Roland Bolt 60

Tube Power amp, it uses two 6L6 and one 12AT7 for phase inverter.
60watts of power but it's amazingly loud.
Extremely versatile, good for jazz, blues, rock, and with a Boss Metal zone pedal it will be good for metal.
Features
Hi and low imputs,2 channels overdrive and clean, reverb, effects loop with a nice selector where you can choose to put the effects before equalizer, post equalizer or post volume. It can operate with a 2 button footswitch for changing channel and for reverb. Headphone jack, so you can practice at night.

For more information go to this Bolt 60 website,check specification in the menu:

http://bolt60.no.sapo.pt/

The clean channel is really warm, here you feel the tone of the 6L6 tubes shinning and the sound it?s really close to a Fender blackface. This channel stays clean even at high volumes, I feel that it has a more presence in high frequencies but you can adjust the equalizer as you wish, until you get your equilibrium. The Overdrive channel is not has good has the clean one, here the solid state preamp makes a huge difference, the sound is a bit muddy and harsh, not that natural and rich overdrive that a hot preamp valve gives. Although I still find it useful, and I use it in my band, you have to find a balance between the 2 volume overdrive knobs until you get a reasonable sound out of it. The 2 volume knobs in the overdrive (like the MarkI) are a little tricky, the volume 1 adds more gain and the sound becomes more trebly, the volume 2 adds more fatness and volume to the overdrive, so you have to balance the 2 to get your sound. But if you want a really good overdrive I advise you to use a rat pedal or a tube scream over the superb clean channel, that will work out very well. The reverb it?s nice, nothing like a tube reverb, but it does the job quite well. The Bolt 60 is really, really loud don?t let the 60 watts fool you, I play in a heavy band with a maniac drummer and I never put my volume above 3 (hi input). It will handle the small clubs gigs and rehearsals with no problem, and sometimes I fell that one speaker isn?t enough for all this power. The amp has some constant hum even if the guitar isn?t connected, it can be annoying if you aren?t playing but this hum is normal in all tube amplifiers.

It's an old tube amp, you have to know how to care care of it, and keep changing the tubes from time to time.
The amp it's extremely well built, like a tank, if you have a regular servicing I'm sure you can depend on it.

This was the only tube guitar amp produced by roland, they don't service it anymore, neither they have information about it, it's a shame.
To service this amp you have to check for a good tube amp technician, and it will be in good hands.

I've been playing for 10 years now, I own a lot of gear, and I've played with various tube Marshals, Fenders, Ampeg.
I love its clean sound, the fashion look and the affordability. If the preamp was a tube one, this amp would be perfect, but you can have an external distortion unit for that, so that's not big problem.
If the bolt 60 was stolen or lost I would be searching everywhere for another one, I really love this amp.

For more information check my website dedicated to the Bolt 60 and feel free to contribute:

http://bolt60.no.sapo.pt/

This amp is obviously as a highly versatile lead guitarists rig. But I(being a nutter!) use it as a BASS AMP.I dont really use many of the versatile features, but i do feed it with a compressor and Eventide harmonizer sometimes. Running on 6L6 tubes with a silicon front end, this amp is VERY reliable! the only problem has been a loose power switch!

I play Three Rickenbacker 4001s(78fireglo;79maple;2001jet) and an old Hohner precision clone. The 78 Ricky sounds absolutely AMAZING through this little amp! Imagine Chris Squire and Geddy Lee in full attack mode!I dont really mess with the amp's distortion too much but I run the basses through an external compressor and sometimes an Eventide 949H harmonizer. It is a very "valvey" sound out of this little thing! Imagine a mid 70's Ampeg SVT!, when it's plugged in to a big cabinet! The overload is fun for moments of lunacy!
Overall its a nice sounding little amp with a BIG heart.

Loose toggle switch!(power) Otherwise seems pretty indestructible. I inherited it from Graham Gouldmann of 10CC and he rated it too.The tubes are nicely "mellow"

never tried. I'm an electronics engineer so I DIY

Playing bass on and off since '78.Other gear as mentioned Eventide Harmonizer(take a bow Brian May), Eventide digi delay,Boss compressor, Mxr Phaser. As mentioned various Ricky's.
To conclude;this is a damn good little amp with a much bigger sound than you might think.....and as reliable as a Toyota!

Mesa Boogie clone, pretty well made, top sound. 2 channels with shared EQ. Different effect loop settings possible. 60 watts valve amp, loud enough for most occasions.

