Active pickups question regarding battery

[Uncle Moe]

Hi all,

 

I am new to active pickups and I have a question regarding the battery usage... I was wondering since there is not an off and on switch on the pickups, does that mean it is constantly draining the battery or does it just drain the battery when your playing?

 

I would assume it just drains when your playing but I just wanted to make sure.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Guitarzan]

some setups use a output jack that shuts it off when you remove the cord.

my buds Yamaha bass is like that, but he occasionally forgets to unplug it and the battery goes dead.

batteries last quite long in an active system with normal use.

[Uncle Moe]

Guitarzan,

 

Thanks for responding, I should have noted that this is on a Schecter Hellraiser C-1 with the active EMG's.

 

They do not supply an owners manual, etc. so I did in addition to posting the msg here I emailed them too.

[Guitarzan]

i am willing to bet they use a jack that disconnects the power when unplugged.

[theTragicRich]

I would have to agree. I play two active Schecter basses and as long as you remember to unplug the cord, you're fine. The batteries should last a good year or so with a fair amount of playing. But then again, the active systems in my basses are 18v, not sure if the guitars are 18v or 9v (or something else).

[Uncle Moe]

Great thanks!

 

My guitar takes a single 9v which runs both pickups... speaking of, I need to take out the cheap battery it came with I am always afraid of the cheapies leaking, etc!

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

The EMGs use a stereo jack on the output of the guitar, so that when you slide in the 1/4" mono plug, it shorts the sleve to the ring, connecting the battery and enabling the pickups. Unplug the 1/4" plug, the circuit is broken.

 

The pickups will function for a looonnnngggg time on a battery, but there is an optimum 'sound' life for a battery, after which, yeah you can get noise from the pickups but they don't sound as good as they do with a new battery.

 

Bill

[Caevan O’Shite]

Yhup. Stereo jack wired to act as a switching-jack for the DC. Used to play an EMG equipped axe for years.

 

There also used to be a phantom-power type rig that ran power up your cable (stereo cable?) to the pickups without using a battery in the guitar, but I don't think it ever really caught on. Can't recall if it was EMG or Steinberger or who it was that offered that, but I almost went with that years ago...

[dave251]

Jack is TRS....with the ring connecting the negative side of the battery to system ground. When you plug in your "standard" TS plug, the sleeve connects the battery to ground.

[Uncle Moe]

I wanted to thank everyone for their responses!

 

This is a great site!

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

Love your avatar-image; izzatt your car? Too cool, either way!

[Larryz]

I have two strats with active pickups and the only way to disconnect the battery is to unplug your chord (the guitar input jacks are no different than anyother guitar)...you can leave it plugged in for your 15 minute breaks..but don't leave it on the stand plugged in overnight and if you're not going to play for an hour or more just unplug the guitar..you'll get a year or more on one battery if you keep this in mind and a lot less playing time if you don't...I bought a chord with an on/off switch which makes it easy to unplug while leaving your amp on at gigs (this avoids that loud drive the crowd crazy amp short when you switch guitars or if you have to change the battery or tune up) have fun....

[Uncle Moe]

Thank you

 

Yep that's my crazy car... I have a site on it with a ton of pics: http://bellsouthpwp.net/g/o/gottac/index.html I made it in twice in Streetrodder (national magazine) and a few local mags. It was a fun project, poor thing sits and collects dust now, never enough time to cruise

 

Love your avatar-image; izzatt your car? Too cool, either way!

[Uncle Moe]

Now that is a great idea about the off/on switch. I never leave my cord in since I only mess around at home playing (well actually making noise... still trying to learn)!

 

If I ever do have the need to leave it plugged in, I will be looking for one of those cords. Any idea who makes it or where you bought it?

 

Thanks alo

 

[Bluesape]

Unplugging the cord will save the battery. BTW, the Energizer I replaced in my ESP with EMG's worked for 11 tears that I'd had it for, and I bought it used! That 9 volt could'a been 15 years old!

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

...the guitar input jacks are no different than anyother guitar)....

