Lead sockets on warwicks - very bass-ic question

[lowdowner]

OK - a very bass-ic question

Does anyone know if the 'active pickup' power draw (i.e. using the bass's battery) continues on my warwick thumb whilst the lead is plugged in regardless of whether the amp is on or off?

I've always assumed that the power continues to draw even with the amp off if the lead is still plugged in, but I've accidentally left one of my basses plugged in to an amp which was switched off for 24 hours without use, and it doesn't seem to have drained the battery

This got me thinking... maybe is *doesn't* draw power with an 'inactive' lead...

Anyone know for definite?

[Bigwan]

Yes it does.

[ThomBassmonkey]

All active preamps (afaik) just need the lead to be plugged in for the circuit to be on, same as pedals etc.

It should cope with 24hours ok, but the battery will be flatter than before so be aware of it.

[BigRedX]

The active circuit on an on-board pre-amp is switched on as soon as you plug a jack plug into the output socket of the bass. The connection is made over the barrel contact on the jack plug. What happens further down the lead is irrelevant.

[warwickhunt]

As above but the battery draw on a Warwick runs into thousands of hours, so 24 hrs isn't a big deal. I certainly don't bother unplugging the lead between sets at a gig but I'd not be leaving it plugged in all day every day at home.

[lowdowner]

OK, it's good to know about the 'thousands' of hours. I take a spare to gigs of course, but I've actually changed the battery mid set (!) because I hadn't realised how old the battery in there was. Stressful 30 seconds!

[warwickhunt]

I give mine a fresh battery every Christmas, then I know it is done for the next year!

[Warwick_Official]

As others have said, the battery will draw current if you are plugged in, regardless of what is happening down the line. Current draw is very low, and 24 hours won't drain it flat - but its best to make sure you've got a fresh battery installed at regular intervals, yearly should suffice unless its been left plugged in a lot. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

[LukeFRC]

I saw a thread on warwick jack sockets... and was shocked to find not one reference to chocolate!

[Bloc Riff Nut]

The beauty of the J-Retro is you can switch it to passive to save the battery without having to remove the cable.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1343806589' post='1755367']
As above but the battery draw on a Warwick runs into thousands of hours....
[/quote]

Not in the Fortress Masterman!
2x 2-band MEC eqs = twice the current draw.
Which in the real world means about half the life.
On the plus side, you can hear when the battery's had enough quite easily.
Might be a good idea for me to mod it to take 2 x 9v in parallel, or just 1 per eq....

[Chris2112]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343846399' post='1756317']
I saw a thread on warwick jack sockets... and was shocked to find not one reference to chocolate!
[/quote]

I was going to say, the issue with Warwick jacks is generally that they are sh*te! My Thumb and Streamer never had issues, but they lead pampered lives. Some of my friends who have had Warwicks have had jacks replaced time and time again!

[Silvia Bluejay]

I must say that there definitely is some truth in the above - I've had to mess around with the jack socket in my Fortress to tighten it before it started giving me problems, and the bass is only a couple of years old and I only play it at home. Having said that, a little care makes things last longer