What is the best 9v battery for active basses?

[Honch]

According to that site:

Q-lite at 466 mAh, wins, with Energizers 9v Alkaline has second performance, for a fresh battery, i e that is as close as possible to its manufacturing date (who of you LOOKS at the manufacturing date when buying any battery? If it's possible to find it at all? ) – 456 mAh at 0.05A load.

456 mAh is better than Duracells. Which are all below 400 mAh regardless of fresh manufacturing date, copper tops, pro cells or whatnot. funny this saying..."That little kid has energy like a duracell-bunny". Ads and campaigns adds up to their asking prices ladies and gentlemen. It doesn't sound good saying "that little kid has energy like a Q-lite rabbit..." Maxell, and Fujji beats Duracell to the bone too.

 

[moody]

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.

My yamahas (both) definitely do not. One with stock preamp, the other with bartolini preamp.

 

[Rob22315]

How do I hate batteries, let me count the ways (just from this thread):
1. Remembering to change them
2. Buying them
3. Storing them
4. Voltage incompatibilities if using more than one
5. Leaking
6. Slightly different sizes
7. Not knowing when they're going to quit
8. Carrying spares
9. Looking for larger capacity alternatives (then how to wire them in)
10. Rechargeable 9Vs aren't a good alternative
More?

Going with a wall wart (disadvantages):
1. Need a custom breakout box or re-wired tuner
2. Need a quiet wall wart (not a good alternative in a recording environment)
3. Must use TRS cable (can't steal a cable from guitarist)
4. Must carry spares (TRS cable, wall wart)
5. TRS instrument cables are harder to find

I'm sticking with wall warts - it's pretty much a one time deal, especially if you don't have to move your gear around.

 

[Honch]

Why not go passive? That's the easiest way. Today you have such manufacturers like Villex, Q-tuners and the new neo-pickups which has frequency response and output akin to those active ones. I don't mind passive at all. Just because I have EMGs doesn't mean there's one size fits all. But with me it's this way: Either totally passive, or totally active like EMG. Not something you can switch off/on whenever a battery runs out or you don't need. Removing the wire from the bass is like taking the car keys out. No more no less. You don't drive unless the keys are in. You don't play bass unless the cables are in...

I am contemplating on changing out EMGs to Q-tuners. But not as of yet.

 

[moody]

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.

I know for a fact that I have changed batteries on stage and during rehearsals with the bass in circuit and volume up without getting a thump.

Disclaimer: I haven't tried or tested the following: There would be ways of removing thump. Either with a balancing resistor - although that may still leave a residual current draw, or with a 3 way switch (first click to cut the active preamp from the circuit, second click to cut the battery power which now would not be part of the signal chain.

 

[Honch]

Going with a wall wart (disadvantages):
1. Need a custom breakout box or re-wired tuner
2. Need a quiet wall wart (not a good alternative in a recording environment)
3. Must use TRS cable (can't steal a cable from guitarist)
4. Must carry spares (TRS cable, wall wart)
5. TRS instrument cables are harder to find

I'm sticking with wall warts - it's pretty much a one time deal, especially if you don't have to move your gear around.

6. Can't tune to any other regular tuner with tele jack input, off stage. You have to resort to clip tuner, or plug into your current wall wart first, and then tune up some other way. The TRS cable can't go into other things that custom breakout box. I e you can't use your bass to anything else.

 

[Honch]

I know for a fact that I have changed batteries on stage and during rehearsals with the bass in circuit and volume up without getting a thump.

Yes, actually, sometimes EMGs doesn't suffer from this, cause the ground wire is wired differently. There's no ground cable at the bridge and so on. Which means you can't get a jolt while playing, if something else in the grid should go south. I can change batteries in all of my EMG equipped basses without getting the thump. But that's EMG. The rest then?

Disclaimer: I haven't tried or tested the following: There would be ways of removing thump. Either with a balancing resistor - although that may still leave a residual current draw, or with a 3 way switch (first click to cut the active preamp from the circuit, second click to cut the battery power which now would not be part of the signal chain.

Yes but I have yet to see any manufacturer with electronic active circuitry produce a switch that's on there from the start on, that works in that way. When the switch is in passive mode, the battery still drains thanks to/due to plugged in cable. I think the reason they've not done this is that is you should be forced into the customs of unplugging your bass each time. Otherwise people go "hey this one dried up battery" and "this one doesn't".

You sure can solve this in a number of ways with mute relays and so on, but that's a quite unwieldy DIY project just for the sake of it. For c sake, people can spend more money on single strings and change them out before they need to. What's a batterys price? I've seen folks bickering about battery, that they need to change it out before it goes down the slightest bit. Sigh. Remember EMG's sails smoothly at 5 volt, before it starts to complain with distortion.

