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What battery do you trust for your active?
- Thread starter Ron Johnson
- Start date
This is a good plan. If I believe I may be packing something away for a year or more, I'm pulling the batteries. With guitars I slip a note in the strings that says "battery removed" along with the date.
I don't have any guitars like that. I keep them at arm's reach. Apparently you are MUCH more organized that I am! GoodOnYa...
Well, there is that. If you use your method and take enough time, it won't much matter.
Actually I used something like this, only in a sexier color:
Universal Battery Tester AA AAA C D 9V Button Checker - - Amazon.com
I am not claiming extraordinary quality, but it probably was consistent from one battery to another, and that's all I cared about.
The other option, of course, is to do what a friend's grandfather did when presented with an entire box of half-done 9V batteries: 'mate' them so that they'd store more neatly and without rattling around in the box. Right.
I have too many guitars, along with being pretty OCD. Bad combination.
They make lithium batteries just for my RC toys too, and fire/explosion is a real hazard that happens quite often. Being on the market isn't a guarantee of safety with battery technology.
Still, I doubt a single 9V lithium will ever be a problem, but I don't want to be the first. The technology is not more fail-prone than alkaline, but when it does fail the consequences range from loss of your guitar to loss of your home and beyond.
I am not trying to be contradictory, just putting thoughts out there for everyone to consider and use as they see fit.
I did this using a cheap Donner tuner and a TRS cable. Adding a single wire to the tuner routes the power to the ring lead of the TRS cable. Cost me $18 and about 20 minutes of work. And I now have a tuner in my chain too. Had to add a shorting connector to the 9v clip inside the bass, all completely reversible. Found a cheap quiet danelectro wall wart for $10. Total under $30, not including the cable.
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5 pages in on a battery thread (commendable), and I am tickled to be able to be the 1st to say:
"Y'all are dummies and should just play a passive burst and tort P (as if there were any other acceptable P).... PROBLEM SOLVED FOR EVERYTHING!".
for anyone thinking of taking this personally... please don't- all in in good fun!
"Y'all are dummies and should just play a passive burst and tort P (as if there were any other acceptable P).... PROBLEM SOLVED FOR EVERYTHING!".
for anyone thinking of taking this personally... please don't- all in in good fun!
(Sarc on) The best way to check if your lithium batteries have any life left in them is to clip two of them together (neg to pos and pos to neg). If they glow, smoke or explode they had plenty of life left. If they just get a little warm they're too far gone to use in your bass. (Sarc off)
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for loss of life, limb or property or any injury or damage that may result from following this horribly unsafe and stupid advice.
Seriously - I once was replacing a few of my batteries in a few of my basses and was in a hurry. Opened a 4 pack of 9volt lithium batteries but ended up only using 3 of them. In the rush to get it done I just put the 4th battery in my front pants pocket and went about my daily routine. A few hours later I went to the store and bought something. When the clerk gave me my change I just out of habit dropped it in my front pocket. Walked out to the car and drove off. I wasn't 3 blocks away before I felt a massive burning sensation on my upper thigh. The coins had come in contact with the terminals of the battery and it was shorting out in my pants. The battery and the coins were blistering hot and nearly caused a wreck as I was frantically trying to dig them out of my pocket. Lesson learned!
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for loss of life, limb or property or any injury or damage that may result from following this horribly unsafe and stupid advice.
Seriously - I once was replacing a few of my batteries in a few of my basses and was in a hurry. Opened a 4 pack of 9volt lithium batteries but ended up only using 3 of them. In the rush to get it done I just put the 4th battery in my front pants pocket and went about my daily routine. A few hours later I went to the store and bought something. When the clerk gave me my change I just out of habit dropped it in my front pocket. Walked out to the car and drove off. I wasn't 3 blocks away before I felt a massive burning sensation on my upper thigh. The coins had come in contact with the terminals of the battery and it was shorting out in my pants. The battery and the coins were blistering hot and nearly caused a wreck as I was frantically trying to dig them out of my pocket. Lesson learned!
It really doesn't matter. I've used a lot of Rayovac alkalines in my EBMM Sterling (9v) and Godin Acoustibass (18v) over the years, and regardless of which kinds I use they seem to last for ages. Never had a problem with any of them. Same case with other active basses I used to own (Alembic, Carvin).
There's no reason to worry about it, and less reason to buy a fancy battery. Buy what's most affordable at the grocery store. (I tend to avoid the really no-name kinds you find in bargain stores, only because they perform poorly in other electronics.) Put a spare in your case. Check the condition of the battery once in a while, and take the battery out of the bass if you'll be storing the bass for an extended period (this applies to fancy and ordinary batteries alike).
Don't give it one more second of thought than that. Done.
There's no reason to worry about it, and less reason to buy a fancy battery. Buy what's most affordable at the grocery store. (I tend to avoid the really no-name kinds you find in bargain stores, only because they perform poorly in other electronics.) Put a spare in your case. Check the condition of the battery once in a while, and take the battery out of the bass if you'll be storing the bass for an extended period (this applies to fancy and ordinary batteries alike).
Don't give it one more second of thought than that. Done.
I don't know why, but I've had more problems with leaking batteries in the past 3-5 years than ever before. Maybe it's because I'm leaving batteries n the device longer since most equipment uses less power to batteries last longer. But I really have started pulling batteries out of things I don't use often.
I used to do pamplet deliveries when I was in high school walking around the local area. At the time I listened to a walkman with a nicad rechargable batteries. Generally didn't last awfully well so I would often take two or three sets in my pocket.
I've had a chain or I presume 3 or 4, possibly with a key involved do the same as above. Not fun. (I'd hate to be strapped into a car chair when it happened though - I've been in a similar situation with a boiling over radiator next to me in a moving van).
Energizer or Duracell, but now I rely on rechargeables. Key is to always keep a few charged fully, and having a smart charger that can know when a battery is full and maintain the charge (trickle charge). Always have a couple spares that are fully charged in my gig bag, as well as some store bought ones incase all my rechargeable ones fail at the same time.