Superb warm sounding amp. I mainly use the clean channel but if you want Carlos Santana or Larry Carlton sounds the drive channel will do a good job. Good harmonics. The amp has got a slight hum, even when nothing is plugged in, but I guess that's pretty normal for a valve amp. You can only hear it at very low volume anyway so it's nothing to worry about. I love this amp, use it mainly for Jazz + Blues without effects. You don't need any effects for a quality sound like this and the reverb is top notch.

I've got my since 12 years and I play a lot but there were no problems so far. I never even replaced the tubes.

Can't say, never dealt with them.

This amp is of superb quality and sounds like you expect a 6L6 valve amp to sound. I would search all over the world to get another one if it was stolen. I'm so used to it, it became a real family member to me. They are pretty rare now, a shame that Roland never made a quality amp like this since.

The Roland Bolt 60 was marketed (in Australia) between 1981 and 1984. (Acording to the Sonics Yearbooks. The price new was $795AUD.) Mine was 'as new' when I got it in 1992 and did not seem to have had a lot of use. The amp is quite loud for its size and wattage and the single 12" speaker seems to be able to handle the volume easily both clean and distorted. I use the amp for gigs (sometimes open air.) It has rarely been miked through the PA rig. It is fully featured for an amp of this period having 2 footswitchable channels (sharing the same EQ but this has not proved to be a big problem,) FX loop with a nifty switch to vary the signal path of the Effects, Line out and Headphone Jack. It can also run an extn. speaker although I have never needed to do so. The footswitch came with the amp as original equipment. There is a tube in the front end but has something to do with the reverb rather than being used for drive. The Output tubes are 6l6GC (very common and available.)

I use it for a wide variety of styles from retro rock to blues, jazz and musicals. use an Ibenez Blazer reissue which has an SSH configuration and also a semi-acoustic jazz box with humbuckers. It seems at home with all styles and volume levels. The drive channel has 2 pre-amp volumes pots and a master. The distortion gets very unsubtle if you have volume 1. past about 5. Volume 2 I set about 8. andthe master to balance with the other channel which is just a single volume pot. This gives a crunchy power valve distorion on Ch.1. and a clean sound on Ch.2.
for solo distortion I use an Ibanez Fat Cat which is configurable between singing overdrive and full on distortion. I swapped the original Mullard tubes a couple of years ago for Groove Tubes which has lifted the clean headroom significantly. I would not use Ch.1. for full on distortion but it is ideal in the role as described above.

This amp has never missed a beat but then I have always looked after it. It developed a mild crackle some years ago but serviced by a local tube amp service guy who diagnosed a fault with the FX loop switch and was able to replace it without difficulty. I have used it regularly without a backup and will continue to do so. It is pretty heavy for its size but this seems pretty standard for tube amps.

I have not even tried to approach Roland about this amp. They ceased production on this amp nearly 20 years ago and to my knowledge have never manufactured another tube amplifier so it is unlikely that they would have anyone capable of giving them proper care. A tube amp specialist would be quite capable although they tend to sniff a bit because the amp is made by Roland and because the front end is not all tube. The build quality appears to be such that you would not worry unless the amp had been abused in which case you may not buy it

I have been playing for 37 years and have owned and still own a variety of amps, both tube and solid state. The Roland Bolt 60 would probably be the most versatile. I basically bought it as the only 60 watt tube amp I could afford at the time and the fact that I still use when I can probably afford something newer and more expensive is testimony to its longevity and sound quality. They are still occasionally avalible to buy and I would consider another one if the condition was still OK. The only possible improvement would be separate EQ for each channel but this is (in my case,) only a minor quibble.

It's a '80 made all tube amp. It has two channels, switching can be done with a footswitch. I use a foot-bulb-switch for this because i didn't get the original footswitch delivered with this amp. It has 60 watts of power, very loud indeed, i use it for performances in small clubs.

I use it with a guild bluesbird (EMG pickups) and a guild s60 with Gibson Paf's and a Vester ES335 model. The clean channel is very, very good, the distortion channel is a bit "muddy", even with the bluesbird on high input (EMG's remember!). With distortion on you can't get enough low in your sound, also not with the Vester ES335.
I only use the clean channel at the moment and for distortion i use a zoom 1010, wich is the solution to get a good sound. The Zoom gives a warm and great distortion in combination with this amp. On other amps the zoom doesn't sound as good as it does on the BOlt 60.
On a cabinet the amp sounds better, much better, so the poor low has something to do with the build in speaker.
The rating is because of the very good clean sounds.
If you want to hear a soundsample from this amp go to www.stardust-bc.tk and than to the mp3/video section. Every song is played with this amp, the clean sound is done without the zoom, the distortion is done with the zoom. This is the best way to rate the sound, so listen carefully.....

