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!

Well now...it has two indie channels, each with perfectly matched EQ. I mean the EQ on this amp is easier than the EQ on my Tech 21 Trademark 60 but sounds just as good and is just as versatile. Unlike the trademark 60 the amp is a breeze to dial in. It's also much louder and the channel layout is more traditional. The Rectiflex circuit does a good job of faking true tube sag, which is perfect for the blues and good for rock, too. Good presence.
Clean channel has three levels of crunch! What a feature. Overdrive channel has a boost switch that delivers hard rock tone. Very convincing tube tones in this amp. Nice reverb. Weighs about 50 pounds. MDF construction (ugh) but the cab is ruggedly built and doesn't rattle or moo with heavy bass. Not a lot of whiz-bang here, just the right tools for the job.

I bought this off E-Bay based on the reviews here. Now that I've had it for six months I can honestly say this is the amp I've been searching for, for a long time. I liked it with the original speaker but I like it even more with an Eminence Wizard installed and broken in. I love the clean channel on Crunch 2 when I play my Strats through it. With my Les Paul the overdrive channel cops that classic rock tone that Marshalls make. Kick in the boost switch and the amp flat out sings with the Les Paul. Zep, BTO, ZZ Top, Skynyard, Allman Brothers, Cream, etc. All that stuff comes through with convincing presence. Gawd...I LOVE it! Since I have had it and put in the Wizard speaker I have not really touched my Tech 21. In fact, I've decided to sell it! Not knocking the Tech 21 cuz it's a cool amp but it's really not as versatile and "live show" friendly as the Blues Cube.
Trust me on this: You won't find another amp that cops the tube tone like this one. I have a friend who owns Boogies and PRS guitars. He can afford the best so he buys the best. He's also a pretty damned good guitar player with a trained ear for tone. He jammed with me a few months ago and tried the BC 60. He was floored at the way the amp sounded and how dynamic it was with his PRS. He actually played it for a couple of hours before learning that it was a solid state amp. He had to look behind it to verify that there were no tubes. It really floored him.
For blues, classic 60s and 70s rock, hard rock and crunchy rhythm playing, this amp flat out produces the tone I was looking for. Engage the bright switch and pure Tele country is what you get, too. It really can do all styles except metal. Considering that I paid a mere 300 for it including shipping, I know I got a diamond for the price of a cubic zirconia! Yee Haw. And yes...it delivers the tone at all volume levels, including bedroom levels. That's something my old Fender tube amps could never do, which is why I bought the Tech 21 amp but this BC 60 blows it away for ease of use, volume and sweet bluesy tone.

Let me put it this way...I've owned, bought and sold a lot of gear over the years but the only stuff I kept forever was my BOSS and Roland gear. It just won't quit on you, period. I don't gig with a backup but maybe I'll keep the tech 21 as a lightweight backup? Hmmm there's a thought.

At 55 I've been playing the guitar since my teens. Joined my first band at 19 and have been playing steadily for many, many years. I've seen a lot of trends in equipment and in styles but everything goes back to the basic blues and rock progressions eventually, then emerges again as something else, morphing into yet another take on the basic blues bedrock. Nowadays I play Strats and Les Pauls straight into my BC 60. It's what I gig with and I ain't changing my story. I'll probably buy another one some day just to have one in case i wear this one out LOL. Too bad Roland quit this one. It's a dream come true for me to own one. Get one if you can.

On further review.....
Bought as a practice amp for my band. Blowout MF sale. 2004. Read these posts and have not looked back. This little solid state combo will TOUCH/NAIL on a vast array of tones. It's shortcomings are noted as far as no ability to channel switch on the go. A top notch rehersal amp, you can NOT blow it up. FX loop is nice with the wet/dry and the amp will just BOND with quality pedals. What I wish for is what Roland left out. Have you been reading? Listen to me. As far as solid state amps go, this is freaking amazing. Will it do everything? ARE YOU ON DRUGS? I really do know it is in your hands. If you play well with others, no loss here. I get AC/DC at room/rehersal levels with a one pedal. I leave this to you as this is ALL subjective. Had it for 2 years now. Honeymoon is over. I have to work with this amp 4 or 5 times a month. Do you hear me? Left in the practice room. Come in and hit it with what I'm fine tuning at home. I perform with a 66 Blackface Pro Reverb with an array of pedals for my style/sound. It works for me. The BC60 does too. Nicely! As far as playing out, if I wanted to play a small room, this would be my choice. Right now I need 212 even thru the PA.

This amp will not let you down on any level if you have any clue as to what it is capable of and what you ask of it. It has fantastic headroom and a nice crunch channel. That's the fly in the ointment. One or the other. I prefer the clean with a Boss FS-5L latching footswitch as my second channel. One more step and Roland cudda bin somebody. It will work with quality stomps as few solid state combos will. THIS little piece of work is amazing. Not noisy at all, unless your stomps are. Like I said, can't kill it. You can push it to...Subjective. We play RNR like Stones and Petty and we use Strats. Single coils. HOT. I use a Powerhouse Strat which IMHO is as good as it feels to you, and I have a keeper with the 12db boost I use sparingly. Maple is my fingerboard of choice. My other guitarist pushes an Ampeg Jet with a 112 cab and tonight he pulled out an older KOT pedal that was just about to blow my mind it sounded so good. Had to jump and bump the volume on my little BC60....Not showtime...but damn freaking good. We play live soon, gonna tune my BF to....

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...
never leave home without it!
SO FAR SO GOOD!

I HAVE NO IDEA. THAT'S BECAUSE ROLAND PRODUCTS NEVER TOOK A DUMP ON ME.

OK...35 Years in various venues.69 Les Paul Custom; 2000 made in Mexico Powerhouse Strat; 65 SG; Two other Strat MIM....Line 6 Duoverb. Fender 66 Pro Reverb. Fender Frontman. Roland BC 60. Boatload of Quality Modded Stomps......Analogman..Keeley...Garmopat...and.....MY SECRET..

This amp can sound like anything - and the tone is so natural!

I play a PRS Santana SE, a Mexican Deluxe Players' Strat, and an Ibanez Artcore on this amp.

All of these sound great for any style of music on this amp! I will play ska, rock, punk, and just about anything else on this amp. It can easily sound like a tube amp.

I've had this for about 6 mo. so I don't quite know yet.

I've had no problems.

I own a Vox valvetronix, a Marshal JTM 60, and a Fender Blues Jr. also. This can sound just like any of these amps, although the Marshall does have a slightly sweeter tone.

If this amp were stolen - I would replace it any day.

Features have been listed by others. I must say that each feature, whether it's the bright switch, rectifier switch (very subtle) or pre-knob in the lead channel, has been well thought out and contributes to the many sounds this amp is capable of. As others have said it would have been swell if they had put the two crunch channels on a footswitch, or at least one. But you can use an overdrive pedal and get four levels of grit. I'm wondering if you can't use the loop effects out as a line out like on other amps. I haven't tried it so I can't say for certain. No cover available? Go to http://store.amplifiercovers.com/roland.html

Tons of good sounds. and very well weighted. By that I mean you can use the full sweep of the Pre lead control and still keep note articulation and warmth. With many other amps there is too much gain too soon. You're into total buzz at 1. boost switch adds mighty crunch for searing lead tones and big power chords. Add an OD pedal for mucho mid tone crunch or a metal pedal for scooped tones. Not that you can't do pretty well with the amp tones alone.

For the regular channel, again, the tone controls are very active and nicely centered. Good tone at low and moderate volumes with hot and gainy blues sounds at high volume with lots of sustain. Yes, this is a very warm amp, so warm that I can use the bright switch for glassy overtones that don't sound ice-picky or strident. And with a Fender Tele!

The three position gain switch is ingenious and makes you wonder why all clean channels don't have this option. Position one is very clean and gets stays prettty clean at high volume levels. Other SS amps sound strident and harsh at high volumes. This just gets thicker with more sustain. Great for country and surf. Crunch 1 is very nice and covers a lot of blues and rock ground. Crunch 2 is great for heavier sounds. Then the lead channel picks up from there. It's all very organic sounding, not overly processed like many SS amps and some pedals.

There is some noise at higher gains but pretty well contained. I can patch ALL my pedals to the effects loop with very little added noise. A real bonus! I couldn't do that with my last tube amp which sounded like Niagra Falls with any decent gain.

I'm writing this after only two days experience so I'm still on the honeymoon. My experience with Boss effects and a Boss digital recorder has been perfect.

I used support on my Boss 864 recorder. I needed some explanation and I got it pretty quickly on the phone. Very good reputation for quality and support.

I have to drop a point for dumb reverb switching (who does that?) but no crunch switching and no footswitch included. Other than that, this thing is awesome! Best solid state that I've ever played through and better than many tube amps. I haven't played it live so I reserve final judgment (thus the 9 rating). It wouldn't be the first amp that sonded great in the bedroom and not so good on the job.

It's too bad they stopped production. I'm guessing that the modeling Cube 60 can cover this ground and more--but does it sound as sweet and natural? Without A-Bing them, I can't say. But this looks better.

The features have been explained.

Hey fellow axeslingers, i found an awsome set up for my bc-60 1-12! I have always liked the f/x loop in this amp, and have a dan-echo hooked up to it, with a full on wet/dry mix, on a nice slapback mode.Well hell, one day i was putzin around and decided to hook up my aphex guitar x-citer to the loop, in chain with the dan-echo, might i add i took out the stock speaker and put in a v-30, boo--yaa! switched the x-citer on, instant fire breather! You have to play with the x-citer, to get what you want, but man it's worth it, and you will never shut it off! This setup makes the amp sound more punchy and articulate, and before i never used the boost mode in the lead channel, well i do now, it sounds so close to my old jcm-800 it's scary! In front of the amp i just use a boss od-3, and a boss super shifter for nice chorus settings, very impressive, try it!

No probs in 2 years of gigs.

This is an addendum to my review a while back, i have 7 amps and 4 guitars, 4 of my amps are no longer in production, the BC-60, the 3 tube amps i have no longer in production are an Orange AD-15, a Reverend Goblin 5/15, and a 1964 Gibson Skylark GA-5T, the rest are a couple of Cube-30's, and a Vox Pathfinder. I have a Reverend Slingshot Custom, a G@l Asat Classic Semi- Hollow, a '91 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and an Ibanez RT-450, with tone-zone and carvin pups.And i use all Monster and George L cords. Been playing 38 years, many of them pro, and i'm pushin 50 so my stack haulin days are over! Ha! But the BC-60 has a great tone out of the box, put an x-citer in your loop and see what happens! Good Luck!

