What is the best 9v battery for active basses?

[moody]

I really do use the 2/$1 ones. In the bad old days when alkalines first came out even for pedals as they almost always died from being left plugged in (this was before we had one-spots etc) so the cheapies lasted just as long. The 50 cent ones last about half as long as the $5 ones.

BTW I rewired my custom w/ 18V EMGs to 9 volts so I can store a spare in the other battery compartment . And no, I'm not kiddin'...

I totally agree. an on-board preamp is a very low drain circuit, there is just no reason to be using an (anywhere up to $14 Australian) expensive battery when the cheapest one you can find will last you 6 months or more. (until you leave it plugged in and flatten it, then it's way less money wasted).

Out of interest, do you have a switch on that custom emg so that you can switch to the reserve battery during a gig?

 

[RoadRanger]

Out of interest, do you have a switch on that custom emg so that you can switch to the reserve battery during a gig?

That's an interesting idea.

BTW last time I checked the batteries they measured about 7 volt each and that was 2 months ago when I converted from 18 to 9 volts. I did actually swap in a 50 cent battery for a recording session but I'll run these two old alkalines until I get distortion. The previous two just started distorting one day and totally died within 5 minutes of that. Fortunately it was at a rehearsal but most gigs it wouldn't be a big deal if I died so I like to squeeze 'em dry .

 

[Honch]

A LONG time ago I heard Eric Johnson can hear the difference and prefers Duracell for his tone. Seriously.

Not now anymore, his hearing is gone (prebyscusis). People thought he was so out of it, but when faced with the challenges and he showed it to others, everybody else could "hear" it too. No mumbo jumbo. It's only that people didn't pay attention to such things. And on top pf that it hadn't to do anything with tone, it was the longevity. Funny how urban legends turns. Now, he had this old Fuzz Face dirt box, that ATE batteries for breakfast. And as you know, the SAG, produced when the current isn't up to snuff can either be useful or detrimental to a sound. When Eric was put up to a blind test, he demanded at least 10 minutes with each battery, because that was the time it took for several batteries to go below 9 volts and started to drift towards 8 v and lower with a serious shift in sound accordingly. Now, ANY BATTERY that lasted longer that 10 minutes was his favorite. He didn't want power adapters because then he heard the hum. He didn't want the sag. That's about it moreso than anything else. And as everybody else hears it too, it's not that big deal or mystery anymore. You just have to put the battery in the "right" pedal, not just any.

 

[Honch]

WFIW, the cheaper the battery, especially if you have it residing as a spare, has shorter shelf life and a shorter past date. You should use it before it starts to leak. I have had may cheap Ikea 9v alkaline batteries that I used inside my cavitiy too, wrapped in plastic, for use as a spare if the other one should fail. But they all started to leak, before I could use them. Only Lithium batteries can be stored around for long shelf life before you make use of them. And they wont leak. And now thinking how readily accessible most 9 v batteries are, it's slim risk that you'll run out of them at nearest gas station. In the store, they're always fresh off the shelves. Rather buy a brand new one than buy a stash of spares. I think about the environment too. Not having to throw them away for a couple of years longer makes amendments to this.

If there's anyone who think they're actually sound different, then it's not battery problem. It's you who should seek help with dr Phil or ailments.

Take note of you current draw inside any EQ/Preamp pickup of any bass, and buy batteries accordingly. Lithium can be used. One serious tip though: Do not ever never mix lithium and alkaline up and make them run pararell or serial, inside any active bass, if you choose a two 9v battery solution. Say one of lithium and the other of alkaline. Always use the same brand/make/model, and both equally as new/fresh.

The only thing I've detected with cheaper 9 v batteries is their shelf life. Inside the active circuit, they last almost equally as long, but can be prone to leak anyway before they run out of juice. EMGs will work without distortion down to 2.5 volt (!) . Then they'll start to fart out. With EQ/Preamp accessories it's 4,5 before they'll stop.

Here's all you need for calculating batteries, and active circuitry from EMG:

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I still haven't heard of any other manufacturer (even Barts) who really has true active pickups. All others just have some active circuitry to power something else, and it could just as well have been moved down to a pedal. It's not really active pickups it's an active Eq/preamp circuitry which you can switch on or off. In off mode, the pickups STILL works. And if you should run out of battery, well just play in that off mode, raise the volume on the gain and volume om amp instead. Live with a little less oomph and a little more noise until the set break during a gig. If you run EMGs though, you'd better have a fresh spare battery around, or a convienience store a few blocks away. No big deal.

