Roland GC-405X

The amp is about 7 years old I guess. It is a versatile amp that offers a lot of bang for the buck. Some features that are usually found in very expensive amps are lacking, for example parallel AND serail effetcs routing, a very good spring reverb unit, independent eqs for every channel, a very good chorus, etc.
It has a serial effects loop, three eqs plus Presence. You can use the power amp only if you want to (pluggin in a preamp). The ony thing I miss is a really good reverb. I like the absence of a cheap and dissappointing reverb. The cabinets are wired 4 x 5" at 8 Ohm each. I am thinking of a switchable stereo modification in Marshall style for the extension cabinet.

The clean sound is very good, but not as good as a great boutique amp with 12" speakers for about ten times the price. Believe me, if you want a Roland JazzChrous 120 or a Fender Twin - then you must get these amps (and ear protection, and ear protection for your neighbours as well). But: This amp eats cheap Fenders and Peaveys alive. It has attack and bottom (talking of the stack especially) and can partner an ES 335 or a JazzBox (most small practice amps can't). The distortion is good, but not the reason to buy this amp. The Keith Richards Sound will be difficult to get with a Tele and this amp only. The crunch of a small cranked tube amp is usually delivered by a small cranked tube amp. I give it a ten for the best home use clean sound for the money. Otherwise it would be 7 overall.

I would use it without backup, if I would ever decide to gig without backup (even if backup means a el cheapo solid state amp). NEVER gig without backup. I have seen very (!) expensive amps with good reputation fuck up in the middle of a set. Whatever sales personnel tells you, you will never know how your equipment will recieve your way of handling it. Gigging without backup solution is just unprofessional.

Manual available online. No need for support (solid state amp - no need for service either)

I play guitar since about 1992. I play anything I like, fingerlicking jazz to metal riffing. I would get it again for home use and small gigs (only the stack version gc-405X). These are great value for money, extremely transportable and have a good clean sound. If you want crunch get a decent Overdrive Pedal -> Bingo.
The main point is: The sound of the 8x5" speakers set in closed cabinets really punches any of those little practice amps away, no matter how many supercheap multieffetcs patches are present in them. If you want mulitfx - get a Korg AX3G or something like that. Put that in the fx loop. Then you have a much better solution for less money. Used these stacks are rare but worth looking for.

This amp with extension box (hence the GC-405X instead of GC-405) is not manufactured anymore. It is versatile from clean to a decent metal distortion but can't do real drop tunig nu-metal stuff or , and this is a bummer - creamy crunchy overdrive. It has two channels, clean and lead, but only one set of tone controls. Attention everybody: no parallel effects, only serial (preamp out - power amp in). You can plug a signal in the power amp and use the power amp only. The only working control in this case is the presence control. THe headphone jack sounds good and the possibility to attach an external spekaer, for example the extension cabinet is a bonus. Amp and extension cabinet (which drastically improves the sound and bass response) are able to move some air, 8 x 5" Speakers in total. Features are ok for the price.

This is an amp with a good clean sound, for Strat as well as for the ES 335 type guitar. The tone controls are effective. If cranked up clean is not clean anymore, it sounds distorted in an unpleasant way. It stays clean however long enough to annoy any neighbour with a decent clean tone. The distortion has gain reserves a plenty, but it lacks a little punch and definition in the high gain settings. I would prefer a pedal with parametric EQ like the BOss Metal Zone in front of the clean channel.
I play clean with my fingers and the pick and just like the sound of the Roland GC-405X. Compared to my Roland JC-120 it is more versatile, but it does not offer the great JC clean tone. Unfortunately the JC-120 is way too loud for home use. I can't find the spot between "nothing yet" and "too loud" - with this amp no problems. The amp is pretty quiet. Cranking up the presence control always produces hiss though.

It is solid. I would use it for trio gigs in small venues for sound and portability. In my opinion a backup is a must. There is no serviceing the amp - not necessary.

I downloaded the manual for the fun of it.

I play electric guitar since the very early nineties. If it were stolen I would be tempted to find another one. BUt I would check out other amps with more features - like reverb unit. I sorely miss that.

