Those danged oversized Duracell 9-volts

[adouglas]

Prior to yesterday's gig I decided to give my fretless Bongo some attention. Treated the fretoard, put fresh Coated Slinkies on it and changed the batteries.

All I had at home was a pair of Duracells.

Got to the gig, went to tune up just as the band was getting ready to start, and.... dead bass.

*$(#%!

Played that set's three fretless songs on my fretted H and spent the break in troubleshooting mode.

Never Overlook The Obvious, the man said, so the first thing I did after verifying polarity was dive into the junk box for another fresh set of batteries... Energizers.

Bingo (Bongo?). Live bass.

For those of you who have not experienced this, Duracell 9-volts are just a bit larger, physically, than Energizers. They're a snug fit in the battery compartment. In this case, one of them was large enough that I could just get the door closed, but couldn't cram it down in the compartment enough to make contact. (Why one? Manufacturing tolerances, I guess.)

The Energizers dropped right in.

The thing that gets me is that I actually knew about this issue. I just didn't think it would nail me. Heck, the batteries that came out of the bass were Duracells.

Other lesson learned... ALWAYS check the function of your bass before the gig if you do ANYTHING to it.

Basically I wound up lugging that bass to the gig for no reason at all. Didn't get to use it.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

yip! I reckon Jim Henson would definately hire you

forgive me hahah

 

[keko]

Other lesson learned... ALWAYS check the function of your bass before the gig if you do ANYTHING to it.

Yeah, right!

Especially if you have only one bass, as I do at the moment!

 

[bassmonkeee]

I've got Duracells in both of my 5 string Bongos, fretted and fretless, right now. With about 30 hours of gigs in the last 3 weeks without an issue. I've used Duracells since I bought my first Bongo 6+ years ago with no problems whatsoever.




I've used Duracells in all 5 of the Bongos that I've owned, and I've never had an issue with any of them.

 

[danny-79]

The Duracell's in both my Ray's are a perfect fit, when ever i change the battery's i put a small sticker on it with the date that i changed it, just the extra nothing that the sticker measures is enough to notice the difference in size change between a battery with no sticker on it, but never would of thought that different brands would be of noticeable size difference to the point that they wont make contact inside the battery compartment when fitted. Interesting....

 

[Jim C]

Hadn't change the battery in my Ray in ages and guess what was on sale at the grocery store.
Know that they are slightly larger but will double check fitment; thanks for the reminder.
Also, I date code batteries with Sharpies; amazing how long the smoke detectors last.
Prefer the bunny commercial anyway but am pretty sure EB recommends Duracell as a replacement.

 

[adouglas]

As with any manufactured item, there will be slight differences from one to the next.

The bass came with Duracells and they were fine. I've used Duracells in the past and they were fine too.

But the new ones... one of them was an unusually tight fit. It had to be pressed in to get the cover closed. And while I got the compartment latched, it took some force to do it.

Put it this way... if I were to open the compartment, flip open the cover and turn the bass over, the battery would not have fallen out. Tight.

The Energizers, by contrast, dropped right in (as in fell in and bounced on the contacts... they are that loose).

Both are good brands. Nothing wrong with the performance of Duracells at all.

However, this little occurrence took my fretless out of action during a gig. Not acceptable. It's enough to make me no longer use Duracells.

 

[Bloodfist]

I like bunny's, so I use energizers. I can go months with out any noticeable difference, and they always fit perfectly.

 

[Jim C]

I wasn't referring to manufacturing tolerances; Duracell's are physically larger.

Just measure 2 Duracells and 2 Energizers; tolerances were within a few thousandths for each brand

Energizer = .998" wide x 1.78" long x .640" deep
Duracell = 1.017 x 1.740 x .653 deep

While they may be shorter these samples proved to be wider and deeper by a significant percentage.

As I recall, Procells also measure like Energizers

 

[five7]

When you changed strings and put new batteries in at home you didn't notice the batteries not working? You tuned the strings with an electronic tuner?

 

[adouglas]

No, I just tuned acoustically, knowing I'd have to re-do it at the gig anyway.

 

[TNT]

Andrew,

Right you are!!

Those Duracells (most all of them) are slightly larger. I've had to deal with those in my Boss TU-12 Tuner over the course of the last 5 yrs or so.

Not only that, but they seem to be "dieing" a little prematurely these days(??)

 

[keko]

Those Duracells (most all of them) are slightly larger.

Yes, I've noticed that too, but it fits in my Sterling tight, have not problems with that yet!

