Active bass

J

Jack Real

New member
Hi

I have an Ibanez active bass and I would like to know what are the signs that will indicate that the battery need to be changed. I would expect that the sound will become distorted but I'm not sure since there is no led on the bass to indicate the power level given by the battery.

Thanks,

Jack
 
you always have to unplug your bass or it will die very quickly. the bass player in my band uses an active and his has only died once or twice...you will hear it start to get weak and distorted... it should be pretty obvious. just always keep a spare around...if you hear anything plug in the spare, then you will know what your bass does.
 
what he said.

I have an active bass and I just change the battery about every 6 months.

But you can buy a battery tester at Lowes or Walmart for just a few dollars.
 
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ggunn said:
I go by the tongue test. It's reliable, free, and I always have my tester with me.
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yeah me too ...... but some people can't make a good judgment of that and a tester is a little more accurate.
I've actually seen folks afraid to touch that battery to their tongue.
 
Just pull it out and stick it on your tongue before plugging in. No juice, no go.

Actually, I have had basses where a dead battery just meant playing passively.
 
Hi

Thanks for the feedback. I don't play bass often but I will sure check the battery is alive when I do so.

Thanks again!

/Jack
 
dumb asses don't you know even a dead 9V battery is going to give you a jolt:laughings:
if the guitar don't produce sound when plugged in guess what:D

I have an active IBBy SD with dead electronics which I am fixing to rip out and make passive so I can play it.

the best way to go if you want an active bass is to buy a passive bass and run it through an active DI. the only reason you should ever want an active bass is if you plug in directly into the PA system or for recording direct.
the the preamp on an amplifier don't really like hot signals, that should come out only after the signal has passed through the amp as a direct out to the mixer, period.
 
I had active electronics in a guitar I used to own and it was a real pain in the butt compared to regular old passive pickups. I think that in a guitar, the benefit is lost. But in a bass, it's nice to have a line-level signal to plug into a variety of devices.

If my former guitar's active electronics are any indication, the signal would get muddy, quiet, and lose its articulation. I'm not totally sure if a bass would exhibit the same symptoms of a dying battery, but I'd have to guess that it would. Definitely the signal strength would start to fizzle though.

That's an interesting point about an active bass whose battery has died simply putting out a passive signal (instrument-level instead of line-level, correct?).
 
Tadpui said:
That's an interesting point about an active bass whose battery has died simply putting out a passive signal (instrument-level instead of line-level, correct?).
Click to expand...

most active instruments will not put out a signal if the battery is dead but there are some that are active/passive

I have a Rogue that is either or with push pull pot.
 
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