Batteries in basses?

Andrew Flexing

Someone told me that some basses take batteries as well as being plugged in by the lead to amp...I never heard this before. They were complaining that the batteries were being drained constantly etc and having to change them during gigs. I thought they meant effect pedals but they said batteries were inside the guitar?
Is this true? And what is it for? thanks

Funkfield

My bass has a battery. Only changed it once in maybe 7 years??

Ibanez Sound Gear 5 string.

Also, it powers the active pickups.

MonkeyTennis

'active' bass. never really saw the advantage

Funkfield

MonkeyTennis wrote: »

'active' bass. never really saw the advantage

TBH, neither have I.

My little beast takes 2 9v batteries

Rigsby

Batteries are used in basses with active pick ups. More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)#Active_and_passive_pickups

Some people dont realise that leaving an active bass plugged into an amp, even when the amp is switched off, can drain the battery in the bass.

Funkfield

Papa Smut wrote: »

My little beast takes 2 9v batteries

What 'little beast' is it?

PaulieBoy

Mine eat them to the point that I went out and got a charger and some rechargeable 9V batteries.
Ibenez BTB 5 string takes two, and they last about a month of light home use.
One each in my other basses, was costing a fortune till I got the rechargeable ones.
And yeah, they - the electronics - are activated once you plug a lead in, so plug out when not in use.

Funkfield

Funkfield wrote: »

What 'little beast' is it?

Ovation magnum II

Here's the owners manual!

eoin5

PaulieBoy wrote: »

Mine eat them to the point that I went out and got a charger and some rechargeable 9V batteries.
Ibenez BTB 5 string takes two, and they last about a month of light home use.
One each in my other basses, was costing a fortune till I got the rechargeable ones.
And yeah, they - the electronics - are activated once you plug a lead in, so plug out when not in use.

A month? I didnt realise they could eat them that quickly. Mines lasted 2 years so far.

Adyx

Rigsby wrote: »

Batteries are used in basses with active pick ups. More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)#Active_and_passive_pickups

Some people dont realise that leaving an active bass plugged into an amp, even when the amp is switched off, can drain the battery in the bass.

Or passive pick ups with an active EQ.

Andrew Flexing

Don't like the idea of having batteries in a guitar, silly question but what happens when batteries go flat? bass stops working? can a bass that take batteries be used without them?

thanks fore the responses. I was/am just about to buy a second hand Peavey bass but rethinking it all now...

PaulieBoy

Andrew Flexing wrote: »

can a bass that take batteries be used without them?

In a word, No!
No batteries no noise :-(

Rigsby

PaulieBoy wrote: »

In a word, No!
No batteries no noise :-(

Depends on the bass. My G&L L2000 Tribute has an active/passive switch. When the switch is on passive, it can be played without any battery. Not sure how many other basses are like this. The L2000 is probably in the minority.

Funkfield

Papa Smut wrote: »

Ovation magnum II

Dude, that is sublime.

I think I just milmed me keks.

ham_n_mustard

Rigsby wrote: »

Depends on the bass. My G&L L2000 Tribute has an active/passive switch. When the switch is on passive, it can be played without any battery. Not sure how many other basses are like this. The L2000 is probably in the minority.

My sandberg has this as well, push/pull vol pot that changes between active and passive. neck (jazz) pickup sounds great in passive mode

Rigsby

ham_n_mustard wrote: »

My sandberg has this as well, push/pull vol pot that changes between active and passive. neck (jazz) pickup sounds great in passive mode

Its a great advantage having the choice between active and passive. Quite apart from the tone variations, if your battery dies at a gig in the middle of a song (you forgot to change it ), you can avoid embarrassment with the flick of a switch or a push/pull in your case.

Often wondered why a lot more basses dont have it.

RGDATA!

Papa Smut wrote: »

Ovation magnum II

Here's the owners manual!

i've never seen or heard of these before but i'm instantly jealous, it looks freakin amazing! how does it sound? anyone know any records it's used on etc?

PaulieBoy

Rigsby wrote: »

Its a great advantage having the choice between active and passive. Quite apart from the tone variations, if your battery dies at a gig in the middle of a song (you forgot to change it ), you can avoid embarrassment with the flick of a switch or a push/pull in your case.

Often wondered why a lot more basses dont have it.

That's pretty cool, my Ibenez don't have that ability, that's the best of both worlds there. Should be on all "active" basses.

RGDATA!

RGDATA! wrote: »

i've never seen or heard of these before but i'm instantly jealous, it looks freakin amazing! how does it sound? anyone know any records it's used on etc?

Jah Wobble was the most famous Ovation player. The dub notes are incredible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ClnVDwyqpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJCJxorbdGg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOW-9plqNpc

And to hear a delicious fuzz from a magnum, check out the track, "Lamda" on this myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/telepromptertheband

Andrew Flexing

So how can you tell if a bass take sbatteries? IS there a cover on the back of the body?

Gaspode

Andrew Flexing wrote: »

So how can you tell if a bass take sbatteries? IS there a cover on the back of the body?

Yes, there will either be a cover you screw off, or some of the more helpful manufacturers have installed a pop-open back so the battery just slides out, making for a quick change.

I have active pickups, and love the extra boost you get when the tone pots are pushed past their central point.
I've never had a battery die during a gig, mainly because I habitually change battery every 3-4 months whether it's needed or not, but also because I can tell when a battery is low as there's a bit of hiss starts to creep into the sound.

Andrew Flexing

Thanks Gaspode.

Do you know if all Peavy Millennium BXP basses take batteries?

Gaspode

I've no idea tbh. If you're thinking of buying, ring the person/shop selling it and ask them.

PeterIanStaker

Andrew Flexing wrote: »

Thanks Gaspode.

Do you know if all Peavy Millennium BXP basses take batteries?

There's an active and passive version I think
http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/drill/cat/21/begin/1/MillenniumSeries.cfm

Andrew Flexing

Thanks Peter!

PaulieBoy

The BXP seem to be all passive, the more expensive AC BXP seem to be active.
I had a BXP and it was passive. Just look at the spec and if you see "passive" electronics/pickups, that means no battery. If you see "active" electronics/pickups, that means it requires a battery.
And it's not just down to price either, I have a real cheapo Harley Benton fretless which has "active" electronics.
It's a bit like the old Skoda jokes, how do you double the value of a Harley Benton fretless bass with active electronics? Stick a 9V battery in it :-)