REALLY STUPID QUESTION

[BassMunkee]

Right apologies in advance but I am new to active basses and genuinely I don't know the answer to this...

My bass does not have a battery test light, so how do I know whether the battery is flat or not???

Seriously, how can I tell?

It's an Ibanez icb200 ex.

Thank you!

[Happy Jack]

One of the knobs on an active bass will be a "Boost" of some sort - not the same thing as a Volume knob.

Plug it in, then try all the knobs. If one makes it louder and another makes 'more sound' (if you know what I mean), then the battery is fine.

[budget bassist]

You won't hear anything! That or the sound will start sounding distorted. It takes a good couple of years for a battery to wear out though, most people leave them a good year or so between battery changes.

[Jesus]

It dont work when the batteries dead, it does when its fine.

And dont do what i did and leave it plugged into the amp. It seems to drain the battery.

[Delberthot]

I don't think any do but there's an American website that sell something you add in-line with your active circuit that has an LED that you can surface mount to your bass.

The LED comes on when the battery begins to go.

[simon1964]

[quote name='Jesus' post='356259' date='Dec 16 2008, 06:24 PM']And dont do what i did and leave it plugged into the amp. It seems to drain the battery.[/quote]

Actually - don't leave a jack in the bass, whether or not connected to the amp. It will drain the battery, so unplug when your not playing.

On my basses, the sound does distort as Budget Bassist says, before the battery goes completely dead.

It is surprising that more basses don't have some sort of battery life indicator. The Audere pre-amp on my old Jazz had one, but I've never seen another.

Edited December 16, 2008 by simon1964

[martthebass]

Some basses have a default (either a push pull knob or a switch) to turn on/off the pre-amp.
G & L L2000/2500 do - so if the battery runs flat you can switch to passive and it still rumbles.
The Stingray doesn't so if the battery runs flat you get no sound. There's usually fair warning of this - the sound starts to distort.
I guess different basses are more efficient with battery life; my Ray(s) generally had 12 months+ with weekly use, wheras an old Westone Thunder 3 I had was dead with the same use in less than 2 months.
Always take the jack plug out of the socket when not using it - this drains the battery. No jack plug - no draining.

Edited December 16, 2008 by martthebass

[Jesus]

[quote name='martthebass' post='356267' date='Dec 16 2008, 06:30 PM']Some basses have a default (either a push pull knob or a switch) to turn on/off the pre-amp.
G & L L2000/2500 do - so if the battery runs flat you can switch to passive and it still rumbles.
The Stingray doesn't so if the battery runs flat you get no sound. There's usually fair warning of this - the sound starts to distort.
I guess different basses are more efficient with battery life; my Ray(s) generally had 12 months+ with weekly use, wheras an old Westone Thunder 3 I had was dead with the same use in less than 2 months.
Always take the jack plug out of the socket when not using it - this drains the battery. No jack plug - no draining.[/quote]


My Aria Pro II worked both active and passively at the flick of a switch which was handy when i did aforementioned leaving the bass plugged in. Are there many active/passive basses on the market?

[bass_ferret]

My GB has a flashing LED behind the transparent cavity cover. It's a lot of money to pay for a batter check though.

[Sarah5string]

If you can't switch the active off then one day you'll come to play it and it just won't output. Full stop. lol

[OutToPlayJazz]

I always carry a box of 9v batteries with me in my lead case. As others have said, some basses will just fail to work at all, some will make a high-pitched squeal (principally Yamahas) & some will sound suddenly distorted for no reason. Yes, it's a pain, but the sound is sooo much better than passive

Rich.

[BassMunkee]

Thank you for your responses all, that's me sorted then!

[MoonBassAlpha]

Are there many active/passive basses on the market?
[/quote]

Hohner Jack Bass, and their Steinberger-a-likes have a switch between active/passive with an LED on for Active... Good value basses, the Jack, and a nicer shape than a Status. **covers head and runs for cover!!**

[Merton]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='357913' date='Dec 18 2008, 01:52 PM']Good value basses, the Jack, and a nicer shape than a Status. **covers head and runs for cover!!** [/quote]
Run faster

[alexclaber]

Unless you're rather cunning with how you implement it then the extra current draw of a battery status LED just ends up killing your battery a lot more quickly. The GB and Audere solutions are cunning but you pay for the privilege!

Alkaline batteries die quite slowly so your first sign that they need changing will be when you hear a bit of distortion on the attack of particularly loud notes, especially with the EQ boosted. The same happens with FX pedals, whch was used to great effect by Flea when recording Sir Psycho Sexy - Mu-Tron with dying battery giving a lovely dirty squelch.

Alex