K&K preamp battery life

oliebrice · #1 02-14-2007, 03:37 AM

hello,
I've recently aquired a K&K pre-amp to go with my bassmax, as a temporary measure till I sort out a mic. (Thanks Bruce!). The sound is definately a lot better than the bassmax without the preamp, but both gigs I've used it on the battery has died before the end of the 2nd set, leaving me with a horrible distorted farting sound.
Is this normal, and the battery life in the preamp really only supposed to be an hour and a half?
has anyone invented a way of connecting the pre-amp to mains?

philip sirois · #2 02-14-2007, 04:59 AM

I think a battery should last much longer than that. You must, however, with the K&K remove the !/4" jacks when you're not using it. One of the jacks (I dont remember which) acts as a switch. If you leave it in, it wear out the battery pretty quickly.

Afew times I've shown up at a session and the battery was completely dead because I left that damn jack in.

oliebrice · #3 02-14-2007, 06:52 AM

I'd noticed the jack issue, thats not whats running it down. How long do you think you get out of a battery if you don't leave the lead in?

Marc Piane · #4 02-14-2007, 07:35 AM

I have the K&K mic upgrade and preamp/blender. I'm using it with the Realist. I usually change the battery once a month or so and I gig pretty frequently. I do unplug the output jack (the one that switches the battery off) on breaks.

**Bob Gollihur** · #5 02-14-2007, 09:50 AM

Use a good quality alkaline cell for the best results. I get 2-4+ months depending on the time of the year (gig load), based on use.

Bofee · #6 02-14-2007, 11:30 AM

When I was using a K&K preamp I would typically get 4-5 gigs out of a battery. I eventually added the option to run off of a power supply. I'm now using a Fishman Platinum Pro, much better sound.

TonyCrenshaw · #7 02-21-2007, 08:42 AM

I know this is a late reply.
I use mine every night during practice. I get 2 months before my battery starts going bad. I've invested in rechargable batteries. This way I always have a fresh charged battery in rotation.

BTW, I have a BassMaster Pro System, and I use PlanetWaves cables.
Hope this helps.

jonly · #8 02-21-2007, 08:47 AM

I get around 3 months on my battery also. maybe someone replaced the 1/4 out jack with one that wasn't switched? Or maybe the switch just went bad on it?