Question: MXR Micro Amp... battery suddenly dying quickly

[cvogue]

Hey all you MXR Micro Amp users (you know who you are!)

I've been using mine for a few years now and it's been great. Have to change the battery every couple of months or so (practice once a week gig about once a month).

Recently however it died during a gig 2 weeks ago, when I turn it on the LED comes on for a second, fades and then nothing. Replaced the battery and it was fine at practice last week and then died last night at practice in the same way.

One thing I noticed is that the backplate is metal and could possibly be shorting something out on the circuit board, unlikely but possible.

Anyone else see this with the Micro Amp or other MXR boxes?

 

[jp_nyc]

Are all of these batteries from the same pack? Might be a bad batch.

 

[Guitar Heel]

People still use batteries?

 

[cvogue]

People still use batteries?

Yeah man... Eric Johnson knows the difference in sound between Energizer and Duracell!

rolleyes1


Actually to be fair I think EJ said he likes the sound of his effects with batteries that aren't brand new and I agree, as a battery loses some of its charge the sound of certain effects can mellow. I just remember putting a brand new battery in a distortion box I had and thought "Wow that's harsh!" compared to how it sounded before.

Oh, and in reference to your question, I use a battery in my Micro Amp because I don't have any more adapter plugs available on my pedalboard... and the MA *used* to last a long time on a battery.

 

[Modern Saint]

Yeah man... Eric Johnson knows the difference in sound between Energizer and Duracell!

rolleyes1


Actually to be fair I think EJ said he likes the sound of his effects with batteries that aren't brand new and I agree, as a battery loses some of its charge the sound of certain effects can mellow. I just remember putting a brand new battery in a distortion box I had and thought "Wow that's harsh!" compared to how it sounded before.

Oh, and in reference to your question, I use a battery in my Micro Amp because I don't have any more adapter plugs available on my pedalboard... and the MA *used* to last a long time on a battery.

Do you keep the cables on the micro amp plugged even when the board is not in use? If so, the micro amp is still on and using battery even though the pedal is not engaged.

 

[cvogue]

Do you keep the cables on the micro amp plugged even when the board is not in use? If so, the micro amp is still on and using battery even though the pedal is not engaged.

Nope, I'm careful about that, yeah if you leave an effect with a battery plugged in it will usually be dead a few days later.

 

[Modern Saint]

Nope, I'm careful about that, yeah if you leave an effect with a battery plugged in it will usually be dead a few days later.

Last thing I can offer is to change the battery prior to playing a gig.

As for a partial depleted battery to improve sound characteristics like EJ, get a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power Supply. There are two outputs that allow you to change the voltage threshold to the battery level that you seek.

 

[cvogue]

Are all of these batteries from the same pack? Might be a bad batch.

Actually I think they are... good point. Thanks!

 

[mongooz]

i have some pretty old MXR pedals, but have never had that problem. i use a one spot now, so i don't buy batteries.

i HAVE heard that the micro amp is a really sweet sounding pedal, tho.

 

[irishstu]

Assuming you DON'T have a bad batch of batteries (though you should check that obviously), the sensible workaround is to swap out the batteries just before the gig.

As for fixing it, when you unplug the cables and then press the switch, does the LED come on? If so, your jack is... jacked, or the enclosure is somehow touching it in the wrong places (erm... so to speak). Also possible is that the back cover is touching a contact on the board or somewhere else. Could you take a few photos of it with the cover off (including one of the inside of the back cover)?

 

[cvogue]

Assuming you DON'T have a bad batch of batteries (though you should check that obviously), the sensible workaround is to swap out the batteries just before the gig.

As for fixing it, when you unplug the cables and then press the switch, does the LED come on? If so, your jack is... jacked, or the enclosure is somehow touching it in the wrong places (erm... so to speak). Also possible is that the back cover is touching a contact on the board or somewhere else. Could you take a few photos of it with the cover off (including one of the inside of the back cover)?

Yeah I'll swap out the battery before the next gig but what bothers me is this thing worked fine on one battery with the same usage... for several weeks and now it's down to 2. I did put a piece of paper between the circuit board and the metal backplate just in case there's some strange short going on there.

 

[Mark Wein]

I'm gonna bump this over to the pedal forum just to keep it on topic and better searchable

 

[Chad]

Last thing I can offer is to change the battery prior to playing a gig.

This is what I did when I was gigging and only used a Rat in front of my amp. I would keep the battery I took out and put it back in after the gig to use at practice until it was dead.