The features arnt that great but i run my zoom 505ii pedal through it and it sounds great. No reverb, but i dont like reverb anyway. the distortion is really grunty if you,ve got the presence knob turned right up. the clean sounds good when youre practicing, but turn it up to loud and it distorts badly. i recomend using it with a effects pedal. the effect loop on the back makes it nice, easy and tidy.

I play punk and use a (really bad) karina strat, but its still good. the distortion sounds bad if you dont have the presence switch right up and the clean distorts masivly if you turn it up to loud. i bought it second hand for $300(new zealand dollars) and i dont know how much the previous owner thrashed it. its got a great sound for practicing and an ok sound for jamming. its not loud enough for large venues.

i would depend on this amp to save my life, just not the clean channel! iv never had to get it repaired. its really solidly built. if it were stolen i would get another one, but just as a good practice amp

iv never had to deal with roland, but they make quality amps so im sure they are reliable. i got it second hand so it dosnt have a warrnty

its a great amp but i just dont like the clean channel. its got a removable cabnit which sounds great when you use them both. my guitar sucks so if i had a good guitar, i imagin it would sound twice as good. its been a great amp for me and i recomend it to anyone who plays guitar. punk,metal,blues... it suits them all

Not too much of a good feature, Basic EQ and Presence. The Tube Tech sound good but not too loud, it get distorted. This is amp is good to practice Blues.

standard Fender Strat, i repeat it get distorted in clean when is high.

Maybe u can depend on it because Roland is a good quality Company but you can't gig well, maybe if you connected to a PA system.

If it stolen,(i wish) I would buy a better amp. Anyways I am going to buy another amp, to stop asking my friend for his amp for gig-ing.

Bought new about 2 years ago. Just got the 4x5" extension cab on Ebay for $60 last week. Solid State electronics with Roland's Tube Logic circuitry. Ok, so I'm no expert on tube amps, but this thing really does sound good! 25 watts, loud enough for a good jam, but not for gigging at large places. Two channels (footswitchable), shared three band EQ and a presence control. Has an FX loop which I find useful because I run my rack through this when playing at home. No reverb, no biggie...

Ibanez RG270 with EMG 89, SA, and 81 straight into the GC. I use it for blues and classic rock when i jam with my buddies. Do not buy it if you want to play metal! Not enough gain and too much midrange. At home I play my guitar into a Roland GP-100 into the FX Return on the loop (this bypasses the preamp on the GC, making it basically a PA). When I first read about it, I was pretty skeptical about the bass response, having only five inch speakers. When I tried it out at the music store I was blown away. When playing straight into the amp I can get anything from crystal clear to a nice AC/DC tone. The amp isn't noisy enough to bother me. I have a boost switch on my guitar, and on the clean channel I can get a real nice natural overdrive using my bridge pickup (EMG 81). Sounds kinda like Guess Who's American Woman... I can get real nice feedback solos with it too.

I have other Roland equipment Roland GP-100 and FC-200 and it has never ever failed me. I trust the GC competely but I probably won't ever do any serious gigging with it becuase its not that loud. Lately the 'ON' switch has been sticking. I have to jiggle it to turn it on, but I'll prabably take it apart and look at it. Nothing major though. Nice tough, tolex covering, good carry handle, metal corner protectors. Jacks are solid.

Never have dealt with 'em...

I love this amp like it was my child! If it were stolen...I pity the poor bastard who ganked it from me, because, well...there are worse things than death!!! Roland stopped making these for some odd reason, but if you find one, I'd pick it up, because they're rather rare. I'm so happy I finally found the extension cab for it. Eight five inch speakers has never sounded so good!! I want a GC-408 someday, but those are even harder to find! Go Roland!!!

This amp has a 3 band EQ (bass, mid, treble), volume for the clean channel, and pre/post gain knobs on the lead channel. It also has a serial effects loop on the back (if you're going to plug a reverb pedal, plug it in the effects loop! That way the pedal is put asfter the preamp like in a regular amp with reverb. For any other pedals, try and see what you like best.). It has an extention jack for an 8 ohm extension cab (included). 8 x 5" speakers.

I use a strat with a DiMarzio dual sound pickup in the bridge and a virtual vintage blues in the neck. The clean sounds are bright and have a springy quality to them (try this out-this may or may not be your thing). The lead channel can get a slight distortion all the way to punk-o-rama...but no thick, meaty classic rock or blues tone here. You'll like this if you're into the greenday/offspring type of thing. I don't usually use the distortion, but I like to combine it with my other amp's distortion (Fender Automatic GT) to get a cool stereo layered tone.

