SeriesRoland Cube

I use this amp with my pop rock cover band Easy to transport in spite of its weight which is important compared with its size. The sound volume is sufficient to rehearse with a drummer, likely to be unsifficient for live performances but it has an 8-ohm output for an additional cab as well as a preamp out for use with a mixer (I have not tried it). Its clean sound very round and soft, not aggressive at all even with trebles cranked up, and that’s the amp’s main asset. The 12” speaker certainly has a role in it too. Overdriven sound is OK and mostly affects the low and mid-low frequencies, not so much on trebles. I use it as a mid boost essentially on song choruses that need slightly more punch. Putting an OD box in front of it and works very well (I tried it with a BB prem amp or a Box of Rock, you get more punch and harmonics just like with my all-tube ENGL). Spring reverb is efficient with a rather trebly tone (no tone correction is possible for the reverb). Beware, if you move your amp while still on and hit it, the reverb will get heard – which is quite normal, by the way! 3-band EQ is usable all along. Chorus effect is efficient and musical-sounding, but no settings are included – it’s either ON of OFF ! Additional output : reverb + chorus. I guess you can get this out to an external mixer for separate EQ/mixing from the preamp out (haven’t tried it though). Note: with a homemade controller (on off switches), the reverb, chorus and overdrive can be foot-controlled.

This is basically the same amp as the regular cube but with a few missing and added features. Extremely familiar tone wise but just different ways of achieving that tone. Roland MICRO CUBE RX Compact 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 5W Speakers 4 x 4" Effects Reverb EQ Tone Amp Modeling Number of Models 8 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument 1 x Aux (1/4"), 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Rec Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O No Effects Loop Height 11.97" Width 11.65" Depth 8.15" Weight 14.11 lbs. SOUNDS What I really love about this amplifier is the ability to plug in your ipod, Mp3 player, or cd player to jam along with your favorite songs. This makes practicing at home so much more fun because it then teaches you to play in time with your favorite bands. I like playing this amp with a Fender Strat or a Charvel guitar. Since the majority of this amp is based off of high gain channels I like to get a lower to medium bodied wood like ash or alder to gt that sizzling grind that is so familiar with 80's metal rock. Another cool thing is how good the effects processor is in this amp. The flanger and delays sound superb. They mix quite well with the metal distortions and extreme distortion. OVERALL OPINION One thing that I absolutely love about this this amp is the recording output. This enables you to go direct with headphones or run straight into a sound mixer. At new these units come in at around $260 which is a steal of a price. I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a solid practice amp and doesn't want to break the budget. The ability to have a tuber and all the effects you want to go along wit a clean and dirty channel makes it an all in one amp.

The Roland Cube Lite is a small 10 watt stereo practice amp designed to fit almost anywhere. It is made to look like a home stereo speaker to compliment your living room. The connections and knobs are all hidden near the back of the amp so that you can put this on a bookshelf or entertainment system without anyone noticing that you have a guitar amp sitting there. The casing is plastic and there is a soft mesh screen over the speakers. Everything on the amp itself is well-built and comfortable. The knobs are nice and weighted and allow you to control Drive, Volume, Bass, Treble, Chorus, and Reverb. The power source is a "wall wart" of sorts. It takes up a bit of space but gets the job done. UTILIZATION In use, the Cube Lite is a dream. The knobs feel wonderful in your hands when you turn them. This is something that impressed me about the amp because most small practice amps have weak and loose knobs. These feel like you are dialing in a sound on a professional amp or analog synthesizer! There is one 1/4 inch input for your guitar, a special 1/8 inch input for an iPod, and an 1/8 inch output for headphones. The iPod connection is interesting because it allows your amp to communicate (to an extent, it sends and receives a stereo and microphone signal)with an app called "Roland Cube Jam." With this you can slow down audio files and play them back through your amp to help you learn. It also allows you to use the speaker for normal audio playback on your portable music device. The cable for this connection is included with the Cube Lite, though mine broke after some moderate abuse. SOUNDS I use mine with a Godin Multiac guitar and the results are fantastic. The amp is equipped with 3 COSM (Composite object sound modelling) modes that you can cycle through at the click of a button. Which you are using is indicated by a led light above the button. These modes are JC Clean, Crunch, and Extreme. These sound much like the name implies. Clean, Crunch, and Heavy Distortion. They are all super impressive considering the tiny amp. They sound so good I have used them in many recordings in favor of my more expensive guitar rigs. You CAN'T get a better sound from another practice amp, I promise. The sound is perhaps the greatest feature. The loudness perception offered by this amp is equally impressive. As long as you aren't playing with a drummer or guitarist with a half-stack amp, you should have no problems hearing yourself. It's more than enough for practice in your living room. OVERALL OPINION This is a perfect practice amp. You get a fantastic sound for the price. I purchased it for use in music lessons I teach in a small studio and it never made it to a lesson- I loved it so much I kept it at home. I do wish there was a better way to output the sound to my audio interface such as 1/4 inch stereo outputs, but Roland never marketed it to do this so I can't really complain. The unit is small, light, and powerful. If something happened to mine I would replace it with another Cube Lite right away.

