i have a technical question about bass amps

[monoBEAR]

on a bass amp the RMS handling is 150W and the program handling is 300W. what is the difference? i know very little
about this kind of stuff so, explain so i can understand. hehe. is it a 150W amp or 300W?
thanks.

love,
mono BEAR

[leftyguitars]

Root mean square (RMS) is the only measurement that you need to know. It is the industry standard and the only true way to compare like for like.

Power, music power, continuous and peak are all (rather dubious in my opinion) technical ways to measure outputs and handling capacities. Some are even measured differently from one company to another. Cheaper and lower power amps/speakers often quote peak, etc. in their specs. as it makes their product look better than it really is.

[monoBEAR]

so, with what you're saying it is basically a 150 watt amp? it is on an ampeg b328 amp.
the guy is asking $215 for it. based on reviews i have read it is a nice amp. do y'all
think that is a good deal for that amp? a friend of mine is wanting to buy it from someone
he knows and he asked me about it. i don't know much about it. it is a cool amp though.

it's this one
http://www.bgra.net/2004/review.php?id=18&type=combo

what do you guys think?

lemme know. thanks so much.

[sloop_john_b]

Will it be used in a full band setting with a drummer? 150 watts isn't a whole lot for bass, where headroom would, in most instances, be the key.

[monoBEAR]

yes, but it would be for more low key shows. kinda like coffee shops, small venues, practice, etc. not for bigger shows.

[leftyguitars]

My opinion is that unless you are DI'ing or micing up through a desk to a PA then really you need around 300watts RMS to give you plenty of (as John correctly says) headroom, even in a smallish venue. That way your signal stays undistorted and your speaker(s) don't blow up (too much gain = clipping = blown speaker(s).

Watts aren't volume, Db. is volume. Efficiency of the speaker is a big part too. A 100watt 15" efficient speaker will be louder than an inefficient 12" speaker for two reasons. Firstly the 15" moves more air that the 12" (moving air is what sound is all about) and secondly if it is efficient it will convert more of those watts to Db (actual volume) rather than heat.

[firstbassman]

What Peter and John are saying are correct. 150 watts is rather an odd sized bass amp. It's more than enough for practice and it is not quite enough for gigging. Two eight-inch speakers for a bass amp is also unusual.

Buying something like this without trying it out is always a **** shoot.

However if it is strictly for small rooms with just an acoustic guitar, it will fit the bill.

But if there's ever going to drums and electric guitar, forget it. As the others say, you'll need at least 250-300 watts and I'd go with separate head and cab(s).
Remember - a bass should be felt as well as heard. Tone and groove are the two most important things. As Jack always says, a bass amp should "move air."

Here is the manual, by the way:

http://www.ampeg.com/manuals/B-3.PDF