NS magnetic pickups

#2
Im going to reply to my own post in case anyone else has the same question.

I emailed the Artist Relations fella at NS and he told me that with it is typical with this preamp to get about 30 hours out of 2 9v batteries. I find that REALLY weird that a company would design guitar electronics to drain batteries in such a short time, but the instrument sounds in-fricken-credible, so if that's what it takes, so be it!
 
#4
StyleOverShow said:
Wow, that's a fruit fly lifespan (like WH press sec).


Agree it's too short. Maybe get some high powered rechargeable batteries. I bought some for my wireless and they work well
Click to expand...
I play at a theater in Branson, MO. I don't buy my own batteries, but I did have them die on stage one night, the first time I changed them after I got the NS. Since then, I pay pretty close attention to them. Its not overly difficult to change them on this instrument, but its not as easy as a pop-out battery compartment that you could switch on the fly. Fruit Fly!
 
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#5
StyleOverShow said:
Wow, that's a fruit fly lifespan (like WH press sec).


Agree it's too short. Maybe get some high powered rechargeable batteries. I bought some for my wireless and they work well
Click to expand...

Rechargeable batteries are not suited to use in basses. There are a multitude of reasons for why, but the main ones are that they do not put out full voltage, and deplete their charge too quickly for practical use.
 
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#7
line6man said:
Rechargeable batteries are not suited to use in basses. There are a multitude of reasons for why, but the main ones are that they do not put out full voltage, and deplete their charge too quickly for practical use.
Click to expand...
Old-style rechargables, yes.
Seek out some low-self-discharge ones - they put out full voltage, right to the end. I also use them in portable camera flashes, which is about the most demanding application for batteries I know of.
 
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#8
Timely thread for me. I just got a CR5M (thanks agfrag) it's the upright But I think the pre amp is almost the same. I read a bunch of tech stuff and threads yesterday about 9 volt batteries and instrument pre amps looking to get longer life out of the system.
Copy Pasta from Tech Report :
9V batteries - best brand, and what's the shelf life? - TR Forums

I get to deal with some professional audio equipment and there is a distinct difference between the standard Duracell coppertop and the Duracell Procell/Quantum. Mainly there is a rapid decay in voltage output of the copper top near the need of the battery's life. This manifests in a quick transition form "OK" to "time to replace" to dead. There is little to no time indicating that the battery has been partially used. If the life span of the battery in the equipment is 5 hours, it'll indicate that it is fresh up until the last 30 minutes. This can wreck havoc if you're using them in things like microphones for a live event and they may not last a good break to swap them.
The Procell/Quantum batteries fare better as they have a distinct transition period which allows for knowing when to replace it before it is dead. They also last longer, though specifically it is hard for me to quantify.

My day job buys these Duracell Procells in bulk ;) so I am going to do a test with them next week to see what kind of life I can get out of them.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a One Spot power supply with their Y cord and two 9 volt adapter cords for everything but live performance. The Mi-Si rechargeable super capacitor system in the NXTa is very interesting to me and I wrote Mi-Si about adapting it for the CR instruments a couple weeks ago. sorry to report They never wrote back.
Mi-Si Electronics Design | State of the Art Battery-Free Acoustic Amplification
 
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#9
Mine is also an Upright. I originally had it in the EUB forum, but admin moved it. I have also been considering the power supply. Maybe they should consider making an XLR output and sending it phantom power?

i run a wireless on mine, but just sayin.... I have a pretty cool little rig made up, aguilar chorus gaff taped to the back leg of the tripod, plug the wireless belt pack into the out of the chorus. The mag pickups on that upright sound badass with a chorus! Of course only when a song needs it. Chorus always in moderation!
 
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#10
sjl2725;
I think the mod was in error to move it here. You would probably get a lot more responses if it had stayed in the EUB forum.
Originally I was going to get a NXTa or a CRT but I wanted to experiment with a high C and effects as well. I figured the MAG pickup would go better with effects. What I didn't expect is how cool its sounds using a bow and effects.
I like your phantom power idea.


sjl2725 said:
Mine is also an Upright. I originally had it in the EUB forum, but admin moved it. I have also been considering the power supply. Maybe they should consider making an XLR output and sending it phantom power?

i run a wireless on mine, but just sayin.... I have a pretty cool little rig made up, aguilar chorus gaff taped to the back leg of the tripod, plug the wireless belt pack into the out of the chorus. The mag pickups on that upright sound badass with a chorus! Of course only when a song needs it. Chorus always in moderation!
Click to expand...
 
