Is this a myth?

[SteveBassJr]

Just like an effects pedal. If you have a battery in it. When your cable is plugged in. It drains your battery. The unit doesn't know if your amp is on or not. It doesn't care.

 

[James Collins]

How about a new question to carry this along:

Have you ever had a corroded battery in a bass? I have not, and I had one bass last 8 years on a single battery including probably two years where I didn't play it.

With that said, I just got paranoid because some of our Christmas lights that were battery powered just had the issue with less than a year in storage. So I took all the batteries out of my devices since I mainly play two instruments these days.

 

[lordradish]

so garbage like 'must oil fretboard' gets tossed around like gospel, but unplugging to stop the circuit from being active is somehow a myth
What a twisted world we live in!

Hah! If only that were the worst of the delusions plaguing us, right now.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

so garbage like 'must oil fretboard' gets tossed around like gospel, but unplugging to stop the circuit from being active is somehow a myth
What a twisted world we live in!

I'm oiling my fretboard at 00:01 on new year's day so that the positive force of numerology will aid the process.

 

[wishforbass]

So I received an active bass for xmas. (Ibanez srh500f). My question is, if I leave my cable plugged into my bass will it drain the battery?

Yes it is .
Because the on and off is happening by plug in and out .
Also it is not always safe for pre amp specially if you do not have safe outlet, it can damage the pre amp .

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So I received an active bass for xmas. (Ibanez srh500f). My question is, if I leave my cable plugged into my bass will it drain the battery?

don’t know about an Ibanez, but with my Warwick it certainly will

 

[BurningSkies]

It also makes it harder for water to get out of the wood.

There is moisture in the air, and there is moisture in the fingerboard. The wood will either gain moisture or lose moisture from the atmosphere, depending on the relative humidity and the moisture content of the wood (osmosis- the moisture will move from the greater concentration to the lesser concentration until equilibrium is reached).

In the summer, when the relative atmospheric humidity is as high as 90%, your fingerboard will gradually absorb moisture from the atmosphere until the moisture content of the wood reaches 90% (i.e. equilibrium). Above 65% or 70% moisture content, the wood fibers will swell, and the expansion differential between fingerboard and neck woods can cause the fingerboard to lose it’s relief and create back-bow issues. It can cause fret buzz. It can also cause intonation issues. In some cases, it can even cause glue joint failures.

In the winter, when indoor humidity can be less than 10%, literally drier than the Mojave Desert, the opposite occurs. Moisture will move out of the fingerboard and into the atmosphere until the moisture content of the wood matches the relative humidity of the room, in this case, 10%.

Below 30% moisture content, the wood will begin to shrink, the fret ends will protrude*, causing sharp fret ends, the fingerboard could develop cracks, the neck can bow, and again, in extreme cases, it could create de-lamination issues.

When the wood is expanding and contracting due to moisture fluctuation, it can cause the neck to warp, twist, or crack. Ebony, in particular, is prone to cracking due to moisture fluctuation.

The purpose of fingerboard oil is to create a semi-permeable moisture barrier. It won't prevent osmosis from occurring, but it will slow it down considerably.

The oil will also displace some of the moisture in the wood. Oil will still evaporate, but it evaporates at a much, much slower rate than water (months rather than hours).

All these rants about how oiling a fingerboard is somehow wrong, or that anyone who thinks they need to put oil on their fingerboard is somehow stupid, are coming from an incomplete understanding of the function of oiling a fingerboard, at best. They typically argue that oiling a fingerboard does not moisturize the fingerboard, since moisture is water, and oil is not water.

This is a straw-man argument, a logical fallacy. It's based on a false premise. The oil is not to "add moisture" to the fingerboard. Adding moisture to a fingerboard will do more harm than good in most cases. It's the opposite of what you want. Oil is used to slow the transfer of moisture, both to and from the fingerboard.

So, is it necessary to oil an unfinished fingerboard? It depends on the circumstances.

When I was a musician, I was traveling with my instruments most of the time. They were exposed to frequent temperature fluctuations, humidity fluctuations, and barometric pressure fluctuations (especially when flying).
It was pretty important to keep the fingerboards oiled.

I am no longer a musician. I keep all of my instruments in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Since fluctuations in temperature and humidity are not an issue, I don't bother oiling any of my fingerboards. They don't need it.

Exact same principle. A semi-permeable barrier to slow osmosis. In the case of a fingerboard, an impermeable barrier can be used (such as nitrocellulose lacquer on a maple board), which renders oil unnecessary. An impermeable barrier would be less than optimal on skin (witness the ignominious death of Jill Masterson).