 

[Honch]

FWIW my 2 lithiums in my 2 barrelled active bass, is in their 8th year now. NO LEAK. If you care about environment, well, passive is the way to go completely. No batteries at all. If I had tried to use alkalines, (any brand, price) they would've started to leak by now, before they'd run down below 8.5 volts. That acid can wreak havoc on other circuitry as well as creep into the wood causing tainting and unresolvable coloring.

 

[Honch]

.. Either way it is an active bass and you can not discriminate against active preamps as not being active basses.

That can be run in passive mode ne'st ce pas? And when run in that mode, it simply isn't active anymore is it?

I don't know any passive pickup that can't take any onboard EQ/preamp or effect that has to be run by a battery. Almost all of them can. The main thing you're doing with preamp and stuff (active) it to convert the whole signal chain to low impedance, nothing much else. So you can run long cables without noise. Those active EQ/preamps can be put into anything, basses, guitars, electric pianos, acoustic guitar with piezos. Never heard of an electro acoustic guitar with built in preamp or eq be called "it's an active guitar". In spite numerous different solutions, some acoustic pickups doesn't need to be fed by battery, some don't, and some can do both. No need for calling it "active guitar". You'd rather have to ask if their pickups (piezo or whatnot) are active or not. Or needs to be.

I do distinguish (not discriminates) between basses that can be run in passive mode, regardless of the being "active" in some sort, and basses that have truly active pickups. I've seen numerous instances where people throw away their batteries, and gives a f* about the "activeness" of the bass, and runs it in passive mode leaving the cable plugged in. I e they'll run it without the active circuitry anyway to great success. The got tired of remember to unplug, so they won't use that feauture anymore at all. Still "active" by your standards?

It's a funny thing, when talking about pedals, there's a clear distinction (and much mumbo jumbo) between true bypass, buffered bypass, and all of the variant in between. Peculiar, that in that field, it's quite commonly accepted to tell the difference between the two, but not on active basses. That an active bass is an active bass no matter what.

It isn't. Too.

Otherwise e-mail EMG and bicker and whine about it and tell them they're soooooooo wrong.

 

[Honch]

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..

It sure can't and it doesn't. If you control a batterys on/off by that switch you will get a large loud THUMP through your amp each time. Just like taking the battery on and off from the attached cable all of the time. A big no no by most basses. I've yet to see one solved in that way. And peopl who've tinkerd and toyed with the idea has gone back. They thought it would be cunning to wire that switch to make the battery completely go off, and not drain in spite of being plugged in, but believe me, all of those basses I've been made to do this at, has come back, and they'rd rather plug/unplug their cables in order for turning the battery on. No one wanted that solution once they experienced it.

But yes, it can be done.

 

[Honch]

Oh, BTW most single coil EMGs runs at 80 microamps, it's .... 0.08 mA.

 

[Honch]

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..

No, wrong. The difference is that on some basses you can flick a switch and bypass the activeness, and on some you can't because it won't help. End result is definitely not the same. I e you need a battery to make the pickup work and no switch can get you out or in of circuit. Period. As I said, I know of numerous guys that have active basses, but got fed up with having to unplug all of the time, so they're running their "active" basses without any battery in them at all. Works a charm. A little more noise and lesser output at the front of the amp that's all, and no need for onboard eq. The switch is always in that position which makes it ... passive. Any bass that works without any battery in it, regardless of that they're equipped with the possibility, is not an active bass by my standards, and I am not alone on this.

If you lose the battery on any active EMG equipped bass, you can't run it without it ever. No matter how much you try. No flick of switch will get you there.

I have numerous friends with their cheap headless Hohner Steinberger copies with EMG Select passive bass pickups on. They have an active EQ on there too. They haven't bothered to change out the battery since it was newly bought in the 80s, because it sounds the same anyway. Just ramp up the gain and volume on the amp. Just flick the switch to bypass the EQ and then it is passive. As it is on most other basses, including Barts. That's why EMG gave them that name in the first place. SELECT! That you can select if you want to run them with battery or not. Either will do.

 

[Honch]

I think we should have to start a poll here, asking people to remove their batteries from their non EMG basses, that are supposedly active, to see if they still work.

 

[carl h.]

I say whomever types with the largest, boldest font is correct.