 

[bassmonkeee]

However, this little occurrence took my fretless out of action during a gig. Not acceptable. It's enough to make me no longer use Duracells.

Not trying to be a jerk, but a poor artist blames his tools.

You are focusing on the wrong things--the batteries didn't cost you a bass at a gig. Your lack of checking out your gear with enough time to correct any issues cost you a bass at a gig.

You didn't check to make sure the bass was working after you had a battery that was an "unusually tight fit. It had to be pressed in to get the cover closed." You tuned it up acoustically. You couldn't spare the additional two minutes after taking the time to change strings and batteries (that were unusually tight)?

You waited until "just as the band was getting ready to start" to tune the instrument that had new strings and new batteries. Who's to say that next time you won't put the Energizer in backwards since it was so loose it "fell in and bounced on the contacts?" A battery that loose would surely allow the cover to be closed without complaint if put in the wrong way. Same result--dead bass at gig. Time to change to Rayovac 9Vs?

If I'm asked to play a gig because someone wants fretless, and I show up and have to use my fretted "because those Duracells didn't fit," the bandleader is not going to blame Duracell. He's simply not going to call me, again.

The lesson here is not "Duracells are big," it's "Make sure your bass works before you get on stage after changing the two things you change on a bass (strings and batteries)." An important part of a setup is making sure the instrument makes sound through an amp.

 

[adouglas]

You are exactly right.

However, simplifying any system and removing potential points of failure makes that system more robust.

Remember when the Challenger blew up?

Stuff happens. People make mistakes. I made one by not double-checking.

It's my fault, not the batteries.... but had the batteries fit better, there would not have been any problem in the first place.

The two brands cost the same and perform the same. So why NOT buy the one that will fit every time?

 

[GGK]

As with any manufactured item, there will be slight differences from one to the next.

The bass came with Duracells and they were fine. I've used Duracells in the past and they were fine too.

But the new ones... one of them was an unusually tight fit. It had to be pressed in to get the cover closed. And while I got the compartment latched, it took some force to do it.

Put it this way... if I were to open the compartment, flip open the cover and turn the bass over, the battery would not have fallen out. Tight.

The Energizers, by contrast, dropped right in (as in fell in and bounced on the contacts... they are that loose).



Both are good brands. Nothing wrong with the performance of Duracells at all.

However, this little occurrence took my fretless out of action during a gig. Not acceptable. It's enough to make me no longer use Duracells.

Same thing happened to me last time I put a copper top in. I actually thought I was going to crack the plastic top of the battery compartment. I am due for a change and will check out the bunny version to see how that goes.

 

[maddog]

You are exactly right.

However, simplifying any system and removing potential points of failure makes that system more robust.

...

It's my fault, not the batteries.... but had the batteries fit better, there would not have been any problem in the first place.

I like how you keep qualifying your admittances of guilt with statements blaming others.

Remember when the Challenger blew up?

Seriously? You're comparing an electric bass to a space shuttle and your gig mishap to the tragedy of a space shuttle crew losing their lives?

The two brands cost the same and perform the same. So why NOT buy the one that will fit every time?

Yeah, why not? Much easier than writing War and Peace on the subject and playing up the drama of a simple problem and a simple solution.

 

[adouglas]

I think some decaf is in order.

Calm down, please. There's no need for personal attacks here.

I didn't blame anyone else or qualify my mistake. One of the batteries was too big to seat properly... that's a fact, and its MY fault for not getting batteries that fit better.

I didn't compare a personal oversight to a life-or-death situation, I used that disaster as an illustration of how complex systems increase the chance of failure due to human error.

More words have been devoted to griping about me than I wrote in the first place.

 

[bassmonkeee]

What's complex about making sure sound comes out of a bass after changing the strings and batteries before getting on stage? As far as analogies go, you picked a pretty piss-poor one.

Honestly, as someone who's posted numerous "gig tip" threads, I'd think "Make sure instrument works before the rest of the band is on stage" ranks pretty high on the list, don't you?

You can change "batteries didn't fit" to "bought new instrument cable," "replaced input jack," "made sure strap is on correctly," "make sure fly is zipped" and I'd still say it's important to check it before go time.

It's my fault, not the batteries.... but had the batteries fit better, there would not have been any problem in the first place.

That's still blaming the tool. You might as well have said, "I'd have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling batteries."

 

[adouglas]

Apology? I suppose I should apologize for assuming that a 9-volt battery would fit into a compartment designed to hold a 9-volt battery. Yep. Guilty as charged!

At least all my knobs are straight.

I check those every day and twice on Sundays.

Sheesh. Please. Give it a rest.