• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Battery powering a Phil Jones Double Four

#503
Ok, Got the amp Friday and have been playing through it for a couple days. Bonus is that it came with a padded case that wasn't mentioned, so Yay me! Really like it, can't believe how much sound comes out of this tiny box! Question for those that have connected batteries to it... Where did you find the connector to connect the battery to the DC input? Is it a standard size, and do the external batteries come with the right connector?

Thanks!

Don
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#504
bassguy1960 said:
Ok guys, I just purchased an older (2015) D4 after going through this thread. I was wondering what gig bag might fit it, and if the battery solutions you're talking about here would work for this one since it is older?

Thanks,
Don
Click to expand...

This OneTigris range bag has been a good fit for my D4 kit
https://a.co/d/2k8NJjk
One side pocket fits a couple 20Ah Anker batteries along with the AC adapter leaving the other side pocket free for a small water bottle. Front pocket holds a power strip and the magazine elastics are good for USB power cables. D4 slides in easily to the main compartment with space for a couple cables and iPad/sheet music. Build quality is about what I’d expect for the money.
 
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#505
bassguy1960 said:
Ok, Got the amp Friday and have been playing through it for a couple days. Bonus is that it came with a padded case that wasn't mentioned, so Yay me! Really like it, can't believe how much sound comes out of this tiny box! Question for those that have connected batteries to it... Where did you find the connector to connect the battery to the DC input? Is it a standard size, and do the external batteries come with the right connector?

Thanks!

Don
Click to expand...
My PilotPro2 came with these adapters...

poweradd-pilot-pro-1-c61103a9d64747abbd9ddb6f03d90107.jpg


but the cable without any adapter attached turned out to be the correct size.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#507
BAE said:
Buy the PJB bag. My Arriba bag wore out too quickly and didn’t have a shoulder strap.
Click to expand...

Sooo, until a couple of weeks ago I would have agreed 100% on the PJB bag, but then this started happening on mine, which is about a year and a half old. I will say that the separation only happened when I started carrying a battery in the bag with the amp, but I would have thought that sort of usage would have been envisioned.

What do you all think — is this something worth raising with the Phil Jones folks, or should I just move on to something else?

IMG_1274.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#508
KeepItMoving said:
Sooo, until a couple of weeks ago I would have agreed 100% on the PJB bag, but then this started happening on mine, which is about a year and a half old. I will say that the separation only happened when I started carrying a battery in the bag with the amp, but I would have thought that sort of usage would have been envisioned.

What do you all think — is this something worth raising with the Phil Jones folks, or should I just move on to something else?

View attachment 5476312
Click to expand...
It doesn't hurt to ask.
:thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: KeepItMoving
#510
KeepItMoving said:
Sooo, until a couple of weeks ago I would have agreed 100% on the PJB bag, but then this started happening on mine, which is about a year and a half old. I will say that the separation only happened when I started carrying a battery in the bag with the amp, but I would have thought that sort of usage would have been envisioned.

What do you all think — is this something worth raising with the Phil Jones folks, or should I just move on to something else?

View attachment 5476312
Click to expand...

Looks odd, as if it came apart between the strap anchor and where the zipper is attached. (Not a place where I'd expect a bag to come apart. Your bag looks different than the one I got.

upload_2024-6-12_12-27-59.png


When you add the battery, is the bag stressing at that point? When I add the battery to my bag, it looks like there'd be more stress on the zipper seams than anything else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy and KeepItMoving
#511
What I'd really love to find is a case/bag that carries my NS Design Omni AND the D4 that will fit in an airplane overhead compartment. The combined volume and maximum dimensions would be about the same size as an acoustic guitar, and people put these in overheads all the time...
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#512
Queue said:
Looks odd, as if it came apart between the strap anchor and where the zipper is attached. (Not a place where I'd expect a bag to come apart. Your bag looks different than the one I got.

When you add the battery, is the bag stressing at that point? When I add the battery to my bag, it looks like there'd be more stress on the zipper seams than anything else.
Click to expand...

I agree about it being a bit unexpected - I was laying the battery on top of the amp, alongside the control knobs, and would have figured that the zipper would be the weak point. It almost looks like the fabric side panel didn’t have a fully secure connection to the upper seam, but I suppose it’s possible that the extra pound and a half of weight from the battery was just more than the bag was designed for.

And, yeah, it does look like a different design from yours. Mine was from November of ‘22; maybe they’ve changed since then?
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy
#515
BargeOn said:
No heat. No bugs. No reason to practice indoors.

BTW it seems to me that the Double 4 does real justice to a fretless bass. I haven't tried his other models but I wouldn't be surprised if some are fretless friendly as well.View attachment 5478786
Click to expand...

It gets along fairly well with this one but you have to use the low setting due to the high output active pickups-

IMG_6497.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: WRM, Ferniff, Queue and 2 others
#516
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
  • Like
Reactions: Ferniff, BargeOn and anderbass
#518
Aloe said:
actual testing in wild life TBD.
Click to expand...

okay, I have first results. I use a M12 2.5Ah battery, I'm not sure it was charged to 100% before I plugged it in, but the battery indicator was 4 of 4. so far I've put into it like an hour to hour thirty of playing time with a volume in the second half, but not maxed out. it's now 3 of 4.

I'm not sure, the indicators are linear, but this gives a rough estimate of several hours maxed out. when I'll take it out for the first time, I'll bring a spare battery just in case.

a couple of thoughts behind this design: my upset with the 18V (20V Max) battery without a voltage regulation was it was gradually quieter and even distorting upon discharging (and actually when it goes below the nominal voltage of 18V, the effect is pretty pronounced). when I bought some 12V tools, I wanted to run two 12V batteries to get 24V at full charge and around 20.5V at nominal voltage. however, the Phil Jones folks strongly advised against running the D4 at 24 volts and suggested a diode to reduce voltage.

I said: hey, I don't want to reduce voltage if it's already 20.5V and bought a voltage regulator, so I can run at 20V with the battery fully charged or not. so, again, voltage impacts headroom and volume of a Double Four, that's why I prefer it to be regulated.

I've initially thought, I'd use two batteries at once, but ended up with one battery (and possibly another as a spare, this way it's more compact and useful). my math was: I have a 20V 3Ah battery, and I'm able to use it to 2 leds of three, that's roughly 20V 1Ah is enough for my needs. 20V 1Ah is like 12V 2Ah, so probably a small compact 12V 2.5Ah battery (like the ones in my tools and portable lights) will give me like the same runtime.

I'm not sure yet how close are those rough estimates to my real life usage. when I take my D4 out, I usually end up to turn it to max usable volume and use it as a mini PA as well (a mic preamp goes to aux in), so this is pretty heavy usage. testing it to that extent (and comparing with a single 20V max battery) will take some time.

thanks for reading
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodRy and ChrisD_
#519
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back