Roland BC-60 BluesCube 310 Combo

I bought this amp brand new, so I've had it for some years now. I think I paid around $400 for it. At the time I was looking for a reliable and compact, mid priced amp with channel switching options and an effects loop. So, this amp fit the bill, and I was impressed with the sound you could get out of this thing, being solid state. In fact, this is the best non tube, tube tone I've ever heard or played through. It has enough features for just about anyone, the only 2 things I would have liked to have seen, would be a speaker output jack, but that is no biggy and a sturdier, plywood cabinet.

I have found my "Voodoo Tone" with this amp. It took some time to find, but with the right set-up, its there. Actually, the cabinet was fractured by loading and unloading from a gig. I wasn't too surprised about that because it was made from particle board, but I was still disappointed. But, if that hadn't of happened, I might not have found my tone. So, I cut the top off of the cabinet and made a head version. I have the stock speakers still, but I don't use them now.

I just happened to have an old Traynor YGM-3 loaded with an Electro-Voice EVM12L, so I just ran the Roland through the Traynor cab and "Presto!" The EV really brings out the roundness of tone that is available from the Roland, very Bassman-like. I use this setup with a strat loaded with EMG SA's, and I can voodoo it up all day. With some minor tone adjustments on either channel, you can dial in Jimi tones, the tube screamer tones, SRV, etc. By using your guit's volume and tone, you can really clean things up a lot and that just adds to the tonal palette.

I play a lot of rock, funk, blues, jazz style music and this setup allows me to do that well. Sure, I have various other amps, Carvin Legacy, Traynor, Peavey Duel 212, Mesa, and all of these are great and shine on their own, but when I want that immediate voodoo satisfaction, I use my emg loaded strat, plug into the Roland and find it.

As mentioned by a few here, the knobs aren't of high quality. And of course, the cabinet is cheap particle board. But, I'd feel safe playing a gig without a backup, just bring some extra fuses... and of course I could use my Mesa V-twin pedal if I were in a pinch. The only electrical problem I've ever had is a blown fuse, and that's it.

Never contacted them, but I hear they're great.

I've been playing for 16 years, I own various tube amps as mentioned above, pedals galore, guitars galore. If my amp were stolen or lost, I'd cry, I'd hold a memorial service for it, and would definitely be on the look out for another.

I love the simple of it- I plug in and my tone is there, without any pedals. I don't hate anything about it.

2 switching channels, 3-10" spkrs, solid state.
60 watts, nice vintage look, sturdy cabinet,
very shoddy hardware.

clean, semi-clean, and fuzzy. fair variety of tones.
My take....after playing over 30 years with Marshalls,
Fenders, Vox, Silvertone, etc, I'd say this amp is a bit
disappointing when you adjust a tone control. Its kinda
like an old Marshall(but different), when you turn a bass or mid, you almost wonder if the knob is even hooked up. Unlike say a Twin, you KNOW
those knobs work because of their wide response.
Also, I don't care for frequencies that they do adjust.
Treble too high, mid too low, bass too high.
At low level this amp sounds quite nice. At high volume
the sag is sooooo overdone, you almost have to wait a second to hear the note come out. Its actually irritating. Mid volume you'll be fine,
and wont blow the speakers like I did. Me, when I play a loud chord,
I want the amp to be able to deliver a knock out punch, this amp
has a bit of trouble with that. The only circuit that that can do this is a 60's or 70's Marshall

Electronically the amp seems quite reliable, but the hardware
is crap. The gold covers on the knobs all have fallen off.
(poor glue?) Also, the input jack is cheap plastic.
Forget replacing it with a metal switchcraft part, you
have to use the official Roland piece-o-crap, because the
amp is made that way. A slight tug and the nut and plastic sleeve
breaks right off.

Roland customer support is among the best.
I just wish I didn't hve to use it.