 

[RoadRanger]

If I had tried to use alkalines, (any brand, price) they would've started to leak by now, before they'd run down below 8.5 volts. That acid can wreak havoc on other circuitry as well as creep into the wood causing tainting and unresolvable coloring.

FWIW I ran my first pair of Duracells in series (18V) down to where the EMG pickup and/or preamp distorted then died with no leakage. My second pair measured 7 volts each a couple months ago and weren't leaking as of a couple weeks ago when I temporarily used a new 50 cent battery for a recording session.

 

[carl h.]

DURACELL PRO CELL!!!
I pity your puny bunny batteries!!

 

[RoadRanger]

FWIW AFAIK pro sound companies use ProCells - probably mostly because of the bulk pricing. OTOH most are used in high drain wireless transmitters which is a completely different thing than low drain pedals and ultra-low drain active pickups and onboard preamps...

 

[Logic_11]

The ones that don't die

 

[RoadRanger]

Oh, and kinda funny - was rehearsing for a fill-in last week when the guitarist's shiny new looper crapped out. He didn't realize that it would only run for a very few hours on a 9 volt .

 

[Honch]

FWIW I ran my first pair of Duracells in series (18V) down to where the EMG pickup and/or preamp distorted then died with no leakage. My second pair measured 7 volts each a couple months ago and weren't leaking as of a couple weeks ago when I temporarily used a new 50 cent battery for a recording session.

I tried to buy a loaf of Duracells, in order to keep them as spares, in case I had to put myself into the embarrasment of walk into any store and have to buy a cheapo 9v battery. After a couple of years the sealed package started to leak. In the shelf. Drawer actually. I mean, no battery can stand 5-6 years shelf life. But lithiums, but all of them drains ever so slowly. You can wrap them up in sealed plastic, vaacum, keep them in dry environment, dark and even cold temperature, even turned towards north (!?) but after a few years "in storage" they either starts to leak, OR drain even so slightly, or both. Whatever else that happens within a year, or a few months is neglible.

So these days, if I'm going out to a gig, and the battery's dry , I'd rather buy a cheapo 9v at the store or gas station, to get me through the gig, that is fresh and new, than any old Duracell expensive that has been in the case for years on end. We're talking SEVERAL YEARS now, not months or even one year. All batteries do have an expiration date!

- - - -

And yes, I've had to change out batteries before they ran out of 9 volt current. That had started to leak before they went dry. Almost full 9v reading. That acid isn't nice to the surroundings inside the cavity. Both Duracells, Energizers, and whatnot.

Actually, the most problems I have these days with 9v it's their tiny difference in size (!). Some fits well, and all of a sudden, some are too large in dimension. Beats me. I can very well think that rechargables has to have some kind of flexibility and can turn to fat and overweight but on normal ones, I don't get the idea. That's why I am an advocate for having a battery compartment inside the normal electronics cavity and no a special made hatch at the side. Making you have to carve out another hole in the body wood. No no in my book. That one beats me actually. But that's another thread.

Once I had to go through 3 brand new batteries of the same brand/make/model until I found one that wasn't as tight fit. That slipped in easily. This was on a bass with separate compartment.

Now, these might help somewhat but I don't know how on earth one should warranty this...go back to the store you bought in in ten years time if it doesn't work?

Amazon.com: Duracell 9V Batteries, 6 Count: Health & Personal Care

They can still leak... with preserved voltage as I told you about before... ha ha!

 

[Honch]

Or these ones?

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Would love to see them replace my Dingwall Prima...

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Invalid Link Removed They last a week or so, but no leaks guaranteed...;-)

 

[Honch]

What is the difference between an Energizer battery and an Energizer Industrial battery?

 

[Honch]

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The only site you'll ever need. Here's a quote from it:

"In fact when talking about 9V Alkaline batteries we are not going to recommend you to go for a Duracell at all, regardless if Copper Top or Procell as we have already tested other brands that are capable of giving you close to 50% more capacity than what Duracell does… and at a price that can be much lower than that of Duracell!"

Read it and weep. The rest is up to you. You make the choice, it's your money that is spent, not mine. Or anyone elses. I'll stick to my Lithium->EMG combination for now. 2006 I installed them in ONE of my regular giggin active pickup basses. But, I used two as in two long-life-and-then-some 9v instead of ramping it up to 18v. Oh, btw the Lithiums are Energizers, but I couldn't give a f....