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Halloween Scare!

ezstep

ezstep

Nov 25, 2004
2,251
3,718
73
north Louisiana
#1
Halloween gig, rehearsed Wednesday of this week. We are pulling in a few "old" songs that simply are better with a 5-string (Low B), so I took that one to rehearsal. Not an issue. Was great. Fast forward only two days, and we were playing outdoors, but we opted to not use the subs. Just 15's on sticks and bass not in the p.a. Plugged in and connected a Mesa Subway D-800+ and Subway 2x12, a rig I have used literally a hundred times.

No sound. Nothing. I changed instrument cables - nothing. I changed speaker cables (both Neutrik's) - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable in/out of the f/x loop multiple times - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable into the f/x loop and left it plugged in - nothing. I went to the trailer and grabbed my passive P/J, and, there it was. I assume that the battery simply died between Wednesday and Friday, but there was no buzzing on Wednesday - just plenty of clean sound. Since it takes a Philips head to remove the battery cover, I put up the fiver and just used the P. Gig-wise, everything went fine.

If you know me, you know that I change my batteries when daylight savings time changes, which is Saturday. I guess I waited just a couple of days too long. I am not one of those guys who tries to squeeze out every ounce of power from a $5 battery before changing. Got home, popped in a new battery, and I am back in business.

(Note to self:) Life is short. Change your batteries.
 
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#5
My gig case holds spare batteries for 9V, double A and triple A - I need them a lot.

...but thinking on it, in 25 years where I gigged with active basses exclusively, I had three instances where the battery inside the bass posed an issue. Once I was able to finish the set with a bit of a fizzy sound and swapped batteries in the break, once I had a bass that had a passive switch and flipping that saw me through and one single time, I was gone from the mix mid song (active pickups in that one, no sound with no battery) - but quick enough to troubleshoot and act to be back in the song for the final chorus.

"Luckily", the OP had their bass die before the gig and not in the second song, and OP was prepared and brought a spare bass.
 
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#9
ezstep said:
Halloween gig, rehearsed Wednesday of this week. We are pulling in a few "old" songs that simply are better with a 5-string (Low B), so I took that one to rehearsal. Not an issue. Was great. Fast forward only two days, and we were playing outdoors, but we opted to not use the subs. Just 15's on sticks and bass not in the p.a. Plugged in and connected a Mesa Subway D-800+ and Subway 2x12, a rig I have used literally a hundred times.

No sound. Nothing. I changed instrument cables - nothing. I changed speaker cables (both Neutrik's) - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable in/out of the f/x loop multiple times - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable into the f/x loop and left it plugged in - nothing. I went to the trailer and grabbed my passive P/J, and, there it was. I assume that the battery simply died between Wednesday and Friday, but there was no buzzing on Wednesday - just plenty of clean sound. Since it takes a Philips head to remove the battery cover, I put up the fiver and just used the P. Gig-wise, everything went fine.

If you know me, you know that I change my batteries when daylight savings time changes, which is Saturday. I guess I waited just a couple of days too long. I am not one of those guys who tries to squeeze out every ounce of power from a $5 battery before changing. Got home, popped in a new battery, and I am back in business.

(Note to self:) Life is short. Change your batteries.
Click to expand...
 
#10
Invest in a volt-ohm meter and test those batteries !! I check mine before every gig in my active basses. I have also found that my battery life has never matched what some people get. I also have found that if the battery tests below 9V you had better plan on replacing it soon. Most new Duracell batteries test around 9.2V new, and Energizer MAX batteries usually test at about 9.4V new. I used Duracell batteries for years but have changed over to the Energizer MAX. I have also found that I can hear the difference in sound when the battery drops below 9V - still functional but different. So I change batteries fairly often, and test even more often. A cheap enough expense for peace of mind ! PS: I have also tested several batteries that were below 9V when they were brand-new !
 
#11
ezstep said:
Halloween gig, rehearsed Wednesday of this week. We are pulling in a few "old" songs that simply are better with a 5-string (Low B), so I took that one to rehearsal. Not an issue. Was great. Fast forward only two days, and we were playing outdoors, but we opted to not use the subs. Just 15's on sticks and bass not in the p.a. Plugged in and connected a Mesa Subway D-800+ and Subway 2x12, a rig I have used literally a hundred times.

No sound. Nothing. I changed instrument cables - nothing. I changed speaker cables (both Neutrik's) - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable in/out of the f/x loop multiple times - nothing. I plugged an instrument cable into the f/x loop and left it plugged in - nothing. I went to the trailer and grabbed my passive P/J, and, there it was. I assume that the battery simply died between Wednesday and Friday, but there was no buzzing on Wednesday - just plenty of clean sound. Since it takes a Philips head to remove the battery cover, I put up the fiver and just used the P. Gig-wise, everything went fine.

If you know me, you know that I change my batteries when daylight savings time changes, which is Saturday. I guess I waited just a couple of days too long. I am not one of those guys who tries to squeeze out every ounce of power from a $5 battery before changing. Got home, popped in a new battery, and I am back in business.

(Note to self:) Life is short. Change your batteries.
Click to expand...
Wouldn’t you have tools and a spare battery in your gig kit?
 
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#15
In my gig bag I have ancillary things I personally am unlikely to use but have rescued people at gigs a few times including….
Electric guitar strings
Acoustic guitar strings
Asprin
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Vocalzone
Nasal spray
Plasters
Cable tester
9v batteries (x2)
Replacement IEM buds
 
#16
I don't play my active basses much so the batteries last a long time, possibly years but I have a task each January to put in fresh batteries in the few, the lonely active basses all 3 of them. When I was touring playing my lo B 5 string nightly it would get a freshie monthly or with every string change which ever came first.
OTOH my electric acoustics only have a battery installed as needed for recording or a gig and have extra 9v and necessary tools in each case/bag.
 
#17
buldog5151bass said:
If I were playing an active bass, I would have an extra battery in the case.
Click to expand...
Sometimes you need side tools to get to where the battery is.
At the moment the active basses I use all offer a passive option, which would save such situation.
In the past I used to gig regularly with an all active bass (active pickups, not only pre) but never had it dying on me.
Just lucky 🍀
 
#18
JamesGrant said:
In my gig bag I have ancillary things I personally am unlikely to use but have rescued people at gigs a few times including….
Electric guitar strings
Acoustic guitar strings
Asprin
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Vocalzone
Nasal spray
Plasters
Cable tester
9v batteries (x2)
Replacement IEM buds
Click to expand...

You slacker! What about an EpiPen, tourniquets, and those two heart jumper paddles? "Clear!"
 
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