I've been playing lamost 40 years.
Fender, Marshall, Vox, Peavey, Roland, Kendrick.
I like the look(vintage) of this amp, and I think the
3-10 combo is an excellent speaker set.
If it were stolen I would get another one.
For the price, its affordable for an old fart like myself,
and still sounds ok at lower levels. A good amp to
bang around with and not get too hung up about getting
damaged. I've stopped dragging my Fenders and Marhalls
around, this had to stop when my Twin fell out of the
car. (:(

FINALLY there is a solid state instrument amplifier with all the attributes of the BEST tube designs and it's the Roland BC 60, 310. I have owned the BC 60 112 and the BC 30 112 too. All are fine instrument amplifiers. I sold my BC 60 112 because I prefer the sonic projection associated with the smaller, tighter 10" cone. I still own the BC 30 112 and use it as my practice amp. I highly recommend it as well. With respect to the features of the BC 60 310 they include a lively EQ section for each channel, active presence and a unique rectifex circuit that emulates sag in the power section. In general the amp is incredibly responsive to signal strength at the input. Speaker design is a dead perfect match for the output stage. Really, this design so closely emulates tube character and tone that it is absolutely uncanny.
Having tried the "also ran" Trademark 60, I find that the Roland products produce a much more pure tone as found in the superior tube designs, especially with respect to the pleasing harmonic overtones that track notes, chords and pinch harmonics, seemingly at will. While the Trademark amps are noted for their stellar direct-to-console qualities, which are commendable, I finf that the BC 60 310 beats the direct interface with an inexpensive SM 57 on the cone. Perhaps not as convenient a configuration but tone-wise it's hands down Roland.
Power wise, it has plenty of reserve on tap for all styles of playing except the really hard stuff. In other words, its power / gain / volume parameters appeal to actual players of the guitar, rather than the ubiquitous brutal noise purveyors of the MTV set.

I'm a tele player, for the same reasons as the previous reviewer. The pure tone of the Tele combined with the tonal engine of the BC 60 310 is a thing of true sonic beauty and a chimey clarity is what you get on the clean channel. Although I use the clean channel most often I also have a true appreciation for the overdrive channel, which produces the classic richness of the Fender Bassman.
The BC 60 310 responds well to pedals. In essence, it reacts in identical fashion to tube designs. Very sensitive preamp with excellent control of gain structure.

Well...it DOES say Roland on the nameplate.

My first band was in high school...back in 1968. I've played steadily ever since. Having owned or rented just about everything over the years I'm way past nameplates. Trust me on this: The Roland BC 60 310 is a superior product in every respect. Great tone, plenty of power, rugged construction and outstanding reliability. At twice what I paid for this machine I would consider it a wonderful bargain. Highest praise for this amplifier.

1990s amp features as listed elsewhere. I owned this amp around 1 yr ago sold it and bought it back because all the amps I've had since couldnt sound as good as this one including Marshall valve state and Fender

I play blues through a tele with 52 reisue pickups in and couldnt be happier with sounds you can get from this set up every thing from SRV Clapton and Buddy Guy. Very quiet in operation with the ability to cover all but Death Metal and who wants to play that crap anyway

Thia amp has been all over Australia kept in Garages neglected and abused by previous owners and still works perfectly with no pot crackle

No dealings with Roland but there stuff seems well built

I play teles because I love the way they improve your playing and force you to become less sloppy.
Ive been playing for 40yrs and have owned just about every valve and ss amp by Marshall/Fender /HH /Bird the list goes on
This amp is a real sleeper better than a lot of tube amps and if you can pick one up for the money they go for S/H do it you will be amazed.
The only draw back is the weight at 60lbs pretty heavy which was why I sold it in the first place, but the tone more than makes up for the pain of lugging it around.
You wont lose this and if anyone is stupid enough to steal it you will easily catch up to them as they struggle up the road.
Would buy again maybe the 1x12 as its lighter

Very impressive channel switching, sort of morphs from one to the other, the smoothiest I ever had.
Very enjoyable parallel effects loop, doesn't suck any tone at all. I use a boss dd2 delay pedal set full wet and the cube's fx control works wonderful.
No footswitchable boost, I'd have this over the footswitchable reverb anytime.
No noisefloor at all, very low power consumption(90w!), master volume&presence a bless.
Selectable "valve"rectifier is way impressive when playing louder, it's spooky how tubesque the amp then becomes.
Three preamp characteristics on channel one doesn't leave any ground for wishes, and you still have the second channel with boost option. The perfect blues&heavy blues&beyond amp.
And the whole thing is very well put together, quality is what Roland wanted us to have.

