Solid Amp (Roland Cube 30X Amplifier)

Member Name: robertjb

Product:	Roland Cube 30X Amplifier
Date:	15/08/09 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good amp, quality sound, customisable

Disadvantages: Sometimes a bit too digital and effects are limited

This is my second amp; my first was the small squier amp I got with my guitar. This is a solid state amplifier; it is also a modelling amplifier.

This is basically what the box says:-Compact amp in a 30W, 10' speaker design-2 Channel configuration with nine incredible COSM modelled amps-Powerful built-in effects such as chorus, flanger, phaser and tremolo -Independent delay/reverb processor-Convenient built in tunerRecording/headphone output for direct recording and silent practice Aux input for connecting mp3 players, CD players, drum machines etc.The control panel consists of, the three eq knobs i.e. bass, mid and treble, volume for the clean channel, amp model selector for the lead channel, gain knob for the lead channel, volume knob for the lead channel effects knob and delay/reverb knob.

Two channels is necessary due to the fact that this is not a valve amp, but you need to buy a foot switch if you want to switch between the two channels without going over to the amp. The clean channel attempts to imitate the Jazz Chorus amp but after playing a tube amp the cleans on this don't seem that good. They are good for bedroom practice but not for recording and/or live use. The lead channel lets you choose from the following amp models:Acoustic:"By combining acoustic guitar simulation with COSMamplifier modeling technology, this original amplifiermodel gives you a dynamic acoustic guitar sound using a standard electric guitar.

"Black Panel-Fender Twin ReverbBrit Combo-Vox AC-30TBTweed-Fender BassmanClassic Stack-Marshall JMP1987Metal-Peavey EVH-5150R-Fier-Mesa Boogie RectiferDyna Amp:"This is an original amp sound that lets the player createpreviously unobtainable tonal changes according to thepicking strength. Soft picking produces a transparent cleanamp sound, while hard picking results in a deeplydistorted high-gain amp sound. Once the sound isdistorted, the tone then changes according to the force usedin picking, greatly expanding your range of expression."These amp models are good but obviously nowhere near as good as the real thing. I usually use the Classic Stack setting. The other settings are ok but I think it's a question of tweaking the eq settings each time to get the best sound. The effects are ok but you can only select one at a time. They are very basic especially when effects pedals usually have at least two knobs. So the range of sounds you can get is quite limited.

The delay/reverb knob is good, the delay again is basic but the reverb is rather good, I always have it on. The manual gives some settings which is useful.

The power squeezer is a bit of a waste because the amp doesn't sound any better at high volumes.The headphone jack is useful as is the auxiliary output which I use to plug my drum machine into the amp.Overall a very good practice amp, It does most things pretty well but none exceptional. A good amp to help you find the sound you want and also to experiment with effects.

Summary: A good amp which can be easily customised