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Battery powering a Phil Jones Double Four
- Thread starter CauliColin
- Start date
Just to add another confirmation to the thread--this morning I got a Double Four and the 25000mAh Krisdonia "Laptop Power Bank" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074PQBRJV) and the combination appears to work fine.
I took a few minutes to switch back and forth between the Double Four and my Roland Micro Cube Bass RX, and the Double Four clearly has more low end, and generally sounds better to me. I'm no amp connoisseur, but the difference is not some subtle audiophile thing, it's obvious.
For my purposes (e.g. taking a bus to a drop-in acoustic thing at a nearby park), I also appreciate that the Double Four is about half the size. You lose some conveniences from the Micro Cube (built-in tuner, rhythms, effects), but I doubt most people will miss those much. So the main drawback is just the cost.
The battery comes with a DC cable plus a bewildering array of tips (completely undocumented, as far as I can tell, so I guess you just go by appearance and trial-and-error?). Turns out you can ignore them--the tip built in to the DC cable fits the Double Four's input.
I turned the amp all the way up, plugged in my Yamaha TRBX504, and played for maybe about an hour, and nothing went wrong. The battery meter dropped from 95% to about 30%. Unfortunately, I wasn't keeping track of time very carefully, and also didn't have time to run the battery all the way down, so that's not a terribly useful experiment. But I think I might exchange the battery for the 50000mAh version, as I'd like to be certain of getting through a couple hours.
I also tried inserting my Zoom B3 between the bass and the Double Four, powering it from one of the Krisdonia's USB outputs. I played that way for a few minutes and didn't notice any problems.
I took a few minutes to switch back and forth between the Double Four and my Roland Micro Cube Bass RX, and the Double Four clearly has more low end, and generally sounds better to me. I'm no amp connoisseur, but the difference is not some subtle audiophile thing, it's obvious.
For my purposes (e.g. taking a bus to a drop-in acoustic thing at a nearby park), I also appreciate that the Double Four is about half the size. You lose some conveniences from the Micro Cube (built-in tuner, rhythms, effects), but I doubt most people will miss those much. So the main drawback is just the cost.
The battery comes with a DC cable plus a bewildering array of tips (completely undocumented, as far as I can tell, so I guess you just go by appearance and trial-and-error?). Turns out you can ignore them--the tip built in to the DC cable fits the Double Four's input.
I turned the amp all the way up, plugged in my Yamaha TRBX504, and played for maybe about an hour, and nothing went wrong. The battery meter dropped from 95% to about 30%. Unfortunately, I wasn't keeping track of time very carefully, and also didn't have time to run the battery all the way down, so that's not a terribly useful experiment. But I think I might exchange the battery for the 50000mAh version, as I'd like to be certain of getting through a couple hours.
I also tried inserting my Zoom B3 between the bass and the Double Four, powering it from one of the Krisdonia's USB outputs. I played that way for a few minutes and didn't notice any problems.
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Good to know.
I'm dealing with the effects by just bringing an Empress Zoia along, which I also power with a battery pack.
When I combine these two with my 18" scale 6 string, I end up playing out in the middle of the woods quite a bit.
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Hah, never mind, false alarm. I fully recharged it yesterday, got up this morning, and practiced on battery with amp volume all the way up for over two and a half hours. The battery's at 85%. That's more in line what other people have reported on this thread.
I know nothing about batteries, but I'm guessing there was something off with the meter as it shipped, and it needed the full charge to recalibrate?
In any case, it'll clearly have no problem powering the amp for a few hours, so I'm sticking with the 25000mAh model.
In the end, the battery ran out after about 8-9 hours spread over 6 days. So, it's plenty. (But I'm not sure the battery meter should be taken as much more than a rough high/medium/low indicator.)
Wouldn’t using the headphone out disengage the first Double 4’s speakers. :-(
I recently purchased a powkey from Amazon.. this thing is great and can use a normal AC plug.. just a little wider than the the laptop battery, but totally portable..and it fits in the carry case with my double 4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0713XJBG2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0713XJBG2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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You could also try just going from line out into the regular input, then you can EQ second stage, if there's an advantage for your application. Given that you can plug in a keyboard which also has line level out...the clip LED would show if it's too much as well.
This may not be as clever as using the DC input on the Double Four - but my Double Four works great using its power supply plugged into a Ryobi 120v 150 watt inverter & Ryobi 18V battery. Enough to power it for a few hours - and, when not gigging, ya can use the Ryobi 18v battery and inverter with other stuff.
