Best rechargeable batteries

Energizer or Rayovac:

http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/nh22-175.pdf

Recharge Plus 9V 1-Pack Batteries | Rayovac ®

or you might try Nuon:

Nuon 9V Rechargeable NiMH Battery 1 Pack - NURE9V-1 at Batteries Plus Bulbs

They seem to be rating well & have the highest discharge rate, but I've never tried one.

 

What voltage?

Eneloop seems to be the recommendation for AA/AAA

I've had a couple of dud Eneloop AA but I think that the duds were knockoffs, not genuine.

Be careful where you buy...

I have 4 9V EBLs & charger that didn't work out for me in the classifieds, if you want cheap.

Not enough volts to fire up my particular preamp.

 

IIRC, NiMH batteries will drop quite suddenly when they get to a certain voltage, and if let go much beyond this, they are damaged. (I think that's around 1.2V per cell, IOW 7.2V for a 9V battery.) If let go completely flat, they are damaged beyond repair. So I'd say, have an active-passive switch as a backup, and also don't use them if you are forgetful and prone to leaving your cable plugged in by mistake. Otherwise, although I've never bothered with them, I'd think modern rechargeables would be fine for onboard stuff, especially the preamps with relatively high current consumption.

Unfortunately most of the datasheets, discharge graphs etc etc that you find online are for testing batteries (rechargeable or otherwise) at much higher current loads than what we typically use with an onboard pre. And the other thing is that active basses have a huge range of current loads. From 30 micoamps for a 2-band stingray pre, to 4 or 5 milliamps for some aftermarket/custom setups I've seen. So I'd definitely test the current consumption of your instrument.

A fully charged NiMH "9 volt" should be well over 8 Volts. Which preamp do you have? I've tested onboard preamps that are still working at 3V...

 

I gave up on rechargeable and went with Coppertops for my 9v active bass.

Much less hassle. Preamp sounds much better with enough volts too.

 

ACG EQ-001. Works great with Coppertops, dead with rechargable @ 8.5V

I gave up trying to troubleshoot it.

 

That's very weird. And certainly not right. No one would design an onboard circuit that didn't function below 8.5V. Especially John East. He really knows his stuff, and his products are excellent.

I understand your frustration. Electronics troubleshooting can be very vexing! But FWIW, if you regain your enthusiasm, I'd try the following:

1: contact John East. I've never met the bloke, but by all accounts, he's a nice guy and very helpful.
2: test the current consumption.
3: test the battery's voltage while it's in the bass, and the preamp is switched on.

 

Panasonic Eneloop are the best I've ever used. I use them in my wireless unit, zoom recorder and other places. They last comparable to new energizers when charged and they charge up in a few hours.

 

View attachment 3448928 View attachment 3448929 I build electric toys , bikes, motorcycles, etc.

I can tell you that the best consumer , easy access rechargeable batteries are Duracell and Energizer.

Look on the battery for the one with highest AH number, whenever you are comparing .
And they need to be lipo or lithium.
Lithium is safer

You will need 2 because you want to keep swapping them , trying to charge once it's at about 15% left , otherwise you risk shortening the life of the battery , and if you take care of your battery , you should get about 6 years of use out of one.

You could also run the 2 in parallel if you have space in the bass cavity. That would be ideal as you will get twice the playtime out of a pack.

If you get the USB rechargeable ones you can mount a USB charge cable to the backside of your bass cavity case and simply plug into that to charge.
I have included a picture of a likewise set up except mine goes to my internal Wireless.

And I use cell phone and RC car batteries since I make my own stuff. Cuz they have more storage for higher capacity. So if you want one made just PM me.

 

Last month's battle.

Don't know why it wouldn't work with the rechargeables.

Don't care.

Works fine with Coppertops, so I'll carry an extra.

I had issues with an intermittent mechanical fault in the battery box as well that I fixed.

Might have been caused by slightly oversized batteries...

Not gonna bother John East. Preamp works great when it has enough volts.

 

non-rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have some value on their own, IMO. so even if you go the rechargeable route: keep a couple of the regular 9v's close by...just in case! the problem with batteries = they're batteries. good luck!

 

I have great luck with Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries for my wireless mics and wireless in-ear belt packs.

Not so much with their rechargeable 9V batteries. Nor anyone's 9V rechargeable for active bass electronics duties.

It probably has more to do with the fact that I can break out the mics and belt packs and retrieve batteries for recharging easily after a gig. It's a bigger hassle to me to retrieve an ailing battery from the bass, even though it's every few gigs and not every gig like the mics and packs.

It works better for me to put a Duracell Quantuum 9V in the bass (2 in a couple of cases) and forget about it for a couple of months and usually longer.

 

Looking to fit 6 AA rechargeable batteries in my Roland Microcube Bass RX
(don't laugh, I love it) Are Panasonic 2500 mAh any good?