Very versatile & moblie amp. Can be used at home for practice & can handle your typical gig setting EASILY. It is very loud, and handle loud volumes.
The only question mark here is switched reverb!
There are 2 channels
normal
lead
normal with 3 levels, (no distortion, with little distorion, dirty sound) and remeber this amp is VERY TOUCH SENSATIVE! that is just priceless.
Lead with 2 pre and post volume for amount of distortion, and a boost!

If you really want to bring out the pinch harmonics and get that hard rock/metal sound, just switch to lead turn on the boost.

That is why this amp is so versitile. Blues,jazz, rock, metal, etc.

No digital effects but if you want any kind of digial sound you are looking at a wrong amp. this amp is PURE TONE.

Just because of the switched reverb instead of switch boost for lead, i give it a 9/10. Otherwise this amp has it all.

After buying and selling many many amplifier, i finally found what I want.
Tone. thats what it comes down to. Plug any guitar in this amp, it will bring out the best. I even use it for my acoustic guitar and since this amp and Roland amps in general are known for the super clean sound, it works guitar.

Let me put it this way, this is a one of the best roland amps with once difference, EXCELLENT DISTORTION/OVERIDE.

Close your eyes and this amplifier is a Tube amp.

2 years no problems so far, havent been hit or anything but it has travelled.

Dont know, never had to call them or anything.

@ this value. THIS IS THE BEST AMPLIFIER.

If I had unlimited money I would probably buy a Mesa Boogie Amp.
Hell, I might just buy one of these BC-60 for its look though.

I bought my BC-60 in 1996 soon after it's debut. I spent $430 at MF an thought that a bargain as soon as I plugged in my Les Paul. 2 channels, 60 watts, 3 settings in Channel 1 - Clean, Crunch 1, and Crunch 2. I mainly use Clean and Crunch 1. If I want to really get "dirty", switching to Channel 2 is where I go with a foot-switch. No digital effects, but you don't need them with this amp. Just buy your pedals if you want specific sounds.

Wow! What can you say about this little beast. It sounds so different from any other SS amp out there. Channel 2 just stands out there in a field by itself. Talk about cutting through the mix in a group recording or live performance. And here's the best part - this amp is dead silent with no hum or incessant hiss that typically comes with other SS (or for that matter tube) amps.

Owned it for 9 years now and never a problem!!!!

Don't need it

I've been playing for over 35 years now and have played quite a few amps over the years. Forget any of the Fender or Marshall SS amps in comparison to this one. NO CONTEST. As for the newer modeling amps that are so prevalent now, I haven't really had much time to test. As I said before, how can you go wrong with the super silent Roland in the clean channel and add any pedal you want. My only question is why this puppy never made it originally. Looks like it is finding a 2nd life as a highly sought after used amp. Guys (and gals) our little secret is no longer a secret anymore!

Whew...I just finished reading ALL of the reviews for the BC 60. I think the features are pretty much covered. My favorites are the rectiflex switch and the boost switch. The BC 60 also has the best channel switching I've ever heard. It almost morphs real quick between channels. Well built and nice blonde tolex with brown grillecloth. Very retro.

Basically I agree with what others have said about the sound of this amp. I also compared these to the Trademark 60 amps and this one, while not as versatile overall, has the classic tones of the clean Fenders and overdriven Marshalls of old PLUS it's a very stage friendly amp that reacts real good to the pedal that I use. I have an old BOSS ME 5 pedal (BOSS=ROLAND) that I use for a little chorus, compression and clean boost. There's no need to use a distortion pedal with this amp becuz channel two has a better sound than most pedals. For that matter, so does channel one with the two overdrive settings.
This amp has the true sounds of the classic rock era. Naturally it has a great blues sound too. Basically old school classic rock had a more blues based sound so it should follow that the Blues Cube 60 should nail this, which it does.
I have an Epiphone SG (older model), a Gibson Les Paul Standard '74, an Ibanez h-s-h 90's shredder, a no-name Tele copy and a Jay Turser 335 clone. The Les Paul is my favorite with the Tele being a close second. All the above guitars sound good with the BC 60. By contrast only the Ibanez and the SG really shine through my Peavey SS amps. The Roland people did a good job on the warmth and touch dimensions.

I started in 1987. I do classic rock covers in a 4 piece band. For what we do the sound of the guitars has to be old school Fender and Marshall becuz those were the amps of the day for the most part. The BC 60 does these amps extremely well without the expense of tube refits and the weight of heavy tube combos. I would buy another one in a new york minute. Closest thing to the old school tube amp sound that I know of. Most guitarists could never pick it out of a crowd of tube amps...I know I couldn't do it!

The features are listed all over the place so I'm not gonna bother with those.

Musician's Friend must have gotten a bunch of these to close out because one recent day I was poking around their web site and saw it. Thought it looked interesting (didn't know squat about it) so I came here to read reviews. Then I went back to buy it the next morning(Based on all these great reviews) but . . . no more - all gone! So . . . I went to e-bay and got a used one. First, comments to the guy who likes his Vox better. I think you need to play with the BC-60 a little more. It took me awhile to get it figured out. I fell in love with this thing! I have a Fender Deville (4 10's - 60 scorching watts!). The DeVille is definately louder. In fact, in order to get that thing sounding right, I've got to damn near get thrown out of the neighborhood when I practice! The BC-60 can give you the sound at lower volumes. I really don't care for the distortion that the DeVille gives you. Instead, I love the sound that I can get with my Ibanez Tube Screamer into the clean channel. I also have a Line 6 AX2-212 with the updates. It's pretty nice but just flat doesn't have that warmth. There are some really neat sounds on it (the Rectifier stuff, Marshall, more - in fact, the Line 6 Clean with "Teeth" sounds awesum with the Les Paul. But the emulations of the Fender stuff is good but the Roland is soooo much warmer! As far as sound . . .

When I first got it, all I did was play my 50th Anniversary American Dlx. Strat through it. I had heard (and read in the manual) that it worked well with old-style single coil pickups so I didn't expect my Les Paul to sound right (the Les Paul doesn't sound as good on the DeVille). So I tried the Paul after awhile and WOW! Sounded like a kick-ass Marshall!

Here's what I really noticed on my Strats (I have 4 Strats - 2 of them have the new SMC Pickups with the S-1 switching). This amp totally enables the Strat to sound like it was intended to sound like(through real vintage Tube Amps)! ie: When you switch your pickup selector, you really, really notice and they sound like they are supposed to! Bridge - you've got John Fogerty's Swamp Rock Sound. Middle and Neck, is Stevie Ray! Actually, damn near everything I play sounds soooo much better! I actually impressed myself! It allows the tone that a good player has to come through. It gets clean when you're soft and growls when you dig in!

Another example . . . I was never that crazy about my S-1 switch. When I bought the Strats, I couldn't really see the value in it but I thought . . . maybe someday I'll tune in to it or something but I never really used it. So I'm jamming away with my Les Paul on the BC-60 - it was sounding incredible. Then . . I broke a string. So I grabbed one of the Dlx. Strats (I have two of those). For the basic Rock Rythm, it actually sounded lots better than the Paul on the Bridge pickup (not as muddy as the Paul as the Fender has that bell-like clean). But the leads were nowhere near as fat. So ... I switched to Crunch 2, pushed in my S-1 Switch and stayed on the Bridge PU - Wala! It sounded like my Les Paul! That's what that S-1 Switch is supposed to do! It's supposed to "dirty-it-up" a bit and make it sound more like a LP. I just never had an amp that made it sound good! Now I love the S-1 Switch. You can push that sucker in and it's almost like going to another channel. Again, I never go that same feel with my other amps.

Another example . . . I have never dialed in a good sound for Stevie Ray's, Love Struck. It was OK but not quite right. The BC-60 sounds just right. Like I said, everything you do just flat sounds better on this thing. I'm stoked with the sound!

I also have a Line 6 Pod-XT Live (Floor), VG-88, and more guitars - Tele, Tele Dlx., Gretch and more guitars. (I'm an X-Performer who used to be exlusively Acoustic Guitars and Vocals). I play anthing but Rap! Into Blues these days! So far, I've only tried the Tele on it and it also sounds really really killer! I do Slide as well and it sounds nice and fat on this amp! Plus, you don't really need the stomp boxes (unless you want some metal sounding stuff). The only stomp I think I'll need is my Line 6 EchoPark.

Anyway, I liked this thing so much (and I think it might be a Collector's piece (which is weird for a Solid State) that I just bought another one on e-bay. I got the 310 as I want to see what it sounds like and try to hook them up stereo with the Echo.

As echo'd in these reviews, Roland is pretty dependable. I'm a Roland Poster Child. I have a Roland set of V-Drums, Roland Hand-Sonic, VG-88, DR-880, DR-670, GI-10 Midi Controller, Super JV1080 with 4 Expansion Boards, had a GT-3 and a DR-3 but sold them and had more Roland stuff that I had sold awhile back. Knock on Guitar Wood, I have never had problem. Their stuff is pretty rock solid.

I've actually called them a couple times for varius things and have had good resonse.

I've been playing guitar for over 35 years (although I was a full on Acoustic Guy and I was very good). When I got back into electrics, I first scored the VG-88 and a Strat with the special pickup for triggering the Synths and VG-88 as it seemed to give me all the guitar sounds and amps all in one. But . . . the better I got, the more of a Tone-Snob that I became. Close to 30 Guitars, stomp boxes, Mulit-FX, and 4 amps Later . . .
I think that one of the previous reviewers stated it perfectly when he says that this little thing is one of the best kept secrets around (although not so secret anymore). This is the best sounding SS I've heard (although not nearly as versatile as my Line 6 with all the effects and such). Just as perviosly stated: If you want that old Fender/Marshall Tone in a SS - this is it!

Two channel solid state amp with reverb and efects loop. Comes with a single Vintage 12 speaker. No footsweitch included. Separate EQ on both channels.

Reading over the last 5-6 reviews will give you a good picture of the sounds this amp is capable of. I find it interesting that the review previous to mine sort of downs the BC 60 because his VOX digital amp blows it away. This is-in my opinion-a revelatory observation. If you love that pure digital, modeling tone then you would probably not appreciate the BC 60's more analog, old-school tones. No way the BC 60 could reproduce the digital, monolythic, non-dynamic tones that modellers get. I doubt very seriously that any of the modellers could cop the BC 60's tone, either. So...If you like the old-school Fender / Marshall tone then you'll like the BC 60. If you go for a more processed tone...get a modeler.
Personally....I LOVE the BC 60's vibe...very tubish in sound and feel.