* That's right. All these people complaining about sharp fret ends are complaining about a storage issue, i.e. relative humidity and the moisture content of the wood, and not a manufacturing issue. The instrument was not made with sharp fret ends. The sharp ends protruded because the fretboard shrank due to moisture loss.

.

This is probably just about the only post in the thread worth reading & taking note of. I do oil un-finished fretboards/fingerboards on a semi-regular basis (maybe only a couple times a year. Not only does it help protect the wood from potential cracking (especially woods like ebony) but it does help with humidity based issues. On the road I mostly use finished maple/maple necks which since they're 'sealed' on both the neck and fretboard don't quite have the same amount of humidity based shift. Also, I find that oiled dark woods just look better than unoiled which get a dry/faded slightly chalky look.

Then mine must be defective. I bought it new in 90, and the bottom position on my four way switch has always turned the preamp off. Since it lives at home or in my brothers studio these days it gets left plugged in for weeks at a time with no problem. I've had brain farts and forgot to turn the switch off and drained a battery overnight so it’s still possible to get caught out.
As for battery life? When I played out a lot I replaced the battery every four months. It was not flat when I replaced it but the goal was not get caught on stage with a dead battery. I can switch to passive on the same switch I turn it off with, but it drops the volume enough you will likely need to turn up your amp, so after the second time it died on stage I started replacing my battery every four months to avoid having to scramble mid song. I always kept the last battery I took out of it for folks who never seemed to have replacement batteries. I’d wrap a strip of friction tape around the battery to cover the posts and toss it in the case so i didn't have to give up my new in the pack backup battery.

here’s where it’s been since early October and the only time it’s not plugged in is when i move everything to run the vacuum.

View attachment 4106622 View attachment 4106623

How does any of this help the OP unless he has a Fender with Kubiki preamp; which he doesn't. It doesn't arguing semantics of a singular specific electronics setup that's fairly esoteric and uncommon isn't really doing much besides arguing. We've established that very very few basses have switching to fully power-down preamp circuitry besides unplugging.

I have a 1990 Stingray 5 and yes unplug when you are done playing, but when you are gigging no need to unplug. We soundcheck about an hour before showtime and I leave my bass plugged in all the time when I am at a gig.

Yeah, I stay plugged in between sets. My preamp/DI doesn't mute and for the number of times that the sound engineers in various rooms don't bother to mute the FOH or bass channel, it's much more reasonable to just remain plugged in for the 20-to-40 minutes we may take a break. I don't turn off any of my stage gear between sets, and prefer to leave it powered up between soundcheck and set-time if that's an option.

When gigging (not now, obviously) we generally for the past few years have been doing plus or minus about 100 shows a year. I change out the batteries in my stage bass(es) about 3-4 times a year, and they're all 18v so 2x 9v batteries each time. I mark the batteries with the date I put them in and sort of keep a running tally of how long in my head. I also carry a number of extra batteries in my gig-bag (more than 2). I've never had a problem but always worth being prepared. I generally change out batteries before big or important 'playing events' whether that's a fair sized show/festival or maybe a week or two in the studio.

 

[misterCRUSH]

This is probably just about the only post in the thread worth reading & taking note of. I do oil un-finished fretboards/fingerboards on a semi-regular basis (maybe only a couple times a year. Not only does it help protect the wood from potential cracking (especially woods like ebony) but it does help with humidity based issues. On the road I mostly use finished maple/maple necks which since they're 'sealed' on both the neck and fretboard don't quite have the same amount of humidity based shift. Also, I find that oiled dark woods just look better than unoiled which get a dry/faded slightly chalky look.



How does any of this help the OP unless he has a Fender with Kubiki preamp; which he doesn't. It doesn't arguing semantics of a singular specific electronics setup that's fairly esoteric and uncommon isn't really doing much besides arguing. We've established that very very few basses have switching to fully power-down preamp circuitry besides unplugging.



Yeah, I stay plugged in between sets. My preamp/DI doesn't mute and for the number of times that the sound engineers in various rooms don't bother to mute the FOH or bass channel, it's much more reasonable to just remain plugged in for the 20-to-40 minutes we may take a break. I don't turn off any of my stage gear between sets, and prefer to leave it powered up between soundcheck and set-time if that's an option.

When gigging (not now, obviously) we generally for the past few years have been doing plus or minus about 100 shows a year. I change out the batteries in my stage bass(es) about 3-4 times a year, and they're all 18v so 2x 9v batteries each time. I mark the batteries with the date I put them in and sort of keep a running tally of how long in my head. I also carry a number of extra batteries in my gig-bag (more than 2). I've never had a problem but always worth being prepared. I generally change out batteries before big or important 'playing events' whether that's a fair sized show/festival or maybe a week or two in the studio.

