Switched cables (not what you think...)

[joenoone]

Hi,
I've seen the cables that have a switch on them to mute the cable so you can unhook your bass while leaving the amp on, but what I was wondering is has anyone seen a cable with a switch to turn off the battery on an active bass?

Here's what I mean - most active electronic basses engage the battery when you insert a mono 1/4" plug which connects the ring and sleeve together to complete a circuit.



If you use a stereo plug, the battery isn't "turned on" until you short those two (Cool fact - put a meter across the ring/sleeve and you can see how much voltage your battery has).

I usually unplug my bass between sets to save the battery, but it would be nice to have a switched plug to turn it off and leave it plugged in. Anyone ever seen such a contraption?

[Hellbastard]

I've never seen one of those, nor do I think they exist. Is it such an imposition to unhook your cable while you're not playing? or are Bass Players just too lazy that they need a different solution to the 9v battery draining problem?

[Von Felgenhauer]

You could always wire a kill switch

[joenoone]

Not lazy - just need to get off the stage quickly and quietly sometimes. It takes longer to first turn off/down the amp before unplugging and then if it's all quiet and you accidentally drop the cable end on the wooden stage floor everyone notices (loud "Thunk....").

It's not a necessity, just a nice idea. Heck, it seems there's every type of "thingy" out there for us gadget hungry consumers (watch late night infomercials to see what I mean), so I figured someone out there might of made one.

[Jim Nazium]

Originally Posted by joenoone

(Cool fact - put a meter across the ring/sleeve and you can see how much voltage your battery has).

Most useful thing I've read on the internet today

[Hellbastard]

Originally Posted by joenoone

Not lazy - just need to get off the stage quickly and quietly sometimes. It takes longer to first turn off/down the amp before unplugging and then if it's all quiet and you accidentally drop the cable end on the wooden stage floor everyone notices (loud "Thunk....").

It's not a necessity, just a nice idea. Heck, it seems there's every type of "thingy" out there for us gadget hungry consumers (watch late night infomercials to see what I mean), so I figured someone out there might of made one.

Get one of the this Neutrik - Audio - silentPLUG - NP2X-AU-SILENT

[bolophonic]

That would be one more useless element to potentially fail onstage. 99% of the musicians I know figured out pretty quick that the proper way of unplugging your bass is to turn the amp off before you do it. I bet if you timed yourself you would not notice any time savings by turning the amp off first rather than after unplugging.

[robd]

Originally Posted by Hellbastard

Get one of the this Neutrik - Audio - silentPLUG - NP2X-AU-SILENT

These plugs dont work with active basses

"Please note that the signal isn't muted with active electric bass guitars which have a tip-ring-sleeve tap to activate the power supply."

Which is most of them

try one of these
Planet Waves PW AGRAP 1 Right Angle 1/4” Circuit Breaker plug | Full Compass

connector with an on/off switch

[Hellbastard]

Originally Posted by robd

These plugs dont work with active basses

"Please note that the signal isn't muted with active electric bass guitars which have a tip-ring-sleeve tap to activate the power supply."

Which is most of them

try one of these
Planet Waves PW AGRAP 1 Right Angle 1/4” Circuit Breaker plug | Full Compass

connector with an on/off switch

I never tried the Neutriks with active basses.
IME,The Planet waves works great. You just need to remember you're using it.

[testing1two]

I prefer one of these hands free devices:

[joenoone]

ROBD - That wouldn't work either. same issue, those are only a 2-connector jack not 3 (TRS). Those do mute active basses (I've used them), but the battery is still in use.

testing1two - I'm not looking for a $150+ mute switch (although it does look cool) - I'm looking to disconnect my battery while leaving the cable plugged in.

I was guessing before asking the question that it didn't exist and I'd have to make such a cable but figured it was worth an ask anyway...

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Make a cheap mute switch (footpedal) yourself?

Either that or turn off the amp. The only stage I've been on where we have needed to get off quickly for another act were small ones where you aren't far from the amp anyway.

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by joenoone

ROBD - That wouldn't work either. same issue, those are only a 2-connector jack not 3 (TRS). Those do mute active basses (I've used them), but the battery is still in use.

testing1two - I'm not looking for a $150+ mute switch (although it does look cool) - I'm looking to disconnect my battery while leaving the cable plugged in.

I was guessing before asking the question that it didn't exist and I'd have to make such a cable but figured it was worth an ask anyway...

I'll second the motion from earlier about installing a killswitch. It's a $10 mod.

[Bassamatic]

If you just turn the battery on and off on an active bass you are going to get an enormous POP when you do so.

There IS a way to wire a SPST kill switch so it will not short or damage the preamp. - Output to amp to the center of the switch. Preamp out to one side and ground to other side. This does not turn off the battery, but since the preamp out is not going anywhere, the battery drain is very minimal.

If you use a cable with a mute switch that just shorts hot to ground, it can damage your preamp or at least drain the battery very quickly. Maybe Planet Waves can tell you how theirs works.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by joenoone

I usually unplug my bass between sets to save the battery...

There's absolutely no reason to do that between sets.

[mkmsound]

Go Wirelss. I mute my wireless transmiiter then unplug from bass. No pops, saves battery.

[Exploiter8]

I think it's a recipe for disaster. A guitar should NEVER be left on a stand with a strap attached and/or a cord plugged in, especially on stage at a gig. That just adds to the possibility of an accident occurring, such as a plug getting snapped off from something falling, or someone tripping over a cord or the strap and yanking the instrument off of the stand.

If you HAVE to get off of the stage THAT quickly, it can only mean your life is being threatened and a loud "Thunk" will be the least of your worries!


X8

[WalWarrior]

Originally Posted by Hellbastard

I never tried the Neutriks with active basses.
IME,The Planet waves works great. You just need to remember you're using it.

ha ha! Well said. I have this cable and afer I plugged it in after not using it for a while, ( Own several cables and grabbed this one off the rack heading out to a rehearsal )
I get all hooked up and nothing. There my dumbass is troubleshooting everything in the signal chain and then it hit me. The stupid switch is engaged.

Things work better if you know how to use them. Now I just gotta learn how to play!

[joenoone]

Originally Posted by Exploiter8

I think it's a recipe for disaster. A guitar should NEVER be left on a stand with a strap attached and/or a cord plugged in, especially on stage at a gig. That just adds to the possibility of an accident occurring, such as a plug getting snapped off from something falling, or someone tripping over a cord or the strap and yanking the instrument off of the stand.

If you HAVE to get off of the stage THAT quickly, it can only mean your life is being threatened and a loud "Thunk" will be the least of your worries!


X8

Good point...

No, sometimes I fill in with a praise band at a local church (take all the gigs you can to keep in shape, right?) and usually when we finish the opening set the Minister is leading a prayer so we "sneak off" stage at the beginning. Then at the end of the service we come back on and play during collections or after the last prayer to send everyone out with a happy tune.

Depending on where I'm playing that means my bass sits up there 45min to 2 hrs plugged in if I don't try to quietly pull the cord. I've dropped the plug a few times and a large "thud" on the plywood stage ruins the mood of a prayer and I get dirty looks so I was fishing around for some ideas here.

[SGD Lutherie]

If you are going to unplug the cable, pull it out of the amp first. That's what I do.

There are also floor pedal tuners that have a mute function.