 

Incorrect. This from wikipedia

 

 

Panel-mounting jacks are often provided with switch contacts. Most commonly, a mono jack is provided with a single normally closed (NC) contact, which is connected to the tip (live) connection when no plug is in the socket, and disconnected when a plug is inserted. Stereo sockets commonly provide two such NC contacts, one for the tip (left channel live) and one for the ring or collar (right channel live). Some designs of jack also have such a connection on the sleeve, as this contact is usually ground it is not much use for signal switching but could be used to indicate to electronic circuitry that the socket was in use.

 

Less commonly, some jacks are provided with normally open (NO) or change-over contacts, and/or the switch contacts may be isolated from the connector.

 

... In many amplifiers and equipment containing them, such as electronic organs, a headphone jack is provided that disconnects the loudspeakers when in use. This is done by means of these switch contacts. In other equipment, a dummy load is provided when the headphones are not connected. This is also easily provided by means of these NC contacts.

 

Other uses for these contacts have been found. One is to interrupt a signal path to enable other circuitry to be inserted. This is done by using one NC contact of a stereo jack to connect the tip and ring together when no plug is inserted. The tip is then made the output, and the ring the input (or vice versa), thus forming a patch point.

 

Another use is to provide alternative mono or stereo output facilities on some guitars and electronic organs. This is achieved by using two mono jacks, one for left channel and one for right, and wiring the NC contact on the right channel jack to connect the two connector tips together when the right channel output is not in use. This then mixes the signals so that the left channel jack doubles as a mono output.

 

A three-conductor signal input socket is used on some battery-powered guitar effects pedals to eliminate the need for a separate power switch. When the user plugs in a two-conductor guitar or microphone lead, the resulting short-circuit between earth and ring connects an internal battery to the unit's circuitry, ensuring that it powers up or down automatically whenever a signal lead is inserted or removed. A side effect is the risk of inadvertently discharging the battery if the lead is not removed after use, for example if equipment is left connected overnight.

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

Yeah, the batteries do last quite a while with those EMGs.

 

Definitely a job for a Duracell or similar alkaline- NOT the retro/vintage-y/"browning" old carbon stylees!

 

As for cables that have a disconnect-button or other such pop-quieting features, there are or have been a number of 'em.

 

I wouldn't worry about unplugging the guitar constantly when not playing, though, like when you take a break from the stage during a gig and leave your amps on standby- the batteries hold up quite well, if you don't leave it plugged in ALL the time at home or the like.

 

For quick and easy battery changes, instead of having to remove a picguard or control-plate every time, you can always have a plastic battery-compartment with a lid installed in the back-side of the guitar; that's actually not uncommon with active pickup systems. You can get 'em from Stewart-MacDonald, Carvin, probably other guitar parts retailers like Allparts, etc., and a simple router-job will do it. Relatively cheap even if you have a pro install it.

[Larryz]

The on/off switch on the chord won't save your battery, you will still need to unplug the guitar, the chord I have is made by Planet Waves it's called "The circut breaker" 20' long and easy to find at guitar center or online, I had the pickguard on the clapton changed and was present at the installation and also had the gilmour emg set up on my american strat, both use a standard input plugs which are no different than any of my other strats, in fact the american with the gilmour uses the stock original input jack, I have to remove the spring cover plate on the back of the clapton to change the battery (if and when it ever goes out), on the american with the emg setup I had the battery routed in the back between two outside springs and have a cheap stock access spring cover plate which I ordered from all-parts out of texas which allows easy and quick battery access if I ever need to change the battery at a gig, I pack an extra non-powered strat in case of a string break and/or battery problem(which so far has never occured knock on wood), the batteries last a long time and you don't have to unplug if you don't want to, (don't mount the battery under the pickguard as it's a pain to change)...if you want to test the theory just leave your acoustic electric plugged in on the stand and see how long your battery lasts, then try unplugging whenever you're done playing it and see how long your battery lasts, it dies much quicker if you leave your guitar plugged in (ie. days, weeks months), which will be the same on your active pickup set ups...I'm sure there is a huge amount of info on guitar, amp, pa, stereo, etc., input plugs on wikipedia but I was only referring to the two input setups on my guitars...at any rate it's just a suggestion...unplug so you can keep going and going and going, etc....

[Caevan O’Shite]

I think he wanted a "silent plug" type cable to make unplugging the guitar (for less battery drain) easier and pop-free.

 

Uncle Moe- If your amp has a stand-by switch, simply put the amp on standby before unplugging at the guitar, and plug the cable back into the guitar before switching the amp back to full-on.

