Alkaline batteries still have voltage after the capacity is gone, so the only way to determine what they have is with a load test.
I’m also a fan of, “You don’t always get what you pay for, but if you don’t pay for it, you certainly won’t get it”.
Has he load tested batteries to see how much capacity they have?
I do know the rechargeable batteries have higher capacity, and if it just came off the charger, there will be no doubt about it’s current state.
No, he went into our poor people supermarket (”Aldi”) and just got the house brand batteries.
His mantra is: “Expensive basses, cheap batteries” 
Aldi is not a poor people Supermarket. 
Well, maybe, I shop there from time to time, simply because I like to return the cart all the way to the entrance 
Hahaha, yeah, not anymore.
I use that expression as my (posh) grandma always said that. She refused to buy there, even did not use the free parking, so she wouldn’t be seen there
I buy there regularly, not only cause I’m poor, but the quality is great nowadays.
And … cheap 9V batteries!
I was reading this and wondering whether it is a big deal if the battery suddenly runs off. I assumed an active bass could be played in passive mode if necessary. Then I started goggling and was surprised to read that I was wrong. Apparently, an active bass will only work without a battery if it has an active/passive switch.
And, is it true that even if a bass has such a switch, it still wouldn’t work without a battery, if its electronics require a connected (even dead??) battery to complete the circuit? 
Apparently some do, some don’t???
How can one be sure an active bass will work without a battery? Is it enough that the specs say “Electronics: Active, Passive”???
Just remove it and test!
It depends. My first bass suddenly stopped working, which is great in a way, as there is no doubt that you should replace the battery.
My EMG-driven basses degrade slowly. So at first you don’t notice, then you think “what’s wrong?”, but forget thinking about the battery and start doing all kinds of crazy stuff to fix it. Been there - done that … EVERY TIME!
It’s the frog in the slowly boiling water scenario.
In fact the first thing you should do is checking the battery, before you go mad. I went mad and never came back
That sounds rather disappointing. 
That wouldn’t work when buying a bass through the Internet. But probably the seller could give that information.
It is a big turnoff to know the bass could start performing bad so gradually, that it wouldn’t be possible to be sure the problem is the battery.
I have an air pressure problem in my inner ears. Sometimes I hear well, sometimes my hearing feels muffled. Once I thought my new strings were getting dead, but it turned out it was my ears, because later the strings sounded great again. If I would get an active bass, would I have one more thing to wonder about (is it my ears, or the battery, or the strings )
Is this problem big enough such that active basses could be undesirable to some people?
I love active PUs, but many people hate them. I think that you will get no scientific answer
For gigs, I think that a passive bass is better, cause you have one less point of failure to think about. Soundwise, it’s a matter of taste…
Yes and no.
Battery problem only happens once maybe twice as some people are more dense than others then you know what to do next.
EMG mostly produces active pickups not just passive pickups with active preamp like 98% of the active system out there, they actually use the battery current to reverse the hum effect and power the pickups. This approach allows EMG to use less powerful magnets that create less interference to the strings and allow for better tonal clarity that’s unique to EMG.
That’s why they are usually not any louder than the regular passive setup but more usable tonal ranges because you can hear more. That’s why one of the benefits of the 18v system is the increased headroom and not necessarily more power. Think cars with 3 speed transmission vs 6 speed transmission. It’s still the same engine but you have better way to utilize/ optimize your range.
That said their Vintage series, the one that has magnet pole pieces still work even when the battery dies but produces much lower output.
Except the X series, which has loads of headroom, even at 9V. My favourite PUs…
This is an interesting discussion because it’s the opposite for me. I’d bring at least one EMG equipped bass to every gigs. Because when something goes wrong, and it will at some point, I know exactly what to do with my EMG system. I carry with me some spare wires and batteries and EMG so far has not failed me. And I encountered just about everything that could go wrong with the bass on a gig even, especially the passive ones and usually not a quick fix.
You’re the gig expert, not me
But I imagine, that changing the battery mid gig is an unwelcome break?
Yes exactly. The X series is exactly that.
That’s the same reason I put the Delano Xpure buffer on several of my basses. That deserves a thread on its own. It goes a few steps further than the X Series as the xpure preserves the natural tone and clarity of the passive pickups while providing better headroom without any added coloration, hence the name. It also has internal power converter so with a flick of a Tiny, tiny switch, it can convert the power plant to 18V on a single 9v. That some cool trick.
All of this and still preserve the purity of your passive pickups tone. I want to put that on my American Performer Mustang bass. I love that Mustang pickup tone. I just have to figure out the minimum space needed to make this happen,
I have my eye on one of these: https://www.sandberg-guitars.de/california-sl-tm-superlight/#1538825801905-34a97c3e-cf2f
I can’t buy it at the moment. But if my $$$ situation changes, I would like to get a Sandberg Superlight bass, with a roasted maple neck.
In the specs it says:
Probably I’m not getting it anytime soon, so I have time to think.
That’s a nice HS pickup config. My favorite.
@fennario has a few Sandberg.
Just the one, but I dig it for sure!
@Andrea_FI the link isn’t working for me for some reason, but these are great basses. The neck is maybe the best feeling neck I own. Plays and sounds fantastic! Mine isn’t a Superlight, though.
Some things to be aware of… the paulonia wood they use for it’s lightness, but it’s also very soft and easy to ding. And there’s no intonation adjustment screw on the bridge - you move it by hand and measure again. Other than that, it’s one of my favorite basses.
(I still haven’t had to replace the battery on it)
You are not German, that link is for German only
I think their website was having an issue, it works now. Lovely bass!
It sounds like a nice bass. I have heard some people don’t like the bridge, and it might be harder to adjust compared to most other kinds.
I heard though that it stays in tune longer (if one chooses roasted maple for the neck), and that would be a good choice in my climate, where the humidity changes so much. It would probably be more stable than my Squier.
This model is about 2 pounds / almost 1 kg lighter than my Squier, and my back would really appreciate that. It is good to keep in mind it could be easier to ding.
I like that Sandberg basses have a zero fret besides the nut. It supposedly gives more consistency to the sound of open strings compared to fretted strings.
I saw a video months ago of Sandberg showing all the process involved in the making of this model, and after that I was sold. Now just waiting for the right opportunity to get one of these.
Did you know that the Model has to be picked up here in SoCal? Hence the Name,
I don’t know why my favorite model are named after my State, the Sandberg and VW. I also like the Maki rolls too. 
