Roland MicroCube Combo

As mentioned previously

I am submitting this review as i bought this amp to travel with and did so after reading these reviews.Some of the reviews i have read are total rubbish and would like to make one very important point about this amp.Only a few people that have submitted reviews on this product have mentioned the amount of clean headroom
ie. how loud the amp will go when played clean without getting distortion or buzzing.I have to say you can barely practice in a quiet room without this amp distorting.That is with my strat let alone a Les Paul!I defy anyone to tell me different.It was so bad i went back to the music shop to try another but just the same.

No problems

No problems

Been playing 20 years and own a Fender Strat and Les Paul plus some other fenders and a Mesa amp.
Its a compact amp and fits in my suitcase.The effects are fun and the overdriven sounds are good fun but not realistic.
Its also very loud on the overdriven sounds
Its a good toy and fine for practise just dont buy this for clean sounds.
p.s to the chap that uses this amp because its so good instead of his marshall-what are you on!!

I was looking for a small amp, as I live in a small NYC apartment. Just dumped a Marshall 30W and was looking for something a little more versatile. I play mainly rock and alternative and this amp fits the bill nicely. It's really got everything *I* need in a practice amp. It has line-out for headphones (the fiancee appreciates that), 1/4 and 1/8" line-in (perfect for pluging my iPod in and playing over tracks), six effects, a tone knob, gain and volume.

The sounds are all very good. The amp models seven amps (well, 5, along with Acoustic and Mic settings).

Acoustic: I don't really care for this setting. It sounds like most acoustic modelers (computerized). If you turn the volume up you get wierd airy background noise. I am sure there's some use for it, just not in my house.

JC Clean: This is Roland's own JC-120 Jazz Chorus. It's, well, clean. Very clean. Not much to be said about it. Add a little chorus and play Jazz I guess. I just play it with just a splash of reverb and it sounds nice, even at high volumes.

Black Panel: This is the Fender Twin Reverb model. When I first got the amp I didn't like this model. Then one day I cranked the gain and volume and fell in love with it. Very nice, especially with some reverb. It's got a nice tubeish quality to it. I have never played an authentic TR, but it sounds really nice none-the-less.

Brit Combo: This is the AC-30 model and the one I use the most. I practice a lot of Beatles and Who songs and this model fits the bill. Low/no gain will get you the Lennon/Harrison sound, crank the gain to about two o'clock and you're Townshend. I love it.

Classic Stack: The JMP1987 model. I don't use this one often as I have never really been a fan of the Marshall sound. From what I have played of it, it sounds like a Marshall. This model picks up a lot of buzz on high gain settings. For some reason standing close to my humidifier makes this model buzz and my pickups are pretty good. Good for Hendrix on up to today's rock.

R-Fier Stack: The Rectifier model. I don't use this model too often either, but if metal is your thing you'll love it. Really hard and aggressive. It sounds like what I recall the Rectifier sounding like. Metalheads will probably just keep it on this amp. Drop your low-E string and crank the gain and you sound like just about any metal band out these days.

Mic: I don't use a mic so I never really use this model. It's fun to turn the volume and gain up and sound like Sonic Youth though.

As for the effects:

Chorus: I don't generally use it as I don't play Jazz or whatever kind of music would. On the clean channel it sounds pretty nice but I have not clocked enough hours into it to really decide.

Flanger/Phaser: Not a bad flanger, though it's an effect I never use as I feel it should have been left behind in 1989. Same goes for the phaser.

Tremolo/Delay: These two are broken. I am sorry. The tremolo is too fast and the delay gets little clicks into the tail of the echo. Bad, bad, bad.

Reverb: This one is always on for me. It sounds good. It does not sound like a spring reverb (I don't think it's supposed to). It's perfect for the tone I like. Don't crank it too high though.

I wish there were separate tone knobs but that's asking a lot for such a tiny amp. I keep the tone at about 1:00 most of the time. If the volume is very low I need to crank it up to about 5:00 because the sound tends to gets muddy at lower volumes.

Cliff Notes:

Lots of models. All good, yet I question the usefulness of the Mic and Acoustic models. The effects are generally ok but I don't like the delay and tremelo at all. I do love the reverb.

It's like a little cinder block. I've dropped it more than once and nothing's happened to it.

Never had to use it other than getting the manual from their site to write this review.

I really like this amp. It's small, it's portable and it does more than an amp this small should. The only major downside is the price. For the price you can get a decent 15W, but chances are if you are buying this amp, size and portability are what you are after. Sure you can get a Pignose for about half the price but you won't get the amp models or any of the effects.

This amp was made in 2004. This amp is made to handle virtually any style of music considering the amp models it has. They're pretty basic, but covers a wide spectrum. It can handle acousitc, blues, classic rock, and my beloved metal.

