Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
HELP active bass keeps eating up Batteries
- Thread starter sk8erste
- Start date
Interested as well.. My thumb was going through batteries like crazy, in about 2 months it went through about 8 batteries (2 each time). Went back to my Sterling for band stuff, which i've changed twice in 3 years, even when I didn't need to.
+1
My American Standard Deluxe will do the same thing and drain both 9v if left plugged in.
+1.
Most active basses use a stereo (or TRS) output socket wired so that the power from the battery is connected whenever there's a lead plugged in. This is like most bass pedals. The battery will be drained when there's a lead plugged in regardless of whether you're playing the bass at the time. Similarly, it will drain if there's something wrong with that output socket. No bass I know of should use a battery per month unless it's being left plugged in.
Most active basses use a stereo (or TRS) output socket wired so that the power from the battery is connected whenever there's a lead plugged in. This is like most bass pedals. The battery will be drained when there's a lead plugged in regardless of whether you're playing the bass at the time. Similarly, it will drain if there's something wrong with that output socket. No bass I know of should use a battery per month unless it's being left plugged in.
First, use good batteries. Don't use regular carbon batteries, use alkaline ones, or lithium. Maybe new generation rechargables, but old type rechargables are death. That's because a fully charged battery rated at 9VDC is only about 8 VDC, and most circuits start to crap out when the voltage drops below 7.5 VDC.
Then, make sure you unplug the bass when you're not using it. It's OK to leave it plugged in on stage or at a normal rehearsal, but don't leave it plugged in for eight hours at a time or longer. If it still drains stupd fast, then have the 1/4" jack checked to make sure it's not shorting out. The ring and sleeve connection short together when you insert a standard plug into the jack. If those are being shorted (or if the ring is shorting to ground at all) then that'll eat a battery a day.
jte
Then, make sure you unplug the bass when you're not using it. It's OK to leave it plugged in on stage or at a normal rehearsal, but don't leave it plugged in for eight hours at a time or longer. If it still drains stupd fast, then have the 1/4" jack checked to make sure it's not shorting out. The ring and sleeve connection short together when you insert a standard plug into the jack. If those are being shorted (or if the ring is shorting to ground at all) then that'll eat a battery a day.
jte
Having had a battery die on me ,once, on the break.
i mildly disagree with the gig thing.
on the average 3 set gig thats a good 60-90 minutes of drain if you think of soundcheck to 1st set plus 2 breaks.
If youre doing 3 or 4 shows a week ...every week...
General rule of thumb is (used to be at least)
that if youre getting an inexpensive bass go passive.
Because the active electronics will likely(not always) be the cheesiest cheapest possible.
(not necessarily speaking at op cuz i dunno from that instrument)
gl
Who comes up with these "rules of thumb"??? I've been playing bass over 30 years and only play active basses.... Never heard of it, nor has that been suggested for touring or recording>>>????
Common sense; play what you like and if it's active, unplug it on breaks if you're playing nightley....
I got Ibanez btb405 and just have to unplugged the cable and that's the way save battery...di u try unplugging?
I've been gigging with active basses since 1979 when I got my first StingRay (which, BTW, didn't have a switch in it for the battery at all, just a standard Switchcraft mono jack). A Duracell lasts me at least a year, with gigs and rehearsals, leaving the basses plugged in. The only time I had a bad battery on stage was the one time I used a NeverReady alkaline cell.
And the one year thing isn't when the batteries go bad on me, I just change them once a year. That's on three Laklands (Bartolini electronics), a Guild Pilot (EMG active PUPs), a Guild Pilot Pro (EMG active PUPs and a Mighty Mite active EQ preamp), a custom made bass with Duncan/Bassline's pre-amp, two pre-EB StingRays, and a DeArmond Ashbory.
Good batteries and you shouldn't have to worry about unplugging on stage. A four hour gig is pretty standard for me and I leave the bass plugged in the whole time. If we start at 9:00, my bass is plugged in from at least 8:30 until after 1:00. No problems ever with dead batteries (except as noted above).
jte
And the one year thing isn't when the batteries go bad on me, I just change them once a year. That's on three Laklands (Bartolini electronics), a Guild Pilot (EMG active PUPs), a Guild Pilot Pro (EMG active PUPs and a Mighty Mite active EQ preamp), a custom made bass with Duncan/Bassline's pre-amp, two pre-EB StingRays, and a DeArmond Ashbory.