What kind of oil do you use? I have a couple rosewood and one pau ferro board...

 

[P. Aaron]

A old friend used to plug headphones into his EB’s output jack. Claimed he could hear it.

High school in Ann Arbor, MI in the 70’s had it’s humorous moments.

 

[Richard_K]

Not to beat a dead horse here... but rather a question for 'agedhorse': now that there so many active basses out there, could the amp provide the DC 9-18v power required, similar to the way a preamp provides 'phantom power' to a condenser microphone? If so, we would have no more concern about dead batteries.

 

[Williethump]

Garbage? ... not only did my Fretboard shine like the Sun but I heard better detail, better articulation and of course more Bass. It is a must!

This! Who cares about fretboard looks anyhow? AussieCrocFretboardGrease tends to make my board looks positively pacadermian but the tone! Much more important that dead bass batteries. Oil 'em down people, til they drip. Your ears will thank me.

 

[BurningSkies]

What kind of oil do you use? I have a couple rosewood and one pau ferro board...

I use a decent quality lemon oil that doesn't have any weird additives in it, though I've also used similar orange oil too. Right now I have Dingwalls with Pau Ferro (old Voodoo Prima) & ebony (Super-P/J), a few other basses (Fender & Gibson-made Steinberger) with RW...as well as a few guitars with rosewood (I have an old Tele with a thick slab of Brazilian RW & clay dots) as well as another strat-ish guitar with undetermined rosewood from the 80's.

Another note for people who aren't possibly out gigging much...try to keep your humidity shifts in the rooms you keep your instruments fairly stable. I have a 'basement level' music room that if left to it's own devices will range from around 20% humidity in the winter to around 70% in the summer. Actually our whole house is like that as well. So I have a few little temp/humidity gauges in the music room and around the house and I humidify/dehumidify seasonally to keep things between 45 and 55%.

 

[chadds]

I heard that cures neckdive!

Only when the water goes the other way down the toilet you're diving into.

 

[farmertom]

Well I learnt something new today!

 

[Kukulkan61]

I leave mine plugged in all the time and the batteries never go dead!

 

[farmertom]

The myth is how quickly it will drain the battery: I've heard people claim that if you forget and leave it plugged in then the battery will be completely dead the next day, which is nonsense.

I’ve left mine plugged in virtually since it arrived and it takes weeks to kill a battery. But that said sounds like I could stand to unplug it lol. I’ve put in maybe 3 batteries in the last few months.

 

[misterCRUSH]

I use a decent quality lemon oil that doesn't have any weird additives in it, though I've also used similar orange oil too. Right now I have Dingwalls with Pau Ferro (old Voodoo Prima) & ebony (Super-P/J), a few other basses (Fender & Gibson-made Steinberger) with RW...as well as a few guitars with rosewood (I have an old Tele with a thick slab of Brazilian RW & clay dots) as well as another strat-ish guitar with undetermined rosewood from the 80's.

Another note for people who aren't possibly out gigging much...try to keep your humidity shifts in the rooms you keep your instruments fairly stable. I have a 'basement level' music room that if left to it's own devices will range from around 20% humidity in the winter to around 70% in the summer. Actually our whole house is like that as well. So I have a few little temp/humidity gauges in the music room and around the house and I humidify/dehumidify seasonally to keep things between 45 and 55%.

I was thinking lemon oil, so that confirms it, going to start oiling my boards!! Thanks!!!!

 

[BurningSkies]

I was thinking lemon oil, so that confirms it, going to start oiling my boards!! Thanks!!!!

It doesn't take a lot. I rub in a thin coat (you know, looks shiny & dark), let it evaporate down and soak in. When that looks like it's mostly disappeared, I do it again for another time or two until it looks like the wood has stopped easily absorbing. Once that happens I buff it a bit with a cotton cloth just to remove any remaining oil and you're good for however long until you do it again.

Unoiled Rosewood (old stock brazilian) fretboard:

after being oiled:

 

[bassicmike]

One more thing to know about active basses:

The battery WILL crap out 5 minutes before a gig. ALWAYS have extra, new batteries in your bag.

 

[satjhmo]

so garbage like 'must oil fretboard' gets tossed around like gospel, but unplugging to stop the circuit from being active is somehow a myth
What a twisted world we live in!

Yup, it's a shame the internet is full of such nonsense but I think in writing "myth" the OP was reasonably going for a bit of literary pizzazz, rather than reflecting the fact that leaving an active bass plugged in will quickly drain its battery, as they all do. In fact the first natural thing you do, like learning to breathe, when you get your first active bass is leave it plugged in for a day or two and drain the battery. Then you learn not to. So in the end, it's about as mythical as exhalation .