Don't really know.......it's travelled from Montreal where I bought it to Toronto where I live....never gigged with it though.

Once again, not sure.

I think this is a cool amp - it looks wicked, and has a pretty useable clean tone. The dirty tone is pretty good depending on what you're looking for...it can get punk or pop-rock distortion, but not much else. Good for layering...and it really has a nice bass response, but only when the extention cab is plugged in. It adds another dimension to the sound. Great amp for the price! Love it.

the amp has bass, middle and treble equalizer and a seperate presence control. It has two channels (clean and dirty - with adjustable gain) it has an effects loop and a headphone jack aswell. It would be great if this amp had reverb on it aswell. I use this amp in a heavy fucken metal 4 piece and it sucks dick power wise, dont waste your money on the extra cabinet as it does absolutely shit all.

im using an ibanez GAX70 through it and some old Falcon strat from the 70's with a boss MT-2 and a Zoom 505 and a Jimi Hendrix crybaby wah. This amp is gay at high volumes and palm muting drowns out. I only use the clean channel and run all my effects through it so i can tell you how much variety. I have use the distortion a couple of times and it doesnt sound too bad but when palm muting its sounds shit.

Recently had problems with it which is a bit of a tradge. But they cant find out whats wrong with it so. The amp about after 5months of high voltage playing just cant take bass anymore. If you are planning to buy an amp to absolutely flog it DONT GET THIS ONE, IT IS A 'PRACTISE' AMP.

havent dealt with them but they are supposedly the best, suuuuuuuuure

ive been playing for going on 18 years and i have had many of amps and this is middle range amp, great for beginners. If it was stolen i would be pissed off because it would be $500 down the drain. I am considering bying an oldschool EDA stack which looks quite moist, and would probably kick the arse of this little fella, my advice is, its a great little amp for beginners but if your looking for something to flog dont flog this one and dont buy the extra cab

25W (20W without external speaker), 8x5" speakers (4+4 (combo, or 2-cabinet stack (can drive any 8ohm external speaker cab.))), TubeLogicTM HOT Technology (faithfully emulates sonic characteristics of tube amps), input, 2 channel select between ?clean? & high-gain "lead", clean vol, lead pre & post vols, 3 band EQ (bass/midddle/treble) with active presence, footswitch jack for channel select, effects loop, external speaker jack, cabinet-voiced headphone jack, 12.5 + 8.3 kg / 27lbs9oz + 18lbs5oz) (List Price: NZ$499.00)

I think this one's made in Korea.

It hasn't got reverb, and the EQ is "shared" between clean and lead channels. Other than that, it has everything you'd want in a pratice/small venue/solo performer amp.

It's great value for money - it's price/features/performance is excellent.

My main gear consists of: an Epiphone Dot (ES-Dot: Gibson ES-335 Dot copy) with 2 stock standard humbuckers; an Ibanez Talman Inter City (TCY10) acoustic-electric with Ibanez Piezo Pickup and Ibanez AEQ201 2-Band EQ; a Roland GC-405X stack amplifier, and a Zoom GFX-707 multi-effects console.

This amp suits my eclectic musical tastes. I would say it's suitable for everything except possibly Metal. It doesn't seem noisy, but as I'm playing a semi-hollow body electric and an acoustic there is feedback on higher settings. The controls are very sensitive, with each single level change making a noticeable difference - very unlike the Samick LA30R amp I had before. The clean channel is clean, but not too clean as with the Jazz Chorus. The lead channel provides a wide variety of noticeable distortion level options. I haven't connected the GFX-707 to the Roland yet, but although the Roland has an effects loop, I have been advised to go straight in.

I like the sound of this amp - it allows my guitar to show off its nice warm tones, which my Samick did not.

It's a Roland. I think I can depend on it. I hope so. I haven't had it long enough to confirm this though. I would gig without a backup - in a small venue or soloing only though, as it's only 25W.

