Ray does not like this battery (or vice-versa)

[Kipp Harrington]

One possibility that popped in my head is that preamps likely have a range of voltage that they will operate properly in.
I'll make up a number, say, 8-10vdc. Anything above or below could cause issues. Different preamps might have different tolerances.
Perhaps, some lithium batteries start out at a higher voltage that cause some preamps to throw a fit? I dunno, just spit ballin. Someone more knowledgeable would have to chime in.

This sounds likely.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I would be curious about the integrity of the snap-on connectors at the 9v battery itself and verifying how secure the connection was before delving into the specific properties of electrons generated by different chemical compositions. Have you measured the battery's potential with a voltmeter?

No... good idea.

 

[RichterScale]

Yeah neither am I, I just offered a point and defended myself when people decided to talk down on my experience and findings.

I'm glad you're still going though. All joking aside though right?

Hope your day gets better, dude.

My day is fine. You're reading everything the wrong way. No one is talking down to you.
You said something that was wrong and a few people corrected you. As far as I can tell, it was done in a respectful and well intentioned "tone". If you can't handle being wrong or being told so, even nicely, that's a problem for you to deal with and grow out of, not everyone else.
I'm sorry if if blurting out something silly on the internet and being corrected In front of everyone hurt your pride. It wasn't a big deal until you made it one. No one was talking down to you.
Until now.

 

[Lenny JG]

My day is fine. You're reading everything the wrong way. No one is talking down to you.
You said something that was wrong and a few people corrected you. As far as I can tell, it was done in a respectful and well intentioned "tone". If you can't handle being wrong or being told so, even nicely, that's a problem for you to deal with and grow out of, not everyone else.
I'm sorry if if blurting out something silly on the internet and being corrected In front of everyone hurt your pride. It wasn't a big deal until you made it one. No one was talking down to you.
Until now.

If you say so. Again, hope your day gets better, dude.

 

[RichterScale]

If you say so. Again, hope your day gets better, dude.

I still love you

 

[micguy]

I never said mine does. There are literally prime examples online where you can see charts showing different frequency boosts and what not..

“You” was the royal you - not you specifically.

 

[Lenny JG]

“You” was the royal you - not you specifically.

Fair nuff, and I guess we can agree to disagree since I don't think what you said is true in all circumstances, but definitely is true sometimes

 

[RichterScale]

So,....the OP should just stick with typical alkaline batteries (Duracell in particular) because we know they work in that bass and OP hasn't had any issue with those so far.
That's what I get out of all this.
Oh, and don't forget to unplug

 

[bigjames]

Not sure if this applies here, but when I bought my new EBMM ray back in 1994 I had to get the electronics checked and compartment shielded to make it usable in the world.

 

[micguy]

Fair nuff, and I guess we can agree to disagree since I don't think what you said is true in all circumstances, but definitely is true sometimes

I’ve designed a fair number of battery powered circuits; if their performance varied with the type of battery, we’d have all kinds of customers calling us with their complaints - we’ll designed stuff accommodates different batteries.

 

[Lenny JG]

I’ve designed a fair number of battery powered circuits; if their performance varied with the type of battery, we’d have all kinds of customers calling us with their complaints - we’ll designed stuff accommodates different batteries.

I'm not quite saying that it's that drastic or common, only that it can and does happen. Usually very small differences in sound that are usually only desirable. Certain batteries don't really agree w my bass that has a funky preamp, usually lesser quality batteries, but nonetheless. But I can't even leave a good battery in it as it will draw no matter what, whole thing is just funny old Korean electronics lol. But that being said, energizers do work fine in that bass, but don't sound as good as Duracell or my rechargeable ansmann which actually make all my basses sound best to my ear. It's just something to keep in mind. Could just do w the initial amp discharge, different compositions are going discharge amps differently at different voltages as well.

 

[RichterScale]

As for alkaline batteries, I'm not sure if this brand is regional or everywhere, but I've had Sunbeam brand batteries around the house over the years, probably bought at a grocery store, tractor supply, etc, in aaa, aa, 9v and they are junk. The A's are shorter and don't make contact and none of them last very long.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Doesn’t make sense. Electrons in Duracell are the same as those in Energizer.

What batteries are best for replicating "tube power/watts"?

 

[Kipp Harrington]

So,....the OP should just stick with typical alkaline batteries (Duracell in particular) because we know they work in that bass and OP hasn't had any issue with those so far.
That's what I get out of all this.
Oh, and don't forget to unplug

Yes sir! Indeed! Duracell... every time, all the time!

 

[micguy]

What batteries are best for replicating "tube power/watts"?

i know you said that in jest, but…some tube powered stuff long ago was powered by batteries - it took a lot of cells to get the voltage you needed - the term B+ used on circuits (denoting the positive voltage in the power supply) came from the era where that was the positive terminal of the battery.

 

[RichterScale]

What batteries are best for replicating "tube power/watts"?

A big 6v battery from a 1950 Dodge DeSoto.

 

[micguy]

I'm not quite saying that it's that drastic or common, only that it can and does happen. Usually very small differences in sound that are usually only desirable. Certain batteries don't really agree w my bass that has a funky preamp, usually lesser quality batteries, but nonetheless. But I can't even leave a good battery in it as it will draw no matter what, whole thing is just funny old Korean electronics lol. But that being said, energizers do work fine in that bass, but don't sound as good as Duracell or my rechargeable ansmann which actually make all my basses sound best to my ear. It's just something to keep in mind. Could just do w the initial amp discharge, different compositions are going discharge amps differently at different voltages as well.

I think we pretty much agree - well designed stuff isn't picky about batteries - you have all kinds of comments about your bass that is picky about batteries - I'll bet you'd prefer that it wasn't picky.

 

[micguy]

A big 6v battery from a 1950 Dodge DeSoto.

That'll power the heaters on the tubes (the reason tubes use 6.3 or 12.6 volts on their heaters is because 3 or 6 cell lead acid batteries once powered them), but you need a high voltage battery as well for the plates.

 

[RichterScale]

Plus they have mojo

 

[Ric5]

This is really weird... my Sterling PB 34 Ray does NOT like Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries!!!

The first time that I put one in the Ray was several months ago. When I plugged in the bass, I got some very strange (otherworldly) noises. Clicking, high frequency gibberish, etc.

I replaced it with a good ol' Duracell and everything sounded great.

Recently, I left the cord plugged in for a day or 2, so I decided to replace the battery. I had an Energizer Ultimate Lithium battery handy, so I popped it in. This time, no strange noises. However, the bass was playing at less than half the volume of a couple of my other (passive) basses.

Anyone else ever experience this?

I immediately replaced the Energizer with a fresh Duracell and the bass now sounds awesome!

squealing bunny noises