Roland Bass Guitars

(Originally written by SlapKid/translated from Audiofanzine FR) At Roland's you can find everything you want to know. 30 watts! The line out can also be used for headphones and to bypass the speaker. It's really not convenient on stage because it can't be used for personal monitoring. But the 1/4" aux input is very convenient! The shape function can't be controlled via footswitch, which is a pity because it would be enough to be able to switch between normal and slap! The non-adjustable delay is totally useless and every single Roland Cube model has this feature. UTILIZATION It's very easy: just turn the amp knob and you're blown away. Then the compressor, the shape control and the effects allow you to fine tune your settings. Great concept! The EQ is designed to correct room acoustics rather than shape the sound, so you'd better like the amp models provided. In other words, try it before buying it. SOUNDS It's difficult not to be seduced by this small but beefy amp! The sound is always full and accurate with a fast response. The compressor and the shape are effective, the reverb effect is cool with a fretless bass and the low frequency range is surprisingly well reproduced. This compact amp has a big sound. It's obvious that you won't be able to play on large stages with its 30 watts and 10" speaker... OVERALL OPINION This amp is made for people who want to become better musicians because every single nuance is faithfully reproduced. The amp is very versatile and it's a true pleasure to play it. It's a digital amp so it sounds quite cold in the low-mids but not excessively. Moreover, it is very reliable. If you don't have enough money and/or you don't like digital amps consider the Marshall MB30, which is also very good to practice and it also has a beefy sound. I also tried out the Line6 LD110, which isn't much more expensive but I didn't like it at all. The Cube sounds much better. I play a 5-string fretless bass guitar (finger picking) and I only use clean sound so I won't speak about the Cube's distortion sound. As a summary, it's a quite unbelievable amp and I can't wait to try out its small brother, the Microcube Bass RX!

The Roland Bass Cube 60 is a bass guitar combo amp that can be used either on the stage or for recording purposes. I've used this only in the recording studio, as I'm primarily not a bass player and wouldn't have a need for something like this at a show. I wasn't the artist on the recording, so I wasn't playing through the amp, I was recording it. Like the name suggest, the amp delivers 60 watts of power, which is plenty as I found we only needed to have it on about three to get a good enough level coming from the amp. The amp has a 1/4" input for your bass as well as a slew of 1/4" connections for other routing options, but I didn't need to use or explore them. UTILIZATION Using the Roland Bass Cube 60 is a very straight ahead process. If you're familiar with the parameters normally found on bass guitar amps, you'll be fine here as there isn't anything out of the ordinary going on. It has tone control knobs for bass, middle, and treble, as well as volume knob. These are the only parameters that I can really remember using on the amp, but I don't believe that there were any other ones anyway. I've never seen a manual for the Bass Cube 60, but would never expect anyone to really need one anyway. SOUNDS While perhaps not the best of all bass amps in the world, the Roland Bass Cube 60 has a very admirable sound. In the couple recording sessions that I used it in, we used both the amp sound from the Bass Cube and a direct input sound going into a Countryman Type 85 DI. I always try to get both an amp and direct sound when I can for bass guitar, as I like to leave my options open whenever possible. In terms of how to describe the sound of the Roland Bass Cube 60, I'd say it is punchy more than anything. With a Fender P-Bass plugged in, they seemed to complement each other very well in terms of getting a punchy, clean and full sound. OVERALL OPINION They no longer are making the Roland Bass Cube 60, which isn't to be confused with the regular Cube 60 amps. The one that I used was the orange one that is certainly a bit older. I've never really done any research on this amp, so I don't know what type of price they command, but I feel like since they aren't all that sought after that you could get one at a reasonable rate - and if you can do so, I'd definitely do it as this is a great bass amp for recording and most likely for shows as well.

Well this is basically the exact same amp as the guitar rx but just tailored towards bass. So the amp models are bass models and that really is it. The effects are the same as well as the drums patterns and other features. It doesn't sound that bad either. Roland MICRO CUBE BASS RX Compact Bass Guitar Amplifier Features Stereo power amplifiers and four newly developed 4" speakers Eight COSM amps, six digital effects, and chromatic tuner built in Rhythm Guide function for practical rhythm training Stereo aux input for CD/MP3 players, Phones/Recording out Battery driven (6 x AA, maximum 13-hour continuous use) AC adaptor included Compact enclosure with carrying strap UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 4W (2 x 2W Stereo) Speakers 4 x 4" Effects Compression EQ Bass, Middle, Treble Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 8 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 2 x Aux (1/8" Stereo, 1/4" Mono) Outputs 1 x Rec/Headphone (1/4") Footswitch I/O No Effects Loop Height 11.63" Width 11.69" Depth 8.38" Weight 15 lbs. SOUNDS The tone is rather appealing and solid for the price of this amp. Bass amps are sometimes hit or miss in that they just don't project solid low tones and can't handle any more than a 4 string guitar. I play a five string and this amp can handle even a 6 string without getting flubby or wolfy sounding. OVERALL OPINION At new these amps come in at around $260, which is not bad for the price. It has several different models to choose from and and plenty of effects if that is your thing. For me I don't use any effects other than a drive pedal or something like. Sometimes a chorus pedal but that is about it. If you need a good sounding practice bass amp then this is a great amp for the money. It has a headphone jack and a line out for going straight to the PA system.