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Several years ago I had my Anthem SL installed by a local luthier/authorized Martin repair service. I was not instructed as to what I could expect concerning the life of the 9V battery. So, every time I played through my Amp for 3-4 hours I removed the battery, without removing or loosening the strings, and tested the battery. If it showed at least 9.4V I’d put it back in. And, next time I played for a couple hours or more I could expect to replace it. This has been my routine for years! I’m hearing I should expect close to 200 hours or so. How in the world can that be? I never leave my guitar plugged in after I finish playing. Too, I’m using quality alkaline batteries. I heard yesterday that I should continue using a battery until it tested about 8.5V…I have yet to try that, fearing “I’m gonna quit in the middle of playing”! I’d sure enjoy my music more if I could get more playing time from my batteries. Can anyone offer some advice/suggestions/tips?? TIA, Larry
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Here at the shop/factory, we test all of our Anthem SL preamps to ensure that they work properly (without distortion) at a minimum voltage of 7.5V. I would never get near that in my own guitars, but that's the low threshold before the system will start to diminish in sound quality.
Personally, I change my SL battery if it gets below about 8.5V, but you should be able to get down to about 8V and still have about a dozen hours or so of solid playing time.
It's worth mentioning that batteries have a resting voltage that is a bit higher than their "active" or in-use voltage, which is why I change mine around 8.5V if the guitar hasn't been plugged in for a few hours. Some of this will vary between battery manufacturers though. -
Thanks, Caleb. Can’t imagine how I’ve never heard that (and all the world had?)!! It’s terrific news, yet a “new ballgame”, not removing the battery at least two times, before trashing it at 9.3 volts. A lot of money down the drain, because of my “ignorance”?’Comment
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