Website

by Trevor
Bristol Buskers (UK)
Amps - Extras - Where - Legal - Video - Go Wireless

Thinking of busking light-weight, uncluttered and wire-free ? . . the obvious answer might be not to use an Amp.
But . . some instruments or voices don't carry well, especially in busy areas with background noise to contend with.

I cycle to my busking spots in Bristol, so I like to 'travel light' by carrying my amp, a Roland Cube Street EX, on the front of the bike, with my guitar on my back, and not to have to bother carrying a mic stand, mic or any leads at all, as it saves carrying extra clutter, is lighter and quicker to set up, so all I use now is a simple low-cost headset mic which I bought on eBay as HERE - it's the type with the thin frames and two over-ear supports of which several are shown.
 - More reading about headset mics.

My research revealed the high cost of radio-transmitters and receivers, and that you need two of each to dispense with leads; one pair for vocals and one pair for instrument as there are two inputs on the busking-amp to utilize it efficiently, and technically you need a license to use with some radio systems.

Eventually I found a couple of Bluetooth units that might work, and although some of the reviews were not that kind, I purchased a JOYO JW-01 system which I bought on Amazon. The transmitter is plugged into the guitar jack, and it also has a 3.5mm input for the microphone lead in the side of the transmitter, with a volume control for the mic, which suits my headset microphone rig perfectly. The JOYO receiver is simply plugged into a jack-socket on the busking-amp or into a mixing desk if you're going through a PA system.

After trying it out on a number of occasions now and tweaking the instrument / vocal balance to get it right, and recovering my outlay on the JOYO through busking, I'm happy to recommend the JOYO JW-01 (suppliers) which is why I've finally added this page to the website to bring this information to a wider audience of performers, who may also be interested in a low-cost wireless system. I haven't had any interference problems from other Bluetooth appliances going by (mobile phones), so I guess the Transmitter on the Guitar and the Receiver plugged into the Amp lock-on once they are synchronised.
Here's a video of me using the system. Click - https://youtu.be/DOj-kbN7sQQ

As you will see there are no wired connections, as the headset mic lead is plugged into the Joyo transmitter near the neck of my guitar, and the receiver is plugged into one of the inputs in my Cube Street EX amp. It's all very light and transportable on my bike, and very quick to set-up.

I've tried this JOYO and headset-mic unit while busking and at Open Mic nights many times now, and have loaned it to other performers and Buskers to see how well it works, and for the all-in cost of around £60 I am mightily impressed, as are others who have tried it or listened to it. Compared to the several-hundreds of pounds you have to fork out for even a basic 'radio-frequency' system the JOYO unit has passed the test with 5 stars and is still going strong.

Please email trevor@busker.me.uk if you know of any errors, changes, or new information for these pages.
Website by Trevor George ... Hotwells, Bristol, UK.