Solid state 30 watt with input, footswitch, headphone and output jack. UTILIZATION Suits my personal needs just fine. The manual is English and good to go. SOUNDS I use this amp with Flying Vs--Ibanez VBT 700, Schenker, and a couple of Gibsons. I play thrash, melodic death, speed and technical styled metal. The tone of this amp is pretty close to the larger amps I play live. I purchased the Cube 30 for its size and tone. I put a pedal board in front of the Cube 30 to duplicate my stage tone. It does this very well. OVERALL OPINION Precision and sound quality are on point. Works well for technical playing. I don't use any of the various models or effects. I prefer my own floor effects to get as close to the amps I use when playing large gigs. Currently gig with Krank, Marshall or JSX heads through Marshall 4x12 slants. The Cube 30 supplements my tone when practicing quietly at home. Occasionally use the rectifier model but I mostly leave it set to metal. The amp is great for intense practice of technique i.e., sweeps, lead work, harmonics, tapping and power chords. Amp has a beefy enough sound, works well with my floor effects, and maintains killer tone at low volumes without excessive power draw experienced with larger amp heads at home. Would buy again based on simplicity and tone. I tried smaller Marshalls, Voxes etc. but the tone wasn't consistant. The Cube is the closest to my personal tone without the need for constant dialing in.

Between the Peavey Vypyr and the Roland Cube series these are my favorite amp modeler amps on the market. As far as clean tones from a solid state amp modeling amp there isn't another contented with the Cube series. With there JC clean tone modeled after the highly sought after Roland Jazz Chorus this amp is great. Then with the ability to go direct into a mixer or recording device this amp pacts quite a punch. Roland CUBE-20XL 20-watt Combo Amplifier Features: * 20 watts * 8" high-performance speaker * 2 channels: independent JC Clean and Lead * Solo boost function * 6 lead types, including Metal Zone and Extreme * 9 effects, includeing Heavy Octave and COSM vintage spring reverb * Convenient audible tuner * Power Squeezer for full gain at low volume * Aux In jack to connect portable music players UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 20W Speakers 1 x 8" Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Bass, Middle, Treble Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 6 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Record Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O Yes No Effects Loop Height 15.16" Width 15.16" Depth 9.45" Weight 19.84 lbs. SOUNDS The clean tone from this amp is worth the price alone. If you need a solid clean for recording then I would pick this up for that reason alone. But the amp doesn't stop there. It has 6 more distortion and acoustic sounds to go along with it. I personally love the tone from the Extreme model. It is very heavy and metal based with a screamer midrange for solid lead lines. The flanger is another well built sound too. Stick this in with a nice lead tone and you get some great metal or 80's tones. Couple it with a mild chorus and your get a solid beefy 80's rock tone. OVERALL OPINION This is one of the best if not the best amp modeling amps out in the market. At new these amps come in at around $160 which is an amazing price for what this amp can do. The distortion tone is amazing and the clean tone is just flat out amazing. I will be using the clean tone on my next recording for sure. The ability to go direct into a mixer is just easy and simple. I highly recommend this to anyone who is on a budget and needs a solid recording amp or practicing amp. It goes silent too with the headphone hookup. Just great!

