You’ve probably noticed that most of them need batteries if you’re in the market for an acoustic-electric guitar. This addition might seem unusual because regular electric guitars typically don’t include batteries. However, the reasoning behind this is a bit more complex, and we have to give a nuanced answer.
Acoustic-electric guitars need batteries to power their preamps. Most of them don’t produce strong enough signals to be sent to the amplifier, so those signals must be preamplified. Preamplifiers can’t work independently, so they rely on batteries to get enough power.
Read on if you’re keen on learning more about acoustic-electric guitars and why most of them require batteries. We’ll explain how their pickups work in detail and why those pickups mostly need batteries.
Related: are acoustic guitar batteries interchangeable and how to make acoustic guitar sound better live.
Acoustic Guitars and Batteries
Acoustic electric guitars rely on batteries to produce proper sound—It all boils down to signal strength and preamplification.
Most acoustic guitar magnets require batteries to work because they produce weak signals. Magnets that have weak signals require preamps. Preamps don’t make power on their own, so they need an external source of electricity. Batteries do this job.
The only exception to this rule is passive soundhole pickups. Passive pickups don’t require batteries to work. Unfortunately, most acoustic-electric guitars won’t have such a pickup, so you’ll have to use batteries if you want to use the electric capabilities of your acoustic electric guitar.
Microphone pickups are small diaphragm microphones. Microphones produce weak signals that must be preamplified before your amp can process them. Therefore, if your acoustic-electric guitar has a microphone pickup, you’ll need a battery to power it.
Piezo pickups also require preamps to work efficiently, and thus, batteries. Since most acoustic-electric guitars have piezo pickups, most acoustic-electric guitars also need batteries to operate. That is, their preamps need batteries.
What Type of Batteries Do Acoustic-Electric Guitars Need?
Most acoustic-electric guitars use nine-volt batteries. These are the standard batteries you might find in transistor radios or smoke alarms. Some guitars also use AA batteries. No matter which batteries you need, you can easily find them in any store, so there’s no need to order online or go to a specialized store.
Nine-volt batteries can last up to 40 hours if you use them as intended. Some manufacturers claim that their batteries can last up to 100 hours, but it’s questionable whether this is true. You can expect half as much from AA batteries.
You can increase your battery life if you turn off unused features and unplug your guitar after playing. Leaving it plugged in will drain the battery. Don’t let yourself return to your guitar after a sound check only to find that your battery drained and your guitar is unusable for the gig.
It’s also a good idea to always carry a spare pack of batteries. While you might not need them, you can never be too sure, so it’s best to be on the safe side.
Will Your Acoustic Electric Guitar Work Without Batteries?
Since acoustic-electric guitars generally rely on batteries for amplification, you might be worried that your guitar won’t work if there are no batteries. It will work, but only to a certain extent. The preamp won’t work without batteries, so there will be no way to amplify the guitar’s sound.
This issue won’t allow you to play live shows, which is probably the main reason why you have an acoustic-electric guitar in the first place.
On the other hand, your guitar will make an acoustic sound just fine even without batteries. Since this doesn’t rely on preamplification, you’ll be able to play just fine. However, you’ll be much quieter than you need, so you’ll be unable to play live shows this way.
Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Acoustic guitars can be a bit tricky to amplify. Before guitar makers invented acoustic-electric guitars, the only way to amplify an acoustic guitar was to put it directly in front of a microphone. This method is still often used in studios but can be a real pain in the neck when you’re trying to play live.
When you mic an acoustic guitar, you’re not allowed to move. Even a slight movement away from the guitar may drastically reduce the volume. You’ll find that standing in place while trying to perform naturally is no fun.
Another disadvantage is that the microphone will pick up the sounds of the other instruments so that you may end up with a muddy sound and unintelligible noise. This setup will also generate a lot of feedback—so the overall sound will be unbearable.
This problem was solved when people figured out they could install pickups on their acoustic guitars. This addition allowed guitarists to get good sound quality and move around—a win-win situation for musicians and their audiences.
Soundhole Pickups
Soundhole pickups are a great option to convert a regular acoustic guitar into an acoustic-electric. As the name suggests, musicians mount these pickups across the soundhole, usually toward the neck.
These pickups work much like electric guitar pickups. They consist of magnets and a wire coiled around them. When you pluck a string, its vibration disturbs the magnetic field of the pickups, creating an electric signal transferred via a cable to your amplifier, and thus, you get a sound.
Just like electric guitar pickups, they can be both active and passive.
This option is a very convenient way to amplify your acoustic guitar, and you’ll get a decent tone. It will sound relatively warm, and you’ll get a lot of clarity from each string. These pickups also work well with effects, so you can add a bit of reverb or get super creative with your sound.
A significant drawback of soundhole pickups is that they don’t capture all the details of an acoustic guitar’s sound. Such pickups work well on electric guitars because their sound is entirely electric and doesn’t rely on the resonance of the guitar’s body.