Active Bass 9v Interference?

[Gord_oh]

Working on putting together an active pbass this summer. Instead of routing for a 9v compartment I was going to squeeze it in the control cavity. There is no preamp, just wires for active pups, its tight but there is room.

If I mount a battery clip to hold the 9v in place, shield the cavity, and ground everything, is the battery (being in the open like that) going to cause any interference with my potentiometers causing a hum?

-Gord_oh

 

[mikezimmerman]

No.

 

[Gord_oh]

simple enough eh.
thanks.

 

[mikezimmerman]

Yep, simple enough. There have been a whole lot of active basses that didn't have separate battery compartments.

 

[walterw]

+1

jam the battery wherever it will fit; as long as it doesn't physically short out the pots by touching the lugs, you'll be fine.

 

[darkstorm]

Ive also added a little sheet of foam under the battery to further wall it off from pots etc in control cavity when Ive added preamp to passive basses. Not needed but it does also help keep battery from rattling around in control comp. Lol. Basses I added preamp to didnt have room for battery clip holder, battery rested on top of pots in the ones I did.

 

[bassbenj]

Working on putting together an active pbass this summer. Instead of routing for a 9v compartment I was going to squeeze it in the control cavity. There is no preamp, just wires for active pups, its tight but there is room.

If I mount a battery clip to hold the 9v in place, shield the cavity, and ground everything, is the battery (being in the open like that) going to cause any interference with my potentiometers causing a hum?

-Gord_oh

The battery is NOT in the "open" as it's located INSIDE the shield! Anything inside the shield (including the battery) will not pick up hum (it's what shielding does!)

In fact it's "best" inside there as my Fender has a separate battery compartment which they didn't bother to shield and then the battery picked up hum. But that was easily fixed by shielding the battery compartment.

The only "problem" with a battery inside the control cavity is you have a huge hassle to change batteries. I personally much prefer some of the "flip-top" battery holders for that reason. But truthfully they sometimes do have a problem of not making as sure a contact as the battery clip-on contacts that are normally used.

If you have a battery inside a control cavity, I urge you to use threaded inserts on the lid screws. Otherwise the normal wood screws soon strip out the holes in the wood.

 

[Bredian]

Good advice above .

1. had to glue in a toothpick tip into a wood screw hole that was stripped - white (wood) glue.
2. Just reattached and soldered my battery lead. I was not secure or wrapped in foam, so my usage was creating the occasional noise from movement, likely also contributed to the wire/joint breaking. NOW wrapped in foam.
3. Ironing board is a good height work table for standing.