Active bass

[Kevin Dean]

I've never had an active bass before , I've just snapped up a Lodestone 5 string from Ashdown ..these  were £1800 .there is about 4 left on their site for £425 ..They bought them out before the T bass , I'd really recommend getting one ….anyway how long are these batteries likely to last  & do they suddenly cut out or do you get some sort of warning when they are on the way out ? cheers .

[fretmeister]

Always unplug it when not in use. The jack turns the circuit on.

If the batteries are fresh then you should get at least a year out of them

[Lfalex v1.1]

Batteries in active basses generally die quite slowly.

The first symptoms are usually a reduction in output level or slight distortion on big output peaks. A battery change later, and it's back to normal again.

Many folks bulk buy Duracell/Energizer if they have many such basses to power.

Rechargeables would seem to be the environmentally sound choice, but they don't hold as much charge as an alkaline battery, nor can they deliver as much peak current. This can leave the instrument sounding compressed and lifeless by comparison.

I try to check my batteries for leaks fairly regularly. There's nothing worse than a battery that shares the control cavity with the EQ circuitry leaking all over your expensive electronics.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Lfalex v1.1

[bloke_zero]

2 hours ago, Kevin Dean said:

I've never had an active bass before , I've just snapped up a Lodestone 5 string from Ashdown ..these  were £1800 .there is about 4 left on their site for £425 ..They bought them out before the T bass , I'd really recommend getting one ….anyway how long are these batteries likely to last  & do they suddenly cut out or do you get some sort of warning when they are on the way out ? cheers .

If I was in the market for a Jazz style I'd look at this: https://ashdownmusic.com/collections/b-stock/products/lodestone-primal-artist-b-stocl

The black P-bass is sort of too ugly to contemplate.

[itu]

Battery lifetime depends on the preamp and its components. This may be anything from 200 - 1500 hours. As a 9 volt battery has approximately 500 mAh capacity, this equals a consumption of around 0.3 - 2 mA.

If the consumption is bigger, the voltage drop in the end is faster. Then all the capacity of the battery can not be used. I have measured a bit over 7 volts, before the preamp was not working well anymore. Usually the level is 8 something. I write the change date to every battery. It is reasonable to remove the battery, if the bass is any longer time in her case. It is also good to check the situation once a year, be it midsummer or new year. Or 9. 9. if that time reminds of the voltage and the batteries.

Alembic uses (at least has been using) opamps of type NE5534. It is a low impedance opamp and consumes lots of energy. Few of those and a battery would cry for help. That is the reason for an external power source.

Edited May 29, 2020 by itu

[ead]

When I cange a battery in one of my basses I always write the date on it so I can quickly check if I need to.  My mate always changes all of his on his birthday which is also a good shout.

[Drax]

16 hours ago, bloke_zero said:

If I was in the market for a Jazz style I'd look at this: https://ashdownmusic.com/collections/b-stock/products/lodestone-primal-artist-b-stocl

The black P-bass is sort of too ugly to contemplate.

Are you meant to finish the headstock yourself? 

[Lfalex v1.1]

29 minutes ago, Drax said:

Are you meant to finish the headstock yourself? 

It is a bit primitive (primal?) looking...

If it were still strong enough with the backward tilt, a Yamaha SBV-style headstock would look nice.

[binky_bass]

I tend to remove all batteries from all instruments when not in regular circulation. Saves forgetting about a battery and ending up with a leak which can be very destructive! 

I know it sounds a bit foolish, but if I'm unsure of the 'life' left in a battery, I'll touch my tongue to both terminals, if you get a VERY sour 'zing' then they're good, if it's dull and doesn't make you squint, or there is no zing at all, then they're on their way out! 

[mikebass456]

16 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

I tend to remove all batteries from all instruments when not in regular circulation. Saves forgetting about a battery and ending up with a leak which can be very destructive! 

I know it sounds a bit foolish, but if I'm unsure of the 'life' left in a battery, I'll touch my tongue to both terminals, if you get a VERY sour 'zing' then they're good, if it's dull and doesn't make you squint, or there is no zing at all, then they're on their way out! 

I'm just going to 're check that I've taken them all out now..............😂👍

[Lfalex v1.1]

16 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

I tend to remove all batteries from all instruments when not in regular circulation. Saves forgetting about a battery and ending up with a leak which can be very destructive! 

I know it sounds a bit foolish, but if I'm unsure of the 'life' left in a battery, I'll touch my tongue to both terminals, if you get a VERY sour 'zing' then they're good, if it's dull and doesn't make you squint, or there is no zing at all, then they're on their way out! 

Uh... That's not the best idea ever. 

It can upset the body's natural peacemaking mechanism causing cardiac arrhythmia and, in the worst cases, myocardial infarction..

Multimeters are better.

[lownote]

25 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

I tend to remove all batteries from all instruments when not in regular circulation. Saves forgetting about a battery and ending up with a leak which can be very destructive! 

I know it sounds a bit foolish, but if I'm unsure of the 'life' left in a battery, I'll touch my tongue to both terminals, if you get a VERY sour 'zing' then they're good, if it's dull and doesn't make you squint, or there is no zing at all, then they're on their way out! 

I do that with desktop lights.. is it a mains outage or a bust bulb?

[binky_bass]

5 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Uh... That's not the best idea ever. 

It can upset the body's natural peacemaking mechanism causing cardiac arrhythmia and, in the worst cases, myocardial infarction..

Multimeters are better.

Looked at a good number of sources and it's a fairly common place 'technique' with no where (including reports on the effects of said 'technique') mentioning any possibility of ill effects. It's a 9v battery with minimal ampage, I don't profess to say it's the wisest of ways to check a battery, but 999,999 times out of a million, it's utterly harmless. 

[itu]

14 hours ago, binky_bass said:

...it's utterly harmless. 

Agree. 9 volts is so low, and the effect is only in the tip of your tongue. Let's say that far over 30 volts through your body, and the story changes.

I do admit that because of the tongue is so unprecise, I carry a tiny DMM in my bass cases to gigs. It is helpful if something seems broken.

Edited May 30, 2020 by itu

[Al Krow]

Get a battery tester for under a £fiver. Job done

[grenadillabama]

I noticed my early Jaguar Bass (Japan) had a spring-loaded battery connector . If I knocked on the body it would crackle . A clip-on connector is what stays tight.