Why do active pickups require 9v batteries instead of some other kind of battery like AA?
Why do active pickups require 9v batteries instead of some other kind of battery like AA?
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12 comments
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Voltage. AA and AAA are 1.5 volts. A 9volt has essentially 6 AAAA batteries in them ran together in series to provide 9-volts. It's a common standard, and has the snap terminals which is good for things that are moving around instead of a spring loaded compartment.
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/9V_innards_3_different_cells.jpg
Cool picture showing the various cells making up the typical 9v battery.
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Thank you for your answer.
Is there some advantage to having 9 volts instead of 1.5?
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Some of the components typically used (e.g. op-amps) in audio gear like active pickups & pedals typically need at least 5-10V to work.
If you used AA for those scenarios you're either going to need a load of batteries or you're gonna have a short battery life.
9V batteries are just a better fit for the use case basically and mean things like active pickups & pedals can be kept small
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Fascinating. I had no idea, but this is starting to make sense.
Thank you.
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Honestly, if I were designing active guitar gear, I might just try to push 24v phantom power and XLR cables. Have a little power box at the amp or pedalboard and ditch the onboard battery entirely.
But I loathe alkaline batteries...
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12 comments