Hungry pedals

[lollington]

I'm lucky to get a few hours from a 9V battery when using my EBS Multicomp. No more than five hours maximum... should I send it back?

I'm using one of these fellas to link it to my tuner [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Offset-Jack-to-Jack-connector-for-Effects-FX-Pedals-/280851071577?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4164074259"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Offset-Jack-to-Jack-connector-for-Effects-FX-Pedals-/280851071577?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4164074259[/url] I'm assuming this isn't affecting the power in any way? The pedal is unplugged when its not in use, but out of interest, would a lead left in any socket drain the battery like the circuit in an active bass?

The volume drops to a very low level and the light stays on regardless of settings used. This is my first battery powered pedal so thank you for any feedback.

Edited July 18, 2012 by lollington

[mart]

5 hours does sound rather short. I have a feeling that compressors are relatively hungry pedals, although the EBS site says it only draws 15mA, which is pretty small. I'd be tempted to put a multimeter inline with the battery and see what the current draw actually is. That can also tell you whether unplugging a cable makes a difference. (I don't know about EBS, but I think most pedals are designed so that current will be being drawn whenever a cable is attached to the input socket).

But, you say that the light stays on? The manual says you should change battery when the light stops lighting. So I wonder if there is something else wrong with the pedal?

[Al Heeley]

if you have a mains lead you can check if theres something else the matter

[Mr. Foxen]

Is that EBS one of the ones with the in and out the other way round to most other pedals? And thus are you unplugging the out instead of the in sometimes, if its on a board and you habitually unplug all the same side?

[lollington]

[quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1342614118' post='1737860']
if you have a mains lead you can check if theres something else the matter
[/quote]

I used a mains lead for the midi controller I have and the thing lit up like a christmas tree. From this I can only assume that it eats batteries. Will probably have to build a small pedal board with power supply. Pity, cos this thing fits nicely into my amp case.

Mr Foxen, I checked the pedal and the Suisse have opted for an arrow symbol instead of in/out writing so I'm assuming the thing is wired correctly!

I seriously can't believe that this piece of equipment goes though batteries that quickly. Proper high grade Duracell batteries too, not your pound shop rubbish. Pffff...

[Al Heeley]

The digitech digital pedals (flange, chorus) eat batteries for elevenses, as do the more complex Boss synth and looper pedals. You are always recommended a power lead for these. However, I would have thought an EBS compressor is not that power hungry, is it a digital processor pedal?
If you get one of those Y-connector leads you could split the power input between your midi controller and the ebs to avoid having a power brick on your pedalboard

[lollington]

Someone from Absolute music has been in touch with me. Very impressed with their customer service.

Apparently this is the expected life of a 9v for the pedal I have. The adapter I used kicked out a nasty hum, but after checking the spec I think this was because I used an AC adapter instead of DC.

[willyf87]

Check out the 1 spot adaptor for your cabling needs, that would just go straight in your gig bag because it's just a plug with a cable, no brick or anything.