Radiohead finally went wireless on their 2025 European arena tour, and FOH mixer Simon Hodge says the Sound Devices Astral Wireless Guitar System is the reason why.
Radiohead returned to live performance in late 2025 after a seven-year break, playing a run of European arena shows in an intimate, in-the-round setup. For a band with a longstanding preference for cables and analog signal paths, it was a significant call – but after more than four decades, Radiohead finally went wireless.
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The band used three Sound Devices Astral ARX32 Wireless Receivers, 42 Astral TX Digital Wireless Bodypack Transmitters and six Astral HH Wireless Handheld Microphones across the run. The deciding factor was the Astral Guitar Cable’s ability to replicate the sonic character of a physical cable connection – with selectable input impedance (100k, 1M or 10M ohms) and adjustable cable capacitance (0 pF to 1500 pF in 25 pF steps) – giving the crew the tools to match each guitar’s existing wired rig with precision.
FOH mixer Simon Hodge had long been sceptical of wireless systems for the band. “The band doesn’t tend to change how they operate for the sake of changing; they only are interested in upgrades that will serve their musical goals. Although the band have used RF systems for guitars in the past, the opinion was always that it never sounded as good as a cable and would not be adopted.”
That changed after a blind shoot-out at Jonny Greenwood’s studio. “We all listened, and even the most cynical guitar techs were impressed. The quality of the audio path was obvious, and it wasn’t changing the sound at all.”
Photo by Alex Lake
Beyond sound quality, the Astral system solved a significant logistical challenge. Ed O’Brien alone travelled with 32 guitars on the tour. Hodge and RF Tech Matt Hayes built a custom solution feeding the ARX32 inputs into a Prodigy Audio Processor via Dante with Streamdeck controllers, giving both musicians and techs instant access to every instrument in the same interface. “This was the first time we could have all 32 at once accessible and easily switchable in the same interface,” Hodge noted.
Managing that many guitar changes in an in-the-round setup – where the stage is surrounded by audience on all sides – added an extra layer of complexity. “The ease of use in the Astral UI allowed us to manipulate the signal flow seamlessly, which worked really well for the logistics of the show and allowed us total control with no compromises.”
With strong reviews from the tour and rumours of further shows as early as 2027, it sounds like the cables are staying home.
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