I have a bassman reissue, and bought this Bluescube out of curiosity (and it was so cheap!).
Now my bassman rests in its ampcase...
Basically you can have the bassman tone with the Roland, especially at medium volume levels. It is that good, another reviewer did the same experience as me.
But: the Roland can do so much more, and so much better. The overdriven tones are fabulous, very guitar-responsive, thick and defined, with that higher gain substance the bassman can only dream of.
The reverb is way enjoyable too, well tuned.

I really love the fact that every time I switch the amp on, I always get the tone I remembered having last time. No tubes doing whatever they like. And at low volume levels it sounds much the same as when turned very up.
And it gives you that very nice whack in your back, more so than the bassman. In fact playing loud with the Roland is way fun, the bassman gets on the knees after a while (tubes or transformer-related I think).
The speakers (16ohms each) must be very good, it seems they are cloned after the greenbacks. I had a 4x12 greenbacks-loaded marshall box, it didn't sound half as good as these 10 inchers Roland uses.

Very sturdy. Hey it weights 59lbs!
No rattling noises so far, the amp doesn't even get warm, it seems quality parts are used.
And Roland doesn't make ****.
As another reviewer said, this is not a Behringer construction project... (I own a vox vr30r, how poorly engineered and done the thing is!)
For me, reliability is in the tone you get from one time to another too. And this is where this amp outshines its tube brothers. You can count on the good tones no matter what (weather, rough handling 'til the stage and after, and so on).
In the very long run, I may have problems finding the right parts if anything were to go wrong, while I feel I will always find parts for my bassman (hey, it is there since '59!).

I am soo happy to have bought this gem!
My bassman can rest now, it's an icon after all.
The Roland Bluesking (as I name it) is the best thing that ever came to me amp-wise.
Makes me play 'til the doctor comes!
Heavy and big, but not that much comparing to the bassman or any matchless/mesa/rivera/twin.
Go get one if you can, you won't regret it.

See the rest for a more in depth look at features. My favorites are the three levels of crunch on the clean channel, the excellent effects loop and the tight sound of the 3 vintage 10" speakers. Yes..it is a bit heavy!

I'm using a Les Paul with burstbuckers. On the clean channel the LP drives it into a bit of breakup when the crunch is set to no crunch. Amazingly, the breakup is nearly identical in sound and feel to that of a good tube amp. Also amazing is the way this amp cleans up when you roll back the guitar volume. It retains enough sparkle and volume to please old school players who have always relied upon guitar volume to control overdrive, rather than a pedal. But if you want to use a pedal to get your overdrive you won't be disappointed with the way this amp takes pedals before the input. With a BD 2 or a Bad Monkey (both are inexpensive, off the shelf pedals) the amp the can be goosed into overdrive, even when the crunch is set to no crunch. I don't use anything up front but placing a delay / chorus pedal in the loop yields really great effects. The loop can be adjusted to blend the effects with the dry signal. The reverb is pretty good. If a good off the shelf tube amp is a 10, then this thing rates a solid 9. Even guys I know who are admitted tube snobs change their tune when they plug into this amp. IMHO this is the best sounding SS amp ever made.

Like a truck. Solid and heavy.

I've owned this for a little over 1 year. I've gigged with it. I've been playing since 1969. Let me tell you I've owned lots of medium to high power tube amps through the years. To my ears this amp posesses most of the attributes of tube amps. I also owned the BC 60 112 for a while before I traded up to the 310 version and i highly recommend either for serious players who like that old school tube amp tone but don't want to spend all that dough to own and maintain one. Try the BC 60 112 or 310 if you can find one. This is a real gem and a fantastic value at used prices.

