really dumb question re active pickups

A

AbuseTheMuses

New member
I have never, ever had an active pickup run out of batteries. I have no 9 volt. The bass guitar was just fine a week ago. All of a sudden it doesn't work. It was running on the batteries that came with it from cursed guitar center (bought new about a half a year ago). This thing is never ever abused, and only used seldom and just sits there on a stand waiting for me to need it occasionally. Now it just doesn't make a sound. Already checked cable and amp with other instrument its definitely the bass itself... My question is... if its battery died, wouldn't it just be a 'passive' pickup then (I always assumed, never bothered to find out) or would it just be silent (like it is right now)?

I can't see how it could be a short because the thing was hardly ever moved, and I don't know jack about electronics so I can't test it, does anyone know if this is just a dead battery most likely before I run out and have to pay some dude to look at it (either way I have to run out because I never really needed a 9 volt laying around before)? I know its a stupid question, I just never dealt with active pickups before long enough to know what happens when they die.
 
Active pickups usually show signs of lowered signal and distortion (fuzztone or quackiness) when the battery is low, and go silent when it is dead. They don't just revert to passive pickups any more than your mixer reverts to passive summing when you pull the power cable.
 
And you'll find that any battery that's plugged in to something, irrespective of whether it's being actively used or not, will slowly discharge... it's why the torch never works when there's a blackout...
 
The battery is part of the circuit if it's dead, the circuits dead... usualy need changed every 6 - 12 months used or not.
If you are not using the bass take the battery out.
Buy a spare battery?
 
All that ^. Plus, I think with most active setups, you want to pull out the guitar cable when not in use or it drains the battery.
 
Jeff_D said:
All that ^. Plus, I think with most active setups, you want to pull out the guitar cable when not in use or it drains the battery.
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Yes ..... if you leave the cable in the bass that keeps the circuit 'on' and discharges the battery.
Always unplug the cable from an active git/bass when not using it for any length of time.
Typically I seem to get a year .... year and a half out of batteries in my Scecter bass.
 
When I talked to the guys at Pro Musician's Outlet about by Buzzy and it's noisy volume control they said they change the batt on EVERY active guit/bass. Even if bought from a store brand new the batt is likely a POS, may have been used, etc. Problems with any active pup, change the batt first. And if the thing's plugged in it is on.
 
I change the battery in my acoustic every other time I change the strings.



Which could be every 3 years. :eek: ;) :D
 
Armistice said:
I thought I was the only person in the world with a Schecter bass! Don't know if mine has batteries though! Must check...
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I think all the Schecters are active.

It's an adequate bass. I only do a few bass gigs a month. If I were playing as much as I do on git and sax I'd probably get a Warwick.
 
buzzard bass said:
Huh? Aint that like saying you thought you're the only person in the world with a Fender bass?
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I'm in Australia... they're not big over here... only one I've ever seen... thought maybe I'd bought the prototype that they'd launched in some obscure test nation... apparently not! Must check the battery thing though... if it has one it hasn't been changed for about 5 years and I was using it the other day and it worked just fine...
 
Armistice said:
I'm in Australia... they're not big over here... only one I've ever seen... thought maybe I'd bought the prototype that they'd launched in some obscure test nation... apparently not! Must check the battery thing though... if it has one it hasn't been changed for about 5 years and I was using it the other day and it worked just fine...
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let us know ............... I'm kinda curious if they ever made a passive one.
But batteries can last a very long time if you don't use the axe much so it could still be active.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I think all the Schecters are active.

It's an adequate bass. I only do a few bass gigs a month. If I were playing as much as I do on git and sax I'd probably get a Warwick.
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Be careful there, Warwicks are addictive. I have 5. Check out their current Rockbass line, for 2010 they upgraded to the 2-piece bridge and got rid of the huge Rockbass logo and replaced it with the W. RB's are great basses BTW, got 2 of them also. For the price, they're the value leader IMNSHO.

