This 9-volt battery compartment door design should be discontinued

[TBird1958]

You are probably right . User has 147 posts and this is the oldest Nov 27, 2025 ( I think you can see as far as 3 years ago -- so to be fair maybe he just started recently) Over in the sax forum we were also invaded by an AI bot but it was the site's AI bot and it says so. The pattern was also a lot of questions. Pretty benign.

Apologies @Mowac if you are a real person but we do have the right to suspect. You have been a member since 2008 you have 147 posts and the majority od them since Nov 27 only. We really do not know how the posts are ranked and get on the front page. Yes they are helpful threads and not controversial.

We protect our own in case the account has been compromised @TBird1958 looks like you are a mod currently online --- maybe it's all good but bringing it to your attention.

Again I apologize in advance.

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Strange, myself and the other Moderators will look into this, thank you!

 

[dune]

If there is a lot to be desired but you have never had an issue.... then what is the issue?

Excellent point. It would have been more clear had I said "I have never had any issue with the wiring fatiguing and breaking."

 

[Mowac]

You are probably right . User has 147 posts and this is the oldest Nov 27, 2025 ( I think you can see as far as 3 years ago -- so to be fair maybe he just started recently) Over in the sax forum we were also invaded by an AI bot but it was the site's AI bot and it says so. The pattern was also a lot of questions. Pretty benign.

Apologies @Mowac if you are a real person but we do have the right to suspect. You have been a member since 2008 you have 147 posts and the majority od them since Nov 27 only. We really do not know how the posts are ranked and get on the front page. Yes they are helpful threads and not controversial.

We protect our own in case the account has been compromised @TBird1958 looks like you are a mod currently online --- maybe it's all good but bringing it to your attention.

Again I apologize in advance.

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Thanks for your concern,...however, 'bots' don't use these battery compartments in these pictures that I've installed in many of my own basses. However, I do.
And I buy them in bulk shipments. This is a solid design. The battery icon at the bottom makes it easy to read the correct polarity orientation.

 

[micguy]

The main reason that I have rejected this design by Gotoh is because it has one major flaw that I'm sure many bassist have dealt with.

Gotoh utilizes a 45° rotating battery install door design.
The terminal wires are soldered at the bottom and will rotate along with the door itself. Since it is not a stationary fixed design, over time the wire connections will weaken each time the compartment door is opened to replace the 9-volt battery and will eventually break shorting out the bass with no power. Stay away from this design if you don't won't problems later down the line.

Having worked at a place where we made battery operated audio devices, one of the things you learn is that 9 volt batteries are, well there's no real standard for physical size - they vary all over the map, so designing a battery compartment to work with them physically is tough. There were several times when our mechanical folks swore up and down that they could design a 9 volt compartment where you couldn't put the batteries in backwards. Every time they tried, the effort was easily defeated by one or more 9 volt battery form factors. We had to adopt a rule that all 9 volt powered devices had to be electrically protected against "electrical reverses".

As well as that, trying to design a compartment where you get solid, reliable pressure against 9 volt battery contacts is a very tough thing to do - again, in part because of the varying physical size. Or wireless mics eventually went to aa cells, in part because making a battery compartment for them is much more straightforward.

The only thing worse than a design that relies on a 9 volt battery for power is one that..relies on two of them.

 

[songwriter21]

The main reason that I have rejected this design by Gotoh is because it has one major flaw that I'm sure many bassist have dealt with.

Gotoh utilizes a 45° rotating battery install door design.
The terminal wires are soldered at the bottom and will rotate along with the door itself. Since it is not a stationary fixed design, over time the wire connections will weaken each time the compartment door is opened to replace the 9-volt battery and will eventually break shorting out the bass with no power. Stay away from this design if you don't won't problems later down the line.

This is a good reason why, for years now, I have gone passive or bypassed the active eq, and used pedals. I only use the on-board eq in an emergency (pedals malfunction, I forgot them, etc).

 

[darwin-bass]

How often do you open them to change batteries? Once a year? So that's like 10 cycles in a decade? I'd rather have this than removing reinstalling small screws into wood each time. After 10 cycles, the wood will strip out.

 

[fretno]

I hate them. I hate less the cavity and metal cover on the Ernie ball classics. I also don’t need quick access. Inside the main control cavity is fine.

 

[happygilmour]

Been playing active basses for 25 years. Haven't had this problem. I hope this doesn't curse me!

 

[RandomKaren]

I just 'borrow' a new battery from the g****r player, borrow a multi-tool from the d****er, remove the 8 screws holding on the back plate, swap in a new battery, replace the 8 screws, put the d*****r's multi-tool in my bag, and call it a day.

Guitar players know about batteries?

 

[logdrum]

Guitar players know about batteries?

What he is talking about will probably be EMG equipped Stratocaster (David Gilmour mode. Roland readyl or something like Godin LX or Flat5 which have piezo or synth switching in them ) The Starts are under the tram block and will not fit energizer only duracell.

 

[moon-bass]

I have a few basses with a similar 45-degree rotating battery install door design. I don't know if they're Gotoh. The thing is that I've already long-owned the basses at this point and whatever are the detractions, I'm not sure I'll be looking for battery compartment replacements of a truly different design, then sorting out whether they will fit in my bass and what routing or other mods are needed to make them work, and then finally the unsoldering and resoldering of a new replacement unit once that is all done to achieve what guaranteed percent improvement in reliability?

Let's have some perspective, and this is not only about expounding on your post, but also for people who are thinking about whether they want an active bass or not who will perhaps also read this thread who might otherwise come away thinking active basses are unduly trouble prone and more complication than they're worth.