#11
Found information from EMG on using AC power with their pickups.

https://www.emgpickups.com/media/productfile/p/o/powertips_tricks_0230-0190c.pdf

copy pasta:

Using an AC Adapter (Battery Eliminator):
Using an AC Adapter is not a great idea. They tend to be noisy. EMG has yet to
spec or design an AC Adapter. Effects pedals tend to be noisy because they
usually add a lot of gain. Since the pickup is the first element of the chain it’s
best for it to have as quiet a power supply as possible, thus a battery. Both the
ES-9 and ES-18 power supplies from EMG have inputs for Adapters. The choice
is yours if you can tolerate any extra noise from an Adapter.

Battery Life:
The typical 9-Volt Alkaline battery is rated at 500 maH (Milliamp Hours).
Lithium batteries can be rated as high as 1200 maH. The more current capacity
(maH) the battery has, the longer it will last. The most important specification
(known as the “hours to cutoff voltage”) is often not specified by the makers.
The cutoff voltage is typically 1/2 of the original battery voltage, or 4.5V in this
case. Because batteries are used in so many different types of applications it’s
hard to predict battery life.
See: Nine-volt battery - Wikipedia
 
#12
Randy Ward said:
Timely thread for me. I just got a CR5M (thanks agfrag) it's the upright But I think the pre amp is almost the same. I read a bunch of tech stuff and threads yesterday about 9 volt batteries and instrument pre amps looking to get longer life out of the system.
Copy Pasta from Tech Report :
9V batteries - best brand, and what's the shelf life? - TR Forums

I get to deal with some professional audio equipment and there is a distinct difference between the standard Duracell coppertop and the Duracell Procell/Quantum. Mainly there is a rapid decay in voltage output of the copper top near the need of the battery's life. This manifests in a quick transition form "OK" to "time to replace" to dead. There is little to no time indicating that the battery has been partially used. If the life span of the battery in the equipment is 5 hours, it'll indicate that it is fresh up until the last 30 minutes. This can wreck havoc if you're using them in things like microphones for a live event and they may not last a good break to swap them.
The Procell/Quantum batteries fare better as they have a distinct transition period which allows for knowing when to replace it before it is dead. They also last longer, though specifically it is hard for me to quantify.

My day job buys these Duracell Procells in bulk ;) so I am going to do a test with them next week to see what kind of life I can get out of them.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a One Spot power supply with their Y cord and two 9 volt adapter cords for everything but live performance. The Mi-Si rechargeable super capacitor system in the NXTa is very interesting to me and I wrote Mi-Si about adapting it for the CR instruments a couple weeks ago. sorry to report They never wrote back.
Mi-Si Electronics Design | State of the Art Battery-Free Acoustic Amplification
Click to expand...
I think this is YMMV depending on what you use them in. I use procells in my 18v Carvin and the time from great to dead, is maybe a minute. And that minute sounds like a decent fuzz effect.
 
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#13
Sjl2625
I wrote an email directly to EMG and specified the NS Design preamp that EMG designed and manufactures, and asked about battery life.
See below for reply
I suspect NS Design possibly misunderstood the question o gave you an incorrect number for the hours, and that there might be something draining your system.
Is there a tech that can check it for you?
sjl2725 said:
Can any NS players out there with the 5 knob setup (magnetic pickups and bridge pickup) tell me what kind of battery life you are getting? I am having to replace mine quite often compared to my "regular" basses, most of which have 18V Bartolini systems.
Click to expand...



You can expect roughly 1000 hours of life from quality 9V batteries. I recommend Duracell ProCell. Best bang for the buck. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate all the new “Quantum” and “Ultra” variations that are offered, but generally speaking a lot of that stuff is rebranding gimmickry.
 
#14
My "regular" basses all have bart 18V bartolini systems (Yes, even the Stingray 5) and I get quite a bit of life out of them, but I switch it up a lot. I usually change batteries when its convenient, even if its not needed. The CR5M was purchased in April (yes, Im still paying on it) and I have changed the batteries about 4 times. Thankfully its not that difficult, but when it lays down on me in the middle of a set, its kind of inconvenient. So battery changes have become more precautionary. I might rig a set of leads to peek out of the battery compartment and check it with a meter more often. But I think I'm on to something with the Phantom Power! Cmon Ned!

As far as the high c, I opted for the low B, and considering how floppy the E is on my old EUB, Im astonished at how awesome it sounds on the NS.
 
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