Thumbs up for the BC 60-310! It has all the features that an experienced player could ever want...namely great tone, more great tone and (dare I mention it?) GREAT TONE! The other BEST feature? No tubes to fuss with or buy annually. Reliability mates...it's a beautiful thing!
Yes it's got the nice equalization and the channel switching and the reverb and the rectiflex thing...so what? Did I mention GREAT TONE?

Main guitar is a Les Paul Standard. Bandmates and other players agree: this one is tits up. If you like the raw, tasty sound of guitar and amp-a very organic, warm, touch sensitive, notes singing, rich, harmonic sound -with minimal influences (reverb?) on that sweet, beautiful tone pallet you dream about in your own head then by all means get one of these. No further need for pedals, effects or anything else you might have tried in your tone quest. What you're looking for-assuming you know something about GREAT TONE-lives within the mojo those Roland engineers packed into this amplifier. It's not meant for metal...it's meant for beautiful expressive voyages across the fretboard. Your fingers will do wonderful things for your ears. Heavenly tones, well mannered.
Distortion is of the Marshall-crunch variety...quite articulate and CRUNCHY, without the fizz / fuzz / mushshiness of the also rans. This is tone for those who love tone, period. Not a bad sound to be found. Loud as hell without harshness. In a word...PERFECT.

Roland is synonomous with quality. No worries.

This year makes 41 for me...but only serious since the late 80s. This is the tone I've been looking for at a price I can afford. No...it's not a "to die for / boutique-type / multi thousand dollar" snob pleaser...but for those of us who need THAT SOUND to be happy, fulfilled rock/blues/jazz players...it's DA BOMB!
One hell of a classic. More than fantastic...it's amazing!

Won't go into too much detail here, as others have already done that. 2 channels, lots of knobs, reverb, presence, effects loop. 3 10" speakers. Most interesting features are the "Crunch" control (more about this in sound) and the "Rectifex" control which allows you to select a diode or tube rectifier emulation. Since I bought this as a back-up for my Bassman, the number of knobs is a bit trying at first and the labels are hard to read on stage. But, once you get used to where everything is it's no big deal. Still tweaking... I haven't decided if it's best to run my pedal board through the effects loop or in line yet. The only drawback is the weight of the amp... it's gotta be close to 60 pounds.

I use this with Strats. My main guitar is a 2004? Deluxe Strat. I run this through a pedal board with an assortment of pedals. This is a very versatile amp. I perform with 2 different groups and am required to play blues, rock, jazz, pop, motown, funk... basically anything except for metal. This amp handles all these style well. I was able to dial tone that was comparable to my Bassman in about 30 minutes. WARNING! If you are used to tube amps, you will most likely find the "normal" setting on the crunch control too brittle and sterile (at least with Strats). The solution for me was to change that setting to "crunch 1". This will give you a bit of dirt, like a tube amp being pushed a tad, and warm the tone up a lot. I was totally blown away by the warmth of this amp! I have had several people (my bandmates among them) tell me that they couldn't tell the difference between the Blues Cube and the Bassman! Roland really got it right with this one. I can't believe they no longer produce them. I have some issues with my clean boost not boosting very much anymore, but that may be due to not using the pedal board through the effects loop. I am still learning what set up is the best for me.

I have only owned the amp for a few weeks, but it seems solid. The reason I bought it rather than another tube amp was so that I knew my back-up amp wou;d work if the Bassman were to crap out. As it is solid state, I can't imagine having any problems with it. Still, since it is so new to me, I'll not pick a rating on this one.

Haven't ever dealt with Roland...

I've been playing for 20 years and have always been a bit of a "tone-nazi". When it came time to get a back-up amp and get the bassman in the shop, I wanted to search out this amp. I remembered it from when I was working in a music store back in the early 90's. I was very impressed with the warmth of theses amps back then and decided it would be a suitable back-up. I was not disappointed! The value here is just amazing. I would definitely search high and low for another if I had to.

I'm not sure the year, but I'm assuming it's a 2004 bought new from sweetwater.com. It has some great features including two channels; Channel one has a clean setting as well as two crunch tones and a bright switch. Pre and Post gain volume on lead channel with a boost feature. Master presence and best of all, master volume. 3 10" speakers, blonde tolex covering. I use this amp for playing at home. Also, has a "rectifex" switch that emulates a tube or solid-state rectifier. Versatile tones from a classic overdrive to high gain.