It can be run on 6 AA batteries so you can take it anywhere you like, or a ac adapter(included). It has a recording line out/headphone jack, and an aux in for cd play along. It has a digital tuning fork that can be switched from Standard, half-step down, or even a whole step. I think it would have been less of a hassle to just include a traditional tuner in place of the little "ding" sound you get. Its kind of annoying to have to tune all of your strings to a relative pitch. Don't get me wrong, i'm capable of tuning my guitar, but its a little annoying because the tuning fork function sounds too much like the soundtrack to an 8-bit Nintendo game. But in the end i'm happy it has this function because its better than not having a tuner at all.

For a small little amp, it actually has quite a bit of little features. It has all your basic built in effects like chorus, flanger, phaser, tremelo, delay, and reverb. For the EQ it has a single tone knob that works like the one on your guitar, gain, and volume. Very simple and easy to use. No patches or menus.

I mainly use this amp next to the computer because thats where i practice the most. Its small enough to fit conveniently just about anywhere you like. However it will surprise you with its volume when you take it to jam with a friend(not a band, it is just an itty bitty practice amp), it'll get louder than you expect. But don't expect a half-stack type roar or anything.

I use my ESP Ec-1000 equipped with Seymour Duncan humbuckers(JB in the bridge, '59 in the neck) and it sounds like my guitar. The amp doesn't color the sound of your guitar.

It covers all my musical styles which really is just classic rock and metal. But this amp has something for everyone. The quality of the acoustic channel surpised me the most because it sounded pretty damn good. Add a bit of chorus and its so shimmerry it'll give you chills! My favorite setting is the "Classic Stack." Its actually very warm and smooth with lots of sustain. It has the best lead tone from any little practice amp i've heard. I turn the tone knob at about 11 o'clock and the gain at about 3 o'clock and you're in business. However, I am disappointed with the "rectifier" amp model. In a nutshell it sounds like shit. The rectifier setting sounds like some nu-metal fag turned the treble all the way up, and mids all the way down and pulled the knobs off so you can't change it. You can't fix the lack of mids with the tone knob so this amp model completely lacks body and definition. This is where i think a 3 band EQ would come in handy, but this is however a small practice amp so i took that in consideration. Other than that, it sounds great. I give it an 8

I've only had it for a month or so, its solid state so i'm sure its pretty reliable. Its the first Roland product i've owned so I'm not sure on the company's reputation.

Never messed with em.

I've been playing for 6 years and I own a Marshall AVT-100 1x12 combo amp which has been my main amp for 3 years now. I'm about to get a real guitar rig soon so this microcube will be my main practice amp. I've played lots of other practice amps and for the price, its my favorite. I'm very satisfied with its versatility and overall quality.

This mini cube amp is very good at what it's intended to be : Bedroom practice amp and Portable battery-powered amp. It's versatile enough for both as it has 1 acoustic simulator, 2 clean models, 2 brit crunch, 1 rectum-fryer. One tone knob is surprisingly enough for controlling the overall tone.

Batteries do last a long time, so the claim of 20 hours of battery life is probably true.

I wish it has tuner + metronome built in though.

Sounds great for most bedroom/portable applications, although the speaker is the weakest link - read opinions before me, I agree that after 12:00 the volume knob doesn't increase bass anymore.

Noise? It's DEAD QUIET.

I use it with mostly my Steinberger Spirit GP-2R. Before I though that the amp sounded thin, harsh, and icepicky - turns out it's the steiny's fault. After I tried it with my Ibanez RG2120X (Mahogany bodied RG btw) it sounds full and distortions really scream!

Looks a lot like a toolbox. I don't abuse my stuff but it feels really solid.

Cannot comment on this since I haven't used customer support. Hopefully I won't have to :)

Fantastic little amp. Great match for Steinbergers with its portability.

I recommend starters and experienced players alike to get this lil amp - it's worth it. It, along with the steiny, makes me play more because of the portability and hassle-less set-up. No cables to mess like when I use my Tonelab SE for bedroom practice.

Alot for a little amp Cosm amp sims, fx, And it runs on 6AA batteries, they're cheap enough. it does come with an ac adapter as well

sounds great, I got this Puppy for what it is great sound in a small package. You can call it a toy but its a damn good one.Absolutly perfect for living room jamming and you can take it anywhere.

I was sick and tired of using a pod with headphones, wall warts guitar cables ect.I'd get tied in knots just to practce in my living room. all I need now is this thing a guitar and a cable.

keep in mind it is a practice amp and you not gonna gig with it. well I'm sure some slapdick probably will try and then bitch about it,or better yet,tell ya how great their $100 microcube sounds thru their $10,000 PA

its a Roland its, bulletproof, need I say more!!!

