Does switch to passive prevent battery drain if the jack cable stays plugged ?

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Hello,

I’m sorry if this question is a very often asked one, but I failed to find an answer using the search system

I just bought a Corvette Std (german, 2007) with passive pickups and active preamp.

I’ll use it on a daily basis (practice, practice and... hum..practice).

My previous experience with active only basses (a Jazzbass deluxe) was that I needed to unplug the jack cable after each use , or the battery would die very quickly. Apparently the input Jack plays the role of a on/off button

If I use my Corvette on passive setting (with the volume button up) do I need to unplug the jack each time or does the fact to switch to passive disconnect the battery ?

Thanks in advance

Luc

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DiMarco

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Hi Luc, it needs to be unplugged. Switching to "passive" only bypasses the active tone controls.
 
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Hi Luc, it needs to be unplugged. Switching to "passive" only bypasses the active tone controls.

Thanks a lot
It's a pity by the way, it would have been a clever idea to transform this active/passive switch to be also a OFF button.. that's life

Thanks again
 
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You can install a killswitch for turning the bass on/off completely.
 

schlobodan

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or you can pull the cable
 

Nachobassman

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Hola, Luc. Nice ´vette.

I´m curious, why unplugging the cable seems like such a pain for you?
 
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Hello,

It’s not a pain for myself.

I practice every day at least 2 or 3 hours a day (I’m currently out of job and looking for one so I take advantage of this «♣free♣» … time)

Previously I used only passive basses, a Godin SD4, (basically a Canadian take of the Fender Precision) and a Ibanez AFB200 (a Hollowbody that I use for walkings in a little jazz workshop). So at home the basses are plugged all the time, I never unplug the cable.

I had a previous experience with a Fender active Jazzbass Deluxe, and I very often forgot to unplug this cable and the battery died very quickly. On the other hand I don’t know if a jack is intended to be plugged/unplugged so often (in my case at least two or three time a day each day).

Luc
 

Hardy

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I very often forgot to unplug this cable and the battery died very quickly. On the other hand I don’t know if a jack is intended to be plugged/unplugged so often (in my case at least two or three time a day each day).

Luc


Because of this I use accus.

A good jack will last a looooong time and if not sometimes it is only a small work to squeeze it tight again. And a new jack doesn´t cost a world.
 

Augie

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Jacks can hack it, and they are easily replaced. A slightly bigger issue is if you leave your bass plugged in and put it on a stand like the one in the pick you can put strain on the lead and the jack if the lead is pushing onto the ground. that can reduce the lifespan of both lead and jack, and if you use a right angle jack it can dent the bass body if the lead gets jammed against the bass.
Nothing major but if you are being super careful you are better off unplugging.
 
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Unplugging is the better option as it will otherwise make the connection. I normally store basses in a cases and they are only temporarily on a stand with enough space for the cable to avoid dents and to put it away safely you automatically will disconnect the cable as fitting a bass into a case with cable connected could get awkward :)
 
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The way I understand it is back in the day when active basses just started, they had a mono jack that would drain as if the bass was plugged in. They worked around this by making the jacks stereo. This way, when you plug in your patch cord (which is straight up mono), you're connecting two sections of the stereo jack (since the same piece of metal touches two sections) and it turns it on. Putting the bass in passive mode wouldn't circumvent this, and I'm not quite sure how you'd wire a killswitch in this case.

Of course, I might be totally off.
 
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it's very easy to put an killswitch, i have made it in my refinished Corvette...as for the same reason as the TO.. i was to lazy during practisising to plug / unplug all the time the jack..

The position is very easy, you put the switch/killswitch directly on the black cable that goes from the battery to the jack, BEFORE the cable reaches the jack..so you interupt the current cirquit (9V), before it can reach the STEREO-JAck
 
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Hello,

Thanks everybody for all your very detailed answers.

It’s clear that unplugging a cable is not a huge effort, but on the other hand, it’s only in the musical industry that this kind of operation can survive.
Imagine you go to a shop to buy.. a TV screen for example.. and the salesguy answers you it works like a charm, but don’t forget, when you’re done with your film unplug from the wall connexion in order to shut down the TV or if you where to buy a car and the salesguy says to stop the car ? very easy, just open the trunk and disconnect the battery….. :lol:

Luc
 

Augie

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But in that example the TV would be just as good as it was new in 50 years time, and made with components that you can swap out at home for less than 20 bucks in less than 20 min.......
Guitars are made for simplicity and durability, not ease of use. You can always add a switch to kill the battery, but that's one more component that can wear or fail, two more solders that can crack etc etc. as well as more stuff on the face of the bass.
 
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Hello,

To be clear it’s not a critic targeted at Warwick (or an whish to troll), I had in the past a Fender that was even worse. At least in case of battery failure my Corvette can work, it was not the case with my Fender.
I’m not sure at all that the electronic part of my Corvette will still work in 50 years by the way (and the fact it wouldn’t be able to , would be perfectly understandable).

I simply think from a engineering point of view that in the XXIth century it may be possible to imagine a guitar electronic that can work both and equally (from a functionality not sound point of view ) with and without battery, and at least, an electronic able to shut down more elegantly than unplugging a cable when not in use.

Luc
 
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I simply think from a engineering point of view that in the XXIth century it may be possible to imagine a guitar electronic that can work both and equally (from a functionality not sound point of view ) with and without battery, and at least, an electronic able to shut down more elegantly than unplugging a cable when not in use.

Again, this is what killswitches are for. You could even include one in a push/pull pot should you so desire.
Plugging in the cable completes the electronic circuit, causing the battery to drain.

Adding a switch eliminates this.
 

Nachobassman

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Hello,

To be clear it’s not a critic targeted at Warwick (or an whish to troll), I had in the past a Fender that was even worse. At least in case of battery failure my Corvette can work, it was not the case with my Fender.
I’m not sure at all that the electronic part of my Corvette will still work in 50 years by the way (and the fact it wouldn’t be able to , would be perfectly understandable).

I simply think from a engineering point of view that in the XXIth century it may be possible to imagine a guitar electronic that can work both and equally (from a functionality not sound point of view ) with and without battery, and at least, an electronic able to shut down more elegantly than unplugging a cable when not in use.

Luc

Fender sell their USA Standard instruments (price tag >1500€) without electronic cavities shielding, and 99% of the world seem to love to pay another 100€ on a shielding job. Why are you so surprised? ;)
 
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