Very reliable, you can easily change tubes, i changed my Siemens tubes for Sovtek tubes. I didn't need a bias-change. The sound still remains. The tubes are the same as the old mesa boogie amps. The look is even the same.

The amps is to old, so roland doesn't support it anymore.

I play 35 years guitar, i have had lots of amps, the roland is defenitely the best clean sounding amp i've had. For rhythm guitar the distortion is good enough but for soloing there is not enough body. I will buy a rivera combo and after that i don't know if i will keep this amp. Maybe its wise to keep it for the great clean sounds.

The features have been well described in other reviews. No need to go into that all again. I liked the idea of the flexibility of the EQ options of the effects loop and dual gain distortion controls.

I play my own guitars (Trademark Guitars). Most have either traditional humbuckers or TV Jones Filtertrons in them. I play classic and progressive rock so I need a pretty wide pallette of tones. The way the controls are arranged makes it difficult to switch between the clean and distortion settings. You gotta reach back and fiddle with the amp. No footswitch. OK for recording, but inconvenient in a dark club. Its pretty quiet and has good power. The distortions channel is a bit too brittle (it is an SS preamp) foir my ears and you just can't get good natural sounding distortion. The clean channel is really good. Here the tube tone really shines. Its bright without being too brittle and you can add nice warmth with the tone controls. I really like this channel. I;ve found that by sing two distortion pedals I can just stay in the clean channel and the amp works fine for me. I set it clean and loud and use one pedal for a crunch type rhythm and the other for a volume and distortion boost for leads. Not what I expected when I got it, but still quite workable. A 4 x 10 cab might be in the future as a test. I haven't decided.

I've had it only a few weeks. Too soon to tell.

If its anything like the Roland Keyboards I've had experience with, I'll be completely on my own. I didn't even get the badly translated Japanese manual with this one.

I've been playing for 33 years and have had or played through a hell of a lot of gear. It I lost it I'd find something to replace it. I change gear regularly and I'll proably be ready to move on when it breaks or gets swiped.

I've bought this amp recently, and from the previous owner, he said that it's about 10 yrs. old, and that he changed the valves. The amp looks new, i assume that the guy haven't used it much, because when i got it the knobs had a lot of humming and brumming, it needed little cleaning, but that's about it. I use it mainly for jazz gigs, so most of the time i use clean channel which i love so much. Plenty of warm, natural woody sound (kinda like early George Benson, or Grant Green), i use Epiphone Regent guitar (archtop). I also use drive channel, but just to gain more of a low-end warmth. As i've said before i've got it for couple of weeks only, and i feel like there's so much more to learn about sound and features. I think the reverb is really OK (not like Fender ones, but, Fender is Fender)...I like the effect loop switch, and I guess it has all the inputs and outputs that a musician could ever need...

Hmm...haven't checked for this part, i guess i've said it all in the previous part - features...

I've used it on couple of gigs so far, and must say work like Swiss watch...i thought there were going to be some problems, because it's January, it's very, very cold...but nope, worked just fine...

For me probably the best i could've found around...i thought of getting some Fender combos like Super Reverb, or something like that, but i find them to be too much big for regular gigs...i don't wanna hurt my back by thirty... :-)

My Roland Bolt dates back to the 1980's, I swapped it for a Marshall head and Hi-Watt amp. This may seem strange now but at the time the Roland was really expensive so for me it felt like a good deal. The main reason was that I was sick and tired of needing to lug around 2 heads and 2 cabs to get a switchable clean / dirty sound.

The beauty of the Roland for me was it was small, load and versatile. It's got reverb and good tone and the insert FX loop. I have used this amp all over the world, it's been involved in a car crash resulting in a new wooden cab, it has never let me down in a gig - I love this amp.

My only complaint is that it can be a bit boxey but through a 4x12 it is great

It makes a great noise when kicked - the reverb crash/explosion. The guitar sound is warm, the distortion is a real valve distortion, not a fuzz box - you can use a fuzz box for that!

The clean channel is really good. It has that wonderful unlimited headroom valve quality.

As I said it has never let me down. It was not used for a while and then was fitted with Golden Dragon valves which seemed to pack up real quick, the amp lay dormant for quite some time then I got it serviced and it is back to it's best - so one problem in 20 years - that is reliable and it was gigged regularly for about 15 years around the UK and the Middle East

The Swansea factory are very responsive

I have had this so long and I still love it. I have a Marshall 50MV JMP series head but this is little used.

