Battery Drain with Active P'ups Forgetting to unplug

[tb-player]

I always forget to unplug my bass with active electronics which kills the 9v battery. If I were to remember to use it, would a circuit breaker cable, like the link below, prevent the battery from dying?

https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Guitar-Cable-Circuit-Straight/dp/B0002GMGV8

I can hear people now saying "if you can't remember to unplug it you wont remember to use the switch." But, I think I would get used to it if using it as a mute switch while taking breaks etc.

Anyway, concerns about my memory aside, would it actually stop the draw on the battery? My brain says it would NOT because contact is still made but I have little knowledge of these things. Pic for attention.

The button on the cable won’t disengage your battery. It just allows you to unplug while the signal is hot without a *pop* sound.

I play a lot of gigs where I plug direct. Usually I bring a pedalboard with a tuner or volume pedal so I can disconnect quietly & save battery life. Certain gigs don’t require schlepping a pedalboard. That cable will save me time. Definitely picking one up.

Oh, and before you go installing a bunch of crap on your bass, get a sticky note reminding you to unplug. It’s really not that hard.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

forget the battery drain issue. its just an all around bad idea to leave your bass plugged in. on a stand, trip hazard and your bass goes crashing to the floor. also someone could go crashing to the floor. leaning against something, again, trip hazard and if its leaning on the cable its bad for the jack. depending on the bass and stand even the stand can put undue stress on the jack if its plugged in. instead of looking for partial solutions that cost money, just learn to unplug it.

 

[Snert]

I'm not clear if the battery would run down if the switch were left passive mode and the cable were left plugged in.

The battery will still discharge even with the bass in passive mode.

 

[sxaxsx]

I agree with what others have said, get used to unplugging whether you have active or passive. Otherwise someone will eventually trip over the cord, pull the bass off the stand and damage your bass. Unplugging is a good habit that having actives will teach you, don't buy something so you can avoid learning good habits.

 

[zenrad]

I have a couple of routines that help me

Set break:
Amp mute on
Pedalboard tuner on (another mute)
Turn off wireless
Unplug the bass after checking the amp mute is on

I also follow the advice of folks here who change their active bass batteries twice a year, July 4th and December 25th (easy to remember).

 

[Artman]

27705748[/URL], member: 113976"]I have the same issue, but how can you unplug the guitar lead from your bass to prevent battery loss without getting that terrific crackling from the FOH speakers? Even turning the volume down on the amp does not prevent this?

Use a tuner pedal. It mutes the signal.
I switch between fretless and fretted basses mid set. stepping on the tuner pedal first mutes the signal to the DI. No noises.

And to the OP, just get into the habit of unplugging your bass, regardless of whether or not it’s active.

When I was first learning to play, I accidentally hooked the cable over the toe of my shoe as I walked away yanking my plugged in bass off the stand and violently slamming it onto the floor.
I’ve never since that day taken a bass or guitar off my lap or shoulder without first unplugging it and at least laying the cable over the amp, and if I’m walking away without grabbing another instrument, I roll up the cable.
Takes no measurable effort and little time.

 

[Slevage]

I have to wonder how hard it would be to design a little onboard gadget that says "if there's been no signal for x minutes, cut the power"...

Easy to design. Difficult to sell enough to justify production costs vs sales.

 

[badinage]

To all the "unplug because someone's going to trip over your cord and drag your bass onto the floor" scolders:

If your guitar cord is left where people are going to be walking on it, perhaps there's another housekeeping habit that needs to be learned.

 

[WG Plum]

Wow. This thread totally brings to mind the lightbulb thread...

 

[badinage]

I think maybe a very bright blue lightbulb that reminds one to unplug their bass could likely help.

 

[Crackle]

This is a non-issue for me. I always unplug my bass when I'm not actively playing. And I mostly use passive electronics.

 

[badinage]

After I unplug my bass, I'm worried that my cord left where people are walking on it will end up with my amp being drug into the floor.

Do I unplug from my amp too? Or maybe go with Big Iron, or will a cement block on top of my Class-D amp work just as well. I think I could decorate a cement block. A sandbag might be more messy.

 

[HolmeBass]

I always forget to unplug my bass with active electronics which kills the 9v battery. If I were to remember to use it, would a circuit breaker cable, like the link below, prevent the battery from dying?

https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Guitar-Cable-Circuit-Straight/dp/B0002GMGV8

I can hear people now saying "if you can't remember to unplug it you wont remember to use the switch." But, I think I would get used to it if using it as a mute switch while taking breaks etc.

Anyway, concerns about my memory aside, would it actually stop the draw on the battery? My brain says it would NOT because contact is still made but I have little knowledge of these things. Pic for attention.

Your Brain is right.

Now I completely on the other side myself. I unplug my passive basses too when taking a break.

I would think you could develop this habit fairly easily.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Could just put a on/off toggle switch to the jack wires...pretty simple

Yeah, if you remember to flip the toggle switch! Lol

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

I permanently solved this problem by selling all my active basses.

 

[othefool]

You will kill a few batteries, and you will develop the habit of unplugging. Think of each dead battery as part of your training montage

Those suckers are expensive! It hurts to see them go. Grow through the pain.

Buy 9V Batteries in bulk at Costco so when you kill one you have another ready to go. You never don't want to forget backup batteries, especially if you are gigging.

Remember why so many people end up back at the P bass

jk active basses are awesome. Have fun!

 

[Slevage]

Yeah, if you remember to flip the toggle switch! Lol

Is flipping to the left off or on?
Does off mean the bypass is off, therefore the power is on?
Forget it, I'm selling all my active basses.

 

[DaveParker39]

I have the same issue, but how can you unplug the guitar lead from your bass to prevent battery loss without getting that terrific crackling from the FOH speakers? Even turning the volume down on the amp does not prevent this?

Having a mute, whether it be your tuner, a buffered mute switch on your board, etc., is critical. I've never *not* had a mute switch. Not even just for unplugging a bass... for tuning, when you are doing a clap to help the audience get moving, set breaks, etc. etc.

Between your bass and amp or di.

 

[Lesfunk]

Five pages of discussing this…

Just unplug the damn Bass
Problem solved

 

[micguy]

Who leaves their bass always plugged in?

At home, I leave whatever bass I'm working with for my weekend gig plugged in most of the time - it's in a very safe space (no pets, no kids), so I save the wear and tear on the plug. At the gig (church gigs), we're the warm up act for a lecture, and plugging and unplugging can cause issues, so it's left plugged in during rehearsal, run through, and 2 services. In my world, that's completely normal.