18V ONE+ 150 Watt POWER SOURCE - RYOBI Tools
18V ONE+ 150 Watt POWER SOURCE - RYOBI Tools
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Been asking for a Quad Four for a couple years now. Double the speakers and double the power would be fantastic for me.
I was inspired by @MX21 's excellent solution so I built the same thing but for Bosch 18v batteries:
I used this Bosch 18v adapter: H battery adapter for Bosch 18v dock power connector 18 volt12 gauge robotics | eBay
and this 12g power plug: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PYWN3T7
Soldered and shrinkwrapped it. Works great!
I have a 4 amp and a 2 amp battery - both sounded fine at normal volumes (even a low B), I didn't notice a difference but it may be more apparent when playing at a louder volume. I just ordered a non-bosch 6amp battery for $30, and noticed that Bosch does make a 11 amp version but its not cheap ( https://www.amazon.com/GBA18V120-CORE18V-Lithium-Ion-PROFACTOR-Exclusive/dp/B08WHC52B9 ).
I love that PJ Double 4 - what a great sounding amp, perfect for a EURB, and i'm still amazed at the low B that comes out of it. Now its portable!
thx again @MX21 !
I used this Bosch 18v adapter: H battery adapter for Bosch 18v dock power connector 18 volt12 gauge robotics | eBay
and this 12g power plug: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PYWN3T7
Soldered and shrinkwrapped it. Works great!
I have a 4 amp and a 2 amp battery - both sounded fine at normal volumes (even a low B), I didn't notice a difference but it may be more apparent when playing at a louder volume. I just ordered a non-bosch 6amp battery for $30, and noticed that Bosch does make a 11 amp version but its not cheap ( https://www.amazon.com/GBA18V120-CORE18V-Lithium-Ion-PROFACTOR-Exclusive/dp/B08WHC52B9 ).
I love that PJ Double 4 - what a great sounding amp, perfect for a EURB, and i'm still amazed at the low B that comes out of it. Now its portable!
thx again @MX21 !
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As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
Glad that helped you out! I still use mine that way. Went to a cookout / jam recently with some guys who all have lots of power tools and they loved that I was running my amp off the dewalt battery.
To use my Ryobi 18v batteries, I've been connecting my Double 4 AC adapter to an 18v 150w Ryobi AC Inverter. Works very well. BUT the above posts have inspired me to streamline this & make a direct 18v Ryobi battery adapter:
Already used for a 2-hr jam and also worked well. Besides being simpler than using the inverter / AC adapter, it appears to be a little more battery efficient: only one bar was consumed over 2 hours (2 bars normally consumed using the inverter). No perceivable volume or distortion issues due to the 18v battery / 20v input mismatch - so guess OK. Parts are power plug and Ryobi battery adapter; I fussed & drilled / soldered for neater wiring - YMMV.
Thx for the inspiration.
Already used for a 2-hr jam and also worked well. Besides being simpler than using the inverter / AC adapter, it appears to be a little more battery efficient: only one bar was consumed over 2 hours (2 bars normally consumed using the inverter). No perceivable volume or distortion issues due to the 18v battery / 20v input mismatch - so guess OK. Parts are power plug and Ryobi battery adapter; I fussed & drilled / soldered for neater wiring - YMMV.
Thx for the inspiration.
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Thank god i found this thread before buying the amp. I'm in the UK and they removed the DC input port, so it's no longer classed as battery powered.
Probably a silly question , but can these powerbanks with a UK mains plugs work in lieu of DC input? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Universal-31200mAh-Charging-External-Black/dp/B07WV2WB9T
Probably a silly question , but can these powerbanks with a UK mains plugs work in lieu of DC input? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Universal-31200mAh-Charging-External-Black/dp/B07WV2WB9T
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Sorry to double post but this slipped me by that it's exactly what i'm after. Thank you so much! Are you able to charge the battery with the inverter? Or do i need the normal Ryobi charger seperately?
huh! i found the double four here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
where it shows no DV volt in jack but instead a standard IEC computer power cable input:
any idea why? & if its only in europe? (a few sites in UK had pics of the DC unit, so maybe its a new change?)
It's been at least a couple of years that the change was made. As far as I know, the EU forced the change to one standard connector. You can use a powerbank with it.
