If you mean the original late 60s 360, it was just a preamp while each 361 cabinet had a 200W power amp built in. That cabinet used an 18" driver in a loaded horn cabinet, which is super efficient.
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Double Bass Does 1 W class D = 1 W other class amps ?
- Thread starter Alain Bass
- Start date
If you mean the original late 60s 360, it was just a preamp while each 361 cabinet had a 200W power amp built in. That cabinet used an 18" driver in a loaded horn cabinet, which is super efficient.
Double Basses also have a acoustic sound that blends with the amplified sound. So we hear a mix of our bass and the amp, unless it’s a really loud gig.
Over the years, I've measured the output power, overload behavior, and voicing, of my bass amps. I've tested solid state Class-AB and Class-D. My tests of tube amps are from too long ago to have any useful data on them. I've found that the power ratings of amps from reputable makers are credible. Also, the newer amps I've tested of both classes appear to be designed to manage signals that approach the "clipping" threshold of the power amp, in musically forgiving ways.
Amps may be "voiced" differently, impacting perceived loudness (to be pedantic, loudness and perceived loudness are the same thing). But that might be more important for BG, where players experiment with different tone qualities. My hunch is that for most DB players, the standard of tone is our own basses (the holy grail, "my bass only louder"), so that after setting up two amps to sound as faithful as possible, their voicings will end up being similar enough.
A couple years ago I made a little peak signal meter that I could keep an eye on during gigs. I was curious about whether I was running out of juice on my amps. The result was that I was using much less than the rated power of my amp (GK MB200) on my loudest gig. Since then, the trumpet section lobbied me to play quieter, which I've done. The end result is that the maximum power of my amp is just a non issue for my playing. Running out of juice was something I was "hearing" without it existing.
All of this has led me to the view that for us DB players, fine differences in volume between similarly rated amps are probably not going to matter much.
Amps may be "voiced" differently, impacting perceived loudness (to be pedantic, loudness and perceived loudness are the same thing). But that might be more important for BG, where players experiment with different tone qualities. My hunch is that for most DB players, the standard of tone is our own basses (the holy grail, "my bass only louder"), so that after setting up two amps to sound as faithful as possible, their voicings will end up being similar enough.
A couple years ago I made a little peak signal meter that I could keep an eye on during gigs. I was curious about whether I was running out of juice on my amps. The result was that I was using much less than the rated power of my amp (GK MB200) on my loudest gig. Since then, the trumpet section lobbied me to play quieter, which I've done. The end result is that the maximum power of my amp is just a non issue for my playing. Running out of juice was something I was "hearing" without it existing.
All of this has led me to the view that for us DB players, fine differences in volume between similarly rated amps are probably not going to matter much.