Schecter's are nice. Mate at work has been on the wall about a 5 string Stiletto for at least 2 years. 549 bones for Chrissakes. About 5 bones a week. That's called Andrew's Justification Mathematics BTW if anyone wants to borrow it. Just made it up, but it works!
 
buzzard bass said:
Andrew's Justification Mathematics BTW if anyone wants to borrow it. Just made it up, but it works!
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I tend towards a method evaluating how many cups of coffee a week I have to not buy to finance something over 1 or 2 years... I mean I still buy the coffee anyway, but I feel better knowing I could have saved....

LT - I forgot to check out my Schecter bass last night and gigging tonight so no time... but I will do it...
 
buzzard bass said:
Be careful there, Warwicks are addictive. I have 5. Check out their current Rockbass line, for 2010 they upgraded to the 2-piece bridge and got rid of the huge Rockbass logo and replaced it with the W. RB's are great basses BTW, got 2 of them also. For the price, they're the value leader IMNSHO.

Schecter's are nice. Mate at work has been on the wall about a 5 string Stiletto for at least 2 years. 549 bones for Chrissakes. About 5 bones a week. That's called Andrew's Justification Mathematics BTW if anyone wants to borrow it. Just made it up, but it works!
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Yeah, that's what I have ...... a Stiletto 5-string. It's about 8 or 9 years old.
Personally I don't see how any bass player could be satisfied with 4 strings. Simply being ably to play low E on the 5th fret alone makes it worth it. I didn't start playing 5 string 'till I'd already been playing bass 35 years but as soon as I tried one that was it. I bought the Stiletto the next day. I can still play 4 but I don't like it.


I've always loved the Warwick Thumb bass although I haven't checked out their newer models. I already have a fairly bad-ass amp so I'm kinda watching the bay for something but really, over here in Fl. I don't do enough bass gigs to justify it at a time when I'm hard up.
Still ........ the right thing come along and ..... hmmmmm ................ :)
 
You can get some great deals on Wicks mate. I find late January/early February the time to look. That's when everybody gets their credit card bills for Christmas and New Years. Don't rule out the Rockbasses. With the upgrades they're great basses, always were, but now even better. The Fortress is an amazing bass, I have an older one, I also have a genuine Wick Fortress, the RB is better.

I don't have a Thumb, sound is a little too middy for me, but they are great basses. My collection of Wicks right now is: Dolphin SN, Streamer STD, Fortress 1, Corvette $$ and Buzzard (series 1, now called the JE). Dolphin's a 5 string, rest are 4s. I like the range of the 5 banger, but I prefer the string spacing of a 4, and the Buzzard is only available as a 4, it's the way John wanted it. I got my Buzzard of the bay for 2800 all in, not bad for that axe, it's a 1990, metallic red. The Warwick site admin tells me that's an unreal price for that bass, guy wouldn't ship outside the US. Look for those kind of auctions, wicks aint too popular here.
 
Fully discharged batteries are far more likely to leak (happens with all battery types,) and the leaked acid can damage nearby electronics.
 
So my Schecter definitely has no battery... but it's also about 20 years old... before we had the 'lectricity in Australia, so I guess that's no surprise... :D
 
Our guitarist in the late 80's had a passive Schecter Strat, bury any Fender made. All the new Scheckies seem to be active.

There seems to be 2 types of active electronics. 1, the older type, doesn't do shit for the tone but it boosts output. Which does precisely dick. You either attenuate the signal before it hits the amp's input, or you can only turn the gain up less before it overdrives. An amp is only going to give so much output, increasing the input signal doesn't increase volume in the end, you just distort quicker. Second type of actives, the type in a Warwick, doesn't increase output over a passive guit, it gives active tone control. This is the kind you want. Also allows for pups like the twin J, active hum cancellation is the reason this pup exists. Otherwise it'd be a buzz factory. As it is, it's a monster.
 
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