I play strats exclusively ( 2 american series and two mexican strats). I play primarily rock and blues and this fits my style very well, and is also excellent for home use due to the master volume.

This amp has little noise to it, and the tones are fabulous. This amp is the best solid-state I've ever owned, and I'm not exaggerating saying that this amp sounds better than some tube amps that I've owned (Fenders and Peaveys). A previous post described this amp as the best kept secret out there. I couldn't agree more.

Channel one delivers some great clean tones, and the crunch settings are great for blues or dirty rhythm playing. With the bright switch on, the tones are glassy clean and matches the clean tone on a Fender. With the bright switch off, this amp reminds me alot of the Fender Blues Deville and Hot Rod Deville that I owned.

The lead tones are amazingly good, sounding very tube like. I like both rectifex settings, and this amp responds well to different picking attacks. Definitely THE best amp I have owned.

Other than some effects and a Boss ME-50, I've never owned a Roland product before. This is a solid damp, built better than my Fender Stage 1600. It's a heavy amp for a solid state (about 60-65 pounds). It's solid as hell.

Overall, I have to say this is one great amp that i would highly recommend to anyone who plays rock, blues, jazz, or country. It has an excellent top end, and with the 3 10" speakers, I'm surprised at the balls the bass end has. This amp is much better than my Line 6 Flextone III and my Fender stage 1600. The only thing I hate is that I wish it came with a footswitch.

I've been playing now for 35 years, and by far this amp is the best I've owned. Definitely a sleeper.

Bought the amp in "new in the box" condition on EBAY for $360. Yes, every once in awhile even "I" can catch a break! Basic two-channel but with extra buttons like the "crunch" knob, boost button etc. Plenty versatile. Heck...when I started playing in '71 almost all the amps were one channel with "maybe" a second channel with less features. This amp is pretty heavy at 60 lbs but then it does have 3 speakers in it and it's a very solid cabinet. This is NOT a Behringer contruction project.

All I can say is after a few months I believe this amp to be the best I've ever played through. In 33 years I've had everything from crappy Jordan solid states to an Ampeg V-4 to Musicman RD-50 to a new Fender Cyberchamp. This amp toasts 'em all in my opine. The three 10" speakers give you that nice "whack" in your back that let's you know you're in charge onstage. The reverb is pleasant if not quite Fenderesque. You could actually play a gig with just this amp, a cord and your guitar and people would dig your sound. It's plenty loud. The club I play in Nashville is a medium-sized room that holds maybe 250 folks and I turn the master level to about 4 onstage and it's pert darn loud. I've turned it up all the way at home and I will say that "8" is not twice as loud as "4" is....there's an exponential curve as you turn it up. Let's just say that unless you're 30 feet from this amp it should be loud enough for anyone who doesn't play for U2. This amp comes closer to actual "tube" sound than any other I've tried but still has it's own voicing and character. I also own a Behringer Blue Devil with their "virtube" technology and a new Fender Cyberchamp with their "tube" voodoo. Both of those amps still sound transistor to me but not the Blues Cube....you can dial in that nice warmth and fuzziness if you need it.

no problemo with mine so far....even the gold knob tops are staying on. I bought a ATA case on EBAY for mine 'cause I like it that much I don't want to bang the mofo around taking it to the gig. It appears to be well constructed. I had to put a jumper box in to separate the speaker to amplifier connection because I use a talk box and the cabinet is very solid with a nice tolex covering.

3-year warranty. Never dealt with Roland before so I can't give any reports on how they work with people.

Been playing 33 years....rock, blues, country I would defnitely buy another to replace this one. The only thing I would do to improve the amp is offer a tremelo. Us oldtimers dig tremelo!!!! If you want a real amp and not some toy combo claiming to sound like a Fender Bassman then I'd check these amps out...you won't be sorry if you get one. Of course...there's also a single 12" speaker version if you can't handle the 60 lbs of this bugger.