Question Understanding Majesty electronics design

[bironology]

Hello, new to forum. I’ve had my Majesty 6 in Ember Glow for 2 years and I adore almost everything about it. The one feature I don’t adore is the battery requirement.

I did search this forum for insights but didn’t find any, hence my post.

It makes perfect sense to me that the piezo and boost require voltage to function, hence the batteries. I also understand, from threads on this forum about battery life, that the batteries are activated when a plug is inserted into the jack, whether the boost and piezo are engaged or not.

For me, piezo usage is an occasional thing, and I almost never use the boost (it’s far easier during a performance to step on a pedal). I would estimate that I get roughly 30 to 40 hours of playtime on a set of batteries, so I’m not here posting about an issue with battery life. I would like to understand the design rationale that placed the battery circuit in series with the output even when boost is not enabled.

I plan on owning this guitar for many years. In the tradition of musicians adapting their guitars to their personal preferences, I would like to modify the electronics in my majesty to bypass the battery circuit, even if that means living without the boost and piezo. I gig with this guitar, and if the pickups were active I would live with the extra burden of making sure I have fresh batteries for every performance, but this is just getting tiresome since I shouldn’t even need these batteries for the way I am using the guitar.

I do not want to embark on such a modification before I understand the original design intent. This post is a genuine inquiry to understand that design.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

[beej]

The short answer is always that "this is what the artist wanted". The longer answer, I think, is that MM with JP, wanted to develop the highest-performance guitar they possibly could. This included, among many other things, maximizing the performance of the switches - which require power, btw. Without a battery you won't be using your pickup selector. (As I understand, I don't actually have one to play with.) This was something that came out of the design work from the Game Changer guitar.

Beyond that, the whole output scheme- the boost, using a single jack instead of two (like on the previous series), etc. seems to be built around the guitar being active. You need the preamp for the boost and to combine the output of the mags + piezo together.

I gig regularly with a Luke III and can't say I've ever had any issues with the battery. I do bring a backup, though. Not to avoid a battery issue; in case anything goes wrong- random electronic issue, string breaking, etc. I think that just makes sense- having a backup plan in case any of your gear goes down.

I imagine it's doable to make the guitar passive, but it's something you're going to have to play with and see. (The switching thing sounds like the real issue, wiring around the preamp isn't that big a deal.) Might be a lot easier on one of the earlier JP guitars though, rather than working on a Majesty.

 

[bironology]

Thanks for the reply, beej, that's the kind of insight I was looking for. I never thought about the switches requiring power. As you said, wiring around the preamp should be straightforward but the specter of redoing the switching makes my idea a non-starter. Batteries it is!

I also bring a backup guitar to gigs, but have gotten in the habit of changing batteries proactively every 2 weeks to avoid the "mid-solo battery dies scenario".

As an aside, everyone be careful buying batteries from dollar stores, even if they are good quality ones like Energizer MAX - I had a batch that died shockingly quickly (in all manner of devices, not just my Majesty), likely because they were very old stock.

I'm trying Pale Blue rechargeable lithium batteries in my IEM receiver now, and so far I'm pleased with them. Unlike NiMH, they maintain a stable 1.5v, so that can be my Majesty solution, with a fresh charge before each gig.

 

[beej]

Yeah- I remember hearing about the switching and thinking that was cool (Wondering how I could incorporate that in my Morse, ha ha.)

I almost never change the batteries in my guitars, but should probably do it once in a while. So you have me beat

 

[bironology]

ha! well the mid-solo battery dies scenario happened! Don't Stop Believin', last song of the night, I get 3 notes in and... silence. I swore NEVER AGAIN!

 

[beej]

Yeesh!

On the Luke, I'm expecting a weak signal and not a dead guitar so hopefully there'll be some warning.

 

[bironology]

With the Majesty, if I'm playing at home, the signal gets weak and mushy, which prompts me to check the light which by then is flashing.

At a gig, there's no way I'm noticing that in the sonic chaos until it's silent.

 

[Mace13]

I’ve never been a fan of batteries in guitars because of the reasons stated above. Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve never had one go out during a gig. I’m not very diligent about changing them either. Just regular Duracells and I probably change them about once per year or so. Or course I carry a bunch of them in the gig bag (both 9V and AA’s…. another silly thing that JP’s and Majesties use different batteries…).

Interesting about the switching. I had no idea the battery was involved with that.

While not ideal with the battery situation, the JPs and Majesty are my fav guitars.