Active Bass Battery

[kyguy212]

How often do you have to change the battery in an active bass? When do you know when its time?

[SquierBasser]

when it goes dead... ?

i think the electronics go dead and you can't get any sound out of it or something like that... no idea..

[Guinpen]

months upon months upon months. there's a better chance you'll get paranoid after a long time and change it then, rather than when it actually goes dead

[TwiTcHyHanDs]

months upon months upon months. there's a better chance you'll get paranoid after a long time and change it then, rather than when it actually goes dead

Exactly you will change it before its dead.Espically if you do gigs because then you get paranoid its gunna shut off in the middle.

[Scott01]

A quick question, do you get warning before the battery dies? like will it begin to grow quieter and quieter or something? or does it stop 100% all of a sudden?

[TwiTcHyHanDs]

A quick question, do you get warning before the battery dies? like will it begin to grow quieter and quieter or something? or does it stop 100% all of a sudden?

Personally i think it depends.
One time on my active bass it just suddenly slowly died got quieter. And when i got a new bass it just died on me. Luckly i was just in practice.

[White_Summer]

A quick question, do you get warning before the battery dies? like will it begin to grow quieter and quieter or something? or does it stop 100% all of a sudden?
usually they will fade, with that sound quality fades as well, and eventually distortion sets in, then the bass actually goes quiet, most symptoms include, confusion, loss of playing, depression, anxiety, rage, gigular malfunction, and in rare casses broken bass and personal injury may occur, contact your doctor if your battery remains dead for more than four hours, as this may be linked to a much more serious disease.

[Scott01]

LOL. thanks for the responses, how long does it take to fade is what i mean, will it fade out in like 10 seconds, or will i be practising one day and find it quieter than it used to be? will i be given fair warning when its about to die?

[Guinpen]

LOL. thanks for the responses, how long does it take to fade is what i mean, will it fade out in like 10 seconds, or will i be practising one day and find it quieter than it used to be? will i be given fair warning when its about to die?

you MIGHT be given fair warning. the only time i've even had my battery close to dying was after about seven months. i noticed that, while playing my bass sounded fine otherwise, if i started boostnig things and playing hard, it would ever-so-slightly distort. this got worse over the day, so i changed it and it was fine

otherwise, it might just be dead when you pick it up one day. not sure why this might be, i've heard about some basses where it was accidently wired to be on all the time

[BlackDwarf]

I've had to replace my American Fender Precision Pro Deluxe's (try saying that a lotta times over) batteries twice in two years. (Which is a bitch in itself, cos it takes 2 9V batteries! And they're annoyingly expensive)

It sounds crap when it starts to die though, sounds all distorted and poo.

The battery is only active when the jack is plugged in, so I make a point of disconnecting every time i put my bass down.

[rh15951]

Mine is going distorted now, I have exams so that is a good thing - one less distraction for the time being.

[Chris K]

When the batteries in my BTB went flat they made the most awesome distorted tone. I knew it wouldn't last :(

[DaveTNG]

As BlackDwarf says, unplug your bass every time you finish playing as the jack completes the circuit. So you need to physically unplug the jack from your bass, rather than just turn off your amp.

[7thdaybass]

on my old bass my battery used to go dead all the time but now on my yamaha, i think ive changed it once in well over a year now and then i only changed it because i had a little run of gigs in the summer :)

my vintage used to make something of a buzzing sound if i recall correctly but it has been ages since i even picked that crap up

[St. Anthonys fire]

Do you know why I love being the son of two optometrists who have their own shop where they fix glasses, jewellery and watches & clocks?

Unlimited supply of batteries, bitches!!

*owns thread*

[ScorpSath]

I change mine about once every 8-12 months. Usually out of paranoia it will die during a gig though.

[bottlerocket]

You don't change it for about 10 months.

When it begins to die, your output will become quieter and your sound may crack in and out.

If you're paranoid, carry and extra battery in your gig bag.

/problem solved

-Gav

[Misanthropic]

When you guys talk about "battery life for active basses", does this concern basses with active pickups or active preamp? or both equally?

[bottlerocket]

An active bass has an active preamp. It can have passive pickups, too, but if your bass has either an active preamp, active pickups, one or the other or both, we're talking about your bass. :p

If your bass has neither, this doesn't concern your bass and your bass is passive.

-Gav

[Chris K]

Do you know why I love being the son of two optometrists who have their own shop where they fix glasses, jewellery and watches & clocks?

Unlimited supply of batteries, bitches!!

*owns thread*

yeah, because having to pay £10 for new batteries every 8 months or so is such a drag. :rolleyes:

[Misanthropic]

to gav:

That's what I thought. I guess you could also say, "if your bass has a battery, we're talking about your bass".

Anyway, my SUB's battery lasted for AGES (over a year) even when I had it plugged in constantly. I changed to see if the sound quality would change, but it was the same.

[bottlerocket]

I could've said that, too, but some people honestly don't know if their bass has a battery. :lol:

-Gav

[Radiobass81]

I change it before big gigs. I've changed it twice so far, and I bought it in December.

[Chris K]

I change it before big gigs. I've changed it twice so far, and I bought it in December.

Thats pretty often.

[Radiobass81]

It is :-/.

[Lunarfall]

I don't need to get paranoid. Mine has an active/passive switch. :) =P

[trumpeter]

How hard is an active/passive mod?

[nopicks4me]

i change my battery every 6 months or so. i always test them when i take them out and they are always almost full. but it seems to me once they start going they just die. so for me on my Cort Artisian A6 i just change it about every 6 months to stay on top. but it also does have the active/passive switch. i dont know how hard it is to mod one cuz my bass came like that.

[Lunarfall]

i change my battery every 6 months or so. i always test them when i take them out and they are always almost full. but it seems to me once they start going they just die. so for me on my Cort Artisian A6 i just change it about every 6 months to stay on top. but it also does have the active/passive switch. i dont know how hard it is to mod one cuz my bass came like that.

Mine did too. I have an Artisan too, a B4.

[bottlerocket]

How hard is an active/passive mod?

I'm assume it would require a lot of routing. Ask in the lutherie section. :thumb:

-Gav

[thelowsoundofbass]

I had a battery last almost 2 years in my ibanez, then I had one last a month in my washburn. Depends on the bass, I could tell that my ibanez was dieing, but my washburn just went dead in the middle of a jam.

lowsound

[thelowsoundofbass]

I'm assume it would require a lot of routing. Ask in the lutherie section. :thumb:

-Gav

Not really, you could bipass an active pre with a push pull volume knob and two wires. But yes, ask in the lutherie section for detales.

lowsound

[PERFECTXDARK]

LOL. thanks for the responses, how long does it take to fade is what i mean, will it fade out in like 10 seconds, or will i be practising one day and find it quieter than it used to be? will i be given fair warning when its about to die?

hmm,can you make homemade distorion if you use a half dead battery or will it make un-god like sound and just squeak?

[lais817]

hmm,can you make homemade distorion if you use a half dead battery or will it make un-god like sound and just squeak?
I was thinking along the same lines, but instead of using a half dead battery, could you use a full battery, but install it behind a variable resistor of some kind, and adjust the resistance, and Voila! onboard distortion? Becasue my bass sounds so cool with a nearly dead battery....:smoke: