Roland BC-60 BluesCube 112 Combo

My BC60 has two channels, reverb, effects loop, bright switch and boost switch, presence and master volume. There is a switch that simulates a tube rectifier too. Each channel has its own volume and tone section and there is a Master volume too. The speaker is a 75 watt Roland Vintage style. Any one button foot switch will change the channels or turn the reverb on and off. Built like a tank.

I play blues and rock style. I plug straight in and use the foot switch to change channels. You don't need pedals with this but if you use them it reacts real good to them. I set the crunch dial to crunch 2 on the clean and I use the boost on the drive channel. From there on I just use my Les Paul volume pots to get different sounds out of it. It works great, and no more pedals needed. I have a couple of old Fenders and a new Blues Junior that I use a lot but let me tell ya, this BC60 is as good as it gets.
Mine is dead stock. It sounds as good as my tube amps in a band setting and almost as good when played on its own. Sounds just as good at low volume levels, which is the beauty of solid state. Pre amp volumes act just like tube pre amps. The crunch switch lets the BC60 sound just like a mildly overdriven tube amp. No other SS amp I know of will give you that "in between" breakup sound. Truly this is the BEST SS amp ever made IMHO.

Tank. Never let me down after hundreds of shows and near daily bedroom playing. Always consistent sound. Easy to get good sounds from it with humbuckers or SC pickups.

I'm a 20+ year player. Semi pro. All my guitars are humbucker equipped. I own several guitars and amps and pedals (wanna buy em?) I've used this amp at bars, partys, outdoor shows and at practice. It has never failed me once. I consider it to be equal to my other tube amps. If you have nice vintage tube amps that you don't always want to gig with then get one of these and save your vintage stuff for special occasions. The sounds you can get from this are unbelievable compared to any other SS amp. Its like a tube amp without tubes. I will NEVER sell this amp because it isnt made anymore and you cant find them on ebay very much. If you find one you better jump on it.

Okay...right off the bat I have a rating system that I use, which I'll explain right now:
A "5" is where I rate a unit when it satisfies all my personal requirements in any particular category. In other words, if I like a piece of equipment well enough to buy and keep then I consider it a solid 5. From 1-4 is something less than satisfactory (IMHO) and 6-10 means it's better than I expected.
Moving on.
Features wiise the Roland BC 60 has some good and good, but could be better. The three level gain dial on clean is really good. Not being able to switch between them in real time is a drawback. The parallel effects loop is a great thing but not being able to toggle the loop on and off is a drawback. The tone controls are excellent on both channels. The boost on the dirt channel is great...same disappointment with the non switchable nature of it. Reverb is good. Speaker is very good and there is no need to ever switch it out. The tube/solid state rectifier works at high power levels only. It's a cool feature but if you could switch it on for heavy rock solo sag it would be better.
I'm asking for a six button foot switch for this. That would get the amp a 7-8 rating IMHO. I know, *****, *****, *****.

Overall the sound is pretty much better than average for a solid state amp. For any style from country to blues to heavy rock I find the sound is good to above average. I use humbucking outfitted guitars with this, from low impedance PAF types all the way up to high output types. I have played Strats through it and Telecasters too. This Roland actually allows the different sounds of different pickups to come through even with fairly high gain settings.
Yes, you can get some clean channel overdrive at high channel volume on clean. It sounds good. The touch and guitar volume sensitivity does indeed mimic that of a good tube amp. That's the best feature of the amp because you really don't pedals to operate this if you are an old school tube amp person. Manipulating pre-amp level and guitar volume will give you all the nuances you need to express yourself in a way that you're accustomed to with tube amps.
Moving to the overdrive channel: The same sensitivity is available on this channel. Very true rock, blues and heavy rock sounds are easy to get. If you like the classic to heavy sounds of rock you'll love this amp. Blues lovers will love it. Metal players will be disappointed. I hooked up a Boss Metal Zone and it didn't sound terrible but there are better amps out there for the hardcore fans.
I play clinical clean to heavy rock and all things in between. This is the only amp I have found that covers all of that and does it all very well. Definitely above average for sound.

With average use and average care it should last a long long time. Above average construction for this class of amp.

I'm a weekend warrior player and I gig at least weekly, sometimes twice weekly. The BC 60 is the only amp I really need to do what I need it to do, which is BE RELIABLE AND SOUND GOOD! Its only an amp, not some miracle box that is better than everything else.
If you read these reviews you're going to see lots of 9s and 10s. To me its hard to make sense out of all 9s and 10s. People do 9s and 10s to make their choices seem justified IMHO. I admit that the BC 60 might just be the best sounding solid state amp ever made. IMHO it is. Moderate rockers, jazz players, country and classic rockers seem to do well with this amp. If that's you, buy one off ebay and see what the buzz is about. Don't think one of these is the best amp in the universe. I'm sure its not but it is damn good. Me? I LOVE it.

I use the BC 60 for rock, hard rock, jazz and blues. Supposedly this is a blues amp but it works for everything I play. Even though it has two very good channels I'm playing this more and more on the clean channel because it is so beautiful sounding. If I need a little more dirt I can set the preamp to clean 1 or clean 2. Clean 1 has plenty of overdrive and clean 2 is almost as heavy as the overdrive channel. Even the straight clean (no o.d. at all) can be turned up high to get a little dirt. Whether clean-clean or o.d.-clean the BC 60 has beautiful tone with my Les Pauls on the clean channel.
The overdrive channel has its own eq. Basically you can get some smooth blues to hard HARD rock tones on this channel. This is one amp you can take to a gig without any pedals at all except the single button foot switch for changing channels. It's plenty loud enough. I play in a 5 piece band and I have no problem keeping up with a 60 watt 2x12 tube amp and a 1x12 Marshall SS amp with 100 watts. I don't think I've ever had the master volume past 6. Even outside.
The effects loop is parallel and it is blendable. Very good reverb. I wish it was lighter.

I use Les Paul guitars mostly. Various Gibson and other high end pickups. As mentioned, the Roland is versatile for all the styles I play. Like I said, no problem bringing this to a job with no added pedals. Great tone and power.
It has a bit of hiss with high gain settings just like any amp. I would say it is quieter than most SS amps especially the clean channel. The Vintage 75 Roland speaker breaks up a little at high volumes just like the Celestion Greenback that Roland based it on.
I use the OD channel for backing rhythms a lot. It has a huge sound as a rhythm channel with a lot of bottom and a crisp top. I scoop the mids a little and it rocks solid with a nice clear rhythm sound.
I like to use the clean channel on clean 1 for solos. It's so clear sounding even with the mids boosted. Harmonics fly off it. It might sound bass-ackwards but it works real good and sounds killer using o.d. for rhythm and clean 1 for solos.
Overall this is one AMAZING amp. Other posters said it is better than some tube amps costing twice as much. Right on. It will totally blow your mind about solid state amps.

Roland builds the best. I never had a major fault with any of my Roland and Boss stuff.

I highly HIGHLY recommend this amp. The sound is indescribable compared to other solid state amps. You just have to try one out to get it. It does have the characteristics of tube amps but it has a personality of its own, too. You have to hear it to know what I mean but when you do hear it you'll be amazed. For the price I paid ($270 + shipping) I'm very happy. I play it more than my 112 Fender tube amp!

I bought this used. Picked it up last August. Since then I've played 8 gigs, including an outdoor show that demanded a full out volume level. Other jobs required a whisper quiet volume level. The BC 60 handled everything with such aplomb! What a versatile piece of gear this is. I have an Eminence Wizard in mine (the previous owner installed it-gave me the original Roland speaker, too) and the loudness is definitely higher with this speaker.
This amp has a lot of features. Read on to learn more about features from other reviews. Its all covered about a million times....

Here's the main difference between this and all other solid state amps in my opinion: The BC 60 gets better, juicier and more harmonically rich the louder it gets. Lets face it, most SS amps will do okay until you crank them. The BC 60 at near max volume still sounds killer-like the tube amps do. No other SS job that I ever owned has been able to pull that off.
As far as the sound is concerned...this is a blues and classic rock amp. It does that very well. It can do hard rock with the boost engaged on the overdrive channel. There are three levels of gain alone on the clean channel! If blues and classic to hard rock is your thing then this is THE SS amp to own, PERIOD!
Oh yeah, it take pedals very well including a Boss DS1, BOSS chorus and a BOSS Metal Zone.

Roland and Boss make their stuff to last a lifetime.

I've been playing since the 60s. I'm still playing gigs at my age and I love the sound, size and reliability of this Roland amp. I use it with BOSS pedals and without any pedals. Very satisfied with this amp and I would buy another one in a minute. Roland made a huge mistake to discontinue this line of amps.

I bought this used so I don't know the year and I really don't care. The first channel has clean and two gain levels above that. Treble, middle and bass. The tone controls are very active and small adjustments make a difference. The distortion channel has treble, middle and bass as well as a mega boost switch. Master volume and master presence. If you turn down the master and crank the channel volume you can get some suble overdrive tones too (undocumented). The reverb is Accutronics spring. Surfy. I use the effects loop for a whole rack and it's pretty quiet.

The amplifier is the best I've even used and I've had plenty including a 1965 Fender Super Reverb (the original one)! The tone controls and features cover tremendous territory, everything to Fender clean to Marshall raunch. The clean channel gain choices (1 and 2) add jsut right amounts of organic sounding juicy gain. It's just so darn musical you can't get a bad sound! It sounds good with all my axes, single coils, humbuckers, an Ibanez Artcore. The bright switch adds bite, not tinny treble. I don't know how they did it or why they stopped production. If they re-started production and added a footswitch to choose those three clean settings, it would be completely unstoppable.

I've had it over a year now, used, and no problems. Instant on, great sound everytime. It's not the kind of amp you constantly have to fiddle with or that sounds good one day and not the next.

I haven't used it so I can't give an opinion but the Roland/Boss people have a good rep for support.

You have to get these over E-bay and most sellers know what they're worth. No matter. I'd buy another and I wouldn't be too picky about price.

All covered in previous posts, but this amp is dynamite! I think it has a vast amount of versatility and a range and quality of sounds that you just won't get from any other tranny amp. I have friends who don't believe that this is not a class A valve amp!

All of the controls are very active and you need to be patient and find your own preference - it'll be worth it! Some of the controls effect subtle changes in tone, like the rectifex tube circuit button. The best sound adjustment I've found with my Blues Cube is to patch the SEND & RETURN inputs and WOW! The amp bursts into life with a completely new set of sounds and much nastier gain.

Never had an issue - built like a tank. So it's top marks for reliability

Never needed them so can't criticise reliability and/or support

This has to be the best kept secret! This amp is a pure plug and play soundfest. You don't need anything else unless your into digital effects (Chorus!?). Standard connection gives you two channels of great sound. Patch the SEND & RETURN and you get two very different channels of sound. I love this amp - it'll give most valve amps a thrashing - believe me! If you're a tranny amp heter, I'd urge you to try one of these with a completely open mind. Great sound and no reliability/consumables issues. Gotta be a great bet!

This amp has everythin I need and it's more of an amp than you may think it is (see my following note). Throw away your pedals and just milk this baby for all it's got. You need to spend time experimenting - it's amazing what you can get this amp to do with a bit of tweaking. Mixing your guitar knobs takes the sound variety to another planet!

Just wanted to post a short note saying that I was "experimenting" with my BC60 and patched the SEND and RETURN inputs - BLOODY HELL! The amp has morphed into a rock monster! My BC60 sounds every bit as good as an AC30. It's got the lot and it will cut through anything like a hot knife through butter.

Give it a try - you'll be amazed! Just get a short patch lead and "jump the two inputs - then stand well back! I accept no responsibility for shattered windows!

Never had a problem with mine. I'm not a tekkie and I'm assuming the aforementioned "patch" won't cause any problems. I've had it like this for a while, so I'm sure a fault would've ocurree by now if it was doing any wrong. So, I'll jst keep playing and enjoying!

Never needed to use them for this amp but did for another piece of kit and they were good.

The most versatile transistor amp on the market. Will fool just about anyone into believing it's an AC30 in disguise when it's patched as mentioned above. This baby aint goin anywhere!