This amp has some nice features, a few very good points, and some shortcomings, from my point of view. I purchased it because of all the glowing reviews below as I was curious to try it out. I purchased it locally and it was in good condition and everything worked as it should. First off, let me state that I was comparing it to my current fave amp, a Vox AD50VT combo, to see if I preferred the Blues Cube. The short answer is no, the Vox absolutely blew it away. If you want to know why, read on. On it's own the Blues Cube has some very nice features, 2 channels, decent spring reverb (although not that deep even though it's a 3-spring model), very nice clean channel with 3 "crunch" selection preset switch, and the 2nd channel is more of an "overdrive" option with a boost switch. The whole preamp section has lots of gain, the EQ is sorely lacking on both channels, and the amp gets pretty loud. It appears to be very well made and rugged (no tubes of course), and it's pretty heavy at 48 lbs (I think that's the weight). It has a nice effects loop with controls for input/output gain, no headphone or external spkr out. Very nice blonde tolex and brown grill, knobs are sturdy, and Roland did an overall nice job. The shortcomings of this amp are the speaker and the complete lack of bottom end tone-wise. This wasn't apparent to me until I tried the Blue Cube side-by-side with my Vox AD50VT.

I tested this amp with my 73 stock strat. Again, plugging in to the Blues Cube at various gain stages and volume, and then plugging right into my Vox and approximating the same settings. The Roland is reasonably quiet (more quiet than the Vox actually) but had a lot less tonal character. It's quite a bit more on the treble side no matter where you put the EQ controls, and unfortunately it almost has a complete lack of lower end and bass enhancement. I think this is due to (1) the poor tonal range of the stock 12" speaker; (2) the open-back design of the cabinet (the Vox is closed back); and (3) the emphasis on highs and upper-mid range EQ, with no push or boost to any of the lower frequencies. The amp has a very good clean sound and overdrive as well, and before comparing it to the Vox I thought it sounded pretty good and usuable in a stage setting, but after playing the Vox it was easily apparent that (even without the amp modeling settings on the Vox), the bottom end, overall "push" and character of the Vox amp just eclipsed the Roland. There was just no comparison at all. And once I added in the various amp modeling capabilities of the Vox which changes the complete tonal character of the EQ and gain stages, the Roland didn't even come close. Not to say that it's a one-sound amp, it has some variation and is decent, but not great. I was expecting much more from it. Perhaps with a real good speaker replacement it would come up more to the tone range and capabilities of the Vox but in it's current stock form, it's almost like the whole bottom third of the tone range of the Strat was just lost and it sounded thin and lacking in punch compared to the Vox.

Built like ton of bricks, I wouldn't expect any issues. The amp was 9 years old and functioned perfectly.

Never dealt with Roland but believe they offer good service.

Been playing since the 1960s, tried and just about owned every amp I ever wanted to. Current rig is (2) Vox AD50VTs and using a Vox Tonelab as a preamp/efx input to the AD50VTs, with the amps set on a clean tone-flat setting. I think the Roland Blues Cube 60 would be a decent amp if the speaker is replaced with something that offers a lot more bottom. Now, I don't play heavy metal or high-power guitar music very often, being a classic rock type guy, but I expect an amp to be able to replicate a variety of tone and gain, with a round energetic sound, and the Roland Blues Cube just doesn't do it. Mods might do the trick, but why bother spending $200-300 to buy the amp and put in a high-quality speaker for another $100 when you can get a Vox AD50Vt and blow the Roland away with tone, versatility and gain. Now I admit that the Roland may be more reliable than the Vox (although I've had no issues with any of the Vox equipment I've owned for the past 5 years), but some other folks have had problems that are documented here on Harmony Central. My money still stands on the Vox modeling amps over this Roland - too bad I was hoping for more.......

What a shame they discontinued this amp. It IS the quitessential Fender sound on the clean channel (including the overdriven Fender sound, using crunch 1 & 2) and the quintessential old-school Marshall crunch (plus the JCM 800 C-R-U-N-C-H using the boost) on the gain channel. Great EQ packages for both channels, active presence, decent reverb and a cool solid-state/tube rectifier circuit. Reacts very well to pedals and the effects loop is adjustable with a "mix" control. Stock speaker is pretty cool...modeled after a greenback 30. Sixty LOUD watts. The pedals needed to switch channels and reverb (on-off) are conspicuously missing when these amps were purchased new...they are optional, actually! Got to swipe a point for that one.

Les Paul.
I play the blues, texas blues, chicago blues, old school blues, modern high gain blues, blues rock and straight ahead blues. This amp delivers all the blues tones a boy could ever want. All of 'em.
Pretty quiet actually. Dead quiet on clean...near dead quiet on gain channel.
This amp produces a quiet, clean, highly adjustable tone suitable for jazz, country, surf, old school rock, modern rock, high gain rock and (dare I say?) BLUES! Howz that for variety?
Clean stays clean to about 8 with the Les Paul. When it goes, it goes just like a Fender with a nice overdrive that's like a nice edge around the note instead of a mushy, fizzy sound. Roll the volume back and it cleans up. This amp IS touch sensitive to a large extent. Very similar to the dynamics of tubes.
The distortion is way adjustable, from a light overdrive to a flat out JCM 800 super-crunch.
If you love Fender and Marshall tones then you will LOVE this amp. Period.

I feel like I got a good deal on this amp at 220 bucks. It has a bad master volume knob-some of the early wiper is missing on the Master Volume taper and there is a nasty tear in the grillcloth that has been sewed up, butt ugly! I got a double button switch for the reverb and the channel switching that looks brand new. It's chrome and looks too cool. Actually it's the nicest part of this deal except for the TONE of this amp.
I started with the electric guitar in 1969 with a used Super Reverb. I've owned a lot of Fender products-Deluxes, Twins, Supers, Pros, Champs and Princetons. Never really played through Marshalls of my own but I like em. The Roland delivers a wide variety of tones mimicking both amps at decent volumes with a decent reverb for a little color. It reminds me of the good old days of my early playing career when I owned a bunch of different Fenders and played them out in clubs and bars. Great nostalgia factor for old timers like me. The Marshall side is a blast and sounds very authentic. Both channels sound way bigger than the size of the BC 60. I recently swapped the Vintage 12 for a Wizard by Eminence. Has about the same sound as the stock Vintage 12 but is almost twice as loud and has a bit more tight bottom end. Nice fit for a "Greenback" sounding replacement.
This amp will really surprise you with its excellent tone and flexibility. Although I primarily use it for blues, the gain channel's Marshall sound makes it lots of fun for doing Van Halen tunes like Panama, Hot for Teacher, Beautiful Girl...etc. Best SS amp I ever heard...beats a lot of the tube jobs, too!

Two separate channels with separate volumes and eq. Master volume and presence. Single 12: VINTAGE speaker. Nice package...very retro and classy looking. Needs a speaker out jack.

I bought this as a backup to my Fender Hot Rod DeVille. Now the DeVille is the backup amp because the Blues Cube 60 does Fender clean/dirty/very dirty (usig the 3 position crunch switch) on the clean channel and a perfect Marshall crunch on the other channel. Beats the pants off the DeVille for distortion and overdrive. I'd say the clean is about equal to the DeVille. This amp is as loud as my Hot Rod DeVille. The shame of it is that it also sound better. Goodbye Fender...welcome home Roland Blues Cube.
This amp does a wicked distortion if that's what you like. Sounds more like a Marshall than a Boogie but the OD is very smooth. It sounds more like a Marshall than a Marshall, actually!
I give this little guy top marks for sound. I'm a blues player. I use an Ibanez artcore and a Strat with this amp. The BC 60 does them proud.

Long time player. This is the quintessential tone for blues, either clean Fender Twin type or raunchy overdriven blues type. Great for classic rock, southern rock and even country rock.
For $260 plus another $35 to ship it, it's a steal.

Wow! 34 reveiws and a solid 9 + on the tone rating for this amp. Pretty darn good for any amp, let alone a solid stater!

Others have done very well in explaining the features, so I'll revert to them.

This is a feature laden amp though. Some very well thought out ideas came to fruition in this little beaut. Others...like the inability to foot-switch the two crunch settings and lack of a speaker out are unfathomable.

Still, the feature/dollar/tone factor earns this one a big fat 10 in my book.

This is where the BC-60 shines. It seems to be an equal opportunity employer treating teles, strats ,335's, Lesters, PRS's and 60's Japanese imports with the same tonal respect.

I play blues for the most part and this amp certainly lives up to it's moniker. Whatever style I play, ( jazz, blues, rock, gospel, clean, overdriven of fuzzed out whacky, commie pinko stuff ) the BC-60 excels. The clean headroom it provides ( for a single 12! ) is amazing. Loud ( clean loud ) enough for small to medium club dates.

This amp loves pedals. Overdrives, distortions, delays, you name it, it takes it. I have yet to use the well heeled effects loop,
( prefering to go straight in ) but many really seem to like it.

As others have implied, the clean channel does a smashing job of classic Fender Blackface tones. Others have cited the tube like feel of this amp. While it does have some "sponginess", I find it falls short in matching with a real tube amp. I don't hold it against the BC in any way however, cause as far as SS amps go, this is about the best I've encountered.

The overdrive channel seems to capture a nice Marshall flavor. Even though I rely on various dirt pedals for my overdrive tones, the occasions when I have used the BC's distortion channel were rewarded with killer crunch and searing lead tones. I keep telling myself to take the time to dial it in and use it as another tone option. So far though, myself has not listened!

I have a few very nice tube amps that sound wonderful. Even though it's not fair to compare a ss amp to a tube amp tone wise, I'm giving the BC a solid 9. Where the tubes have it over the BC is with the very fine distinctions between solid and semi-hollow bodies, single coils vs humbuckers....and most of all, various pickup settings. The tubes just have that something that is so lush and beautiful.

The BC-60 has nothing to be ashamed of though. I'm sure it sound a lot better than 80% of the crapo they pass off as tube amps these days.

Never so mush as a fart, blip or strange noise out of this thing. I have gigged with out a backup and it's never let me down.

??????????Never used them. This thing was out of warranty when I bought it!

