The Best Acoustic Electric that Doesn't need batteries ?

[Jesse Matthews]

Hey there everybody,

ok so here it goes, i have a nice takamine with nice amplified sound and everything cool but changing batteries is such a drag !.

is there any possibillity to get the same kind of good sound out a electric acoustic without a batterie preamp ?, its really frustrating to change batteries a few times a day...not to talk about if i want to gig i'll be all the time worried about the batteries running out on me mid performance .

i saw a few minimal systems which you connect to the amp "clean and simple" without a preamp with batteries am i right ?.

i think it was on a breedlove and new martin systems ?, i think it was called D-tar or something, when the controls are hidden under the sound hole...does that system have batteries ?.

actually to tell you the truth i cant find any reason to use a preamp with batteries if you have a good amp with good effects and all...tell me what you think...

Thanks,
Jesse.

[jackstrat]

I hate the acoustic electric batteries and huge cut out for the controls. The only acoustic/electric I would purchase today would be a taylor with the minimal controls. However, I currently prefer purchasing a non-electric acoustic and add the K&K or similar soundboard, no battery, no controls setup. They sound great and do not require batteries.

jack

[Ed422]

+1 for K&K.

[Jesse Matthews]

I found 2 youtube videos about the K&K pickup...sounds good !,would you say that sound resembles your pickup sound from your experiance ? :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yA1UXdJsnU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaGlxU4b7Mg

and here andy Mckee explains that he uses 80% of his sound from the K&K pickup :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfsHyhbWAjk

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by Jesse Matthews

ok so here it goes, i have a nice takamine with nice amplified sound and everything cool but changing batteries is such a drag !.

is there any possibillity to get the same kind of good sound out a electric acoustic without a batterie preamp ?, its really frustrating to change batteries a few times a day...not to talk about if i want to gig i'll be all the time worried about the batteries running out on me mid performance .

Jesse, something is wrong if you're not getting more battery life than that! Are you UNPLUGGING the cable from the jack when put the guitar away? The jack functions as a switch, with the cable plugged in the preamp is ON.

The Tak "Cool Tube" is a battery eater, but not at the rate you say. The other Tak preamps will go HUNDREDS of hours (that is, hundreds of PLAYING hours) before needing replacement. I change my batteries every 2nd or 3rd string change, and then hang on to it for a spare to power other stuff.

[kramster]

+1 K&K Mini

[Guyute]

I was going to post what Denny said. Changing batteries a few times a day? That's insane! Seriously, even if you kept it plugged in at all times, it should last you at least a few days...

I kept the same battery in my Fishman prefix for something like 6 months and it never went dead. My guess is that you might want to get it looked at by someone who knows their electronics.

[royd]

unfortunately, all pickups that I have used sound better with a pre-amp. It doesn't need to be in the guitar though. It can be outboard and IMHO, the outboard ones are generally better than those mounted in the guitar. The downside is one more thing to carry... and some/most require a wall wart.

The example of Andy McKee is a case in point. He doesn't have a pre-amp inside the guitar but has to have an external one to power the microphone in his dual source K&K and then to EQ both the K&K sources mixed and the Sunrise separately.

There is another option though... the MiSi pickups use a capacitor rather than a battery. You plug your guitar into the wall for 60 seconds to power up the capacitor and then have power for its internal pre-amp for about 16 hours. It is a cool idea. I have no idea how well it works.

[66strummer]

Sounds to me like you have CTP preamp and are leaving it plugged in or it isn't switching off properly when unplugged. If I owned a guitar that was Cool Tube equipped I would invest in rechargeable batts. Another thing is that if it is that system, be aware that a non-battery pickup such as the K&K will likely sound very different from what you're used to. Make sure it's the sound you're looking for before you go through the trouble of replacing it.

[Jesse Matthews]

first of all i dont leave the cable connected to the guitar
secondly i may exagerated a bit, lets say that when i play 1-2 hours plugged in without stopping then my batteries are starting to run low, i also have a tuner built in the preamp, and yes i do have rechargbele batteries...maybe i should go to the tech and check it out...

anyhow, IF i buy another electric acoustic i wouldnt never buy one with batteries, becouse you have today good system that dont require batteries...like the K&K.

[66strummer]

Originally Posted by Jesse Matthews

first of all i dont leave the cable connected to the guitar
secondly i may exagerated a bit, lets say that when i play 1-2 hours plugged in without stopping then my batteries are starting to run low, i also have a tuner built in the preamp, and yes i do have rechargbele batteries...maybe i should go to the tech and check it out...

anyhow, IF i buy another electric acoustic i wouldnt never buy one with batteries, becouse you have today good system that dont require batteries...like the K&K.

Good idea on the Tech. Do you use rechargeable batteries exclusively? They do wear out over time and then wont hold a good charge. If they are getting old that could potentially be the problem. Good luck.

[Mike_A]

Originally Posted by Jesse Matthews

Hey there everybody,

ok so here it goes, i have a nice takamine with nice amplified sound and everything cool but changing batteries is such a drag !.

is there any possibillity to get the same kind of good sound out a electric acoustic without a batterie preamp ?, its really frustrating to change batteries a few times a day...not to talk about if i want to gig i'll be all the time worried about the batteries running out on me mid performance .

i saw a few minimal systems which you connect to the amp "clean and simple" without a preamp with batteries am i right ?.

i think it was on a breedlove and new martin systems ?, i think it was called D-tar or something, when the controls are hidden under the sound hole...does that system have batteries ?.

actually to tell you the truth i cant find any reason to use a preamp with batteries if you have a good amp with good effects and all...tell me what you think...

Thanks,
Jesse.

the DTAR without batteries is the sadduccer, it produces a hot enough signal that makes a preamp unnecessary. but this is a lowend pickup of DTAR. you must be referring to the DTAR wavelength which has the controls underneath the soundhole. this still has 9V batteries though but it claims to operate at 18V which gives it better headroom.

for me, the preamp with batteries has its place, especially when you are gigging and just dont have time to setup an outboard preamp system. you go up on stage and they just give you a 1/4 jack plug to connect to the PA. of course these are exceptions. in a perfect world, you can always do your setup and soundcheck first.

[gusto5]

Originally Posted by Jesse Matthews

first of all i dont leave the cable connected to the guitar
secondly i may exagerated a bit, lets say that when i play 1-2 hours plugged in without stopping then my batteries are starting to run low, i also have a tuner built in the preamp, and yes i do have rechargbele batteries...maybe i should go to the tech and check it out...

anyhow, IF i buy another electric acoustic i wouldnt never buy one with batteries, becouse you have today good system that dont require batteries...like the K&K.

You should definitely get it checked out.

It seems you have had a really bad exp. with batteries, and this shouldn't necessarily be a reason to avoid built-in pre-amps.

Any passive pickup like the K&K won't need a battery, although there aren't a large number of them available.

[Jesse Matthews]

Thanks for your great comments ill check things out and write here what happend.