I've owned active basses for 30+ years. I've never had one go out on a gig, yet. For active basses, I've found that if I routinely replace the battery JUST ONCE a year and do it on a schedule (say January 1st, 2026), the battery lasts all year long with never an issue or concern that ever crosses my mind. So that is *ONE* use of an active battery compartment per year. ONE. In ten years of ownership, that's of course TEN times the battery compartment for that particular bass is touched AT ALL.

I take your point and appreciate you thinking about it with caveats and warning, but for me and for many others, it would very likely take a very long time for me to encounter the phenomenon of which you speak, even if theoretically, there is always some risk of weakening wires anytime I ever touch the battery compartment, period. I think if I doubled my battery replacement paradigm if I was super-anxious about it, going January-June and then replacing the battery for July-December, that's still a lot of years of use with very minimal battery compartment engagement, and very low (but surely not zero) risk of a wire becoming disconnected.

My two cents, respectfully.

I mean, this right here. The dangers of Active basses are vastly over rated.

 

[braud357]

All of my active basses have this style battery compartment - and I have never had a problem with them !

 

[Daniel B5]

Thanks for your concern,...however, 'bots' don't use these battery compartments in these pictures that I've installed in many of my own basses. However, I do.

Ah yes, because it would be impossible for a human overseeing a bot to step in and respond when they've been challenged.

 

[JohnnyChatter]

I’ve never had an issue on my stingrays. The older style with the plate is more of a pain IMO. I have the wire break on those more trying to get the battery to hook up to the connector.

 

[Mowac]

You are probably right . User has 147 posts and this is the oldest Nov 27, 2025 ( I think you can see as far as 3 years ago -- so to be fair maybe he just started recently) Over in the sax forum we were also invaded by an AI bot but it was the site's AI bot and it says so. The pattern was also a lot of questions. Pretty benign.

Apologies @Mowac if you are a real person but we do have the right to suspect. You have been a member since 2008 you have 147 posts and the majority od them since Nov 27 only. We really do not know how the posts are ranked and get on the front page. Yes they are helpful threads and not controversial.

We protect our own in case the account has been compromised @TBird1958 looks like you are a mod currently online --- maybe it's all good but bringing it to your attention.

Again I apologize in advance.

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Whether it's the 'bot' watchers, or the mod thread observers ....I address mild harassment towards myself from other users here by remaining inactive and avoiding conflict as I watch the 'Wheel Of Mis-identification' repeatedly getting butchered with continuous flawed guessing. In the meantime, I have only been paying attention to the opinions that matter from legitimate commentors who have expressed an interest in topics I have presented for discussion. Not in those who have opposed it. In my judgement, is it really a requirement to research similar existing threads that are archived with comments that are over 800 pages long and going back years before I decide to create a new similar thread? What would you do, sir? You have my undivided attention.....

 

[Daniel B5]

In my judgement, is it really a requirement to research similar existing threads that are archived with comments that are over 800 pages long and going back years before I decide to create a new similar thread? What would you do, sir? You have my undivided attention.....

Here's what I do: Advanced search. Restrict search to title. It takes ten seconds.

Perhaps you've noticed how many people have suggested using the "Ignore user" function to improve the feed. You might want to pay attention and reflect on that feedback.

 

[Mowac]

Here's what I do: Advanced search. Restrict search to title. It takes ten seconds.

Perhaps you've noticed how many people have suggested using the "Ignore user" function to improve the feed. You might want to pay attention and reflect on that feedback.

I've taken your suggestions into consideration and I am pleased to announce that you have already been pre-qualified to be my first, and only ignored user. Good day to you and congratulations, sir.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[cataract]

I've taken your suggestions into consideration and I am pleased to announce that you have already been pre-qualified to be my first, and only ignored user. Good day to you and congratulations, sir.
Thanks for the advice.

Disgusting

 

[Geri O]

Whether it's the 'bot' watchers, or the mod thread observers ....I address mild harassment towards myself from other users here by remaining inactive and avoiding conflict as I watch the 'Wheel Of Mis-identification' repeatedly getting butchered with continuous flawed guessing. In the meantime, I have only been paying attention to the opinions that matter from legitimate commentors who have expressed an interest in topics I have presented for discussion. Not in those who have opposed it. In my judgement, is it really a requirement to research similar existing threads that are archived with comments that are over 800 pages long and going back years before I decide to create a new similar thread? What would you do, sir? You have my undivided attention.....

I was the first to respond to your original post. I figured I'd save you a bunch of trouble by laying out the scene with this subject.

It's one thing to express your negative experience with a product and not recommend it. It's totally another to unequivocally and authoritatively state "Why you should never...." and you know the rest. You treat the community as though it's a bunch of newbies with little to no experience in all things related to basses.

Then you come up with..,...

"continuous flawed guessing"??

Dude, don't tell me my experiences aren't mine and valid. That's where I'm done.

Ignore at will.

 

[Mowac]

I was the first to respond to your original post. I figured I'd save you a bunch of trouble by laying out the scene with this subject.

It's one thing to express your negative experience with a product and not recommend it. It's totally another to unequivocally and authoritatively state "Why you should never...." and you know the rest. You treat the community as though it's a bunch of newbies with little to no experience in all things related to basses.

Then you come up with..,...

"continuous flawed guessing"??

Dude, don't tell me my experiences aren't mine and valid. That's where I'm done.

Ignore at will.

My apologies if I've made too much sense.
Many users have literally infested my threads pitching mostly baseless allegations against myself which IS a form of user harassment. If you live in a glass house, then I would highly suggest that you shouldn't cast the first stone.