I asked for a instruction booklet/manual and a warranty card from Roland New Zealand several weeks ago (by email), and still havn't had a reply. The US website <www.rolandus.com> is terrible, and the New Zealand one is even worse. I have heard that Roland's customer service is bad, and they've done nothing to make me believe otherwise. They seem to rely on the quality of their product and not the quality of their relationships with dealers and end users.

I'm basically a beginner.

My main gear consists of: a natural Epiphone Dot (ES-Dot: Gibson ES-335 Dot copy); a red Ibanez Talman Inter City (TCY10) acoustic-electric; a Roland GC-405X stack amplifier, and a Zoom GFX-707 multi-effects console.

I would buy this again in an instant at the price I paid. In fact I'd like another - to go stereo - but I understand they're not making or importing them anymore, so I would have to buy used.

My ultimate amp(s) are the Line 6 ranges, but even the low end Spider range is much more expensive than the Roland GC-405X.

If I had the same amount of money I had when I bought the Roland, I'd definitely buy it again if available. If I had more money, I'd buy a Line 6 Spider (probably stereo). If I needed an amp to gig with I'd buy a Line 6 Flextone or AX2.

Price/features/performance wise, the Roland GC-405X rocks.

Bought mid '99, so I figure it was manu'd about then; Solid State, low-wattage (but plenty loud), "HOT Tube Technology", 2 channels, 1 three band EQ w/ Presence control (channel can be footswitched) SERIAL effects loop (Take Note!), extension out, and headphone/line out (which (I guess) disables the power amp). Amp purchased from American Musical Supply.

Speaker Complement - 4 specially-voiced 5" in the combo, and 4 of the same 5's in the extension cab (which makes it the 405x instead of just 405)

The only thing I really wish this thing had was a second set of EQ controls - one for each channel. I also wish the FX loop was parallel (but for 140 smackers, hey, I'll live :)

Notice I did say Serial FX loop - for the non-techies & new ampheads out there, this means that ALL of your signal goes through the fx loop when something is plugged into it. Thus, if you plug the send in, you'd better plug the return in or else thou hath no sound. The seven's for the serial & the one set of tone controls, but, like I said, for 140 bux, I'll live :)

The sound fits me about right. Right now I'm using an Ibanez GAX-90, which is the budget version of the axe John5 of Marilyn Manson uses (can't think of anyone else of the top of my head who uses those guitars, sorry). I've also played this amp heavily with an Epiphone Les Paul Double Cutaway, a mahog set-neck with P-90's.

This amp hails from the first crest of "I sound like a tube amp!" amps, and it does a pretty good job of it, in my opinion (after all, this *is* coming from the same company that brought us the VG-8 :) I think the key is in the power amp. Playing through the speakers, you can get a nice kinda tubey sproing at mid-high volumes with the humbuckers on the Ibanez. To be honest, I didn't really like the tones I was getting out of the Epiphone with this amp, but that could be a combo of its pickups & my hands. The distortion through the speakers is nice 'n' warm to my ears. It's capable of shrillness, but with patient knob twiddling I've found a nice balance between the brightness I like in clean sounds & the warmth I like in my distortion.

Running through the "cabinet voiced" line out gives the amp an entirely different character. Frankly, the "cabinet voiced" shouldn't be on there. Using headphones gives this amp a much brighter quality, but frankly I prefer this when using my fx processor (a Behringer Virtualizer). The processor lends a "hi-fi" aspect to the tone which occasionally through the headphones I can coax some vai-like sounds out of my rig.

If I were to compare sounds and artists, here's kinda what it'd be.
line-out/clean - think Beach Boys. at times it can get too brittle
speakers/clean - a little bit like Keaggy when he plays clean (but not when he plays slightly distorted.) A little bit like Satriani's ZZ's Song.
Distorted/line-out - Vai/Satriani every once in a while... push the treble & presence too much & yr in buzzy hair metal-ville.
Distored/speakers - Think Manson, especially their cover of Sweet Dreams. Can't speak for Korn, etc - no seven string. Very Tourniquet, if you've ever heard of 'em.

The Ten is because it fits me. I don't do farty distortion/fuzz. I prefer a slighty organic distortion, and it works with my hands (but that may not be true for you - in my experience tone really is in your hands). Beats the tonal snot out of every solid-stater I've played.

