Sanyo Eneloop Music Booster

[MadWerewolfBoy]

haha, just came across it in the namm oddities page and wanted to post it here, but decided to do a search and found this.

@Resetti: actually, this new product is a 9v lithium battery that doesn't loose charge as fast as a lsd nimh batteries. if you compare it with current nimh 9v, which are on average 200mAh, you will need 10 of them, not to mention they are actually only around 8.4v. it would cost about $100 and no casing, fast self discharge and fluctuating voltage as it discharges.

one point to note is the 50 hr rating on the single effects pedal though. if you're powering up 10 pedals, it will last only 5 hrs and that's assuming each only draw 10mA. some pedals use more than that, but i'm sure 5 hours is good enough for a gig / jamming session. at most buy two of these.. haha i really like the idea of the constant 9v though!

 

[shinobi]

that's mathematically true lah. but even a 10mA rated pedal does not draw 10mA constantly. for example it does not draw the same amount of current when it is 'on' as when it is bypassed. so the battery of a boost pedal will deplete depending on the amount of gain at which you set it. '5 hours' is just in theory.

it is definitely a better alternative to using batteries lah. whether or not it is 'better' than using a DC adaptor is subjective, bearing in mind that some prefer batteries even though the option of using an adaptor exists. furthermore, it is far more convenient than battery-ing each pedal individually, which may convince even people to join the camp.

sanyo's main objective however is to make something that is more environmentally friendly. discarding batteries creates alot of waste.

 

[Resetti]

it's not true that the 9v nimh batteries are 200mAh.

i believe they are using multiply AA sized, and if you check AA rechargeable they are usually 2800mAh. to get 9v, they will put many in parallel, but the capacity will stay the same 2800mAh.

each AA sized is 1.5v, so you'll only need to put 6 in parallel to get 9v, while retaining the same capacity of 2800mAh. but given rechargeable are give out less than 1.5v, probably around 1.2v, so in order to get 9v, they probably add 1 more to make it 7 AAs in parallel configuration.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

it's not true that the 9v nimh batteries are 200mAh.

eh bro, i've never seen a 9v nimh rechargeable battery above 300mAh la, how u get a 9v nimh to 2800mAh in a 9v battery size? 6 AA battries take up so much space how to fit it into a 9v battery casing?

for the eneloop maybe it's true, but i doubt they are actually multiple AA sized batteries inside. up to this point today i think nobody has create a lithium ion battery in the size of AA. not sure why or what the technical limitations are, but i'm sure they will appear one day but will be freaking expensive. just look at handphone / digital camera lithium ion batteries, they cost so much!

 

[Resetti]

sorry bro, i think it's my mistake hahah

yeah 9v capacity is pretty small, with them claiming 2000mAh for this, i immediately thought that they would just put 7 AA sized rechargeables together in parallel to get 2000mAh and 9v.

as for rechargeable that does not lose it's charge, well that's just the eneloop brand, i don't think it's lithium ion though. normal eneloop rechargables already boast such feature and they are not lithium ion.

i don't claim to be sanyo, but if you asked me to make such a product, that's what i would do... if i already have a eneloop technology, i'd just put 7 AA eneloop rechargeables in a casing with a charger function that wha-la music booster for you. also even it was pretty cheap for me to manufacture, i would price it to be competitive in the pedal power market, which means price it higher than what a bunch of battries plus charger would be priced.

 

[alanchia]

Is the recently announced Sanyo Eneloop Pedal Juice the same thing?

 

[shinobi]

it looks exactly the same doesn't it...

anyway i just bought this baby from japan.

i'm very pleased with it so far. i really like the power light, which is also the battery indicator, so i can monitor the battery status constantly. added noise etc is no longer an issue. the battery life has been really good. i don't know the maths, but from my experience with it so far, it can last really long with normal use. it's not a bunch of batteries in a box; the casing is slightly (but significantly) bigger than an mxr enclosure and its pretty HEAVY for its size.

if you are familiar with rechargeable batteries you know that beyond the end of their lifespan, they can't even hold charge for more than a few hours. where quality is concerned, i guess only time will tell.

im currently using with a daisy chain attached to one of the outputs. i used to have a godlyke power-all which i have already sold.

i read some of the specs of the pedal juice, apparently the casing is water resistant. if it's the same thing as the music booster, that would mean the music booster is also water resistant. i am NOT gonna test it. it's not as if anything else on my board is water resistant anyway

as for the price, let's just say this is not the most expensive power supply i have ever bought

 

[alanchia]

Ah I am going to JP soon, and will be getting one. So I assume the charger is universal? How much did you pay for it? From which shop?

 

[Resetti]

nice! this is definitely useful if you're playing on a stage that does not provide power for your 1-spot or power-all.

to me, the only drawback is the high price.

also i checked the website and it says this thing is using lithium ion battries, so bro werewolf boy is right!