The OP asked for question about battery, not whether you should go passive or active, or what the advantages are of them both.

If you have to ruminate that much about batteries, and convert to TRS cables and use wall warts and stuff, I'd rather recommend people going all passive, it solves all problems there are about what battery is best for metal or new age, and losing sleep over whether the battery's going to crap out on you during your solo next gig.

 

[moody]

Yes, actually, sometimes EMGs doesn't suffer from this, cause the ground wire is wired differently. There's no ground cable at the bridge and so on. Which means you can't get a jolt while playing, if something else in the grid should go south. I can change batteries in all of my EMG equipped basses without getting the thump. But that's EMG. The rest then?



Yes but I have yet to see any manufacturer with electronic active circuitry produce a switch that's on there from the start on, that works in that way. When the switch is in passive mode, the battery still drains thanks to/due to plugged in cable. I think the reason they've not done this is that is you should be forced into the customs of unplugging your bass each time. Otherwise people go "hey this one dried up battery" and "this one doesn't".

You sure can solve this in a number of ways with mute relays and so on, but that's a quite unwieldy DIY project just for the sake of it. For c sake, people can spend more money on single strings and change them out before they need to. What's a batterys price? I've seen folks bickering about battery, that they need to change it out before it goes down the slightest bit. Sigh. Remember EMG's sails smoothly at 5 volt, before it starts to complain with distortion.

The OP asked for question about battery, not whether you should go passive or active, or what the advantages are of them both.

If you have to ruminate that much about batteries, and convert to TRS cables and use wall warts and stuff, I'd rather recommend people going all passive, it solves all problems there are about what battery is best for metal or new age, and losing sleep over whether the battery's going to crap out on you during your solo next gig.

I actually totally agree with this. Unplugging the bass is not difficult, cheap batteries are cheap and last a long time. There is always the option of rewiring your bass passive (something I have considered with my main yamaha - since the passive P bass is getting all the use at the moment and I go through a lot of active circuitry in the pedals anyway).

 

[Rob22315]

6. Can't tune to any other regular tuner with tele jack input, off stage. You have to resort to clip tuner, or plug into your current wall wart first, and then tune up some other way. The TRS cable can't go into other things that custom breakout box. I e you can't use your bass to anything else.

Partly correct, once I get past the first box (tuner or breakout) I can connect to anything else I want (rack tuner, rack preamp, DI box, tone shaper, pedal board) because the signal out is just the bass. I must have the box and the wall wart for it to work or convert my bass back to it's original configuration. That why I decided to look into modding a tuner - so I had a way to silence my bass when I wanted and to tune it off line (but not off stage unless I carry everything with me).

Note that reversing what I did is very simple - just replace the extra 9V connector inside the bass with a 9V battery and I'm back to a conventional configuration so the conversion back is no more difficult than changing a battery. There's nothing permanent that needs to be done to your bass if you've got a conventionally wired active bass guitar.

For fun, when I built my pedal board, I made a custom effects switcher that has all this wired up to the power brick in the pedal board so I don't need the modded tuner or breakout box when I use my pedal board. There's another TBer who modded his amplifier in a similar manner so he just plugs his TRS cable into his amp.

 

[GeeMinorHart]

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

All 9v batteries made by energizer/eveready are exactly the same. All made on the same machine with the same chemicals in Asheboro NC.

 

[Honch]

Ok, how many of you do look at either:

a) manufacturing date
b) expiring date

of ANY 9v battery before you buy? Is it stated anywhere on a package? Either of them, but not both. That's way more important than price and brand/model. Since all batteries starts to drain the moment they leave the factory. No matter how little. I'd rather choose as fresh and as new one of a cheaper brand, than any posh NOS battery. (NOS=New Old Stock).

 

[GeeMinorHart]

Ok, how many of you do look at either:

a) manufacturing date
b) expiring date

of ANY 9v battery before you buy? Is it stated anywhere on a package? Either of them, but not both. That's way more important than price and brand/model. Since all batteries starts to drain the moment they leave the factory. No matter how little. I'd rather choose as fresh and as new one of a cheaper brand, than any posh NOS battery. (NOS=New Old Stock).

Most battery manufacturers will have the manufacturing date laser etched, stamped, or laser inked on the battery or label somewhere for their own tracking purposes. I know energizer 9v's will be a laser etched 5 digit alpha numeric date on the bottom of the battery on the particle board, ex. 0415C. 04 = month, 15 = year, C = which manufacturing line. AA, AAA, C, D sizes will be stamped on the label before it gets rolled onto the battery. Same alpha numeric date.
You are right, the fresher the batteries the better. Although the voltage does stay they same for most of the shelf life. The paper that separates the anode and cathode ends of becoming saturated with anode and starts a short circuit within the battery. Until the engineers can find a material to use that doesn't absorb chemicals then the shelf life is what it is.

