Batteries, Love or hate 'em?

Sassafras

Does anyone still use batteries if they use more than a couple of pedals on a board.

It pains me to think of all the space you could save if you only had pedals designed without battery option. To say nothing of the carbon footprint issue.

JD50

Hate them, bad for the environment and a constant pain in the backside years ago before I bought a power bank from Maplins

ICBM

Sassafras said:

It pains me to think of all the space you could save if you only had pedals designed without battery option.

The battery space isn't usually the limiting factor with pedal size - it's the control layout, the position of the switch relative to them etc. You can get those Mooer mini-pedals which don't take a battery, but they're a pain in just about every other way.

I still use batteries for single pedals - they're less faff than another trailing cable, and actually more reliable as long as you remember to change them long before they're likely to die. (And of course use the half-dead one in something less critical!)

stickyfiddle

I don't use batteries on my pedalboard, but I really dislike pedals that don't have a battery option (high current draw digital stuff excepted). 

hugbot

Pedals designed without the battery option = mooer pedals and the like, surely? I use a battery in my wah, wahs can hold about 100 hours of charge if you unplug the input. I probably don't use my wah 100 hours a year. Dirt pedals can last a decent ish amount of time. Mods and delays are just a waste. The dd20 couldn't last one rehersal on fresh batteries.

Teetonetal

Fixed board with PSU for me, but I like the battery option as the only PSU I have is on the board and I don't want to have to unmount it - but occasionally If I know we are doing a gig on a stage that's tight for space, then the OD and a basic delay get ripped off,  used and powered by battery.

So I like having the option.

mike_l

Battery only for single pedals, or when taking one to a jam night.

On a board gotta be a power supply.

RaymondLin

100% PSU for me. Just cba changing them, it means having to have spares around and a screw driver and also every time I do that I have to unplug some patch cables which puts stresses on them...being solderless I do worry a little.

Sassafras

I admit I'm guilty of using some pedals with batteries: some treble boosters with +ve ground, some vintage pedals with no PSU option and if I'm just testing a pedal in different places in my pedal chain.

What I can't understand is MXRs decision to reissue their script logo pedals without psu option.

Also I hate to think of the amount of harmful waste that dead batteries produce.

The effect on the environment and the way we've been forced into the whole 'disposable' way of life does worry me. 

I can't help it because I'm just an old hippy at heart.

And I still think pedals designed without battery option could be made a wee bit smaller.

ICBM

Sassafras said:

I admit I'm guilty of using some pedals with batteries: some treble boosters with +ve ground, some vintage pedals with no PSU option

I don't think that's very wrong since they mostly use such a tiny amount of current anyway, a battery will usually last years.

Sassafras said:

What I can't understand is MXRs decision to reissue their script logo pedals without psu option.

Because purists snobs would have complained if they had.

Sassafras

You're probably right, I find that a bit depressing, not you being right, I mean the snobs complaining.

d8m

It humours me that they even bother butting the battery options in some pedals.

Boss digital delays for example.

That said I do love the mike Mathews batteries you get with the EHX gear!

Neil

I'm not a pedal freak so the few items I have all take and use batteries. That way I can just plug in what I want at the time without messing about with PSU's, daisy chains and the like.
Needless to say I don't have a pedal board.
:P

ICBM

d8m said:

It humours me that they even bother butting the battery options in some pedals.

Boss digital delays for example.

You can get a couple of gigs out of a Boss digital delay on the battery - the life is about 6hrs on an alkaline I think. I found it more convenient for an open-mic type situation than a power supply, so I would prefer not to do without the battery option.

Sassafras

Does nobody care about the impact they have on the environment?

Come on! What's the matter with you all?

It's the only planet we've got!

newi123

ICBM said:

d8m said:

It humours me that they even bother butting the battery options in some pedals.

Boss digital delays for example.

You can get a couple of gigs out of a Boss digital delay on the battery - the life is about 6hrs on an alkaline I think. I found it more convenient for an open-mic type situation than a power supply, so I would prefer not to do without the battery option.

Agreed - I like batteries, I`d love to be able to say it was because I could hear the difference, but I really just don`t want to provide power to the front of the stage. In saying that, I don`t use many pedals and all of the ones I do use have long battery life, with the exception of the DD3. But I still get a few weeks out of a DD3 battery at the local jam night. 

ROOG

I like batteries for low power pedals, they don't introduce any noise, and they are simple to use.

Great for spontaneous experimenting and camping trips with the guitar!

PolarityMan

It really fucks me off the the boss FS-6 needs a bettery, id have thought it would jsut be to power the LEDs too but it wont actually switch my GT-10 unless the battery is in. Also there's no power socket to use a power supply and even worse if you dont disconnect the battery when not in use it seems to drain really quickly.

Shitting piece of crap.

Sassafras

If you've got a decent PSU and a biggish pedalboard then I can't see the point of batteries and from what I've seen of some of your boards, they're MASSIVE great things. They'd cost a king's ransom to power with batteries.

Come on, be honest, how many of you regularly use only 1 or 2 pedals?

ICBM

Sassafras said:

If you've got a decent PSU and a biggish pedalboard then I can't see the point of batteries and from what I've seen of some of your boards, they're MASSIVE great things. They'd cost a king's ransom to power with batteries.

Come on, be honest, how many of you regularly use only 1 or 2 pedals?

More often than I get my huge, expensive and exhaustively carefully-chosen pedalboard out, these days… I sometimes wonder why I've still got it.

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

Sassafras said:

If you've got a decent PSU and a biggish pedalboard then I can't see the point of batteries and from what I've seen of some of your boards, they're MASSIVE great things. They'd cost a king's ransom to power with batteries.

Come on, be honest, how many of you regularly use only 1 or 2 pedals?

More often than I get my huge, expensive and exhaustively carefully-chosen pedalboard out, these days… I sometimes wonder why I've still got it.

Same, sort of.  I use two chorus pedals, a phaser, an overdrive, a distortion and a delay. I could use a different overdrive, the dyna drive is nice but I prefer the OD3 or adaptive distortion. 

SHIT I'M ONE OF THEM.

But the point I was going to make is, asides from the chorus (DOD and Ibanez CF-7 for weird noises) and the delay, they're all boss.  And as such, changing batteries is super easy so I use a PSU (delay is a Juansolo special, needs a psu only) but have batteries in as spare.