In my not so humble opinion, one of the BEST ( in it's price range of course...it's certainly no Pritchard! )solid state amps of all time. I would love to have two and run them stereo....or three run in trereo. I've compared this thing to several tube amps and it seems closest to the Traynor VCY 40. Very similar in tone and power. Comparisons to a Deluxe are also on the money, although I find the tones more 6L6'ish that 6V6ish.

I see these amps carying on the Lab Series mantle and becoming somewhat of a collectors item in years to come.

This is Roland's take on a solid state, analog version of the tube amp tone machine. Two channels and reverb. Presence, boost and bright switches. Single "VINTAGE 12" speaker with a 75 watt rating. Tube Logic circuitry for the tube tone. Very nice blonde tolex with a nice brown grillcloth and top panel controls for a vintage vibe. Weighs in at around 40-45 pounds. Knobs go to 12.
Average features for a single 12" amp.

Well, as the name implies this is built to be a blues players amp. It does the job very effectively for either blues or classic rock of the 60s and 70s. These are the styles that I play. I had my doubts but after owning it (bought used) for two weeks I'm really high on this amp. Using a Les Paul and an Ibanez with sing-sing-hum pickups with her and a Boss compressor (which is set to minimum levels), plus a Crybaby wah-wah.
This amp really does sound like an overdriven Fender Deluxe on the clean channel, with the Crunch knob on 1. I'd defy any player to tell it apart from a Deluxe in a blind taste test. It's that good. Well, maybe the reverb isn't as good as Fender's but the tone is certainly there. The clean channel has three different levels of gain; Clean, Crunch 1 and Crunch 2. Clean is pretty damn clean to about 9 on the channel volume. It breaks up with a quick decay after that, just like a tube amp at the very edge of clean headroom. Very Fender-y clean, and Fender-y vintage with the bright switch on.
The overdriven Deluxe sound is what you get with Crunch 1. Play softly and get very-edge-of-clean-hedroom clean; dig in and get that classic Fender overdriven-clean sound. Chords can be strummed softly for a clean sound or strummed hard for overdrive. Fantastic dynamics for *ANY* amp, let alone a SS amp. It's uncanny how they managed to get it to respond to the pick attack but oh baby...they did it. Crunch 1 is very musical without any SS harshness. My favorite setting on this channel is definitly Crunch 1.
Crunch 2 is a little different and using the tone controls you can actually make this channel sound A LOT like an early plexi Marshall in overdrive. Lots and lots of bite but it retains clarity. Very versatile Clean channel.
Move to Channel 2 and get overdrive-through Van Halen brown sound. You can engage the Rectiflex button for SS or Tube rectifier "feel." The difference is audible at high gain levels; subtle at lower gain levels. If you like the insane crunch of the venerable JCM 800 you can have it with the SS setting; it's "bitingly fast", in-your-face crunch. Switch to the tube setting and the overdrive / distortion is smoother and more compressed. Engaging the boost seems to add a lot of upper mid content, mixed with a little more gain.
On both channels the harmonic content is there. How do they do it??!?!

Roland / Boss is reliable gear.

I've played since 1968. I own a lot of gear but the standouts are Silverfaced Twin, Blackfaced Deluxe, Peavey Classic 20, Peavey Bravo. I have some solid state amps too, including this one. I feel like I got a great price on this unit but I would buy another one for maybe 250 or so, and I probably will, eventually. I love the crunch modes, consistant tube tone without having to fiddle around with tone controls and volume settings, and the rectiflex switch plus the speaker sounds excellent. I hate that there is no footswitching for the crunch modes...bummer!
I compared the sound of the BC 60 to a new Trademark 60 by Tech 21, at the local Sam Ash. To my ears the BC 60 sounded more like an old, vintage tube amp, which I'm more accustomed to listening to than the more modern types. I was especially impressed with the Crunch settings on the clean channel and I think the reverb is just slightly better than the Tech 21 amp. To be fair, the Tech 21 has a lot going for it too; it just wasn't my personal favorite and they sell for a lot more, used.
The BC 60 would be perfect if there was a way to engage the crunch and boost settings from a footswitch. As for the rest of the features on this amp...I wouldn't change anything. Overall I'll give it a 9.

Year unknown.

I had my doubts about the versatility of this amp before I bought it sight unseen / unheard on eBay, but I am truly impressed with the features and range of tonal possibilities.

2 channels, effects loop, spring reverb (a little week), no HP jack, no speaker out jack, but a ton of useful knobs and switches like presence, pre and post gain on the lead channel, boost, bright switch, and I agree that a switched reverb is a little strange and indeed useless for my purposes.

I use the amp for weekend jams, and to drown out the voices in my head. Plenty of volume and headroom for jamming with a bass player, drummer and another guitarist.

I bought this used on eBay, and the previous owner replaced the stock speaker with a sweet Jensen P12N. I wish I could have played with the OEM speaker for comparison, but I'll have to imagine that this Jensen is better.

I could not believe my ears when I plugged in and turned it on. After I played through it with my ProTone Strat (best Strat under $2K I ever played) and a couple of my Telecasters, I put the covers back on my Traynor YCV20 and my Marshall, and put them in the closet. I don't want to sound too hyperbolic, but this is the finest sounding solid state amp I ever heard or played through. It's so much easier to dial exactly what I'm looking for in than my other amps, from squeaky Fender Deluxe clean to gritty overdriven Marshall stack tones.

The pre/post gain and the presence controls really work like they're suppoosed to, but the reverb isn't exactly what I would expect from a TUBE amp, but it's so close to correct I shouldn't even mention it.

I really can't find anything about this amp's sound and tonal range to complain about, and the predictability and ease of use of the solid state makes it my first choice from here on out.

Built like a tank, and Roland is known for it's quality, so I can't imagine anything worthy of note to mention here.

My favorite amp, and I doubt that this will change anytime soon. Perfect for my playing style - blues, 60's hard rock, and jazz. I couldn't be more pleased with it in very way.

I know the tube purists will doubt that any SS amp can reproduce what we all love about tube amps, but this amp gets as close to anything I've heard without a pedal farm. You have to hear it to believe it. It's also nice to not have to wonder if a tube is going to drop, or worry about all of the other potential drawbacks of a nice tube amp. Check the price, too. I'm going to get a second one just to have if something happens to this one.

Just bought it new from MsF.

I won't repeat all the same comments on features....Two ch switching from clean to as much crunch as you want. Has an effects loop with gain control. Reverb is good and "wet" when cranked up.

The reverb is switched, which is stupid, in my opinion. I wish the boost button on the lead chanel was switched instead....It's tuff to have it all! LOL

It's not real heavy. That's a GOOD thing for an old guy like me.

I use a Les Paul Standard and a Strat most of the time, but have several guitars of many varities.

I play traditional blues and some classic rock thrown in from time to time depending on the crowd.

I've been using a Blues Jr mic'd through the PA for a bit over a year. It's tone is great. Even better after I put a Weber in it, but it's always been a little light on headroom by the end of the night.

This BC60 has as much tone, and plenty of swat. Plus it has some pretty good crunch on the Lead chanel.

You can get all the chime you want for the Strat and all the balls you need for the Paul. I'm very happy with this little amp!

I'll have to get back to ya on that, but it seems to be put together pretty well. I wish the case was wood, but no rattles and is finished well.

It's new......

I've been playing since 62. I've played through them all....

This little amp has plenty of fat tone. It will sustain for ever. It will get great over-tone harmonics and is very sensitive to picking or plucking (I play with my fingers a lot). It has enough headroom to get you over the stage noise with no problem. This is a damn slick little amp!

I have been looking at them ever since I heard Mike Henderson play through one at a gig. I think MsF is the only place you can buy a new one now. It's a great little amp.

I'm glad I bought one!

While lacking the standard array of sci-fi digital effects one finds on most amps these days, the Blues Cube is rich in features that are actually useful for creating good tone. Two-level, authentic sounding crunch, pre and post volume controls, brightness, presence, reverb, effects loop with the ability to mix clean and effect sound as desired. And this doesn't even count the lead channel, which I hardly use. Like other users, I question why Roland wasted a footswitch jack on reverb switching. Surely there had to be a better use for that space on the panel.

Judging from the reviews, most users seem to like this amp a lot. So do I. Some people feel that the amp doesn't really respond to picking dynamics like a tube amp. I've had the opposite experience. Playing with SD jazz and HB humbuckers, and with the crunch knob on either setting, I can easily go from a clean sound to tube-like distortion just by digging in a little. While I have a tube amp, I prefer the Roland for performing because I can have tube-like sounds at any volume. I hardly ever use channel two, but I play mostly jazz and blues.

The amp is very ruggedly built. My only two reservations are (1) a single wire has come unsoldered twice (see customer support, below) and (2) the amp is made of particle board. But Roland fixed problem 1 and 2 hasn't actually caused any problems. But I don't think you can bang up a particle board cabinet like a plywood one and not expect to break it.

The main reason I'm writing this review is to compliment Roland's customer service operation. I notice that a lot of people who own this amp haven't needed service. I did. A wire leading from the reverb tank to the board broke twice at the board, once when Musician's Friend shipped it to me and once again when Roland fixed it and shipped it back to me. Both times Roland fixed the amp in a few days, no hassle at all. I wish all manufacturers took their warranties this seriously.

At $279, Musician's Friend's close-out price, this amp was a steal. Since it's discontinued, it might be hard to find another. If I couldn't replace it I would probably but a Fender Deluxe Reverb or a Traynor at more than twice the price.

not sure what year, but it was brand new in box from musicians fiend, i play rock, blues, country ,punk, oldies, whatever the job calls for!its a 2 channel affair, brite boost on the clean channel, and a 3 position crunch knob that goes from scalpel clean to od crunch, i really dig the 2nd setting, it seems to capture the fender deluxe sound! reverb and channel switching have two seperate jacks, can be switched by any simple one button pedal. the fx loop is great, it has a button for pedal or rack f/x, plus a wet/dry mix knob, i patch my dan-echo thru this, great slapback, and i leave it on most of the time!!, don't need headphones, my ears ring enough as it is!!, wish it had a speaker out jack, but thats easy to put in!, the o/d channel has that great old school crunch, and a boost button, which is cool, but i dont use it much. i use this amp at small clubs, it can get loud, 60 watts of solid state power. love the tan tolex, and the ox-blood speaker cloth--classy!!

i mainly use a reverend slingshot custom, with p-90's, and a g@l asat classic semi, and a customized ibanez rt-450, with tone zone and carvin ap11 pups. i get some buzz from my guitars, but not as much as some of my tube amps produce! i like the clean on od-2, i back off on guitar vol it cleans up--punch it and it spits out some pretty good blues and crunch rhythm!,the lead channel sounds x-cellent! it has that great zz top, old school crunch, just enough to make your leads sing, but not so much so that the fuzz washes out your fingers!! i think the older pickers know what im talkin about!, if your into 7-string death metal, YOU'RE IN THE WRONG REVIEW, DUDE!!" i covered the clean channel on features, this amp is for a player, not really a beginners amp!

any of the boss stuff i've ever owned, has been drop-dead reliable, i always bring amp backup, only a fool travels 60 miles to a gig and has his one and only amp blow mid-set!!, i always have a backup guitar also, after almost 37 years of playing, i have learned to"EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED"!! cover your ass yunguns!!!

have never dealt, but i heard good things about, i think a lot of the roland repair people sit around like the maytag repairman and wait for a trouble call!! arf! arf!

playing 37 years, have owned marshalls, mesas, ampegs, fenders, laneys, stacks, half stacks, randall, peavey,-- i'm 48 my wife says that if i had kept all that i have owned for the past 20 years, i could open up a good size music store, she's right!! i have an orange-ad-15 1-12 tube amp, a 64 gibson skylark tube amp, 2 roland cube 30's, light and great for quick gigs!, a vox pathfinder, and a line -6 flextone plus that i'm sellin very soon! for cheap!! i was going to get the bc-60 around 1995, but got a laney gh-50L head instead, the laney was a great sounding amp, loud as hell!, so now i'm scaling down for my ears sake, the bc-60 can get loud, but it does'nt leave mer with a huge noise hangover!!, i am going to take the vintage-30 out of my line-6 and put it in the bc-60, it most ceartainly deserves it! i heard roland stopped makin them, get them while they last, theyre about as close to a tube as you're gonna come! without all the broken glass!!

To add to my review just below, here is the website for my boost mod:

http://bcsixty.tripod.com/

First let me start with this: I have modded my BC-60 to have the reverb footswtich change the boost setting instead. I have never, ever turned on/off reverb via footswitch and found it to be quite useless. Boost is much more useful. IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE DETAILS ON THIS MOD THEN EMAIL ME: dolhop AT canada DOT com.

Excellent amp with plenty of features, most importantly individual EQ for each channel. Definitely could use a line-out and headphone out. The effects loop is really good providing the ability to mix the level with the straight through tone.

Great for blues, classic rock, jazz, and more. Not the heaviest sounding amp, but if you wanted heavy metal you wouldn't buy an amp with 'blues' in the name. The clean is nice and clean. This is definitely the closest you'll find to a tube sounding SS amp, but still isn't a tube amp.

Never, ever had a problem. I opened it up to mod it and it is well built.

Never had to deal with them.

This is definitely an amp you want in your arsenal - you will find a use for it in some way. One day be deemed a classic like the JC120, JCM800 or Twin.

Nice amp. Glowing review under "sound" category. But for features, one must wonder if Roland/Boss is the inspiration for "Dilbert". One theory on how this amp came into the marketplace. Roland Engineers: "We have almost perfected solid state tube emulation and here it is, the BC-60." Roland Marketing: Too simple, it'll never sell. Here, take 12 of these knobs and put them on it, and make some of them do something." Roland Engineers: Grumble, grumble. It has four distinct channels, varying degrees of clean to crunch, so we gave it a 4-channel footswitch." Roland Marketing: That'll never do. We have tons of these FS5-L footswitches on hand. Make two footswitch inputs for the FS5-L and make 2 of the 4 channels unswithable via footswitch. Make the footswitches a $25 option." Roland Engineers: "But people are always losing those little footswitches." Roland Marketing: "Now you're catching on..." Roland Engineers: "We'll at least we can make it indistructable." OK, seriously, you can't access 2 of the levels of "crunch" via footswitch. Roland's beautiful chorus is absent, as is a dedicated line out. BUT, this is meant to be pretty much a one trick pony, and it covers that pretty well. Plus, no tubes to worry about.

Guitars: LPDC Standard, American tele and strat. Use for all music except metal. It is a bit noisy with master volume turned up. It seems loud enough. Sound: wonderful. This thing oozes warmth, from clean thru crunch settings, especially with the single-coil guitars. Sounds a a bit tinny with the Les Paul, especially the high end. This amp does what it advertises. The "tube" sound is fairly consistent through the range of low to high volume, so you don't have to find a "sweet spot". There are many of them.

My Roland products have all been quite reliable.

This is a big minus. Wade through the "support" area on the web site to see how bad.

Been playing 30 years and have owned Roland/Boss products ranging from GR-33, to GT-3 to drum machines and even a JC-90. I have always been impressed with the many features of all their gear, until I come to the realization that very little of it is usable as a practical matter. But they always manage to have a few features that make items worth the purchase price. And with some thought, you can get around the fundatmental design flaws. The BC-60 is no exception. It does have a wonderful sound, especially for the price. I would buy again (with lower expectations of course).

The features are exactly what I'm looking for in an amp: two very good channels with separate EQ, consistent tone, good volume, and an effects loop with level control. Everything else here is icing on the cake: boost button for lead, bright button for clean, 3 settings on clean channel, pedal/line button for effects loop, accutronics spring reverb. Fantastic features for a combo at this price. Very gig friendly--I can just show up with a guitar, patch cable in addition to this amp for just about any gig and I'm good to go!

I already own a Blues Cube 30, 2x10--a little clearer in the clean channel, but not quite as warm in the lead channel. A great practice amp, but only drawback was the lack of independent EQ's for either channel. Luckily I found this Blues Cube 60 used for almost the same price as the 30. I'm a happy camper now that my two channels are EQ'd the way I like it--and with reverb too!

When comparing it to the stuff that Tech 21 puts out, i'd have to say it's not necessarily better, or worse, just different. The Tech 21 stuff has more of the definition that is characteristic of the amps they simulate. Personally, I love the Boogie and Marshall settings on my Trademark 10 (I run it into 2x12" celestions), but I keep coming back to the Blues Cubes for the clean. I prefer the Blues Cubes for gigs, while leaving the Tech 21 stuff for recording.

I'm really glad that everyone's out buying Line 6 gear and other digital modelling stuff--that's why I've been able to purchase my Blues Cubes used, and for a fraction of their original cost!

I generally use this without a back up. May have to replace the speaker at some point (since I've purchased used), but I don't see the rest of it going anytime soon.

N/A

I've been searching for one of these used for a while, and I'm glad I found it. For me, the fewer the stompboxes, the better--I like the sound of my guitar straight into the amp. This suits my setup just fine.

Amp is 60 watts of solid state. I beleive made in 95. I have found it able to cover all types of music with a few adaptations. It has effects loops that I run a danelectro echo through. IT sounds great and is the best echo pedal i have found and I looked at many. Delays, not distortions should be run through the effects loop. I also run an ibanez DL 10 delay which is the coolest rockabily sound I have ever heard!
I like others wish the crunch had a foot switch but it does have channel swtiching for lead. THIS IS IMPORTANT! I use a C-tech Sonny boy. This pedal is GREAT through this and other solid state amps. The sonny boy is not as good through tubes. This make this amp very versatile. I also put a TS-9 with Chip in front of that and I have BB King, Eric, Carlos, Stevie ect in one amp. I gig with one amp now. For me it has more than enough power. If you need more you play too loud or your drummer plays too loud. Find Tone, Mic it. I give it 9 cause I wanted a headphone jack.

I play a ventura 335 with Sonnet 180's(Gibson Replacement?)pickups. I also play a strat with all seymour duncans,(duckbucker neck, vintage staggered, middle, Hot rail bridge). Both guitars sound great. The 335 barks and howls and the strat is smooth and silky. It is very quiet and the reason I went to this amp is that I found TUBES to be elastic. I found them very difficult to DIAL in the sound and keep it. Therefore I searched for the closest thing. This is it. This is not "Real tube emulation" as one saleman told me" It is not trying to be a blackface and a British vox at the same time and failing at both. It is simply a warm, good feeling amp.
IT IS CLEAN. My feeling is you can always dirty an amp but how many clean footpedals can you find? Therefore if you want the amp to be all things you have to get a few pedals(listed above). The built in distortion is to me like all built in amp distortions, fuzzy at best. The lead channel with the TS-9 gives great Santana but I use more pedal gain then the amp. The amp distortion gets too fuzzy. The Good News is that you can find your tone at home at low volume, and this amp sounds great at low late night volume, and when you turn up it just sounds better. I give it 8 due to honestly I will not use lead channel much.

I went Solid State for two reasons. I either had tube failure or played worrying when would they go or were they giving me all they had. Second, I felt that the tube amps had to be loud to sound good. Then the drummer would get hotter and of course a bass player does not even need a reason to turn up, they just do. Therefore, I bought a used solid state and expect to live in harmony. I bought it from a blues man in Chicago who had in alot of clubs, and it shows. But it still sounds great. It makes me want to play, more.

Not had to call or email. I am not one who is angry that it did not come with a footpedal. I am thankful there is one I can buy, and will.

I have been playing for nearly thirty years. I have owned a 70's princeton, 70's Super Reverb, Reveb II, Concert(Riveria) and various other crate,peavey and even a Kustom lead 1 which is another great solid state amp. But of all these nice amps, if the bc 60 were stolen I would go find another.

If you get this amp and it is too mellow, buy the C-tech sonny boy. They will practically give you one on ebay or in a store. Play with it, work with it and you will love it. If you play metal you probably stopped ready a long time ago. As I approach 40 I realize you can always turn up. No one wants to turn down. Playing too loud effects your vocalist, your ears, and in my humble opionion, the soul of the music. Therefore buy this amp and you will make beautiful music together, if you let it.
Finally, even though I do not play loud, this dude will go there. If not get a hot rod deluxe,deville and bleed those ears.

This amp has all the button, switches and dials for you to fiddle with. The combo channels offer a wide variety of sounds and support subtle variance especially on clean. This solid state amp will blow any house down for an attractive price. This is no beginners amp.

I use a les paul and a semi-12 string through this amp. Whack it on to overdrive and turn those knobs to 12. The volume is easily controlled via the pre-amp. I've never had this amp past 5 on the master volume at home, but it doesn't start rocking until you go past 8 on the dial. One problem occurs for me on channel switching. You may find it difficult to match volumes on both channels without a pedal. Other wise you could almost be fooled it was a $700 valve amp.

