I know that you need to unplug the input jack of a pedal to preserve the battery life. What I want to know is whether the battery life is affected by whether your actually playing. Put another way, if you plugged your guitar into the pedal and had it turned on for ten hours without actually playing, would the battery be drained the same as if you were playing with the pedal on for ten hours?

The circuit is engaged and amplifying even if the signal isn't present.  Even in bypass it is powered (like standby on an amplifier), and if anything the alternating current generated from playing vibrating strings in a magnetic field would contribute more energy (on a small scale).  
 
(Message edited by hydrargyrum on December 08, 2013)