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What is the best 9v battery for active basses?

#101
birminghambass said:
Batteries are for chumps and wireless non-chumps. I use wall-warts wired into all of my basses. Those are plugged into a power strip attached to my strap which plugs into a 10 gauge double shielded extension cord. The whole assembly weighs less than 15lbs and allows me to move almost 2 feet in any direction while playing.
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*Fixed* :)
 
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#102
Plutonium244 said:
Still wondering-- getting into preamp questions that only peripherally tie to batteries-- but does anyone know of a preamp that can run at 18v on a single 9v battery? Yes, it almost sounds like this is some kind of joke, but it is not.

Smith preamps can. I don't know of any others offhand.
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You can get two different kinds of ICs that will do that for you.

One is switching power supplies. They tend to use a lot of current but there may be micro power versions out there these days if you look hard enough.

The other is charge pump ICs, Invalid Link Removed. They can run at fairly low current although the one I link to is not particularly low. They used to be common as mud in 18V versions but that seems to be going out of favor and I don't know if you can get them at low enough current now. The one I link to is a voltage inverter which is a way to get +/-9V from a single 9V battery but as they show at the end of the spec sheet you can used external diodes to get a 9 to 18 V conversion. Again you will have to look around to get one with the right voltage and current specs.
 
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#104
I'm over the top OCD about rechargeable batteries . They are my life!!!

index.jpeg
 
#106
khutch said:
You can get two different kinds of ICs that will do that for you.

One is switching power supplies. They tend to use a lot of current but there may be micro power versions out there these days if you look hard enough.

The other is charge pump ICs, Invalid Link Removed. They can run at fairly low current although the one I link to is not particularly low. They used to be common as mud in 18V versions but that seems to be going out of favor and I don't know if you can get them at low enough current now. The one I link to is a voltage inverter which is a way to get +/-9V from a single 9V battery but as they show at the end of the spec sheet you can used external diodes to get a 9 to 18 V conversion. Again you will have to look around to get one with the right voltage and current specs.
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Thanks
 
#107
birminghambass said:
Can't believe no one has brought up the "tonal benefits" of one brand over another. Come on TB, don't disappoint me!
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Someone did point out that Duracells have a better high end but Energizers have better mids :)

Although the question was partly/mostly serious, I was rather hoping, for entertainment purposes, that people would divide into camps are argue about this like TB does about everything else.
 
#108
ThuzzleFump said:
Joke or no? Lithiums are really expensive and the basically (no pun) run full power until they don't, which could be middle of a gig or middle of a song. Rechargeables do the same thing. Regular alkalines fail more gradually, so you'll have a bit of a warning where sound gets weaker and more distorted before dying altogether. Not great, but not a disaster.

I use rechargeables in my active bass and just switch it to passive mode when the battery fails. It's easy to keep a backup in the case, of course.

Oh, and all batteries should be tort. Only tort batteries sound worth a sh*t.
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No joke! And on top of that you do not have active pickups since you can run them in passive mode when the battery fails. And why should that be different switching them over in passive mode if a lithium fails, or a alkalines fail? I sure can't tell or see the need for a difference. You just flick the switch no matter what. Beats me.

Lithium batteries works on active pickups only. If you try to run preamps, sustainiacs, or additional onboard gear they are definitely of no use! But since we're talking different things here. People with active basses that can - through a switch - run them in passive mode is NOT an active bass by my standards. It's an active/passive bass since you can switch between the two regardless of fresh batteries or not. What most people don't get, is that they think it's turned off if it's switched off in passive mode. It isn't. The plugged in jack, IS the switch. Rechargables are the worst. If you run EMGs PLUS their advanced eq/preamps or options then you'll better off with an ordinary alkaline.

But see here then:

EMG DC35: 235 MicroAmps..... mind you, normally when using current indicators of any pedals, it is in MILLIAMPERE. A dirt pedal may draw 50 mA. These ones goes to 0.235 milliampere. 0.235 mA. Get it? Once again: 0.235 milliAmpere. Not a half 1 milliAmpere even!

Expected life hours: 3000 Hours.

Battery:
Invalid Link Removed 550mAh (550 mA an hour) nominal voltage 9
Lithium 1200mAh (1200 mA an hour) nominal voltage 9,6

even overcooking it from the start. No wonder they're expensive. Smoke detectors uses even less in idle mode but around 50 mA at alarm.
 
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#115
Energizers, Duracell...
What is it with these high-end, hifi, rich people cells?
Ikea 9V is where it's at! You know, come to think of it, the Ikea battery really defines the working man sound of 2016. Yes, it might not be as fancy, yes it probably has some sort of weird name on the box, but damned if I cannot make some damn fine rock'n'roll with the cheapest battery around. Anything else is just boutique pretentious voodoo crap, designed to keep the poor folk from making it in the music industry.
Also, make sure to use flats and tort, complements the Ikea 9V sound very well.
 
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#118
Honch said:
No joke! And on top of that you do not have active pickups since you can run them in passive mode when the battery fails. And why should that be different switching them over in passive mode if a lithium fails, or a alkalines fail? I sure can't tell or see the need for a difference. You just flick the switch no matter what. Beats me.

Lithium batteries works on active pickups only. If you try to run preamps, sustainiacs, or additional onboard gear they are definitely of no use! But since we're talking different things here. People with active basses that can - through a switch - run them in passive mode is NOT an active bass by my standards. It's and active/passive bass since you can switch between the two regardless of fresh batteries or not. What most people don't get, is that they think it's turned off if it's switched off in passive mode. It isn't. The plugged in jack, IS the switch. Rechargables are the worst. If you run EMGs PLUS their advanced eq/preamps or options then you'll better off with an ordinary alkaline.

But see here then:

EMG DC35: 235 MicroAmps..... mind you, normally when using current indicators of any pedals, it is in MILLIAMPERE. A dirt pedal may draw 50 mA. These ones goes to 0.235 milliampere. 0.235 mA. Get it? Once again: 0.235 milliAmpere. Not a half 1 milliAmpere even!

Expected life hours: 3000 Hours.

Battery:
Invalid Link Removed 550mAh (550 mA an hour) nominal voltage 9
Lithium 1200mAh (1200 mA an hour) nominal voltage 9,6

even overcooking it from the start. No wonder they're expensive. Smoke detectors uses even less in idle mode but around 50 mA at alarm.
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It doesn't matter to the majority of the people if it's active pickups or active preamp, yes there is difference in how they work, but the end result is essentially the same - a bass that needs a battery to run. Either way it is an active bass and you can not discriminate against active preamps as not being active basses.

In most cases, the bass will make no sound if the battery is dead. If it has a passive switch it is still an active bass when it is set to the active setting.

A passive switch on an active bass can be set as an 'off' control for the battery. Maybe not all basses do it but it is completely possible.

The fact that an active pickup with a passive preamp has a very very low current draw would be a reason for me to use a very cheap battery, not the most expensive battery that could last 20 years (presuming no other problems). It would mean changing every year or two without fail to guard against leakage.
 
#120
Honch said:
No joke! And on top of that you do not have active pickups since you can run them in passive mode when the battery fails. And why should that be different switching them over in passive mode if a lithium fails, or a alkalines fail? I sure can't tell or see the need for a difference. You just flick the switch no matter what. Beats me.
Click to expand...

I was not aware of that distinction, but yes, you are correct. In my case it's simply a bass with a preamp that can be bypassed, not true active pickups.
 

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