As far as live sound goes, let me relate a story. For two years, I attended East Texas Baptist Universtiy in Marshall Texas. There were mandantory chapel services every Monday & Wednesday. I hated them. Why? Because whenever a band would play, it came out as sonic mush. Total. Sonic. Mush. But. One chapel service a friend borrowed my rig to play praise choruses (at this point it was the amp & the Epiphone). The amp cut like a finely-honed knife. I was sitting in the middle/back, one of the worse sections, and he was totally clear and cut through the "mix" ("mix" because really the only things going through the mixer were the vocal mics). Live Sound? No problem - it's got the volume & tone to not get lost, and still blend in when you need to.

The seven is for two problems that I've had with it since it was new. First, sometimes the amp won't work if the fx loop is not engaged. Granted, a 6" patch cable does the trick, but sometimes the amp won't put out any sound without the effects loop engaged. The second is the power switch. It's out right cheap, and I'll be replacing it in the near future. It's cantankerous, and refuses to just be flipped on. It has to be coaxed into making the connection.

Other than those two, it's completely reliable. I do church gigs with this thing regularly, andcan't really afford a backup. Frankly, if I can find another oneof these at about the price I paid for it, I'll but it so I can run my processor in stereo (the FX loop is Mono)

I haven't had to have it repaired, no major problems, so I haven't really dealt w/ AMS's customer support. I'm quite comfortable with a saudering iron, so when the time comes I'm going to just ignore if there's any warranty left and replace the switch myself.

I've been playing 5-6 years, and I've played through Boogies, Marshalls, Fenders, Crates, whatever the store has when I'm shopping for guitars. I prefer this thing. Good Volume, Great Tone, Fairly portable. Wish there were a handle on the extension cab, and two sets of EQ, and a parallel fx loop, but they gotta cut somewhere to make 'em cheap. Frankly, I'd rather have Roland be cheap on the amenities & lavish on what counts - tone. They Did. Buy this sucker again in a heartbeat if stolen. I bought this one on price:size ration alone, and it's probably the best moolah I've spent on guitar.

Feel free to contact me about this thing, and if you want I'll see what I can do about posting some sound samples of it.

Pretty simple 2 channel (clean, distortion), no reverb, 3 band shared eq, presence control. External speaker, headphones, direct out, mono-effects loop. 8 - 5" speakers.

Clean is really, really warm for such a small (cheap) amp. Distortion is great for blues, need a pedal for more brutal sounds. I use single coil and HB's in my various guitars and they all sound pretty good. The 5" speakers had to go for lack of bottom end, so I put a single 10" Carvin Vintage 10 (65 watts / 8 Ohms) into each cab. Now this little thing sounds like a fully cranked tube amp with loads of tight bottom end. I wired it so that I could use each cabinet as as simple speaker cab (amp shut off) in my stereo rig (Marshall EL84 20/20 driven rack) or, plug the Roland back into it's speaker and use it as a mini-stack practice amp. I'd recommend this simple mod for anyone as it makes this an incredibly versatile unit (2 individual cab's, or, a self driven mini-stack). For the price I paid, I'm happy.

(Note- Use 10", 8 Ohm speakers. Wire the bottom extension cab as a single speaker to the existing jack. On the main amp, install a 1/4" jack into the back of the cab. Wire the speaker to the new jack. Add a 1/4" plug to the speaker output wires that come out of the amp unit. Cut a little notch in the top of the board that covers the back of the amp (the one with the new jack in it) and hang the plug out of the back of the amp. This way, when you want the amp to function normally, just plug the amp into it's own speaker, and run a cord from the external speaker jack to the other cab. To use as two speaker cab's, just unplug the amp from it's speaker, leave it turned off, and voila!, you have two 10" closed back cab's.)

Pulling the whole thing apart to replace the speakers gave me a pretty good look at the construction. I'd say it looks pretty durable unless you plan on running over it with your car.

Never dealt with Roland. But I'd guess they have a customer service department.

Well worth it. I can use it in 2 configurations and with the 10" speakers it sounds way better than you'd ever expect. I probably wouldn't buy it again because a) they don't make them and b) it's too much work to change the speakers. But if you see one, and you have your effects, and you have a couple of 10" speakers laying around; it does a great job of amplifying your tone and giving it a tube-like sound.