Last night I plugged my new Godin ACS SA Slim nylon-string guitar into my Roland Cube 30 amp and was a bit dismayed to find it sounding odd. At first I thought the guitar was buzzing as if all the strings had somehow gotten too close to the neck. OMG, did the heat wave warp the neck?

After a few minutes I realized it was the amp, though – it seemed to be distorting in a strange way. Over a short period it got worse, to the point where it started emitting a loud and obnoxious hum and I turned it off.

I thought, damn… I’ve had this amp for a little over 7 years, I guess maybe it could just up and die like that, but crap… wonder if it’s worth repairing?

So this morning I figure I’d try it again. This time, no sound at all. Hmmm… so I plug it directly into the mixer of my little recording rig, and nothing…

Suddenly, consternation turns to elucidation – I turn the guitar over and there on the back I look at — the battery door! Yup, it has an active pickup. I had totally forgotten about that. I have never owned a guitar like that before, so a dying battery was a brand-new experience for me.

So I swapped it out for a fresh battery and voila, everything sounds beautiful once again.

Sheeesh…