NGD clapton strat;battery question

[frquent flyer]

Well I just got my third electric a clapton strat. It apparently has a battery to power the tbx boost system. Where is the battery located;at the top of back or in main compartment. About how long do those 9 volt batteries last with two hours a day playing.Any other good news on this model?I choose it over an EJ because it felt and sounded better to me. I know there are a lot of EJ fans out there. How about EC fans.

[roadfilm]

The battery is located under the backplate where the vibrato springs are. The batteries last a long time. I've never had one go bad while playing, I change it every three or four months. Leaving the chord plugged into the jack will reduce battery life but I've found it's not that big of a deal just unpug when not playing. I love the necks on these Claptons, it took a little time to get used to the smaller vintage frets but now I love them, plays like butter. I find the more I turn up the 25db mid boost I need to add more treble via the TBX control or it can get a little muddy. Great guitar, it's been my number one for a couple years now.

[AaeCee]

I'm a big fan and have two of them. Note that the TBX circut and boost are seperate circuts, and the battery only powers the boost. As mentioned in the previous post, the TBX works well with the boost, as it allows you to dial some of the mids/highs back in as you turn up the boost (just as any boost tends to attenuate some higher frequencies). Experiment a lot with various combinations and settings and you'll start to zone in on your favorites. I tend to like the boost at around 3 or 4 with the TBX just above 5, and adjust from there to suit my needs. It's an amazingly versatile guitar and gives you the lattitude to go from clear and slightly driven strat tones to more overdriven humbucker-like sounds.

[tonyhay]

I also have two of them...very nice guitars. Re your question about battery life - the battery will last a long time, at least a year, but you MUST remove the lead from the guitar when you're not using it, or the battery will drain. When the guitar is plugged in there is a small trickle from the battery, which will use it up. I usually change the batteries about every 12-18 months to avoid problems (I'd hate to get to a gig and have an avoidable battery problem).

[frquent flyer]

Thanks guys for the answers to my inquiries. You have provided some very important information;things I didn't know.

[jtm622]

I've got an '89 Blackie Strat that I play thru a 900 MKIII 50-watt Marshall - I change the battery every year or so, just to be safe...
I like the "mid-boost" circuit so much that I put one in a second Strat; and IMO - if you like tonal versatility, that guitar is on of the best currently available - you can go from "country clean" to "kick-ass Thin Lizzy" just by turning up that mid-boost knob; and you can get Clapton's famous "Woman Tone" simply by switching to the neck pickup (with the boost on...)

[frquent flyer]

Which tone knobs do what? I know the boost is the middle knob;what about the tbx function;different knob or the same?

[saultime]

Nope. The boost is the bottom knob closest to the floor. If it's not obvious, then something may be wrong. The TBX tone control is middle knob. At 5, it's like normal tone control on 10. Above 5, it starts taking the tone control out of the circuit all together. There should be an indentation when it's on 5. FWIW, I've never found the TBX to be very useful on these guitars.

Also, the boost makes these guitars significantly hotter, even when it's turned all the way down. So I typically run the volume on that guitar at 7, and turn it up when I need more growl. Of which it has plenty.

I've also heard that the boost colors the overall tone of the guitar to the point where changing pickups doesn't yield as big a difference as one might hope. Although I'd like to hear more about this.