I have just landed my first Albert, a standard sss model with hard tale. What function does the battery have on this instrument, I thought that the PUPS were passive.
Yes, the battery is for the silent circuit. The pickups are passive, you can remove the battery and your guitar will still works ... but with a little more noise.
Yes, it is for the silent circuit. If you take out the battery you'll notice that you still have full output signal but the background noise will increase. If necessary, there is a small adjustment pot on the top of the silent circuit under the pickguard.
I change my battery about once a year but I could easily go longer than that without any problem..