 

[shinobi]

yeah i think they did their market research and decided their main competition were power supplies like the ones from t-rex and voodoo

charging adaptor is universal. you can just use a plug adaptor to use it in our 3 pin sockets. since the power cord is detachable from the adaptor, what i did was to use a spare 2 pin cable to connect the charger to the wall socket. the jack for the adaptor is one of those generic ones for electrical appliances.

the eneloop pack is all-japanese, but the operation is a no-brainer, the thing only has 1 button

i paid JPY9900 i think. at the time i checked, it was available at ishibashi ikebukuro, ochanomizu (annex) and yokohama branches. i only enquired for the stores in and around tokyo. not sure about kansai area, but you can email them using their site form.

i got it from ikebukuro, it is one of their larger stores.
石橋楽器店　池袋店
address: 日本, 〒170-0013 東京都豊島区東池袋１丁目５０−３５
can see it in google maps. it's in parco annex.

not all of the ishibashi's are that big, and most of the staff are part timers who dont really know much. you can go ochanomizu but there are like 7 separate ishibashi's selling different things, it becomes a PITA figuring out which is which. yokohama is just damn freaking far from tokyo, some more during rush hours you will be crushed in the trains at some stations, i think shin-yokohama is one of them. sometimes i dont get the train groping thing, i can't move anything when its that crowded, and my hand is probably squashed against some old man's butt.

but if no stock at ikebukuro then no choice. come what may, even if it's an oyaji. 35 million people live within 1 hour of tokyo, and most of them commute at the same time. this is what singapore will be like in the future.

on a side note, one of the good deals in japan is the zoom q3. it's just over jpy22k from ishibashi, while it costs around $470 from citymusic. ishibashi's web shop sells it for 19.5k but unfortunately its the web-only price. but you can get it for under 20k from rakuten borderless, plus shipping will prob cost the same as getting it yourself from ishibashi. but either way still cheaper than singapore. i checked, operation is all in english. manuals in J but can be downloaded.

on another side note, i was told that there is no more ishibashi international web shop. no more int u-box also, only an ebay store. however, ishibashi shibuya will do international orders over JPY50k. fender japan and ibanez are restricted, if i'm not mistaken.

 

[alanchia]

wow, that's a lot of information. thanks for sharing here benefiting everyone! i was thinking of looking for it at ochanomizu. seems like i'll change my plan.

 

[dodgethis]

Uh, he did say it can be found in Ochanomizu, in probably any good music shop there. I don't think that the Music Juice would be some sort of exclusive item just for Ishibashi. Anyway, if you can't find it in Ochanomizu, head to Akihabara and look for it in the electronics shops there. It's one stop from Ochanomizu and well within walking distance from Ochanomizu.

 

[Resetti]

It's one stop from Ochanomizu and well within walking distance from Ochanomizu.

on a side note, I walked before from akihabara to ochanomizu before, coz I literally ran out of cash, not enough to buy a train ticket. Was thinking ochanomizu was my next stop anyway, so i'll walk there and I'll draw cash from the ATM there. big mistake. the walk it's quite far, I wouldn't do it again, even in nice cool tokyo weather

 

[shinobi]

i was in japan for a decent amount of time, about 3 weeks.

i will elaborate the story a bit more, so you guys will get a clearer picture regarding the availability.

i checked ishibashi in shinsaibashi, osaka, but didn't see it. the shinsaibashi store isn't that big anyway.

in tokyo i did not go to ishibashi immediately to search for the eneloop. for the amount of time i was gonna be there, i thought no need to kancheong i went to check some of the big electronics malls, and also walked around akihabara.

the surprising thing was that the eneloop was becoming much more difficult to find than i had imagined. before i started checking ishibashi i could not find it ANYWHERE.

then i went to ishibashi shinjuku, i did not find it either. i asked one of the dudes, who was blur at first, during which an older staff overheard us and told me something to the effect of "there is no stock here, try going to the 'next' (or other) store". that was when i decided to drop ishibashi an email.

since there is no more international web-shop, all mail gets forwarded to ishibashi shibuya. that was when i was told that there was stock at the 3 outlets. ikebukuro was nearest to where i was staying (koenji) so i got it from there. and if i remember correctly, it was the last piece =D but that was probably little more than a month ago.

if you are heading to japan you should email them too. the thing you will discover about guitar shops in japan is that, for one, dealerships are not very widespread. many stores sell crap. ishibashi is the largest chain, and although u have quantity per se, variety and stock availability is another matter.

real stores generally cannot compare to online stores in terms of stock availability and sometimes even price.

on a separate note, you guys really should check out koenji. one of the most awesome places in tokyo, possibly japan. nice bars and restaurants that open from noon till morning, relatively cheap. friendly (often drunk) folk. there are 2 (maybe 3) live houses that i know of.

 

[Resetti]

shinobi, did you check all the shops along ochanomizu? that place is music instruments and music scores heaven.

 

[shinobi]

yeah i went to take a look. the stores are good for finding guitars, especially used gems. effects selection isn't as great. amps are decent. as for accessories like cables, there is usually one model of shitty cable and a whole bunch of super high end boutique cables. no middle of the road canare/mogami with neutrik/amphenol sort of thing, only CAJ, monster etc.

the eneloop was particularly difficult to find. in electronic stores it isn't hard to find the eneloop brand, but not the music booster. seems like it is still relatively new

 

[alanchia]

Shinobi, ever try driving a 18v pedal with this? Will it work by using 9V-Y-cables?

 

[Resetti]

Shinobi, ever try driving a 18v pedal with this? Will it work by using 9V-Y-cables?

if the 2 outputs are isolated, then you can use Y cables to get 18v. so you'll need to find out if the outputs are isolated or not.

 

[shinobi]

umm... i THINK it is neither isolated nor non-isolated. it's just battery. 'isolated' means that it's isolated from the mains. that would mean y-cord is good.

but i'm not sure, hope some electronics pro can advise

 

[alanchia]

Finally bought mine from BIC Camera at Ikebukuro. Ishibashi at BEAM (Shibuya) is sold out. Didnt go Ochanomizu due to change of plans.