The Sonosax is indeed a nice preamp, and it is smaller and lighter than man=
y
of the other options mentioned. Its main complication is its battery life. =
It
runs on two internal 9-volt cells, or on external DC of, according to Sonos=
ax,
12 to 24 volts.
The problem is that the distortion specs start to slide into the fuzzy real=
m
when the power supply voltage drops below about 16 volts. Anyone who works=
with 9-volt batteries can attest that those cells can drop below 8 volts pe=
r cell
pretty quickly. So you can start getting a little audible fuzz long before=
the "low battery" light starts flashing on the preamp.
One solution is to change 9-volts every few hours. Another is to run from a=
n
external battery pack. For really long recording sessions I carry a sled of=
16
AAs in series. The nominal 24 volt supply (eventually sags to 18-20) keeps=
the Sonosax very happy for many hours. Rechargeables will work in such a ri=
g
too. Radio Shack makes 8AA sleds, so it's an easy construction to put two o=
f them
in series.
The external solution carries a risk of its own, as the DC input on the
Sonosax is a non-locking connector, so care must be taken to secure the cor=
d.
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