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Best Battery for Active basses

#41
I did the math awhile ago, so this is a repost. The prices were current as of last year.

TL;DR - Lithium only holds about 20% more power but costs 400% more per battery.

Lithium is objectively better, but is it worth it? That's up to you.



EMG P 380uA

EMG J 380uA

EMG BTC 740uA

EMG ABC 600uA

9v alkaline battery ~595, 000uAH

= about 283 hours

9v lithium ~750, 000uAH

= 357 hours

Thats based on max draw, so you'll get longer life if you're not running the preamp with max boost.

If you have two volumes instead of an active blend, and you run moderate boost your 283/357 hours might look more like 437/551 hours.

At Target (I originally wrote this in Aug '23), a 9v lithium is $17.40, and a four pack of alkaline is $17.

$17 Lithium = 357/551 hours

$17 Alkaline = 1132/1748 hours



Above numbers based off an Energizer Max vs Energizer Lithium




The little bit I know about USB rechargeable batteries is that they may have a small ~3v volt battery in them and a DC boost converter to bring it up to 9v.

The boost converter can cause noise that'll be picked up by the preamp.


I never did the math on normal rechargeable batteries (the old fashioned kind that go on a charger). My assumption is that they don't last as long, but they're rechargeable, and if you're using them you already know this.


The long shelf life of lithium is great for low draw uses where you want high reliability (ie, smoke detectors). If the bass is being played regularly the shelf life is likely a non-issue.


In general, I'll recommend normal alkaline batteries as they tend to taper off as they die, which will give you more warning when gigging than a lithium. Get the good ones (Energizer Max or Industrial) and under normal circumstances you'll only have to replace it once or twice a year. The only difference between Max and Industrial is the packaging (consumer vs bulk).
 
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#43
Back when I played an active bass full time I used Kodak 9v batteries, but they don't make them any more, or don't sell them in any of the places I frequent. These days I use copper tops because they are long lasting, I've never had one leak, and they are available most anywhere.
Just googled "Kodak 9v battery" and they are available. I guess I'll have to start hitting camera stores.
 
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#44
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#45
brianrost said:
I used Duracells for years but now in interest of saving some money I've been trying out Amazon Basics instead. An 8 pack is only $12.59 ($1.53 per battery), half the price of Duracells. So far, they've been fine. I use them in my NS Radius and Steinberger L2 basses, and my fdeck, L.R. Baggs and Sadowsky preamp pedals.
Click to expand...

Been using Amazon 9v in my active basses for several years now with excellent results and no leaks whatsoever.
 
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#48
i've used lithium for most things, and i used them in my active axes until i installed an audere preamp in one of my PJs --- the audere site/instructions said specifically not to use a lithium battery (?).

i just went to the site and couldn't find the 'warning', so i missed it -or- maybe the advice has changed. audere:
"A high quality 9 volt battery will last about 300 hours plugged into most bass amps. If you are plugged into a lower ohm load - most common is directly into a line level recording interface - then the preamp will need more power to drive the output signal to full frequency response so your battery will have a shorter life..."

i like lithium for a little more confidence, but alkaline works fine in my active PJ. FWIW, i haven't had any issues using 'non-branded' alkalines (e.g., amazon).




 
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#53
Duracells last a little longer and are sized a little shorter than Energizers (9v have some wiggle room in their sizing. That's why some budget 9v are a smidge longer and a tighter fit in the cavity), which is important for those whose basses have tight battery boxes or control cavities. Duracell vs Energizer 9 volt battery. Are all 9V batteries the same?

I use Energizers because that's what I can buy in bulk at my price club, which I do before every clock change for my smoke detectors and still have a few left for my active bass.
 
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#54
Guys - there are only a few companies in the world that actually manufacture batteries. There is a huge amount of white labeling. Walmart, Amazon, Kirkwood etc, don't make anything - they just buy white label

East Penn makes Duracell, Procell, DEKA, AC-Delco (some of it), Exide, Interstate, and a few others
Energizer Holdings makes EVEREADY, Rayovac, VARTA and probably a few white label brands.
All of these brands sub out manufacturering to each other on various sku's

Manufacturer is just not that important.
 
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#55
_Some Dude said:
The long shelf life of lithium is great for low draw uses where you want high reliability (ie, smoke detectors).
Click to expand...

I think you want it the other way around. specially if you have. a rental or vacation home that you do not reside in regularly. Smoke detectors will warn you if the voltage goes down. Lithium advantage is that it gives you consistent voltage and then just dies off.

In my experience aside from the bunny reference Energizer last longer or maybe Costco stocked a bad batch of DuraCells. I use 9V on DVMs, OBD scanners and pedals and smoke detectors the Duracell did not last as long. They were from Costco.

We can test this with some Arduino units I have and see which really last long.
 

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