 

EDIT: But, you really don't have to worry about running the battery down just by leaving cable plugged into the guitar during breaks when at a gig or jamming, just don't leave it plugged in all the time, night and day. Reif (Bluesape) is right, they last a long time with EMGs. Replacing the battery once or twice a year would be plenty good enough for most folks most of the time.

[Larryz]

There are lot of cool things about having the on/off switch on the chord at the guitar guitar location.. but it was getting a little off topic, when using a tube type amp it's nice to be able to switch guitars without having to go over to the amp, put it on standby, wait a few seconds, unplug and plug back in and then switch the amp back on...you just switch the chord off, change guitars, and switch the chord back on..I don't know why it happens but I've noticed if you turn the volume on the guitar all the way down before unplugging, you get less pop...it's also nice to turn the switch off before tuning, maintain your guitar settings and then turn the switch back on (when using a clamp on tuner)...a lot of slide players like these chords as they have two or 3 guitars in different tunings and make lots of switches on stage...having this type of chord also reminds me to unplug the guitar and put it in the case (just like an acoustic-electric) and have less battery drain after you're done practicing at home...

[Uncle Moe]

O.k. I think I understand everything! I will be sure and unplug my current cable when I am not using it. I do not gig or play much so it's not a real issue for me.

 

To take this wayyy off topic: why is it your supposed to put a tube amp into standby to change guitars? is it just because of the popping or can it actually damage the amp? This is my first tube amp and I really don't want to mess it up for lack of flipping a button

 

Thanks all,

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

The standby mode switches off the power for most of the amp, with the exception being the heater-filaments that heat the tubes (the part that glows orange inside them).

 

That saves wear and tear on the tubes by removing voltage from them while keeping them warm, which is better for them than cooling down and warming up over and over again (known as thermal cycling) that turning the amp all the way off for short breaks will cause; repetitive cooling and warming and cooling again will wear the tubes out faster.

[Uncle Moe]

Ok got it... what about putting it in stanby to change guitars? is that needed?

 

Thank you

[Caevan O’Shite]

Not really; that's what people like these pop-free cables for, so that you can unplug and switch or whatever without the loud noises.

 

There are also these "Snap Jacks" (sp?) cables that I've seen advertised and reviewed in Guitar Player, that magnetically snap of from the cable while the plug remains plugged into the guitar's jack, and extra Snap plugs allow you to leave one in another guitar to snap the magnetic plug onto, switching quickly and without popping or noise.

 

They seem to be catching on, although I'm happy enough with regular plugs and cables, simply unplugging the end at the amp briefly if I need to disconnect the instrument-end. I pull the plug just enough to disconnect it from the amp, but leaving it sitting in the jack, and then pushing it back in all the way when I'm done with whatever it was.

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

If you only switch between 2 guitars, a simple and cheap A/B switch would do the job, and both guitars can stay plugged in all the time.

 

It would work for multiple guitars if you just switch to the other channel before unplugging the one... say you want to change the guitar plgged into the B channel.... just make the A channel hot, switch out the guitars on B, then make the B channel hot.

 

Bill

[Caevan O’Shite]

Good call, Bill...

[Larryz]

Getting into good habits with whatever type of equipment you use is a good idea...I have never tried the snap plugs, but if I was using active pickups, I would get in the habit of removing the bottom half of the snap plug from the guitar before putting it in the case to avoid battery drain...the standby switch habit will work well for any tube amp using 6L6 or bigger power tubes and that is when I fire up I do it on standby and start tuning, then when I'm ready to play the tubes have already started warming up before going on full power, when I'm done playing I switch to standy, wait 5 or 6 seconds and unplug, after putting the guitar away, I switch power off...thus you get in the habit of warming up and cooling off tubes and they will last more than 3 years...Solid state amp guys probably don't worry about this kind of stuff so it all depends on what kind of equipment you use (like A/B switches)...if you don't use a power supply most effects pedals need the input side unplugged to avoid battery drain as well..anyway you guys have a lot of good things to say and it's fun to learn new things from you...

[Uncle Moe]

Alrighty! Thanks again everyone, I now have my plan of attack. Thanks for the ideas and the info, it is much appreciated.