No worries. I double soldered speaker connections as this amp shakes at high volume!

12 month warranty, free Roland magazine. Can complain

If you have a budget, been playing a while and wanna impress people, buy this amp if you can find one these days

You know the features from other post, so I will just go on down to the SOUNDS!

I bought this amp through eBay, because I have seen the reviews on it, and wanted to find a smaller amp for small gigs! I normally play through a 65 re-issue Twin Reverb, which is too loud for small club gigs! Everyone is right! This little solid state amp will fool the best tube conissours! It is meaty as hell, with plenty of EQ and headroom! I hate to admit that I ever owned a Peavey Bandit, at one time but this amp DOES NOT fit into the cheesy PEAVEY catagory! I would throw it up against the best tube amps and dare anyone to tell me that it sounds like a solid state amp! The Rectifex circuit has 2 modes(Diode and Tube). The Diode mode is punchy and the tube mode seems to add some compression beef to it!
I play a Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 Soapbar with 3 P-90's in it, and a American 57 Re-issue Strat with EMG's! My favorite channel is the CLEAN channel, which CAN get the Black Face Deluxe tones and more! I use pedals(Barber Tone Pump, 808 Modded TS-9 Tube Screamer, and a Boss DD-3 Delay and Boss Stereo Chorus), and this amp is VERY pedal friendly, which most solid state amps are not! The Distortion channel will definately rock ala Eddie Van Halen! It has that cranked Plexi Brown tone and more! This amp is definately geared for any kind of music except for Hardcore/Mosh/Thrash stuff! It is plenty loud for small/medium club gigs, with plenty of volume to spare!

Had it for 2 weeks and no problems as of yet!

Don't know?

I used it at one of our favorite clubs that we play, this past weekend and had some buddies set in and play on it! They were freaked! One said that he almost bought one awhile back just because of the reviews that he has seen on it! He plays a Dr. Z Mazeratti, and said that this amp has more ooomph than it does! I would like to get another one, just so I could have 2 to run for large venues! It SMOKES our other guitar players Hot Rod DeVille 2x12! I like it!!!

Channel for clean, channel for dirt. Each has three-band EQ. The clean channel has three settings for extra "crunch" to simulate the slightly overdriven sound of a tube amp (crunch can be added or removed to taste). Clean channel also has a "bright" switch which, as you can guess, adds to the brightness of the tone. Dirt channel has the usual pre/post volume settings and a "boost" switch to add gain (taking the sound from overdriven to a thicker, more modern distortion). Also included is an interesting switch that selects emulation of diode or tube sounds (clever thing, makes for a very distinct sound). Master presence, reverb and volume. Effects loop with mix settings as well.

Could have used an external footswitch to change between "crunch", but even more important is the lack of a line out or speaker out jack. Still an excellent amp with a wide range of features, but these things would have been nice.

I have several guitars ranging from single coils to humbuckers, strat sounds and Les Paul sounds and I can say that this amp really works well with all of them. It brings out the ringing jazz sounds of the neck pickup and the Mark Knopfler sounds of the strat. It digs in like a good blues amp should on the high gain stuff and reminds me of a lot of Texas Blues player, only with a bit more gain if you decide you want to dial that up.

I play a combination of styles ranging from modern metal, i.e. Tool or Deftones to folk and funk. This amplifier is not meant to create the tone of a "Warhead" amp head, but even so it can give a broad, broad range of sounds and colors. It's my belief that you can only reasonably ask for a few good sounds out of every amp, and if you get one good clean and one good dirt, that's pretty fair. This amplifier does that, with the bonus of a few tones in between as well. I intend to add a compressor before the pre-amp to bring out some of the smooth sustain (the amp isn't lacking, mind you: The music styles I play just demand that I go this route) and an equalizer in the effects loop to tweak the tones. The Blues Cube hangs in there nicely at high volumes as well: The clean channel doesn't break up unless you've turned on the "crunch" settings for it to do so.

I have noticed no particular problems with the amp being hissy or noisy, but I'm lacking for good cables at the moment... so if I replace those I may find that the noise level is uncommonly low: I just can't say yet.

As for the solid state/tube discussion: I tried this amplifier out in a music store in Toronto. After being shown a Peavey that the salesman thought would be perfect (man, was he wrong), he plugged me into this. My friend wandered over while I was playing and I explained to him that this was a better amp because it was a tube amp, and the difference in the tone was obvious. The salesman corrected me and I nearly fell over: It's all solid state. This sounds like a tube amp to me, but after using a Fender Blackface for many years I can say that this is much, much preferable - no headaches with flaky tubes, no inconsistencies in the tone and guess what? It sounds every bit as good.

I would have personally preferred if this was a closed-back amp, as I like the little extra compression, but as a blues amp (which was the obvious intention) it's probably better without.

I've only had this amplifier for a week, so I shouldn't comment on its dependability. The construction is solid and obviously had quality in mind.

Never had to deal with customer support. Hopefully I never will.

I, myself, have been playing for about 17 years and I own a wide range of guitars and effects processors. I chose this amplifier because I wanted tube-style warmth but solid-state flexibility. I used to use Jazz Chorus amps for the cleanliness and then I moved to a Fender Blackface for the warmth, but neither of them could give me everything I needed (a nice dirt and a nice clean. Is that too much to ask?) In addition, I wanted the 12 inch speaker and I also want that effects loop. There's lots to love about this thing and very little that you can hate: Sound, features, performance and even looks are really good. If it were stolen I'd replace it in a heartbeat.

The features, when you consider the cost, are amazing. You couldn't really ask for more without paying twice as much. Unless you have extremely specific amplification needs (for example, you need Slayer-grade distortion) then it's hard to see how this amplifier wouldn't serve your needs well.

I wish it was a little lighter and I wish it had casters. It's a bit of a pig to move around, but I wouldn't complain: Moving a stack of 4X12s is a lot more of a hassle.

The value is excellent. I'd think twice before trading this amp for another one, even those that cost twice as much.

Two Channels, Lead & Normal, Reverb, Effects Loop, two "cunch" settings on normal channel, Pre/post volume, master volume, reverb control, presence, effects control, VERY COMPREHENSIVE easy to use controls..and they all work!

I only rate the amp an 8 because you hHave to get a footswitch, doesnt come with one, but needs it, and the amp could also use a speaker out jack for extension cabinet.

Everything from crisp fendery, chimey clean to the woman tone, you all think only saturated tubes can yield. I haven't gone any further yet, but there are choices of rectifier settings for those of you who dont really want your guitar to sound like one.

I use a POD as my main tone/efxo control, with a vox wah infron of everything,and its a great match to this tube-logic, solid state amp.

The 12 inch speaker gives a rich, warm tone.




Plenty loud at 60 watts.

just got it in trade, one previous owner,,,seems solid as a rock.

Roland, when needed....ands so far its only been for info...no repairs..has been top notch.

GREAT VALUE, GREAT SOUND, SOLID, PORTABLE, VERSATILE, LOUD ENOUGH,

Two channel, 60 watt, solid state amp. It has two types of crunch built into the clean channel, along with a bright switch. Pity, however, that the crunch sounds are not foot-switchable. Really wish they were, because they sound very good, espacially crunch 1, for extra boost.
This amp has separate tone controls for clean and drive, which is a plus.
There are a couple of things i miss.
1. line out
2. speaker out. This amp sounds good, so i would love to try hooking a external cab up to it.
3. Footswitchable crunc, as mentioned
4. footswitchable loop off/on

But hey I guess I can't demand the works in a affordable amp like this. Or?

I use this amp as a practice amp, and for smaller gigs. I have been surprise how many gigs I can take this to, and avoid schlepping my Mesa head and cab. It is loud enough for most gigs, and I don't feel I am compromising to much on sound either.

Firstly, I actually think this amp is maybe the best sounding solid-state amp I have used. Maybe not for hardcore overdrive stuff, but certainly for jazz, blues, funk, pop etc.
I use two different guitars with this amp; a Blade R4 with EMG's, and a Gibson ES-175. The amp fits them both very well. With the 175 (for jazz) it has that Polytone sound, even though it gets a bit boomy in the bass register sometimes. A very good jazz amp anyway.
With single coil EMG's it sounds sweet, twangy, and well defined. Damn loud for a single 12 inch speaker.
I am a little unhappy about the hiss that i can't seem to avoid. I would have expected that in a tube amp, but it's a bit much for a SS. Keep the master volume as low as possible, and rather crank the preamp.
Clean channel is beautiful and, the overdriev channel is excellent for that crispy blues drive. Wouldn't take it to a rock gig without a stompbox for more overdrive.
I have recorded with this amp a couple of times, and it likes being in the studio. Results were very good, and i actually ended up using it for the whole session; never got to use the Fender Bassman that was the original plan.

It is build like a tank; I am not expecting any problems. Never had problems with Roland amps before either.
One of the resons i got this was that I wanted a solidstate amp as a backup/smaller gigs amp and be able to rely on it. Tube amp are greats, but as you all know, there can be some emergencies when using tube amps, and it's good to have a solidstate you know is going to work when you turn it on. I trust this amp.

Never dealt with the company

I have been playing for 10 years and play professionally. My main amp is Mesa Boogie Mark III and Line 6 cab, and I also have a Mesa +22, which is about the same size as this but requires more attention and is less reliable. This amp is perfect as a backup, and for smaller gigs. (as a matter of fact, I have been using it a lot)
Love the sound of this thing, even though i like tube amps better. Thing is, this amp actually comes quite close.
If it was stolen, I would consider getting a new one, or something very similar. Tried the 3x12 version, which sounded great, but sort of defies the purpose since i wanted something small.

I bought the amp 04/2002 on the internet based on review and downloaded owners manual. Risky, but no local dealers had a Blues Cube to demo. I was looking for a responsive and flexible amp, big enough to do club dates but not so heavy as to throw my back out. I think I found it. It's solid state 60 watts, 1x12", two channels - each w/ 3 bands of EQ - global reverb and presence, effects loop and switchable rectifier (solid state and tube) sounds. Quite loud enough for most gigs, and the effects loop can be used as a line out to the board for larger venues. It looks nice, too. Cream colored Tolex, brown grill cloth. A pleasant change from the black amps that were au rigor for so long.

I had to buy a Boss FS-5L foot pedal and cable seperately for hands free channel swtiching. Should be included. Also would like to have a cover at least available, if not included. Any serious roadworker is going to drop it in a road case for travel but say you have a two week sit down gig - you're going to want to put a cover over it during the day.

