Question on acoustic 9volt battery life time? Yours?

CMT4LIFE · July 20th, 2006, 01:32 AM

I have a mitchell acoustic which you can also plug into an amp. It has a basic volume control slider and sliders for bass and treble, and takes a 9 volt battery. Im wondering what is the average 9 volt battery life for something like this if you play it plugged in all the time? I play everyday for about 2 hours and im finding that the battery wears out awfully fast. I get about 30 days if Im lucky. I also find out that it wears out faster if I have the volume turned up more on the guitar volume slider, as opposed to on the amp. Is there a correlation here? curious to know what others are getting for battery life time in days/hours?

popthree · July 21st, 2006, 04:21 PM

i don't play my acoustic plugged in all the time. usually just twice a week for about 2 hours at a time. the battery lasts a very long time for me. i've never actually had one die in the guitar. i usually replace them about every year or so just to make sure they don't go bad and start leaking or something.

Maestro · July 21st, 2006, 09:32 PM

I use a recharable. Lasts about 70 hours in total. but if I use a normal one it'll last longer.

Tim Bowen · July 22nd, 2006, 03:53 AM

I only plug my acoustic in at jobs, not at the house, so the battery life is quite long. Batteries are not terribly expensive, so just to be on the safe side, I toss in a new one every third time that I change strings.

I did once have a battery go out on me at a gig. At first, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, as there seemed to be a subtle amount of gain and compression added to the tone. Within the course of a few more tunes, it sounded like I'd engaged a full on germanium fuzzbox. It was near the end of the show at that point, so I just opted to enjoy the ride and have fun with it. Certainly didn't sound like an acoustic guitar, however.

dr_twangenstein · July 29th, 2006, 02:34 AM

2 years and counting.

I only plug it in at gigs and open mics. Maybe 4-5 hours a month tops.

Hollandcaster · July 29th, 2006, 10:59 AM

100 hours!

Ovation Elite Special (OP-24 electronics)

Paul in Colorado · August 25th, 2006, 01:16 AM

I have a couple of acoustics with Highlander pickups. The batteries seem to last for years. I know I've changed them, but they were in there a long time before I did. I use an outboard preamp for tone shaping.

Rob DiStefano · August 25th, 2006, 05:34 AM

Yer at the mercy of the preamp design and yer usage - and as posters here have testified, those parameters can vary by a huge amount.

July 20th, 2006, 01:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
CMT4LIFE NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: mAINE Age: 31 Posts: 2	Question on acoustic 9volt battery life time? Yours? I have a mitchell acoustic which you can also plug into an amp. It has a basic volume control slider and sliders for bass and treble, and takes a 9 volt battery. Im wondering what is the average 9 volt battery life for something like this if you play it plugged in all the time? I play everyday for about 2 hours and im finding that the battery wears out awfully fast. I get about 30 days if Im lucky. I also find out that it wears out faster if I have the volume turned up more on the guitar volume slider, as opposed to on the amp. Is there a correlation here? curious to know what others are getting for battery life time in days/hours?

July 21st, 2006, 04:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
popthree Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tulsa Age: 43 Posts: 2,961 49 Photos	i don't play my acoustic plugged in all the time. usually just twice a week for about 2 hours at a time. the battery lasts a very long time for me. i've never actually had one die in the guitar. i usually replace them about every year or so just to make sure they don't go bad and start leaking or something. __________________ "chips are falling....." -Dr. Johnny Fever

July 21st, 2006, 09:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Maestro Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The United Lowlands Of Holland Posts: 755	I use a recharable. Lasts about 70 hours in total. but if I use a normal one it'll last longer. __________________ A clean conscience is usually the result of a bad memory.

July 22nd, 2006, 03:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tim Bowen Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Age: 48 Posts: 3,392	I only plug my acoustic in at jobs, not at the house, so the battery life is quite long. Batteries are not terribly expensive, so just to be on the safe side, I toss in a new one every third time that I change strings. I did once have a battery go out on me at a gig. At first, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, as there seemed to be a subtle amount of gain and compression added to the tone. Within the course of a few more tunes, it sounded like I'd engaged a full on germanium fuzzbox. It was near the end of the show at that point, so I just opted to enjoy the ride and have fun with it. Certainly didn't sound like an acoustic guitar, however. __________________ "Everyone is different in how they learn, but for me, it's turning the pegs and just playing." - BB

July 29th, 2006, 02:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
dr_twangenstein Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: St. Louis Age: 31 Posts: 234	2 years and counting. I only plug it in at gigs and open mics. Maybe 4-5 hours a month tops. __________________ If I had to die for one word? Poontwang!

July 29th, 2006, 10:59 AM	#6 (permalink)
Hollandcaster Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Waalwijk, Holland Age: 36 Posts: 114	100 hours! Ovation Elite Special (OP-24 electronics) __________________ http://myspace.com/nowwsteph play tele's and don't look back

August 25th, 2006, 01:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 56 Posts: 4,450 3 Photos	I have a couple of acoustics with Highlander pickups. The batteries seem to last for years. I know I've changed them, but they were in there a long time before I did. I use an outboard preamp for tone shaping.

August 25th, 2006, 05:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
Rob DiStefano Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Park Ridge, NJ Age: 63 Posts: 4,919	Yer at the mercy of the preamp design and yer usage - and as posters here have testified, those parameters can vary by a huge amount.