Once Again-its a Roland, need I say more!!!

Been playing 25 yrs. Own a whole lot of top notch gear. if it were lost or stolen @ $100 i'd get another one. might get one anyway to double our fun for parties

Got this amp last month at Guitar Center. It's new, a 2004 I guess, paid $125.00. I heard a salesperson demo the amp for someone and I thought it sounded great, especially in a noisy store environment. The features of the amp have been discussed plenty here, but I'll say I like the JC and Fender Blackface models the best. I also played my Ovation Acoustic Electric thru the mic model as someone suggested and it sounded excellent. The reverb is very good for digital, I also used a very small amount of chorus. The effects can get intense real quick.

I'm using a Carvin AE-185 with humbuckers and the amp sounds great. Yes, you can "woof" out the speaker real quick at higher volumes but for rehearsal and working out tunes and parts, it's great. It is not noisy, altho' I've really only run it on batteries so far, (6AA). The Blackface model with gain about 10:00, volume between 11 & 12 and just a touch of chorus, and some reverb..very nice. Now here's where I think this amp is a sleeper. To me, it's one of the most complete "direct boxes" I've used. I took it to church Sunday morning and plugged it into the sound system via the rec out/headphone jack. Man, did it sound great and absolute quiet. I carried it in with one hand, set it atop the keyboard player's meat locker Roland 500 KC switched the amp on and turned up the guitar volume. Complete silence, no hum. I played a chord and guitar filled the church from two 15 inch PA cabs and monitors and sounded absolutely great! I kept up with band fine, going thru the house PA for assistance! Also, practicing with some friends, I took it over to their house, again, plugged it into the PA there and I was good to go, guitar, amp, [battery powered] and a cord. Yes, there's no channel switching, you're limited to one sound unless you reach over and turn the model selector. How many amps do you want running? I want one great tone going for 90% of what I play. This little beast will surprise you, provided you maintain realistic expectations and are open to a little experimentation and tweaking. I use this amp in my music/computer room to work on leads and songs and am happy to be able to do it with good tone and effects.

I don't think I've ever had a problem with Roland equipment. I've had their effects pedals, drum machines, etc. over the years. To me, Roland is synonmous with quality, reliability and clean sound.

Haven't had to talk to Roland support. Usually only do that if something breaks down. See above.

I'm 55 years old, been playing since I was 16. I currently own a Fender Deluxe 90, Carvin AE-185, 1979 Ovation Acoustic Electric Legend, JBL Eon PA, Fender Passport PA and numerous other musical itemes. I played in a band on the road for 12 years, in the mid 70's and currently play in a duo with my wife on the weekends. Yes, I'd buy this again and will probably demo and buy the Roland Cube 60 when it's available.

It has a few features.. .. basic overdone, untable stuff. nothing special here.

I use this as a practice amp only.. I'm only interested in low volume sound for going over technique with some semblance of usable tone. Tone isn't the concern here, nor is volume, just making sure I can clearly hear what I'm working on with a TV on or with while jamming with the stereo for the sake of just learning stuff. Do I care that you can't play it past 3 or so, nope. Do I want to bring this to the park and play it out, no. I have quite a few real amps for that. This amp has a couple of usable sounds I can get out of it for each of my guitars and it allows me to practice in a very comfortable way.. Would I use this amp for anything other that going over technique or working on tunes.. Nope.. Would I use this amp to jam along with others .. Nope. Do I really care about the actual sound, a little, but again it's just a practice amp.
I gig every weekend, I get my jollies at volume that way, but for simple learning and just going over stuff, this amp works for me.

It doesn't look like something you would want to drop, but then again it is really cheap. For my purposes, it normally just sits on top of another amp while I practice, it doesn't leave my little practice space. In truth, I've had it for a while (I don't remember how long, I bought it when they first came out on a whim) and it hasn't broken yet. When and if it breaks, I'll chuck it or give it away and see whats around then.

Who knows..

I've been playing a long time, well over 30 years and in truth who cares? I gig every weekend doing the classic rock power trio thing and have quite a few guitars and tube amps. When I need a real amp, I use one. For going over songs by yourself and just working on chops, this little amp is pretty cool. I really do like it for that purpose. Would I record with it? No way.. Would I expect it to be heard over a drummer. No.. I've given lessons using it and I've jamed at just above acoustic volume with other guitar players using it. It does both of those quite well. Is the tone out of this thing wonderful? No, but you can get very nice sounds out of it and you can clearly hear your technique when you practice.
The effects are pretty useless IMHO, but I tend to not use chorus or flange pretty much ever. The reverb and echo's are pretty tinny, unflexible and cheap sounding, sometimes that can be fun though.
In terms of the amp models, to my ears the Vox is ok, the roland jazz chorus is ok, and the marshall is the most usable (by varing the gain and your guitars controlls). The fender twin model is absolutley horrible and I'm not interested in the rectumfrier.