This amp produces some nice and very usable tones. The cleans are just out of this world good. Arguably the best clean amp that has ever been produced in the Roland Jazz Chorus. This amp has been sued the world over. One big user was James Hetfield from Metallica. All of his clean tones came from that amp during recording sessions. So in this amp they have modeled the clean after that highly sought after tone. Wow does this thing produce some fantastic cleans. It is almost worth owning this amp just for that application. Roland CUBE-80XL 80-watt Combo Amplifier Features: * 80 watts * 12" high-performance speaker * 3 footswitchable channels, including JC Clean, Lead, and Solo, with memory capability * 11 COSM amp models, including Extreme amp * 8 effects, including Heavy Octave and COSM vintage spring reverb * 80-second Phrase Looper * 3-band EQ, presence control * Aux In jack * Built-in tuner * Hands-free channel switching via footswitch (sold separately) UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 40W Speakers 1 x 10" Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Bass, Middle, Treble Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 11 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Speaker, 1 x Line (1/4"), 1 x Record Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O Yes Effects Loop Yes Height 17.32" Width 17.32" Depth 10.43" Weight 35.27 lbs. SOUNDS The clean is probably the most impressive tone from this amp. Since it is based off of the best clean channel amp in history. However, the dirty channel and the solo channel are excellent plu you have the 11 amp model to choose from. This amp produces some good lead distortion for soling and chugging rhythm tones. I like this amp will a Les Paul or other humbucking style guitar. The clean is so good that it makes a bulky Les Paul tone seem chimey like a Fender Tele. OVERALL OPINION At new these units come in at around $370 which to me is a bit high. This is still an amp modeler and doesn't have any tubes. So the price to me seems a bit steep. If I were to get one I would go for the 15 watter since I just want the practice aspect of the amp. This amp is 80 watts and is intended to be more than a practice amp. They want you to gig with this amp. It does have good tone ad so i you wanted to run in into a PA system or recording device for line use. If that were the case though I would get the 40 or 15w version.

There's a lot of battery powered portable amps out there, or at least enough to do some serious comparisons. I own a Lunchbox Jr. and have played several others. The Roland is loud for its size but I wasn't able to use it when traffic noise got too loud in a street performance environment. It's got huge utility for its size with inputs, effects, etc. The battery life is great. What I wanted to write a review for is that it it has tone. The actual sound quality you get from this amp is better than the other battery powered amps I've used. Lunchbox JR. is impressive but it's heavier and has very few options. It does not have the same kind of tone. An Lunchbox Jr. has its own thing but I like the Roland sweetness just as a guitarist. Without any effects I can play through the Roland and it's going to work. I am putting Behringer tube and delay through the LB soon, it's going to be awesome but the Rolands have a little bit of something straight from the factory worth considering. I played with it for hundreds of hours in live street situations, made a good bit of cash using that Roland.https://soundcloud.com/dana-graham-phelps/pier-839-performance-jan-or-feb-2016-7-dana-phelps

As always, Roland delivers a great product, which does its job according to the description of the product. In this case, you get a great amp with a 12" (inch) speaker thrown into a combo amp, capable of modeling different styles of amplifiers. The amp features two different circuits: a clean and a drive channel, that shares a four band equalizer. You do, however, get independent gain and volume controls for each channel. The modeling is done by a COSM processor, like in their other pedals in general. For your bedroom practice needs, they give you a combined headphone/line-out jack connection. If you don't have any pedals of your own (yet), Roland gives you some of their effects along as well. Build straight into the amp itself, with bypass switch connections on the back of the amp. UTILIZATION The amp is extremely easy to use, even though it is packed with extra effects and other features. The clean channel is just as it is. Plug in the cord and turn op the volume - you have sound! When it comes to the lead channel, you choose what type of amp you want to use (model), adjust the gain and volume and your up and running here as well. The effects only has one dial to use, which reduces the use of them slightly, but the sound of them, if used properly are actually good. SOUNDS It's been a while since I've used this specific amp, but the tones that I remember from it, is great. Not as great as the models it tries to model, but still very useful. This combined with the four band EQ, gives you options to shape the tone as you want to. I've always used the build in reverb of the amps I've owned, and this is no exception. Just use it subtle. Remember - everything can be overdone. This also applies to the rest of the effects available in the combo amplifier. OVERALL OPINION All in all you can't go wrong with this Roland amplifier. It's a great beginners amp and used properly, you can get some serious tones out of it. Of course it will never sound like the models modeled on the drive channels, but you get a sense of how they sound, for when you should decide to upgrade to one of those. As a home practice amp it does a fine job as well. And besides that, you can't really break a solid state amp like this.