I run a customized '64 Tele w/ DiMarzio Super Dist at the neck, Lawrence blade 'bucker at the bridge, F.A.A.S. piezo in the bridge, and Lawrence Q Filter on the tone control. I'm primarily a blues/jazz player but if the gig calls for it, country to metal is in my repertoire. For my applications, the Blues Cube is the best kept secret in guitar amps. Though solid state, it is easily as responsive as most tube units. Better than many. Dig in with your pick and it SPEAKS, back off and it croons. It's name says it, this is a BLUES amp. It'll clean up to do jazz and country. Tweak it and you can do very serviceable classic rock. Crank the "lead" channel distortion and easily do some shredding (you get some noise, but it's 70? db below the guitar so it's not an issue). You want death metal distortion - buy a pedal. But Texas road house blues? Now we're talkin'!

Solid! No loose screws or nuts. No gaps in the joints or Tolex. Crank it up - no rattles. Roland has a great reputation for quality. This amp is true to that rep.

No need of support so far.

People rhapsodize about how great tube amps sound. Not always! I've worked road gigs, sit-downs and studio since 1971. I've either played, or had sidemen that played, Fenders (including Deluxe, Princeton, Twin, Bassman, Dual Showman, Super Reverb) Ampeg (sweet), Sunn, Marshall, Supra and Vox (wretch!). Some sounded good, some displeased me greatly. Your sound is a combination of THE AMP, THE GUITAR AND THE PLAYER! An over-priced tube amp is no guarantee of great sound. Tube amps require maintenance. Ever broken a tube on load-out and had to scramble for a 6L6GC in Moscow, Idaho on a Sunday morning? Or had your last 12AX7 crap out in mid set? Not fun. The Blues Cube is a well built, practical, versatile amp for a working (or would-be working) picker. It excells in a variety of blues/rock sounds but serves well in other styles. A good investment.

As the other reviewers wrote, this Roland BC-60-1x12 is a very versatile amp. I've owned it almost three years now, and tend to use it more for recording than my JCM 900-2500 1960A short stack or my vintage 1959 Tremolux, simply because it's smaller, sounds damn good and is easier to move. If I need visual impact for a live gig, I'll haul the Marshall and/or Fender, but if I'm doing a session gig where only the sound counts, I'll take my BC-60-1x12 and save the cartage expense.

I took the time to try to find my favorite Marshall and Fender tones (I actually did A/B comparisons with my Marshall and Fender amps), and was very impressed with how close I was able to come with this little amp. Yeah, yeah... it isn't everything to everyone, but for me, this inexpensive little amp turned out to be more than a practice amp for me. For the most part, it gets me to 95% of the sounds that I use. My guitars are Strats, teles, an SG and a LP. It's also capable of being very loud and can keep up with most other amps in a club gig setting.

Personally, I've never had a failure with my amp. Unfortunately, I know three other players that bought this amp on my recommendation and all three had major failures with theirs. In two cases, Roland replaced the amps; the third person was so put off with the failure (at a gig, with no backup amp) and the cost of repairing a 4 month old amp that he shoved it into a corner and went back to his vintage Fender amps. I hope this isn't a common situation. By the way - none of these guys mistreated their amps... they just crapped out in their living rooms...

Oh yeah... when I received my amp, I pulled it out of the undamaged box and found a dent in the the metal chassis and in the front edge of the wood cabinet. No biggie... that's rock-n-roll.

I haven't had to contact Roland customer support yet for my amp, but my other three friends did. Since Roland amps are warranted for only 90 days, one of my three friends was faced with an amp that was barely 4 months old, failed at a gig, and will cost him money to have it repaired. They all said the customer support folks were nice, but they'll probably never buy another Roland amp "because of the crappy quality".

Like I said, I like this little amp because it was fairly inexpensive and sounds way better than any other solid state amp I've used. It's also more protable than my "real" amps, but it's a HEAVY little amp; way heavier than it would have been if the cabinet had been made of plywood or pine instead of MDF.

60W, 1X12" speaker, Solid State amp with 2 footswitchable channels and reverb. On the clean channel there is a crunch 1 and 2 setting. It has a Rectiflex tube and diode selector. EFX loop. Master volume, presense and effect control. There is a bright switch on the Normal Channel and a Boost on the Lead Channel. It does not come with a footswitch. The recommended one is the Boss FS-5L but an a/b will work just fine. Roland doesn't make a cover for it. Minor irritant.

Lets start by saying that one amp doesn't do all. Not the BC-60, not the Twin or even the Plexi. No- I'm not one of those people who thinks that my amp is the best amp in the world (it's not) and nobody elses is any good. There are many other amps on my shopping list. Maybe a Super Reverb or a Rect-o-Verb (to name a couple) mmmmmm!!! Also,remember this: Good equipment is essential but it is the player (you), that makes it happen! You can't just plug into Jimmy Page's amp and sound like Jimmy Page! Got it!!! OK. The Blues Cube is not a modeling amp. It is an amp that gives you both a very nice clean and a nice overdriven sound (very bleusy). I've had this amp for a while and wanted to hear several players and guitars in it before writing this review. It is well suited for Classic Rock, Blues and Country. If you are into metal, it's not for you. It isn't as gainey as a Marshall or Peavey. Is it a tubey sounding as the best tube amp in town??? No. The Crunch selectors do however, give it that outdoor classic overdriven sound. Hat's off to ya if you find better on a SS amp. The good news there, is that it maintains the overdriven level throughout the volume range. This can be an advantage over a tube amp that doesn't quite overdrive enough at low volume or one that gets too distorted at high volume. So far,I've heard it played with 2 Tele's, 3 Strats, 2 SG's, a PRS and a very sweet Les Paul. They all sounded different but very nice in it. My axe is a modified Mex Tele with Vintage Noiseless pickups. The Cube is a loud one speaker amp that Rocks! It will do small gigs quite well. Very nice reverb too. There have been several pedals played through it. They all sounded nice as advertized. My personal favorite being the Boss BD-2. This really is a very nice combo amp with a couple of terrific sounds. Nothing more, nothing less. It does not do all!!!!!

It's a Roland. No Problamas so far!

The amp arrived in an unblemished box. When I opened it, one of the corners was dented. I called Customer Support on a Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, the new part was at my doorstep. Doesn't get much better than that!! They even offered to have a dealer replace it for me.
Now, just for fun!!! The Roland website was the absolute worst in the business. You couldn't find the Cube under MI Amplifiers. It took about 4 or 5 clicks to get to it. Go figure!!!! Congrats to Roland on the new website! It is much better but it does run a little slow even with cable. A little tweak is in order. Other than that, very nice.

I've been around for a long time. There are many outstanding amps out there. If you are hung on one particular sound, there's no doubt that you should get the amp that delivers it. Is the BC-60 better than your Tripple Rectifier? Probably not. Is your Vox AC/30 better than your 59 Bassman? Maybe not. This is simply a good little amp that sounds really nice with a good player in it. I give it an overall 10 not because it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but because it is a good sounding and versitile amp. Outstanding value! Roland- Make a cover for it, will ya????

30 watt solid state amp, clean and lead channels.

I just recieved this amp and have run through it with an Epipone Les Paul. Overall, it is not as good as I would have thought based on the reviews here. The clean channel is not exceptional in tone, and the lead channel is more suited to Hendrix type distorted sounds, than warm tube overdrive that I was looking for.

On the plus side, it is plenty loud, and it seems to handle bass notes very well. It could be effective as a bass and/or rhythm guitar amp.

I give it a 7 for price/performance ratio.

Since it is a solid-state, it is probably reliable for 2-3 years or so.

N/A

It has a very cheap price, and basically you get a cheap amp for what you pay. It is not a horrible product by any means, but it lacks beautiful tone. If you are looking for warm jazz or sweet Allman Brothers type sound, this amp will not deliver. If you need a reliable bass/rhythm amp, or you're into Hendrix give it a shot, for the price it is worth it.

This two channel amp has a wide variety of settings to choose from. I have been very impressed with the Jazz sound.It seems to be a flatter response, along the lines of a polytone, which is what I was hoping for.

I'm using a Heritage archtop ( I play in a big band) and a Fender Strat with three humbucker pickups. The woody tone and characteristics of my archtop are well projected by this amp. I haven't found a setting with my Strat that blows me away, soI probably need to do some eq adjustments to improve the sound.

This amp is well constructed. The grille cloth on mine is torn in two places, but it still looks good. I think the overall appearance is meant to bring back memories of Fender amps from the past, but it is modern enough looking to have its own identity.

Have not ordered anything yet for this amp.

I've been playing a long time, and I feel this is a very portable, durable, and versatile amp

The features of this amp have been pretty well described in the preceding reviews, so I won't dwell on them here. Suffice to say that the controls allow a wide amount of versatility to this amp. Mine is a single 12" speaker model.

I bought this amp to use mainly for playing jazz and as a prectice amp. I have a Trace Elliot Bonneville tube amp as well. As it turns out, I mostly find myself plugging into the Roland these days. They claim that the Tube Logic circuitry will emulate a tube amp, but trust me, if you compare this side by side with a tube amp, the difference is clearly obvious. That said, for the money, this amp is one hell of a bargain. I play either a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion of a Les Paul DC Standard through this amp, and I am constantly receiving compliments on how nice the tone is. The reverb is subtle but effective, and the tone is clear and warm. Using the crunch switch, you can introduce a bit of distortion, or just add fatness to the sound. The effects loop is nicely designed and works great with any effects I've tried. It has a switch that allows you to match the level to the effects you're using, nice. It's light, easy to carry around and certainly loud enough for any of the jazz gigs I play. Bottom line, I love this little amp, it does exactly what I want. If you're after a hi-gain type of distortion, look elsewhere, this isn't the amp you want.

Seems pretty well designed. I've heard that the pots are a bit flimsy, so I take care not to bump them when transporting the amp. The little chrome cap/indicators on top of the knobs kept falling out. I superglued all of them and that took care of that issue. No problems to report.

Never dealt with them, but I would expect that they would stand behind their products.

I've been playing for over 35 years now - these days I'm mostly into jazz so this fits the bill perfectly until I can get my hands on an Evans amp. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, bang for the buck is awesome. The tube emulation definitely lends a nice feel to the amp though as I mentioned, it's not a real tube sound (most obvious when you dial in some distortion, my Trace Elliot blows it away crunchwise). These can be had for under $300 bucks these days, and I highly recommend them if you're looking for a nice amp for jazz, rhythm tasks, or non-shredder solo type stuff.

perfect small amp. Like everyone else has said, sounds wonderful.