I have Fenders and Gibsons and an Epihone and they all sound great through it.

For the price this is a kewl amp. I bought mine in 1998 and it took a while to really get to know how to use it because it is so versatile.
I play mostly rock and blues and it covers these very well. It has two channels though i have to admit i have never used the distorted channel. I found that i get better dirty sounds using the clean channel and my Boss Turbo Overdrive. It does have channel switching but again i doent use it because i only use one of the channels. The reverb is subtle but nice. THere is a good effects loop, with the option as to where in the circutry you want to place the effects. This is a very helpful feature as it affects your sound a great deal. I find that the amplifier section is much to powerful for the single 12inch speaker. For mine i built a 4*10 quad box which i run with the 12 and that works well. I dont miss it not being entirely valve. It just makes it cheaper to replace the valves.

Through a nice single coil pickup and the clean channel this amp performs remarkably well. Far better than more expensive marshalls in the same market area. Great bluesy tones. Same channel with my overdrive pedal and it transforms into a great rock and heavy metal amp. It doesnt seem to like volumes over about 4.5 of 10, however i found that when more volume is needed the volume still significantly increases from there right around to 8 or so.

This amp did stop working on me for a while. When it turned it up and it got hot the volume would suddenly cut out. New tubes and it works fine. Apart from that its been great.

dont know sorry

I have been playing for about 4 years and havent owned much gear, but ive just about played it all. This is a great amp for its price, i havent seen many around though.

This is a 60 watt 112 combo hybrid (tube power amp, solid state pre-amp) that dates back to the early eighties (to the best of my knowledge). I remember seeing these amps advertised in Guitar Player. It was one of many Mesa Boogie "clones" that were readily available at that time. It is a channel switching amp consisting of clean and overdrive channels. The layout goes left to right; overdrive channel with volume1, volume2, and master. Clean channel with single volume knob, bass, mid, treble (tone controls shared by both channels), reverb, standby, power switch. There are hi and lo inputs, channel switching footswitch jack, reverb footswitch jack, amd effects loop. An interesting feature is a switch that lets you place the effects through the loop before eq, after eq, or post master volume. I haven't experimented with it yet but the idea is cool! This is a 60 watt amp using a pair of 6L6 tubes with a 12AT7 pre-driver. Very similar to Music Man amps from the same era, although I believe Music Man was around somewhat earlier. This is an extremely warm sounding amp, there is little hint of any silicone sounds from the pre-amp. The overdrive is close to that of mark I and early mark II Boogies, maybe even better sounding in the low end! The tone controls are passive and overlap, good for classic Fender tones. In fact the clean channel reminds me a lot of a blackface pro-reverb that I owned for many years. The reverb is surfy enough to pass the "pipeline" test and stays constant in both clean and overdrive modes (something the earlier Boogies never quite got right). By the way, it even has a headphone jack to keep the eviction notices away!

I'm using this anp with a Big Apple Strat, G&L ASAT Special, and Epiphone Riviera. It sounds good with all of them in clean and overdrive modes. This amp is not going to give you metal sounds or super high gain lead distortion, you'll need a pedal for that. I've been able to get SRV as well as Clapton Cream era tones from it with ease. The dual volume with master (ala Boogie MarkI) on the overdrive channel is pretty versatile to fine tune the "grind" of the distortion. I've been able to get it distorting in about 5 different voices..cool!

When I bought this amp it looked like it had been sitting in somebody's cellar for a long time. After cleaning it up and spending many hours playing through it I finally took it out on a gig and had no problems. I'm sure it could use a re-tubing, but, I kind of like the sound just the way it is.

Haen't had to have it serviced....yet. I tried calling Roland to see if they still had schematics for these things but navigating the automated phone system was tougher than crossing the Atlantic in an inner tube! Does anybody out there have a schematic handy? Please email if so, thanks.

I've been playing, teaching, gigging for thirty years and have owned one or two of everything at one time or another. I bought this amp to have as a spare (I own a Mesa Boogie Maverick 112 combo-I love this amp!-also a 66 Ampeg Reverbrocket-the best tremelo on the planet, great reverb too) The Roland Bolt 60 is a great all purpose giging amp, I would recommend it if your'e looking for an inexpensive, mostly tube amp ($150 bucks, does it get any better?) I haven't seen too many of these around but, like all those 60's Sunn amps, their lurking out there somewhere.