Active gain issue

Hi there,
             I’ve just joined the forum, fresh meat
I recently bought an ‘82 Thunder 1-A. Has been playing fine up until now. I was playing away with the active gain on and it suddenly faded to a faint whisper. Is this just a case of dead batteries or could it be a circuit board issue? Thought I’d just ask before buying new batteries tomorrow. I put batteries in it when I bought it, but they were sitting in a drawer for some time so they might not have be been very fresh. Any comments welcome. Many thanks!

Hello Louis and welcome.
Sounds like it could a dying battery or two. The simplest thing to try is a set of new ones.

The Thunder does not need batteries to play. The pickups are NOT active, just the tone circuit is affected, so you should still be getting the roar of the magnetic MMK45's without a battery as on a regular guitar. (turn the boost switch off just to be sure)

If you're not getting an output signal then something else is the problem.

Thanks Barry, yeah it plays without the active switch on, I’ll try new batteries first

Since we're here, and apologies for the slight hijack: is it recommended to unplug the cable from the active Thunders when not playing to preserve battery life (like on EMGs)? Or does it not matter so much.

Thanks for reminding me of this.

It is always good practice to remove the signal cord from the guitar before putting it in the stand when you're done playing.

It makes good sense from a practical safety point of view, you don't want to trip over the cord and pull the guitar over. It's just a good habit to get into.

On guitars with battery powered circuits like active pickups and acoustic pre-amps, yes, removing the cord is mandatory to disengage the circuit and avoid battery drain.

I don't know definitively if the Thunder is affected this way, but I would suspect not. In any event better to err on the side of caution and just pull the cord out.

Barry wrote:Thanks for reminding me of this.

It is always good practice to remove the signal cord from the guitar before putting it in the stand when you're done playing.

It makes good sense from a practical safety point of view, you don't want to trip over the cord and pull the guitar over. It's just a good habit to get into.

On guitars with battery powered circuits like active pickups and acoustic pre-amps, yes, removing the cord is mandatory to disengage the circuit and avoid battery drain.

I don't know definitively if the Thunder is affected this way, but I would suspect not. In any event better to err on the side of caution and just pull the cord out.

I've owned a Thunder 1A Bass since '86 (bought it second hand) and I fitted an isolation toggle switch which cuts the power to the batteries when not in use.

Gav1271 wrote:
I've owned a Thunder 1A Bass since '86 (bought it second hand) and I fitted an isolation toggle switch which cuts the power to the batteries when not in use.

I bet it does give a Thuderclap in your amp when you engage the isolation toggle and the circuit starts to draw power. ;-P

In guitars with batteries the battery is always engaged by inserting the jack. So as long as it is plugged in the active circuit draws power. If you want to save batteries you need to unplug it.

BQmusic wrote:

Gav1271 wrote:
I've owned a Thunder 1A Bass since '86 (bought it second hand) and I fitted an isolation toggle switch which cuts the power to the batteries when not in use.

I bet it does give a Thuderclap in your amp when you engage the isolation toggle and the circuit starts to draw power. ;-P

In guitars with batteries the battery is always engaged by inserting the jack. So as long as it is plugged in the active circuit draws power. If you want to save batteries you need to unplug it.

If I want the Active Cct engaged I will do that with the amp off. I've owned this guitar and the same amp since 86 and they are still going strong. The Thunder 1A bass is one of the best playing instruments I have ever owned.

Oh yeah, that works! Bypass before engaging the power on/off switch.
The Thunder I is a great bass. You should try a Tunder II. you'll be amazed how much better it can get! Thunder II and III are the most underrated instruments I ever played. They are as good as Aria SB-1000, USA Fenders :-)

BQmusic wrote:Oh yeah, that works! Bypass before engaging the power on/off switch.
The Thunder I is a great bass. You should try a Tunder II. you'll be amazed how much better it can get! Thunder II and III are the most underrated instruments I ever played. They are as good as Aria SB-1000, USA Fenders :-)

The Thunder 1A works for me as it has a nice narrow neck - I have short fingers so is ideal.
I bid for a Thunder III Fretless on eBay a number of years back but sadly lost out. My 1A will do me just fine