active pickups

[matthew4414]

if the battery powering your pickups is running low will the output of the bass lessen, r does it even work like that lol?

 

[surgay]

r u a pirate?????????????????????

 

[BruceWane]

if the battery powering your pickups is running low will the output of the bass lessen, r does it even work like that lol?

Yeah, it'll eventually lessen to -0-.

Kinda like most things that run on batteries, active pickups don't work so good with low - or dead - batteries.

Who'da thunk?

Seriously, you'll probably start to hear distortion before you notice reduced volume. And no, it's not a "good" distortion.

 

[wideload]

I use an active bass, and the falloff seems to be a couple of hours. Tone, not volume. I've noticed (unlike BruceWane) that I get a really nice, mild distortion when the battery is on the way out. It took me a few years too put 2 and 2 together. So when my bass sounds really good, I change the battery!

 

[line6man]

Not really. You just get more distortion.

 

[JTE]

Active pickups or active EQ circuit? They'll act differently depending on what the actual circuit is. Since I started using active instruments in '79, I've only had one battery issue (the only time I didn't use a Duracell- the "Ever" ready wasn't ready...). They symptom on a pre EB StingRay was distortion, much like a bad solid-state overdrive. Same gain level, but distorted signal.

John

 

[Turxile]

So when my bass sounds really good, I change the battery!

Hmmm... I'm thinking Rechargeable batteries... I'm thinking charging them just a little bit, just enough to give the good sound for you and last the gig...

 

[JustForSport]

^^^Or a stack of coin batteries @ 7.5 volts or so,
they'll stay that way for alot longer.