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MGR/slipmatt « Roland Cube 30 »
Published on 01/19/04 at 15:00I originally had a marshall mg15cd that i was un-happy with due to loud clipping noises when I turned the amp on and off. I upgraded to the marshall mg30dfx thinking that the mg15cd was was just a lemon amp, but the 30 watt ended up doing the exact same thing. Mabye it was just my luck with Marshall, but I wont be interested in ever pursuing any of their solid state amps again. I traded the marshall mg30dfx for this roland cube30. Price paid (due to the trade which was much better on my end of the bargain) was $290 cdn.
To be honest i dont know whether to say that I like the fact that this amp is so small or to dislike it lol. Like another review said "mabye its just a male thing." It really is a small amp for 30 watts. Its about the same size as my previous 15 watt Marshall, but its a HELL of alot louder. The amp is basically noise free and Im a freak about background fuzziness. A great feature over other amps in its category is the fact that the delay and reverb is a completely different knob then the other digital effects. This is a welcome surprise to me since I can now use a delay or reverb WITH one of four digital effects where as with the Marshall mg30dfx i could only use one at a time because delay and reverb were two of only four available effects.
Moving on, although the adjustability of the digital effects are very limited, most do sound great! The Phaser is very fun to play with, creates a noticable sound.
The amp modeling is also very cool part of this amp. Roland hit the jackpot with this feature, especially the rectifier, tweed and brit combo simulations. Another little feature that shows the thinking put into the creation of this amp is that the switches/knobs are located on top of the amp, rather that on the front. This is very convenient when you want to change settings (like I do ALL the time) so your not bending down and cranking your neck to turn some knobs. You just cant go wrong on this amp for the price.
The only complaint I have is that the chorus is basically useless. Its hardly noticable, you can barely tell if its there on max chorus. This could be a good thing though because now I have an excuse to go and buy a chorus pedal which will give me the shimmery effect that no amp simulation can.
One more thing: It would have been nice for Roland to have included suggested settings for the Cube30 in the intruction booklet. My Masrhall amp, Marshall pedal and DOD pedal all came with suggestive settings and they are a great help. I really do use them for playing and practicing.
Great quality! come with plastic corner protectors and a metal mesh grill that looks super rugged. Quality is shown again where the knobs are positioned. They are recessed a into the amp a small ammount rather than sticking up and in the way. I think that this will really save alot of people from breaking off or damaging knobs while carting the amp places.
BOTTOM LINE - great amp for the money.
What other amp for approx $300 cdn will offer you all the features of the Roland Cube30 and its extremely compact size? There isnt one, thats why I went with the Cube30 lol, have fun!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
To be honest i dont know whether to say that I like the fact that this amp is so small or to dislike it lol. Like another review said "mabye its just a male thing." It really is a small amp for 30 watts. Its about the same size as my previous 15 watt Marshall, but its a HELL of alot louder. The amp is basically noise free and Im a freak about background fuzziness. A great feature over other amps in its category is the fact that the delay and reverb is a completely different knob then the other digital effects. This is a welcome surprise to me since I can now use a delay or reverb WITH one of four digital effects where as with the Marshall mg30dfx i could only use one at a time because delay and reverb were two of only four available effects.
Moving on, although the adjustability of the digital effects are very limited, most do sound great! The Phaser is very fun to play with, creates a noticable sound.
The amp modeling is also very cool part of this amp. Roland hit the jackpot with this feature, especially the rectifier, tweed and brit combo simulations. Another little feature that shows the thinking put into the creation of this amp is that the switches/knobs are located on top of the amp, rather that on the front. This is very convenient when you want to change settings (like I do ALL the time) so your not bending down and cranking your neck to turn some knobs. You just cant go wrong on this amp for the price.
The only complaint I have is that the chorus is basically useless. Its hardly noticable, you can barely tell if its there on max chorus. This could be a good thing though because now I have an excuse to go and buy a chorus pedal which will give me the shimmery effect that no amp simulation can.
One more thing: It would have been nice for Roland to have included suggested settings for the Cube30 in the intruction booklet. My Masrhall amp, Marshall pedal and DOD pedal all came with suggestive settings and they are a great help. I really do use them for playing and practicing.
Great quality! come with plastic corner protectors and a metal mesh grill that looks super rugged. Quality is shown again where the knobs are positioned. They are recessed a into the amp a small ammount rather than sticking up and in the way. I think that this will really save alot of people from breaking off or damaging knobs while carting the amp places.
BOTTOM LINE - great amp for the money.
What other amp for approx $300 cdn will offer you all the features of the Roland Cube30 and its extremely compact size? There isnt one, thats why I went with the Cube30 lol, have fun!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com