impedance of the amp also will change the character of the guitar’s pickup. These effects range from very subtle to extreme, depending on the type of guitar, pickups, cable(s), pedals and amp(s) in the rig.
Compromising tone and feel to get wireless capability is a thing of the past!
The heart of the Astral Wireless Guitar System is the Smart Guitar Cable. This patent-pending cable houses sophisticated, miniaturized circuitry within the ¼" plug. This circuitry varies the actual capacitance that the guitar’s pickup is loaded with – just like a cable. This capacitance is not a mere “emulation,” but actual, real capacitance implemented with very low-distortion capacitors. The input impedance that the guitar’s pickup drives is also adjustable, allowing the player to recreate the exact feel of the guitar wired to the input of a given amp or pedalboard. This cable feeds the A20-TX transmitter and A20-Nexus receiver, both renowned for their unparalleled sonic quality. Since the Smart Guitar Cable's circuitry is within the 1/4" plug, it also allows for a truly balanced audio connection between the guitar and the transmitter eliminating any noise from that critical connection - without any tone or feel changes.
Two guitars, each connected to an A20-TX via Smart Guitar Cable. Guitar audio transmitted to two channels on SuperNexus and output over Dante to mixing console.
Guitar connected to an A20-TX via Smart Guitar Cable. Guitar audio transmitted to A20-Nexus and output to guitar interface via analog. Output of guitar interface to guitar amp, mic’d up and feeding stage box. Output of stage box connected to DigiCo mixing console via Optocore.
The 36” Smart Guitar cable comes with either a straight or right-angled ¼” plug on one end and a 3-pin Lemo connector on the other. When a guitar is plugged in to the A20-TX using the Smart Guitar Cable, the A20-TX automatically sets its input type to Guitar. It is not possible to select Guitar unless a guitar is detected and it is not possible to select another input type when a guitar is detected.
A20-TX Battery Runtime when Using the Smart Guitar Cable
The following chart indicates battery runtime for the various A20-TX battery chemistries and RF power levels when using the Smart Guitar cable. Runtimes are for 3x inserted batteries and the A20-TX in RF Only mode (no internal recording).
RF Power | Battery Chemistry | |
NiMH (Eneloop Pro) | Li-ion (Sound Devices XL-B14500, 3.7V,1200mAh) | |
2 mW | >6 hours | >8 hours |
10 mW | >5 hours | >7 hours |
20 mW | >4 hours | >6 hours |
When a Guitar connected via the Smart Cable is detected by the A20-TX, the following settings can be adjusted to emulate guitar cable length and impedance to personalize the guitar’s sound characteristics.
From the A20-TX
When Guitar is detected, ‘Guitar Settings’ is shown above the middle button in the Input menu. Press to access the Guitar Setting sub-menu which allows cable capacitance and impedance to be set to emulate guitar cable length and impedance to personalize the guitar’s sound characteristics.
From the A20-SuperNexus, A20-Nexus, or A20-Nexus Go
Ensure the A20-TX is paired and NexLinked to the A20-SuperNexus, A20-Nexus, or A20-Nexus Go. Navigate to the NexLinked A20-TX’s TX settings accessed via TX List or 1RX View Gear menu. Set ‘Gtr Cable pF/ft’ and ‘Gtr Input Impedance’ accordingly.
An guitar interface, such as the Radial Reamp JCR is required to connect from the A20-SuperNexus or A20-Nexus receiver to guitar amps.
When using the A20-Nexus or Nexus Go, be sure to use the XL-WPTA4 power supply for best elimination of ground hum.
Product specifications and features are subject to change without prior notification. Read and fully understand this manual before operation.
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Astral Wireless Guitar System User Guide
