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Best 9v batt for active basses

#61
I once bought a big pack of cheap Utilitech (Lowe's house brand) batteries to use for musical applications. Within a few weeks I had to pry them out of my bass and throw the whole pack away because they were already swelling and leaking. Moral of the story, spend the extra few cents on good batteries. I only use Energizers and Duracells now.
 
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#62
brianrost said:
Most rechargeable batteries put out 1.2V per cell. Alkaline puts out 1.5V per cell. So many "9V" rechargeables are only 7.2V, to get the 8.4 and 9.6V mentioned for some brands means more cells per battery (7 or 8 instead of 6). ........
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totally... regarding voltage output:

<rant>
One thing I never understood is... how did the regulators/marketers/inventors of ni-cad rechargeable batteries decide to put out 7.2V batteries and call them 9V batteries, and 1.2 v instead of 1.5 v, etc etc. It's like they thought... hmm... well we have to make 9v rechargeable batteries. If we make it this way, it's about 7.2V at full charge, and goes down from there. We could make one that puts out about 9V at full charge, but it would cost more, so let's make it a 7.2V battery and just CALL it 9V, and sell it in a 9V case, and still on the label we CALL IT A 9V BATTERY... even though we all know it's a 7V battery and somewhere, in fine print, we mention that fact.

Why the heck didn't they just label them properly? say that it's about a 7v battery, not 9v. make a 9v version, yes in the same packaging so you can save money and get the lower voltage one if it does the job for you, but it's a choice, and you know what you're getting. It's one reason why ni-cad was always considered so bad (I know it's also recharging rules are strict)... the batteries being sold as a given voltage replacement were actually sold as a given price-point and battery size replacement, but were NOT compatible in voltage output. Terrible terrible business practices that went on back then.

I know I know, real 9v batteries put out roughly 7 v when they get older.... but that's VERY different from putting out 9v when new. There are different circuit requirements with 7v or less powering it.

please don't bother explaining why you think it was ok to do that. It wasn't, and I am sure there are business reasons, and package-size reasons. But the lack of honesty was just horrible.

</rant>
 
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#63
Plain Old Barry said:
It's worth pointing out that all of my leaky batteries were in low to very low current drawing devices, like remote controls, smoke detectors, etc... as opposed to higher drawing devices like wireless transmitters or handheld radios.

Our instruments are pretty low current draws, so it's worth keeping in mind and/or checking them regularily.
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Absolutely, very good points
 
#64
brianrost said:
Then I had an Enercell that lasted 13 years before it wouldn't hold a full charge
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It happens sometimes. In spring 2010 I've bought Ensoniq TS-12 made in 1994, still with original battery. I've had it for 9 years. The battery was working and working. I've sold it last year and asked the new owner to drop me a line when he gets the "low battery" message. Still nothing for now. It's 26 years of a battery life!
Sorry for the offtopic.
 
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#65
Nothing to do with active basses, but bassist batteries just the same. I've been using a Zoom H4n recorder for years at every rehearsal and gig, for after-action review. Had a couple of sets of rechargeable AAs that I'd alternate. Those wore out after a while, and as I used to find Duracells to be slightly better back in the 20th century, I bought a couple pairs of Duracell rechargeable AAs for the Zoom. And suddenly the Zoom became completely unreliable. I'd put it down to too device failure and had even ordered another. I rotated the Duracells onto my Line-6 wireless transmitter. Then *that* device got flaky and needed to be shaken to work sometimes. And the light came on in my engineering-day-job brain. I looked more closely at the batteries. Recent Duracell casings, both rechargeable and disposable, have a shorter, fatter "bump" on the + end than do Everready. I put some vanilla alkaline Everreadys into my "sick" H4n and it was miraculously cured. I put them into the wireless unit, and it became rock solid again Ray'o'Vacs have the same casings as Duracell - probably from the same Chinese subcontractor - and the same issues. Really annoying. I've had to gradually find homes around the house for the Duracell and Ray'o'Vac rechargeables that I can't use for music because of the fussiness of the Zoom and Line-6.
 
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#68
equill said:
That really sucks.
If you do find them, I'll be curious to know what brand and type they are, if only so I know which ones to avoid.
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RoketRdr said:
I use the EBL 6F22 600mah lithium-ion rechargeable's and they work just fine. On New Years Day I pull it out and throw it on the charger and then reinstall until next NYD.
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I dug out mine and charged them overnight

They are EBL 6F22 600mah lithium-ion rechargeables

Out of four freshly charged ones my trusty Fluke DMM reads 8.4v, 8.2v, 8.1v, and 7.8v

They are several years old, but this would only be the second or third charge for them

My EQ01 doesn't like...

That's the only thing I own besides a Zinky cigarette box amp that uses 9v so I'm done with 9v rechargeables

No problems with Eneloop AA though.
 
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#69
claudel said:
I dug out mine and charged them overnight

They are EBL 6F22 600mah lithium-ion rechargeables

Out of four freshly charged ones my trusty Fluke DMM reads 8.4v, 8.2v, 8.1v, and 7.8v

They are several years old, but this would only be the second or third charge for them

My EQ01 doesn't like...

That's the only thing I own besides a Zinky cigarette box amp that uses 9v so I'm done with 9v rechargeables

No problems with Eneloop AA though.
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Thanks; good to know.
I've never heard of EBL batteries before, but I'll avoid them in future and stick to the known-good brands.
 
#70
bhoff5150 said:
Does anybody know which is the best 9V battery for metal? Asking for a friend....
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maxresdefault.jpg
 
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#73
Great discussion y’all - thx for so much great info. I ended up finding a good price on a box of Duracell Procells - same product I’ve used for the last 15 years (they cost a ton more back then). Thanks to some of your comments, I will open the control cavity and check in on them after a bit to make sure there are no issues. Thx!
 
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#74
Sid Fang said:
So is the Danelectro an all-tube battery?
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It's just a zinc-carbon battery, a type that's seldom used for anything any more. It is what was common in the 60s when the first fuzz and wah pedals showed up and as the video showed, they do sound different in distortion pedals.

Danelectro batteries are somewhat overpriced...$3.99 for a two-pack at Amazon ($2 each). Panasonic zinc-carbon batteries in a 24 pack are $22.50 ($0.94 each), $6.64 in a four pack ($1.66 each). Eveready 12 packs are $16.19 ($1.35 each). Chinese off-brands are about $0.50 each in packages of 12 or more.
 
#75
claudel said:
I dug out mine and charged them overnight

They are EBL 6F22 600mah lithium-ion rechargeables

Out of four freshly charged ones my trusty Fluke DMM reads 8.4v, 8.2v, 8.1v, and 7.8v

They are several years old, but this would only be the second or third charge for them

My EQ01 doesn't like...

That's the only thing I own besides a Zinky cigarette box amp that uses 9v so I'm done with 9v rechargeables

No problems with Eneloop AA though.
Click to expand...

equill said:
Thanks; good to know.
I've never heard of EBL batteries before, but I'll avoid them in future and stick to the known-good brands.
Click to expand...

If you leave lithium-ions to sit for years then yeah...they will start going bad. If you get two years out of a cell phone battery you're doing good. Also, lithium-ions will read slightly lower than standard alkaline batteries. Doesn't mean they're bad. I've been using EBL's for years and they work just fine when you take care of them just like any other lithium rechargeable.
 
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