 

[Honch]

Yes, the packaging yes. Now, these etched numbers may or may not be visible from the outside, when just looking at the packaging. You state the Energizers. While I think both Energizer and Duracell may be anal about this, I think most others skimps on it, and it's up to the store, or vendor to keep track of the date when the batteries arrived. This may be why Duracell claims 5 years or 10 years shelf life warranty so they're hedging their bets.

For example: It would be totally moot to try to hoard - say - a stack of 9v lithitum batteries that lasts 10 years each, and thinking the replacement ones in 10 years will lasts as long. You'll be retired and dead, and not care about batteries before you run dry of that stash.

I have bought 2-3 lithiums in the past 10 years, one for the smoke detector (which of course, would holler when it ran dry, making me to switch battery in the middle of the night, and woke me up! ) and the other two for one of my EMG basses that I use the most. During that time, I've gone through a loaf or more of more regular alkalines 9v for other gear that are quite "drainy". Where Lithiums are not an option at all.

 

[Honch]

What's lucky is that manufacturers dare and and have the guts to put out reviews on their own internet sites. Regardless of them being slaughtered. Which in all honesty, kudos to Duracell. Read here what people thinks about coppertops 9v:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

So to the OP: Don't buy these. But they are trumping about their new series QUANTUM which is not alkaline. Beats me.

 

[Lownote38]

I don't think OP was serious.

Neither was I, although I do in fact use Duracell batteries in my active basses.

 

[twinjet]

Neither was I, although I do in fact use Duracell batteries in my active basses.

In my basses, I only use batteries which utilize electrochemical reactions.

 

[Honch]

... NOW...! They dried up!

 

[Honch]

Expected for peope to wonder what the h'ck I meant with previous post.

The Lithiums died yesterday. At rehearsal, no big thing. But they DID crap out directly without going into distortion or weak signal. They were inserted LATE 2007 (December). It's 2016 now, not full 9 years, but at least 8. This is JUST FOR EMG pickups. That has been wired in series to produce longetivity, NOT to provide 18v. No leakage, no dust or stray things in the cavity. During coffe break I went out and bought cheap ones. Will do for now. I will take notice of time and date I'll put in NEW Lithiums. I will just have to track down as new and fresh ones as possible, to be able to buy a pair of new one, like, if you could smell them like a new bread from the bakery. That will require some hunting down, through town.

3 feb 2016 the 9v battery in my active bass died.
16 Dec 2007 I put them in there.

On top of that, I can really think that 9v batteries has developed since that. Both lithium, alkalines and all others. And yes, I do unplug all of the time. That bass has been "active playing" at least 10 hours a weeked (weekend warrior gigs) 2 hours a day. On long vacations to rest, some days totally off. 8-10 weeks was the longest time it was totally off, due to long vacation. Maybe 5 weeks a year added to that, it has been inactive. I e not plugged in. Forgot the plug once or twice at home when some emergency duty call on job happened...that's the best thing with these on call jobs. You can spend time playing and practicing because it doesn't matter when you get interrupted.

When putting the batteries into a meter they didn't give any reading at all. All other batteries shows some slight slight voltage, but these are just dead and then some.

 

[RoadRanger]

That has been wired in series to produce longetivity, NOT to provide 18v.

Series give you 18V - PARALLEL gives you 9V. Two batteries in series INCREASES the drain and will last shorter than one. And it's not a good idea to parallel batteries as if one goes it takes the other with it - and the weaker battery will be charged from the other and possibly leak. When I converted to 9V from 18V I disconnected the second battery holder and just use it to hold a spare.

 

[Honch]

my bad. I got that right earlier. Of course it's pararell. Slip of the mind. Since Jesus died all's my fault...... well come to think of it, even that.

Pararell has worked, for me. The utmost importance is that both batteries are equally as fresh and inserted at the same time. Not once has one battery died before the other and besides this, I havent bothered to check if one battery is dead and the other still fresh. I treat them both equally as "one unit". Either the batteries are dead or they are fresh. Since I only care about 9v I couldn't hear the difference if one battery has gone inside and if the other is fresh. They still work and give 9v to the pups, that's the only thing I care of. It's like that with lithiums. Lithiums doesn't leak ever.

Mind you that I have owned other basses and owns basses that are sort of active. Dingwall Combustion has active EQ driven by one 9v battery. Easy to switch off. If the battery's gone just leave the switch off. Never ever thought for a second running that with a Lithium. woulb be totally waste. Not even Duracell or Energizers...