Guitars: strat & tele. play classic rock- style & blues & jazz.
I use two of these routed through an effects pedal. awesome sounds.
I use only one with no pedals for practice, and I am never disappointed with the sound of these amps.

have not had a problem. based upon my experience it would rate a 10 but I have two amps out of probably thousands. I will give it a 10 only because I also have a Roland K-500 [keyboards] and an old Roland Spirit 50, neither of which have ever failed me. Roland seem to be well made.

never needed, no idea.

been playing 22 years, owned lots of amps, like this one as well or better than any I had or played through. For the price I feel you can't do better. I did have a hard time finding a dealer that carried these amps for some reason, and they are not advertised at Roland's official site, and I can't figure out why this is!

Not sure what year. Probably the first year Roland made them. Bought it used at a pawn shop. I won't waste your time with the features as the other gear junkies have laid it out much better than my fart infested brain could. I do wish it had an exra speaker out to drive a larger cab or additional 12, but at the price I paid for it and what I use it for, I can't complain! I quit playing out several years ago ( although I still do an gig her and there ) so I just crank her in the house and a jam here once in a while.

I use the obligitory strat style guitar with carvin p/u's. I play blues, pop, rock, C&W, altered tunings, whatever floats my boat when I plug in. This amp has a very nice slice to it. It can get clean or mean. I use it mostly on the clean channel and play with the crunch buttons. It seams most of the reviews on this amp do not like the crunch settings. I do! I like them much more that the distorted side. The distortion sounds thin and muddy to my ears, while the crunch settings add a very musical grit to my sound. I get the disotrted sounds with a real tube and a fab tone. Very quite amp. I have always seemed to have a solid state amp. Not by choice, but it seems like thats waht I always wound up with. Out of all the SS amps I have had, this is by far the best sounding. Very warm and textured. I like it! I've only played two gigs with it, but It really shined when the volume knob was turned up!! Again, I used the clean channel with the crunch settings and dolffed the distortion side, using my pedals when the need arose.

I always ( 20 plus years ) giged without a backup and only had one amp ( a peavy artist ) fail me. and that was because of the wiring in the joint, not the fault of the amp. Lucky forme a kind patron left the bar and returned with a black face super reverb for me to finish pout the night with! Now, if I giged again, I would take my Rockman or something as a spare. But I do not forsee any problems with this amp. It is very well built.

Never dealt with Roland. Bouth it used so NO WARRANTY!!

Benn playing 31 years. I own or have owned just about everything ( except a fine tube amp )in that time. Currently, the strat, a tele, ovation, silvertone....the real tube, boss CE3 chorus, delay, wha, fab tone, Korg G3 blah blah blah....I would like to upgrade, but i can't justify it with the piddly ass amount I play anymore. I had to by the amp because I had read some good reviews and it was such a steal at the pawn shop. The sucker was like brand new. I had seen it in mail order catologs for $400 ( maybe a little less, can't remember) so I though $150 was a freakin steal. If it broke, I think I would pruchase a trademark 60 ( see, that solid state thing again!!)
a line 6 might be nice...but I usually go with one or tow or three sounds and thats it. so the trademark sounds like it woul fill the bill. although, I certainly would consider this amp again. I just doubt I would find such a deal on it. I know they are discountinued. Helmer Music in Federal Way Washington bought the remaining ( so they say ) stock from Roland. so if anyone out there is looking for one, let me know and I'll hook you up with their number. Alos, if anyone wants to trad a trademark 60 for mine...let me know!!!

This is a two channel solid state amp featuring Roland's patented "Tube Logic" sound...another way of saying "solid state made to sound as close as possible to tubes" Each channel has its own set of controls for vol, treb, mid, bass. The clean side has 3 settings, normal, boost 1, and boost 2...which add two steps of overdrive over the clean. The distortion side has a boot function to adds more gain. There is a shared Master Vol., Reverb and Presence section as well as an effects loop with level control and setting for pedal/rack type effects. The speaker is one 12" Roland "vintage" voiced that is supposedly modeled after Celestion Greenbacks...don't know how close it is but it does a nice job, I may swap it out for a real Celestion later. I give the amp a 7 in the category due to several factors: no footswitch (its "optional"..that's BS, the crunch modes on the clean side are excellent yet they are not footswitchable..a bit of a set back, and there is no output for an external speaker. If Roland had really done their homework they would have given the 60 watt little screamer an ext speaker jack..I'd love to hear this amp through a 2nd 1X12 or a nice cabinet. Other than those gripes this amp has a lot more going for it than most high end amps when it comes to features and versatility.

First off let me say that I love tubes but have gotten tired of the inconsistant quality and tone...even the boasted Groove Tubes have left me wondering at times...maybe its my ears?! This amp give a good tube combo a run for the money, especially with humbuckers which I really think it seems to be voiced more for especially on the dirty channel. I tried the Marshall Valvestate line and they were some of the most sterile and harsh amps I have ever heard!! Total CRAP at any usuable volume. The best way I can decribe my style is punk with a blusey edge...The Damned meets The Rolling Stones. I also like lean towards some textured moody stuff like Radiohead and The Cure. I use a 70's Gibson SG fitted with Schaller Golden 50's (which by the way are pretty microphonic and are coming outta this guitar asap) This amp seems to be able to cover most of the bases I need. The clean side is very nice. I prefer the bright switch off for a nice fat clean sound with a touch of reverb. The cruch settings are also nice on this channel...I can get a nice tone ala' Stone's "Gimme Shelter" type. Cranking the volume up adds more thickness and warmth to this effect...very nice. The dirty side is great as long as you don't go nuts with the presence or treble...there is plenty on tap but the controls are very responsive so a little goes a long way. This might be another result of these shitty Schaller's as well...when I played this amp in the store with an Les Paul and an Epi Del Ray I got a really smooth, warm, fat distortion with gobs of very smooth compressed sustain....which is why I bought this amp. I don't get the same effect with my pickups...so lesson learned...you get what you pay for. Say NO to Schallers!! Microphonic Hell! The boost switch is a very nice feature...I usually set the drive at around 6 and kick in the boost and don't need much more..there is plenty of dirt. The only thing I would not recommmend this amp for is metal or thrash...yes there is tons of gain, but its smooth and warm, not the scooped out fuzzy metal tone. For a solid state this amp REALLY kicks. Its plenty loud but I don't know how it would hold up for a sizable gig. I use it in the house for practice and recording and it has more than enough volume for those uses. Again though...an ext spkr jack would give you more bang, how much is that to ask for?!?

Seems to be very sturdy. Very solid and heavy for a little 1X12. I have only had it a week so that is yet to be seen...but most Roland products are tough.

Haven't had any contact. Roland does have a pretty informative website.

I have been playing for 11 years and like I said before I swore by tube amps but after too many JCM 800's blowing their phase inverter I was fed up. This amp gives you a very "tube" sound when used with the right pickups and the controls are tweaked right. I got instant satisfaction out of this amp. I tried the Valvestates and Line6, this amp sounded closer to a Marshall than the damn valvestates and the Line6 requires you to spend another $200 on the damn footboard! I owned a Flextone for a month or so and while it sounded good it seemed to suffer from a case of "a little of everything and a whole lot of nothing" if you ask me. The Roland BC50 is a great basic amp that's loaded with usable features. Again my only gripes are the footswitches and the lack of a spkr jack.

As mentioned previously, this is a 2 channel 60 watt solid state amp. It has 1 12" speaker. Channel switching can be controlled by a footswitch, or off the panel. Both channels have bass, med and treble controls which many amps don't offer. The clean channel has an overdrive option switch which is not controlled by the pedal - intersting but not too uesful. The overdrive channel offers a lot of tonal possibilities from smooth to rough, and can rival most tube amps. There is a 'tube' or 'solid state' push button on the control panel that does slightly alter the attack, and it's something I've never seen before. My biggest beef is the bizarre input jack configuration - only one guitar input, but two footpedal inputs (channel switch & reverb) - why? Lots of unusual features on this amp.

I play a Hag 335, Fender Strat, and a 175 thru it. They all sound great. The BC60 is not quite as 'Fendery clean' as my Princeton Chourus, but it's pretty close. The BC60 has a beautiful punchy, rich tube like sound, great for blues, most kinds of rock, jazz or country (there is a bright switch). It's pretty quiet, unless you bring the master volume way up, which causes a little hiss. If the amp is cranked, it will start to break up a little, even on the clean channel if your using hot pickups.

I've had the amp for about 3 months, and it was used. No problems so far, other than a little cabinet rattle at high volume, which I fixed by tightning up the cabinet screws. This thing is built like a tank.

No problems, no contact with Roland

I've been playing over 30 years, and I am always trying to find the perfect inexpensive reliable amp. I've had a Peavey Bandit (rugged but one demensional sounding), and a Fender Chorus (beautiful clean sound, but not the best blues amp). The BC-60 is a great find. I got lots of compliments on my sound at jams. I just wish there were 2 inputs!

This amp is solid state. It has 2 footswitchable channels (lead and normal). One thing I like about this amp is the effects loop and it has a control knob to mix the level of the pedals in the effects loop. The clean channels sounds great, it has 3 options (normal, crunch 1, and crunch 2). The crunch sounds alright, but its not the best. The lead channel sounds awesome. I usually only use the clean channels and use my Ibanez Tubescreamer for my distortion but I use the amps distortion on this amp. The reverb sounds good and is mounted on the side of the amp on the inside instead of on the bottom. It's rated at 60 watts, but its nothing like my Fender Blues Deville 2x12's 60 watts.

I use all kinds of guitars and all kinds of pickups with this amp, to me they all sound good with this amp. I play Blues and Classic Rock and its perfect for that, it can even get some great heavy metal type distortion. I have not noticed any noise on this amp at all.

This amp seems to be dependable. I would definately use it with out a backup. It has not broken down, I got it from a pawn shop and the pawn shop even gave me a 2 day warranty on it!!

I've never dealt with the company and I don't plan on dealing with the company.

I would definately buy this amp again. I like this amp the best out of all of mine. It sounds great with all my guitars, and it has the only lead channel where I actually liked the distortion. I like the sound of it better than my Blues Deville, because I can actually hear after playing this amp, my Blues Deville is WAY TOO LOUD. I especially like the master level control on this amp. If you need a good amp for blues or rock or something else I'd check into one of these amps.