Alternative Power for Active EQ

Rechargeable batteries are not a good idea for a bass.

There are external power supplies available, such as the ones made by EMG. Perhaps you should consider one.

 

They sell 9 volt lithium batteries - they have about 5 times as much power to them while only costing about 3 times what one name brand alkaline costs. They are available at HOme Depot and Walgreens in the States.
But there is a negative which your post indirectly addressed. You mentioned fresh batteries sounding better - they do because as they go through life the voltage of alkalines goes down on a fairly steadily slope. So the gain that almost clips with fresh batteries is nowhere near clipping when an alkaline is say 40 hours into it's use. The negative with lithiums is they hold the voltage almost constant to the end - the sound is great up until the end but they plummet real fast. And since the voltage is held up, there is no way to tell when a lithium is say 25% - that just never happens. Silver oxide batteries work the same way...I do watch repair and sales and that is great for watches. Who would want a watch that is struggling at 75% power? Nobody.
One company makes a ring that goes around one of your pots that has an LED in it, indicating when you are getting low. But that takes you drilling the hole out a little bigger.
That's all I've got. Sometimes I think the battery issue is one of the big reasons some people don't like active pickups. I think good actives beat poor passives, and vis-a-versa.

Some older actives chewed an alkaline in 60-80 hours, newer actives (EMG MMCS for example) claim 300-ish hours to a single 9 volt.YMMV

 

Most rechargeables only have about 2/3 life of a good alkaline. If your wireless is setup for using rechargeables then you are probably in a habit of plugging it in all the time. Rechargables wouldn't be terrible, but you'd have to remember to plug it in habitually. And most rechargeables are flat in 40-60 days, so rechargables in a guitar that is used infrequently would have to be replaced or recharged before you could play it.

Maybe one of these days they'll make a device that as you move around it is generating the power for the pickups which really isn't much and use the battery for other times. Get it down to "replace on your birthday every year" or something.

I see a few companies are making low battery indicator systems - unfortunately all require a hole for the indicator. I suppose you could mount it with the indicator on your controls cover(back) and take a look whenever plugging the instrument in. Gee, I just sold myself on that idea.

 

That's the way it already should be, now. If your batteries are not lasting hundreds to thousands of hours, your preamps are drawing excessive current.

 

I haven't seen any manufacturers claiming much over 300 hours for the battery life..which would be about 4 months for me (15 hrs a week minimum). IF I don't forget the cable in a few times.

 

Under ideal conditions, a 500mAh battery can supply for a 1mA load for 500 hours. A preamp really should not draw more than 2mA or so, which is 250 hours. On the lower end of the power consumption spectrum, an opamp that requires 85uA will run for ~5800 hours.

 

Your numbers are taking the battery down to zilch - most people start noticing a distinct drop in gain at about 7 volts, regardless of remaining amperage. Batteries in an active pickup instrument aren't just powering a pre-amp, they are juicing the pickups too. The 300 hours is just what the manufacturers say. I'd be happy to hear about some that would go 5800 hr. - seriously. PEace.

 

Am I mistaken here? I would think a new battery would provide more clean headroom than a dying battery. So a battery say half way into its life would be more prone to clipping than a new battery.

Or were you talking about the extra output signal driving the amps preamp to near clipping?

 

The second. Usually you want the amps pre-amp to just start clipping when you dig in. So with my rig that means gain is at 3-4 with fresh battery. Battery gets 5-7 weeks out I have to turn to 7 to get the same clipping. 2 more weeks and I'd have to switch to passive mode on the amp to muster a good stiff note and some clipping.

I hate the batteries but I prefer active pickup sound usually. I feel if you learn to dial the EQ in you can emulate many "preferred" basses quite well. SLightly off-topic but I think knurled knobs with no markers are a stumbling block to defining good EQ points on many instruments. You play around for an hour and ear fatigue starts screwing with your head. I personally have "short-beak chicken-heads" on most of my basses EQ & blends so I can trust the knob even in the noisiest environment or no matter how gone my ears are. Turn to X= Getty Ric clank, turn to Y & Z=Fender P, Y & X=Fender P, etc. The bass in my avatar has small crosses painted on it for pointer, speed-knobs with numbers tell me where I am.

 

Ok I gotcha now. It was kind of confusing, because a weak nearly dead battery can cause a weak, clipped sound from the on board preamp.

 

The chuink, chuink chuink of impending death.

 

Small update on the battery life discussion. EMG says two of their bass pickups and a pre-amp will go 628 hours in theory. My 300 hours came from the new bass I got 2 weeks ago loaded with same and the bass manufacturer suggest to think 300 hr.

For those who are unawares, some active systems are just passives with a pre-amp. EMGs and MECs are not - they use much weaker magnets, much heavy windings and fewer of them. EMGs of today sound nothing like the active pickups of just a few years go.

 

Is this the battery in question?

http://www.amazon.com/health-personal-care/dp/B003VKOEBM

Oh yeah: I'll Wang Chung tonight, Hopkins, if you lemme rock you Chaka Khan...

 

Hmmmm... shows up as $66+ when I click on it...

 

Aha. I see it and I stand corrected.

$7.50 shipping. Comes to $5.25 a battery, and if they last 3x as long it's a good deal.