newbie active pickup question

[pac112]

when using active pickups, will the battery be drained if the guitar is not plugged in? how long will a 9v batt last for eg. a emg 81 / 85 combo. thanks!!

 

[vinterland]

Re: newbie active pickup question

If you unplug it doesn't use the battery. You can get around 1000 hours or more from a battery.

 

[Imp]

Re: newbie active pickup question

the quoted figure is 3000 hours per pickup per battery... playing 5 hours a day gets you about 2 years, but having a second pickup wired up takes twice as much power, etc.

with the 18v mod, you're talking a couple of years at least.. i've yet to have an EMG's battery ''crap out" on me, i've owned at least 2 at any one point for about 2-3 years.. the sound quality does degrade when the battery starts to drop, thats your cue to check the battery hehe

tom

 

[pac112]

Re: newbie active pickup question

so there's no such thing as an off switch ? not jack in and its all cool?

bear with me, i've never used actives before.

 

[Imp]

Re: newbie active pickup question

they use a stereo jack - you put the jack in, and the contact is made - it turns itself on its no different whatsoever from passives, its the same system effects pedals use to disconnect the batteries when nothing's plugged in, i think

no worries man, if you didnt recognise the tone and look of the active pups themselves, there's no real physical difference to the player..

tom

 

[pac112]

Re: newbie active pickup question

thanks a bunch imp! rock on.

 

[pinto79]

Re: newbie active pickup question

the quoted figure is 3000 hours per pickup per battery... playing 5 hours a day gets you about 2 years, but having a second pickup wired up takes twice as much power, etc.

There's a guy over at Jemsite that modded the system to only power the pickup that is selected. He claims it really increases the life of the battery, I can imagine it does!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: newbie active pickup question

There's a guy over at Jemsite that modded the system to only power the pickup that is selected. He claims it really increases the life of the battery, I can imagine it does!

I bet it does, but we're talking about changing a battery once a year instead of every six months... it's not really a big deal either way

 

[Imp]

Re: newbie active pickup question

i think i can visualise exactly how he's done that, but its been ages since i've installed a new set, so i wont comment lol

one hint though - when you do go to put batteries in, get good ones. duracell ultra or something, i tried using rechargeables for a while, waste of time. just get a top-end one-shot disposable battery, for the extra couple of bucks you get a lot more reliability!

tom