It's all covered below. My favorite features are the three levels of crunch on clean channel and the cool effects loop with blend. It's got a nice sounding reverb too. All the stuff you need to make a good sound either clean, crunchy or heavy overdrive, at a decent power level of 60 watts. Very cool quick morph switching when you change channels. It's really unique. This can get loud enough for stage work with a loud band.

I'm not going to compare this to the high-end tube amps like Victoria cuz that's not fair. Compared to any solid state amp I ever heard (and I heard a lot of SS Fenders, Peaveys, Marshalls, Crates in my time) I have to say this is the best. That's why I bought it when I got a chance. It is just as good sounding as a lot of tube amps in its class (112 combo amp) for sure.
Let's just say that for first class sparkling clean through a good hard rock tone the BC-60 covers it very well. No matter if you want a fat tone or a reedy treble rich twwed tone you can set it up and do it with this amp. Somehow the clean channel can do a slight breakup when you dig in and the guitar volume knob does a lot to alter the sound too. Same as a tube amp. Great for players who are used to that stuff. You'll feel right at home.
I use mostly high-end humbucker pickups like Lace and Bill Lawrence on my Les Pauls. I also have a Tele with GFS pups, a SG with EMG passives and a Ibanez with stock HSS pickups. Every one of my guitars likes this amp. Sometimes I use a Korg G1 for distortion but mostly the amp sounds fine without anything except a volume boost (BBE Boosta Grande it's a great pedal.) BC 60 works good with all pedals.
I play modern country, hard and classic rock, oldy moldy and even some jazz. Range from George Benson through Led Zepplin. The BC 60 can handle all of it. Not good for the heavier metal stuff though.
This is a quiet amp. If you get a chance to try one out somewhere you should put one through its paces. It will blow you away cuz it's about 98 % of what a good tube amp has to offer.

I bought this used and it has no issues. Roland is well known for good quality.

I started in 1986. I wish I could give more time to practice but o well. I have a couple of older Fender amps and 5 guitars. I use the BC 60 for gigs because its versatile and powerful enough. I wish it was lighter (almost as heavy as a tube amp because of particle board cabinet) because I'm not a kid anymore but that's my only complaint. I would never own any other solid state amp but Roland Blues Cube amps. Yes I would buy another one.

This has two channels with three degrees of gain on the clean and two on the overdrive. Both channels have their own equalization. Great series loop with blend control. Beautiful cabinet and very good speaker / reverb.

This amp can easily cover all rock, blues and jazz styles. Metal freaks will need a pretty hot pedal (Metal Zone?) to get that brutal distortion. I play hard rock, old ballads and even some jazz. I can't fault this thing for any shortcomings in sound. I recently put a patriot Texas Heat in it and I'm blown away by the way the BC 60 sounds through an American type cone. When doing classic rock tunes, this thing can exactly get the tones of the early Doobies through the Texas heat. That's nice because a lot of amps might sound good through a british speaker but they sound terrible through a Jensen. This amp will make any good speaker sound great. I use a les paul with boutique pickups and an ibanez sa 160 with custom pickups. Both are excellent with this thing. Single coils are good. Humbuckers are equally so.

Roland is great.

no comment

Forty years of playing. This is the BEST SS amp on the planet. Ninety-nine of one hundred players will not pick it out of a group of good tube amps, period. It's the only SS line of amps I will own. Never met a player who wasn't totally blown away by the tones of a Blues Cube.

The usual stuff. The rectiflex circuit, series effects loop and the three gain levels on the clean channel are the standout features. The rest is vanilla.

It's different, I'll give you that. Yes it does respond well to your picking. I think it has a more British sound with the stock speaker, which is pretty good. It may not have all the ingredient s of a good tube amp but on the other hand it smokes the solid state field. I had a peavey transtube bandit with the upgraded 2604 opamps and a V12 speaker in it. Until I got this amp I thought the peavey (as modified) was the best sounding solid state amp I ever heard. Not so. The bc 60 is the champ.

In a nutshell this is the only solid state amp worth owning. Sounds at least as good as any tube amp under 1000 bucks and better than many of those!