This little lunch box amp has packed quite a punch. These lunch box amps have been making a huge impact on the amp market as of the last ten years. Every manufacturer seems to be pushing their own version of a lightweight compact combo amp that is used for recording and jam practicing. This little lunch box amp has some great tones to it. The cleans are nice and sparkly and the distortion is rather thick and meaty. The tone from this amp is a bit surprising. It has such a good tonal character that it makes playing the guitar fun. You can sit around and jam on this thing all day. Also run the output directly in to a PA or recording booth for bypassed cab operation. Roland Micro Cube-W Amplifier Features: 2-watt amp with 5" speaker Seven COSM amp models and six DSP effects Digital Tuning Fork handles flat tunings Connect CD player of other line-level source to play along Recording/headphone output Includes carrying strap UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 2W Speakers 1 x 5" Effects Reverb EQ Tone Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 7 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument 1 x Aux (1/4"), 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Rec Out/Headphones (1/4") No Footswitch No Effects Loop Height 8.9" Width 9.6" Depth 6.54" Weight 7.28 lbs. SOUNDS This tiny amp have such a usable tone and feel that it is hard to believe that its a 2 watt solid state amp. I like this amp with just about any guitar you throw at it. My personal preference is a Fender Stratocaster or a a superstrat of some kind. I like the note separation and clarity of the light to medium bodied woods. I find that it gives the thick tone some transparency and fuller tone. You can by all means use a Gibson Les Paul with this guitar but I like the Strats for this amp. OVERALL OPINION This might be the best amp in this price range. At new these amps come in at around $130, which isn't a bad price for something this resourceful. I like the price on it and the fact that you can run direct into a PA system. My only beef with this unit is that it has this thing called the tuning fork which is basically what it says. Not an actual digital tuner so you'll need to get your tuning ear out and polish off that ear for real tuning like back in the old days.

I have never been a fan of amp modeling but this amp is not a bad amp for doing some different tones and amp sounds. I have never been a fan of Roland amps since most of there stuff is more on the clean side of amps. I like higher gain amps but occasionally I like to run some nice warm clean sounds. This amp sounds pretty good with the clean sounds as well as the extreme metal tones. Even the blues tones that you can do with this unit is impressive. There is about a switch or tone that you can get to cover just about any style of music that you may play. * 40 watts * 10" high-performance speaker * 3 footswitchable channels, including JC Clean, Lead, and Solo, with memory capability * 10 COSM amp models, including Extreme amp * 8 effects, including Heavy Octave and COSM vintage spring reverb * 80-second Phrase Looper * Power Squeezer, for full gain at low volume * Built-in tuner * Aux In jack * Hands-free channel switching via footswitch (sold separately) UTILIZATION Roland CUBE-40XL 40-watt Combo Amplifier Features: Specification Detail Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 40W Speakers 1 x 10" Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Bass, Middle, Treble Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 10 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Record Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O Yes Effects Loop Yes Height 15.16" Width 15.16" Depth 10.43" Weight 22 lbs. SOUNDS It doesn't really matter which guitar you use with this because it is more than capable of establishing some cool tones. So if you want to play some blues then switch to the Tweed or Brit Combo amp setting and use a little bit of gain with a Fender Strat and there you'll have it. If you want a bit more of a rock tone or metal tone then switch it to the Extreme setting, lower your mids and turn up the gain and you get a cool metal tone. Add a little bit of reverb and delay, lower the gain a little bit and bump up the mids again and use a Fender Superstrat and you get some cool Van Halen type tones. Add a bit of flanger or phaser and you be screaming Panama. OVERALL OPINION Out of all the amp modeling manufacturers this is one of my favorites. It has usable tones that go well with any style of music you want to play. It is a nice compact and convenient amp that will serve as a great learner or beginners amp or even a bedroom practice jam amp. With the headphones jack you can sit quietly in your room or office and not disturb anyone around you. I would recommend this amp to anyone wanting to learning the guitar and needs and amp with a load of effects built into it. At new these amps come in at around $220. This is right around the range of the line 6 stuff. Try both out to determine which one is right for you.

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.

I play for an month now and i already play songs! i can play bloodbath and chimaira. I have bought this amplifier at feedback in holland, great store u can test everything before u buy it. I bought it for 159€ This amplifier has everything it should have and even better. I combined some pedals with the cube and somehow its still awsome to play without pedals. With only an equalizer u can get everything out of this cube. I just love the great variety of sounds on it, you can even play acoustic on it by just pressing an button. Also u can buy an footswitch for it to change the cubes settings with just an press on the switch. The capabilities of his cube have astonished me, the diffrence between the 15watt cube and 20 watt cube is big even though it doesnt sound like it. Roland cube 20 is PERFECT to practice on and has everything for an beginner, even an absolute pro would be amazed by the cubes abilities. Its pretty loud! and good! what i dont like is the EFX button.. but i think i will keep that to myself sinds its my opinion, i just never liked EFX. Its just an awsome cube! I am DEFINITLY satisfied. The quality of this cube is also amazing, from the second i have turned it on to the day i am standing in front of my cube and turning it on. I have tested all sorts of amplifiers in the shop self, roland came out in my own test as the best of its price! I love this thing. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com