Does Battery Affect Active Pups ?

[mightyboy88]

Hi ,

Lets share our experiences on active pups. Ive got an emg 81tw on neck and sd-blackout on the bridge , both active and the battery supply modded to 18v(2 9V batt in series).

The thing didnt sound good at first , damn disappointed . At tt pt i was using GP batteries.

I just changed to duracells battery instead of GP and i feel it gives a better sound , more rich and defined and the pinch harmonics are easier to get , sustain also seems better.

Does anyone out here have similar experiences on batteries impact on a active pup? And how do you get the best out a active pup ? For instance the setting up of the guitar , amp settings etc .:mrgreen:

 

[Bobster]

Hmm, your GP battery was probably weak and dying off, i use active as well on my Fender CS EC Blackie Strat and when battery starts to die off, the sound from into the amp starts to waver in terms of loudness and at times, tone.

Bob

 

[mightyboy88]

And how does battery drain from actives ?

Is it like effects pedal when the input jack is left plugged in the battery will continues to drain ?

Or will it keep draining unless you plug out the battery after you finish using your guitar everytime ? A really scary thought lol

 

[matthewchj]

AFAIK the battery drains even when the cable's plugged out. I'm not very sure though, this is just what my friend told me.

 

[zax]

the battery drains when it's plugged it . If not it loses stored potential energy very slowly , the same way all batteries do .

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

ever wonder why theres no on/off switch for active pickup setup?

and if theres no on/off switch, how does the geetar knows that its supposed to be fired up and working when the geetarer need it to be? Or that if no on/off switch and supposed to be on all the way? Doesnt make much sense and prolly on one will design something which is on all the time that waste battery or power supply without a switch to on/off

The answer is in the geetar output jack. When you connect cable to the jack, the jack is wired up inside to be working like a on/off switch.

So when you unplugged the cable, the whole active pickup circuit will be disrupted and no battery power will flow

when you connect the cable, you are completeing the whole path for the active circuit and thus, the batt power can start flowing and power up the whole thing

so yes, please unplug instrument cable when no playing the geetar. If not, the cable thats connected to the guitar, will continue to complete the circuit path and allow the battery power to be sucked dry. By the time when you are ready to rock out, the batt is already 3/4 dead or totally flat. And at this time, changing new battery will definitely make a huge different in sound. Only thing is that it aint the battery brand or make, but difference between a fresh battery and flat battery

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

AFAIK the battery drains even when the cable's plugged out. I'm not very sure though, this is just what my friend told me.

heh, your friend is scary and give wrong info. Stay away

 

[j_m_s]

^ Path bro nailed it.

 

[ShredCow]

Does anyone out here have similar experiences on batteries impact on a active pup? And how do you get the best out a active pup ? For instance the setting up of the guitar , amp settings etc .:mrgreen:

Heh.

Yes.

In my experience, which isn't absolute of course, the TYPE of batteries make a difference with my EMG-808s.

Swapped between various kinds of batteries just for fun and I found that the heavy batts, duracells, energisers, etc, give the most kick... but they feel stiffer and that plastic pick-attack that active EMGs are so well known for is more prominent. Using akalines (I think) seem to result in a smoother tone, more passive-ish feel and less plastic-pick-attack.



Also, I'm done the 18v mod and at the end of the day, I reverted. Yes, 18v = more passive-like feel, there is a bigger sound, no more plastic-pick-attack, etc etc ... but, you lose PUNCH. The amp suddenly stops moving air. At 9v, EMGs seem to push quite a bit better but you have to put up with all the wonderful active quirks.



Regarding setup - you need to rethink your EQ-ing and gain settings. Several pedals might end up distorting due to the high output from EMG/SD actives so you might have to relook that aspect. What works for passives will probably not be optimum for actives.



Finally, active pickups like the blackouts don't need 18v. You might want to google up. They work best at 9v.

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

heh, shreddy bro, how about recording some clips on different batt and let us have a blind test.

It shud be fun and able to make the thread more meaningful than just using words to describe sound which in the first place, are based on our sense of hearing.

what says ya?

imho

 

[LadyInTears]

AFAIK the battery drains even when the cable's plugged out. I'm not very sure though, this is just what my friend told me.

loll!
its like a pedal powered via batt, plug out the cable, no batt loss, whereas if pedal still plugged in although pedal off, batt drains fast

 

[ShredCow]

heh, shreddy bro, how about recording some clips on different batt and let us have a blind test.

It shud be fun and able to make the thread more meaningful than just using words to describe sound which in the first place, are based on our sense of hearing.

what says ya?

imho

I don't think the differences are going to be that audible actually.

The main difference is the feel, and its most apparent on CLEAN or with low drive... as for the sound, the main thing is the plastic-y pick attack is just reduced. Anyway, the moment I pump in distortion, forget it...

Nothing earth shaking like changing batteries in a fuzz pedal... yeah, its THAT small a thing!

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

technically and depending on the way the circuit of pedal is being wired(not all pedals, but most common pedals, mass produced or booteek are usually wired this way), if theres battery in the pedal, with the cable remained plugged in and having a dc plug(via adaptor or dc chain) plugged into the pedal power jack, it will prevent the battery from draining away.

why so?

the insertion of the dc jack into the pedal power jack will break the path of battery signal flow(due to how the pedal is wired within), thus preventing the battery from draining off.

the above for pedals only.

For guitar, just unplugged the jack when not in use.