Active Electronics, batteries, override?

[Metal_Boy16]

I own a Spector Pro Q5. It has:

-High Impedance, Passive, USA EMG-HZ pickups with EMG active tone circuit (straight from their website!)

Unfortunately, my bass does not have an "override" switch. Is there an easy way to make one, or to "improvise" one? Is there any easy modification I can do that will make my bass passive? Maybe something easy with the wiring..? I would prefer an override switch over making it passive. I have to unscrew the back panel to change the battery instead of pop one in one of those 'convenient' compartments (like on Carvin's basses). I just don't want to have to change my batteries in the middle of a show, cause it'd take me awhile. If I can't somehow 'override' my active electronics right on the spot, I might want to convert it to passive...somehow.

I play about 6 hours a week with this bass, so how long should my battery last? If I always have the low and hi boost all the way up, will the battery drain quicker?

OK, here's where I need the REAL help. Is this active electronics 'problem' a big deal? Should I even worry? The bass is awesome; I'm just paranoid my batteries will run out in the middle of a show!

 

EDIT: topicality

[bruiser_dup2]

M_B14,

 

I wouldn't worry about it. When the battery starts to go, it doesn't just die, it goes downhill over a long period of time. The volume level might start to drop off, and then it might start to distort a little, but that's over a period of hours.

 

I just check the battery voltage whenever I change strings (every few months); if it is much below 9 volts I replace it. I probably play 6-8 hours a week, and I've never had one die.

 

I suppose if I had an important gig I would put in a fresh battery, just for insurance.

 

Bruiser

[tarsia]

I'll agree with Bruiser - keep a fresh battery in the bass and also a extra new one in your gig bag or case ! & yes you could add a bypass switch, but

most likely it would also bypass all your volume & tone controls, it sounds like your pickups are passive and you have a active preamp, so you could possibly run the p'ups straight to the output jack thru a bypass switch. contact your local guitar shop if your intent on the bypass..

 

[davebrownbass]

This battery should last forever!

 

Well, not really. I have a bass with the exact p/u configuration. These are not really active pickups (in a true active system, the pickups are energized.) The battery just drives the "tone circuit."

 

Which means there's a lot less power drain than on a true active circuit.

 

Anyway, the battery is disengaged when you unplug the bass. Just don't leave the thing plugged in, and the battery will probably last a year.

 

I've never "died" on stage, although my active Warwick did "die" during a practice session one time. In that bass, I had NO warning. I was also surprised to learn that this particular bass won't even work in the passive mode when the battery is gone. So I make a habit of carrying a few spares with me, and I change the battery about once a year (I scrach the install date into the side of the battery.)

[Bob Gollihur]

I've never run into a circuit that doesn't give you indications of a pending battery failure-- typically a little distortion or other "odd sounds" artifact. Just two weeks ago my main bass, just having returned from the maker for a repair, sounded a little fuzzy (unusual) on stage-- I checked the battery and it was on the way out.

 

Regardless, you can pick up a multimeter that has a 9v/1.5v battery checker for around $10-12 (and the ohmmeter included can come in handy for other testing), and if you feel paranoid about battery condition, you can check it every so often and replace as needed. Lots of times I'll toss the battery, or if it has some life left I'll just tag it and reuse it in my Korg tuner, which apparently doesn't need as much current.

 

I typically keep an index card in the bass case on which I've written the last battery change date (and string type/change date) so I can check it out for the need for a change. I put a piece of masking tape on the plastic control cavity cover of my first active bass and wrote the dates on it, since I'd move it from case to case.