Take the battery out while you're not playing and put it back in when you play!

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Genious

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Yeah it's passive pickups but active EQ.
... I think ...

Congrats on the bass. That's very similar to mine. I have the SR 905. I think the only difference is that mine has a through neck.

Oh and Discarnate, I think if you unplug from your amp it helps, but it helps more if you unplug the cable from the bass itself. That's what I do and my battery died last week after about 9 months. When you unplug the amp it cuts the circuit, but I think having metal touch the battery drains it slowly anyway, so you want as little metal touching it as possible, so no patch chord.
And I agree with Tulvox: it is a ridiculous idea to take out the battery every time.

If the problem is still there, buy a battery charger with batteries. That's useful anyway, you can use it for your discman, or many other battery using devices.

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Don't buy cheap batteries...I always use new Duracell 9V batteries, even if they are twice the price. They usually last about a year in my Ibanez, but if I use a cheap battery, (at 1/2 the cost) then I end up replacing it every couple of months, hence I spend 6 times as much...as for rechargeables, get used to taking them out once a week to recharge them...

Another factor might be how you are using the EQ on the bass...since it's an active EQ, if you are pushing the bass, mid's and treble all the way up or down (+/- 15 dB) it'll suck the juice right out of the battery. Try to do more EQ'ing from the amp instead of the bass, and it'll increase the life of the battery. I usually EQ from my amp, and use the tone controls on my bass strictly for tweaking the sound, but generally, they are as close to neutral (+/- 0 dB) as possible.

And very nice choice in basses, might I add...out of all the basses I've owned over the last 24 years, my Ibanez SR 406 is my fave...other than the custom Fender I owned (and got rid of) about 16 years ago, but that's a different beast altogether...('76 P body in a natural wood finish with a '72 Jazz rosewood neck, body routed out to fit both P and J p/u's, and both p/u's were '66...sounded like a tank rolling over small immigrant children!!! )

Cheers

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Damn, it seemed like a good idea. I never got the chance to try it because I bought a pack of 6 duracells and have 5 to use up still. To confirm what Subsonic said, that one also lasted about a year (as compared to the three months from the battery the bass came with) so I guess I was doing the best possible thing without even knowing it ...

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