If you are just learning and are looking for your first amp, this shouldn't be it. If you want to jam with a full band, or play it above 3 or 4, this isn't your amp either. If you just want to practice at low volume's while watching football (my favorite way to practice scales and stuff) this is pretty cool.

got as a christmas present but have played it in the store for months. I love this amp to death, it has 6 amp models and 5 effects and every single one of them sounds good. it also has an electronic tuning fork that allows you to tune your 5th string to standard, half step down or whole step down very cool.

here i am going to talk about each model specifically and how the sound-
Acoustic- This is ok but you can never get an eletric to sound like an acoustic, and i never use it so its really no big deal
JC Clean-This is the Jazz Chorus, very flat eq, great for thowing the cubes effects over, as the name implies sounds great with a little bit of chorus
Black Panel- This is the fender twin model, more bottom and top than the JC, seems the mids are a bit lacking, still sounds good though.
Brit combo- This is the Vox ac-30 model, responds very well to gain and goes from clean to pretty distorted, this model can cover all grounds
Classic Stack- This is the marshall model, sounds great for classic rock you can make it really bite by turning up the tone knob
R-Fier-This is the MESA model, sounds pretty close too. I have a rectoverb combo and it really captures that recto agression this is my favorite model along with the brit combo and jc clean, i would be 100% satisfied with those 3 alone

About the guy who said that the distortion is buzzy at high volumes, you need to turn down the tone control as you turn it up because as you increase volume more highs come out, i find at low volumes i keep the tone on the high side but set it aroud 50% for louder volumes

There is one of these at my local store and it get the hell played out of it and just keeps on tickin. I think this will be around for a while. because i havent had if for long though, i think i will leave this one blank

never dealt with roland, hope i never have to.

If you need a portable amp this is it! sounds very very very very good and does alot more than any other portable amp out there, its really no contest, i HIGHLY reccomend this amp to all guitarits go get one NOW!

bot new- you know the features.

What is up with all the rave reviews? makes me wonder. I was happy with sound until I turned it up past 3 (9 o'clock) then it sounds HORRIBLE!! dist. sounds are extremely harsh and tinny. clean is better. Yes I realize its a little practice amp. I thought it might be cool to camp or take to park and play outside but how is that gonna work when you cant turn it up? dont buy. the only way to get good sounds is to either not turn up past 2( I admit its loud enough for practicing at 2) or run it through another amp. I tried it through my fenders and through my P.A. and a 4x12 and the sounds are excellent. Nice fx and marshall sound. but I already have a multi fx.

I hope this saves you from a bad purchase. the thing is cute as hell but is really just a toy. I bot to use for lessons and practice but its going back. My 15 year old peavey rage blows it away and IT sounds crappy! you might like it if you never have need to turn up past 2 but why settle when there are so many good little amps out there and as i said, the advantage of battery power for playing outside is worthless since you have to keep it so low to keep that tiny(4 inch, not 5) spkr from rattling.

I have two of these, both purchased in 2004. I scored the first one in at Matt Umanov's in the Village/NYC right after they came out early in the year. The salesman said he was using it and he had the same Micro Cube look that most buyers get: Grinning and Bemused.
It's a nice, pleasing little toy. I bought a second one two weeks ago to leave in New York for when I visit family (I live in L.A.)
The features as stated: the "Fender" settings have a smooth, jazzy vibe, and the other effects are fun. The reverb is surprisingly good.
One of the best surprises is the batter life. It lasts forever. I loaded it in May and its still running on the same batteries in Dece,ber, with light usage, of course.
Price, by the way: I paid $125 for the first one and a cool $109 for the second at the new Guitar Center on 14th Street in Manhattan, big sale.

Lots of fun and several surprisingly good sounds. It sounds like quality. I have a lot of little amps, and this is the best. I have a new Fender 15r, for my daughter, that is more livey and powerful, also a good product, but I prefer the Roland. And I enjoy it's portability.

Seems likely to withstand my light use.

A solid performer and tops in the little-amp niche. Well worth the money. Roland should send me a commission: I own two and I steered a bandmate toward buying one. And he steered a friend toward one. I don;t see how any player could go wrong, or be displeased, with a portable, light, smooth playing and sophisticated little box that runs off the wall and off batteries, with long battery life. Hat's off to Roland.
(By the way, the bigger versions are intriguing, at 30 watts and up. They are still light but can resonate and push more air. I think Roland has taken a strong position in the small amp niche).