dude Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I've got a Schecter with EMGs in it, and I'd really like to upgrade to 18v instead of 9v. Does anyone know where to buy a battery holder like the one shown on the back of this guitar? They work really well, and I'd prefer to not need a screwdriver to switch my batteries. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Check here. And probably also StewMac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Thanks, that's perfect. I had searched all over, and yet somehow it never occurred me to check a guitar supplier. go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Much cheaper. http://yhst-50206111187217.stores.yahoo.ne...baboxfor9v.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wow, that's a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 (edited) way smaller, too. Good, I was worried about having enough space to mount it where I want to mount it. Thanks for that. edit: another question, though. If I add a second battery, am I going to want to shield the cavity I rout for the case and the hole I drill for the wires, or there not really be any signal interference? Edited May 8, 2009 by dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Let me offer up an opinion based on ALOT of experience in this area....18v setup sounds no better and perhaps a bit worse than a 9v setup...I tried it before and it was alot of work just to never use thatbox...on the plus side if you don't like it you can always just leave one battery out(like I do) And no shielding is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 I used the one from Carvin. Works great. Don't remember what I paid for it - I got it about 7 years ago. No problems though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Let me offer up an opinion based on ALOT of experience in this area....18v setup sounds no better and perhaps a bit worse than a 9v setup...I tried it before and it was alot of work just to never use thatbox...on the plus side if you don't like it you can always just leave one battery out(like I do) And no shielding is needed. Really? That surprises me. I love the sound I get when I put in a fresh battery, but as it wears down and doesn't provide QUITE as much voltage it just gets way too muddy for my liking. I just assumed the 18v setup would give me more of the clear sound that I love. Granted, I tend to like more treble in my sound than some, so maybe that's it. That's good to know though. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 See,that is what I thought too,that it would provide more "bite"..but it didn't...it just was a bit "boomy",which I did not like. But like i say,if you don't like it,you just take one battery out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 If you take one battery out, do you have to use a jumper in the empty socket or something? I would think that if you've got them wired in series, taking one out would cut the whole circuit and give you no power. Or did you wire them in parallel? I may be wrong, but I 'm pretty sure that doesn't give you 18v. Really, thanks for the info, though. I might still try it, but mostly I'm hesitant to rout out the back of my favorite guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 You Wire it in series...it works with both batteries in or with just one...you put the single battery in the first box...or fill both(at least if memory serves as to how I have it wired)...I have one guitar set up that way right now...although it is taken apart for refinishing. But yeah,I would not do it again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Good to know. I think I'll give it a try anyway, just to see if I like it (since it's so easy to reverse). I'll be sure to post the results, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 If you wire batteries in series, taking one out will cut both of them out of the circuit. If your guitar worked with just one battery, you only had it in parallel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 I was wondering about that, because putting them in parallel would only make them last longer, rather than increasing the voltage. I doubt it would effect the sound much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 I wired it according to the EMG diagram which corresponds...maybe you guys should give it a go?I did it something like 5 years ago,so I don't really care if I remember exactly what I did. I THINK I connected the two hot wires simultaneously to the hot lead of the pickups...but regardless of whether I did that or I soldered from one box to the other,the box wired to the pickups will be the primary,and will operate independently I would think,unless I am missing something. anyway...searching the net is your best friend. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...mp;#entry312422 http://www.cheatgrabber.com/video_eoDQ7OohFaI.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Sorry, man, not trying to sound like a dick. Just curious is all. I'll give it a try as soon as I get home to my router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 here is a dual box http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product...uitar_Bass.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Sorry, man, not trying to sound like a dick. Just curious is all. I'll give it a try as soon as I get home to my router. I don't mean to come across that way...anyone want to post a diagram of wiring the thing in series?Because I can no longer find the one I used. But I am just about sure that connecting both battery hots to the hot leads from the pickups makes it "in series"...I am not sure how else you would even do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 (edited) Ah. I'm pretty sure that's actually parallel, if I'm understanding you correctly. Here's a diagram I just drew up that compares the two options. Please correct me if I'm wrong though. Circuits class isn't until next semester for me. edit: the top one (parallel) would give you the same voltage as one 9v battery, I believe, though it may be more complicated than that. the bottom one (series) should give 18v. Edited May 9, 2009 by dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 9, 2009 Report Share Posted May 9, 2009 Well,that is definately not what I did. I think if I were you and were to go ahead with it,I would use the double box I linked to...seems the way to go... But from everything I read,it's not all that big a differnce on a guitar...the mod seems to be mostly reccomended for bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted May 10, 2009 Report Share Posted May 10, 2009 (edited) Parallel won't do anything to the sound, series will do a little bit, but it seems kind of silly to go to 18v just to burn through twice as many batteries. If you're happy with the fresh 9v sound, you could put 2 in parallel and use lithium batteries for the longest possible battery life. I think 18V would just add more attack, since the higher voltage is just going to make the peaks more abrupt. What sort of set-up are you using for your amp and pedals? You may be able to get what you're looking for just by getting new tubes or something. Especially if you have EL34 tubes, you could try a 6L6 or 6V6 for more clean headroom. There's also this http://www.precisionmusictech.com/xbat.htm You'd have to contact them about the availability of the 18v version though, I haven't seen any. GuitarElectronics just has the 9V, and if you ran that with a battery also in your guitar it would be 18V, but it might blow the circuits in the X-Bat(I tried putting 18V in it and it fried the fault protection, giving me a nasty popping sound when the battery got put on the hot signal output when plugging in and unplugging, it still worked fine other than that though). Edited May 10, 2009 by Keegan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 i have been thinking about buying a 25k ohm push pull pot form stewmac and doing a series parrallel swicht on the batteries so you i can really do a comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 There's a lot of interesting ideas out there. A comparison would be cool. People have tons of them up on youtube and the like, but the sound quality is usually not good enough to where you can tell a difference. I have a feeling the only real way to see which you like better is to do it yourself, seeing as how everyone has different gear and setups. I think I'm gonna hold off on this mod for a while. I'm still hesitant to cut up my beautiful guitar and risk harming it permanently. More to the point, I just dialed in pretty much the perfect sounds today (finally, after 8 months of fiddling) for my amp and new guitar, so I'm feeling pretty good about how things sound. Keegan, I wish I had tubes to change. I mean, I could change my transistors, but somehow I just don't see that being quite as fun. oh well, someday I'll break down and spring for a tube amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 It's not such a great idea to put batteries in parallel without interposing some diodes berween them. What happens is the "stronger" battery, and one will be, will try to "charge" the weaker one and probably dropping the resultant voltage, hence the worse sounding result mentioned above. Of course putting diodes in will have a voltage drop of 0.7v giving a nominal 8.3v but they should last longer. Parallel batteries wont give you anymore voltage "head room" only more current. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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