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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 12/06/08 at 20:48
(Originally written by SlapKid/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Interesting concept with two 4 x 5" cabinets. The big sound reminds me of a 4 x 12" cabinet with strong low-mids and a high output power. The illusion is perfect: rock sound with dynamics.
It's the mini version of the 408 which is not conceived for apartment use.
Serial FX loop, phones output, footswitch for channel selection.
Very easy to use. It has Roland's rock sound written all over it, including the back panel: made in R.O.K.!
UTILIZATION
How do you get a bad sound? Not with this amp...
The Tube Logic circuitry is more than a tube simulation, it's the emulation of a rectifier tube whose typical compression is well reproduced. My Roland Blues 60 (3 x 10") has the same circuitry and the sound is great.
The modern digital Cube models produce the same type of sound.
SOUNDS
The response is quite linear except with high output levels, when it turns warm and very dynamic. At first sight, the shared EQ doesn't seem very effective on the distortion channel but you'll change your mind as soon as you turn up the volume. The current Cube 20x has this same particularity.
The clean sound is quite fresh and accurate, and the crunch is progressive. Given that I need a clean sound, I only use the second channel for distortion sounds. And it does a very good job at that. The gain setting is progressive (much better than a Marshall whose distortion goes from nothing to extreme between 0.5 and 1).
OVERALL OPINION
I bought it this year secondhand, it was in a very good shape. The only weak point is a strong AC hum noise (but it's even worse with my brand new Ibanez TBX15R and my previous Marshall MG15).
Interesting amp concept with a high-class sound. The current digital Cube series comes quite close to it. I can fully understand Roland's decision to replace the GC405 and 408, as well as other Bluescube with these small black boxes you currently see everywhere... It's only a matter of speaker configuration.
Interesting concept with two 4 x 5" cabinets. The big sound reminds me of a 4 x 12" cabinet with strong low-mids and a high output power. The illusion is perfect: rock sound with dynamics.
It's the mini version of the 408 which is not conceived for apartment use.
Serial FX loop, phones output, footswitch for channel selection.
Very easy to use. It has Roland's rock sound written all over it, including the back panel: made in R.O.K.!
UTILIZATION
How do you get a bad sound? Not with this amp...
The Tube Logic circuitry is more than a tube simulation, it's the emulation of a rectifier tube whose typical compression is well reproduced. My Roland Blues 60 (3 x 10") has the same circuitry and the sound is great.
The modern digital Cube models produce the same type of sound.
SOUNDS
The response is quite linear except with high output levels, when it turns warm and very dynamic. At first sight, the shared EQ doesn't seem very effective on the distortion channel but you'll change your mind as soon as you turn up the volume. The current Cube 20x has this same particularity.
The clean sound is quite fresh and accurate, and the crunch is progressive. Given that I need a clean sound, I only use the second channel for distortion sounds. And it does a very good job at that. The gain setting is progressive (much better than a Marshall whose distortion goes from nothing to extreme between 0.5 and 1).
OVERALL OPINION
I bought it this year secondhand, it was in a very good shape. The only weak point is a strong AC hum noise (but it's even worse with my brand new Ibanez TBX15R and my previous Marshall MG15).
Interesting amp concept with a high-class sound. The current digital Cube series comes quite close to it. I can fully understand Roland's decision to replace the GC405 and 408, as well as other Bluescube with these small black boxes you currently see everywhere... It's only a matter of speaker configuration.