Good batteries and you shouldn't have to worry about unplugging on stage. A four hour gig is pretty standard for me and I leave the bass plugged in the whole time. If we start at 9:00, my bass is plugged in from at least 8:30 until after 1:00. No problems ever with dead batteries (except as noted above).
jte
you might wish to note that i was referring specifically to
inexpensive basses.
aside from the fact that it occurred to me all by myself 20 years ago, ive seen it in BP as well. more than once i think.
ive been reading that since it was a special quarterly issue,
so i cant tell ya exactly which one.
i recall having to change the battery on my old peavey dynabass once a month or so.
by comparison
The only time i truly "needed" to change the battery in my sterling was the lone time it died on stage.
As luck would have it I happened to forget to unplug...
Every other battery change in the sterling was because
"geez its been in there for months ! its gotta just DIE on me sometime so im gonna be proactive and spend 3 bucks"
or
"geez that battery has been in there so long i better make sure it aint leaking " kinda thing.
Are the pickups in the Schecter active? If so, the drain on the battery will be more rapid with both the preamp and the pickups drawing from it.
"General rule of thumb is (used to be at least) that if youre getting an inexpensive bass go passive."
That's sensible to me. At lower price points, the smart move is to spend money on the BASS, and the PUPs, not electronics. A poor sounding bass won't sound better with a pre-amp in it, you'll just have more options for screwing up the sound. And at lower price points it's a marketing gimmick. You have a $500 bass to market, but you need an instrument at about $700 to fill out your line. So, you take the $500 one, put a cheap pre in it to make it "active", and you can bump the price a lot. And if your the sales clerk at Guitar Cancer, you can hype it by saying, "but this one's active, that's way better, man!".
I think until you get to about $1K MSRP, avoid pre-amps and get a better BASS.
jte
That's sensible to me. At lower price points, the smart move is to spend money on the BASS, and the PUPs, not electronics. A poor sounding bass won't sound better with a pre-amp in it, you'll just have more options for screwing up the sound. And at lower price points it's a marketing gimmick. You have a $500 bass to market, but you need an instrument at about $700 to fill out your line. So, you take the $500 one, put a cheap pre in it to make it "active", and you can bump the price a lot. And if your the sales clerk at Guitar Cancer, you can hype it by saying, "but this one's active, that's way better, man!".
I think until you get to about $1K MSRP, avoid pre-amps and get a better BASS.
jte
Are there any batteries (from other applications), either 9V or 18V that a) are smaller than standard 9V batteries and b) have a much longer life than standard 9V batteries? It is such a tremendous pain in the arse to change the batteries in my MIA Jazz (and so crowded) that I would pay a premium for a small, long-lasting 18V power source.
Any ideas? Surely there is something out there...some camera or GPS or other electronic device?
Any ideas? Surely there is something out there...some camera or GPS or other electronic device?
CrashClint
I Play Bass therefore I Am
One other possibility is they wired the jack wrong so the preamp is powered all the time. A lot of preamps use the cable to complete the battery ground and turn on the preamp. If they wired it backwards, the preamp never turns off whether or not the cord is unplugged.
Another possibility, if the cord plugs into the bottom of the bass and the hole that was drilled for the jack was painted with shielding paint and one of the jack terminals is touching the area where the shielding paint is located, this could cause the preamp to be on all the time as well.
I have had a LTD 304B that would eat batteries about every two months, my Roscoe batteries with an average of 6-8 hours a week play time last about 6 months.
Another possibility, if the cord plugs into the bottom of the bass and the hole that was drilled for the jack was painted with shielding paint and one of the jack terminals is touching the area where the shielding paint is located, this could cause the preamp to be on all the time as well.
I have had a LTD 304B that would eat batteries about every two months, my Roscoe batteries with an average of 6-8 hours a week play time last about 6 months.
In short, no. I have designed a fair number of battery powered gadgets, and have found that for small audio circuits, nothing beats the standard 9-V.
If you are unplugging it and it's still draining that fast, it's either wired wrong or is defective alltogether. I usually can get a year out of my basses. Use alkaline or lithium batteries. More expensive batteries are better for sure. Granted, I would get your current problem fixed first or you could be dishing out a ton of money in 9 volts.
I am about to install an Ultralife Lithium battery into my bass. I have an Audere Audio preamp, and they go through batteries pretty darned fast - I can barely get two months' worth of juice out of it playing 3 gigs/week as it is. This new battery is purported to last up to 5 times longer than an alkaline. Will report back with my findings - I have no idea how it's going to do (or if it's even a good idea to put a lithium 9V battery into a bass)...
