I was recently thinking about how active bass electronics work and was wondering why no one makes a cable that powers active pickups rather than using a 9v battery? I know it’d have to be a different kind of cable, but many people run a setup where a DI box converts the 1/4 TS to an XLR anyway. So why no specialty cables for active basses? 9volts seem so inconvenient in comparison. Does anyone know if there’s anything electronic wise stopping this from happening, or has it just not been made?
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Why aren’t active basses powered by the cable?
- Thread starter tennisgod53
- Start date
EMG makes an Invalid Link Removed that used a TRS (stereo) cable to carry both power and audio. It's not complicated, so it's not that hard for someone with basic electronics skills to "roll their own" too.
The battery in an active bass will last for months or even years, so for most people the inconvenience an expense of the extra box, the special cable, and finding yet another plug for the power injector outweighs the slight (and manageable) risk of a battery going dead during a gig.
The battery in an active bass will last for months or even years, so for most people the inconvenience an expense of the extra box, the special cable, and finding yet another plug for the power injector outweighs the slight (and manageable) risk of a battery going dead during a gig.
Looking at the instructions for the Invalid Link Removed reveals some irony regarding its use. It recommends using 2 9v batteries to power it, instead of a power supply (AC adapter not included).
"Using an AC Adapter is not a great idea.They tend to be noisy. EMG has yet to spec or design an AC adapter. Since the pickup is the first element of the chain it’s best for it to have as quiet a power supply as possible, thus a battery."
"Using an AC Adapter is not a great idea.They tend to be noisy. EMG has yet to spec or design an AC adapter. Since the pickup is the first element of the chain it’s best for it to have as quiet a power supply as possible, thus a battery."
Because not every preamp is the same.
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Passinwind
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Alembic has done it that way for few decades, as have I occasionally. IME a 9V battery in the instrument is actually generally far less inconvenient. Sometimes it can be worth the extra hassle for those of us with specialzed wants and needs, but in general, nah.
Alembic Series basses and guitars have done this for years. What you think is an XLR jack on the front is actually a 5-pin jack that connects to either their DS5 or 5R 'blue box' or the rack mount power supply via a 5-pin cable. The box plugs in AC then converts it down to 18v and sends it up the cable to the electronics, and the two pickups coming back down to neck, bridge, output jacks to an amp.
Because it's an answer to a "problem" that for most players isn't really much of a problem at all, while adding complexity and expense.
A great idea until you forget the cable at home...story is this happened to john entwistle in the 70s during a concert.
I disagree that 9V batteries are inconvenient compared to dealing with an external power supply & special cable.
It would appear that (just this one time) I am with the majority.
It would appear that (just this one time) I am with the majority.
This is too funny
So instead of using battery onboard, I need to have special system to have that battery offboard. And still same (non)issue of dying battery remains...
A properly regulated DC supply can be easily made to be practically as silent as a 9V battery, and you could use standard 2 conductor shielded mic cable, as the onboard preamps are relatively low impedance output.
Balanced line with phantom power is another option; Essentially putting the DI box in the bass itself.
Balanced line with phantom power is another option; Essentially putting the DI box in the bass itself.
A small french company makes the ZAM device, it's intended to work with all active basses with some modifications as the stereo jack plate. You have to put a "dummy" 9V battery inside the bass, then jack to the ZAM and from the ZAM box a cable from a 24V AC/DC power supply. It's been tested by some tech geeks on a french forum, Onlybass, and this brought a lot of controversy as ZAM company was claiming their device was doing a better job tone wise. It does the job to replace the classic 9V battery, but it does not add anything to your sound.
Le ZAM c’est Koi ? – Zampower
FAQ – Zampower
Le ZAM c’est Koi ? – Zampower
FAQ – Zampower
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I think this has been said, but playing for 30 years I have never have any real issues or inconveniences with the need for 9v batteries. I swapped one as a precaution before a gig one time and one time (in 30 years) I thought my battery might be dying and simply switched to passive (it was a FOH issue). I like the innovative and out of the box thinking, but I am not sure it is solving a real problem.
I have a custom made bass that uses a custom made cable; long story short, I stepped on my cable one time and it pulled out of my bass, so I (overreacted) rewired my output jack to a "female" XLR connection and swapped one end of the 1/4" cable with the "male" end of the XLR connector and wired it to complete the active circuit in the bass b bridging two poles in the XLR. Sounds cool until you forget your cable. I do not recommend putting yourself in a position where you need specialized gear to use your bass.
I have a custom made bass that uses a custom made cable; long story short, I stepped on my cable one time and it pulled out of my bass, so I (overreacted) rewired my output jack to a "female" XLR connection and swapped one end of the 1/4" cable with the "male" end of the XLR connector and wired it to complete the active circuit in the bass b bridging two poles in the XLR. Sounds cool until you forget your cable. I do not recommend putting yourself in a position where you need specialized gear to use your bass.
Wouldn't he have had a roadie to deal with that stuff?
I have often wondered why we still use 1/4" phone cables. The phone company does not use them any more.
I suppose that for guys that want to squeeze every ounce out of the weight it might make theoretical sense. Theoretically.
I've spoken to EMG directly about this. The design intention for the ES918 was specifically for use in vintage basses where the owner was okay with replacing the pickups, but did not want to do a permanent modification like routing out a battery box, and didn't want to take their Jazz control plate on and off if the battery was placed in that space. It makes a lot of sense from that perspective but is a pretty narrow use case.This is too funny
So instead of using battery onboard, I need to have special system to have that battery offboard. And still same (non)issue of dying battery remains...
I bought one of these recently for just this reason. Wanted to put an EMG PA in on of my P's and didn't want to route for the battery. It works perfectly.
