Caps14

I have a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. I have hardly been able to use it. After I put in a new 9V battery (tested to have juice), it seems to die within hours. I play with it, and the next day it doesn't work, even with the new battery.
Why does the battery die so quickly? What can I do to preserve its life so I'm not replacing it every other day?
When I bought it, there was a plastic wrap around the battery and I took that off. Is that what preserves the battery life?

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BastardofYoung

Maybe you just have a defective one. When not in use, do you disconnect the cords from the pedal? If you leave it plugged in with the battery going, it could be that you still have it powered on.

Are you buying decent batteries?

I say just switch to a 9v adapter, and spare yourself from using batteries unless you have to.

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last.fm

‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

Neapolitan

Batteries don't become weaker when you take off the shrink wrap. They however do have a shelf life (just like food) and the longer they stay on the shelf the weaker they become. Most batteries come with dates now. There is always a tiny bit of chemical reaction takes place within the battery and the voltage drops slowly over a long period of time.

However Boss pedals bleed the battery when the guitar jack in plug in the instr. input even when not in use. Sometimes an adapter can be a investment because it eventually pays for itself, when you consider the price of batteries.

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BastardofYoung

Yep, 9 out of 10 times that is exactly it, leaving the cord plugged into the input jack of the pedal.

BOSS is as he said pretty bad for bleeding the battery when left in like that.

When you are not using the pedal, disconnect the cords from it.

I always use adapters (well, except for in the Big Muff, as they don't have an input for one), because I hate going through batteries like that.

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last.fm

‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

Caps14

I haven't used it for a few months since I've been trying to find answers and I was sick of putting a new batter in every other day. I'll try it again with a battery and make sure to unplug the cord in the input jack after I'm done. If that doesn't work, I'll just get an 9V adapter. Thanks for the help!

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I keep my 'do TIGHT

Neapolitan

If you think of adding more pedals think ahead and perhaps get an adapter (there a variety of them) that you can daisy-chain to your other pedals.

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LoathsomePete

As someone who has owned a number of BOSS pedals, I can vouch for them sucking batteries dry if you leave them plugged in. Only happened to me once and I lost 5 9V batteries. The next day I went back to the guitar shop and purchased a daisy chain and adapter.

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Stonedtone

The DS-1 is a classic, but it's still a cheap Boss pedal. There are many much better ones in say Barber that are not much money. When I had a Boss TU-2 tuner, even that ran thru batteries. I bought a Peterson and it doesn't do that

BastardofYoung

Yeah, DS-1 is a classic. I would say there are many boutique pedals that are vastly superior, but for most starters, Boss pedals are just easier to find, and cheaper. A brand new DS-1 is $50. Boutique pedals, can be 3-5x and up.

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last.fm

‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

Moss

It was good enough for Kurt Cobain...