Roland MicroCube Combo

2W; 5" speaker; amp model selector (blackface/recto/JC/acoustic/mic/etc.); gain and master volume controls; tone control; chorus/phase/flanger/tremelo control; delay/reverb control; single input; stereo line-ins (1/4 and 1/8"); line out and headphone out; "tuning fork" button. Very full featured for a battery-powered practice amp. Comes with the DC adaptor, but also runs for several hours on 6 AA batteries, which I find pretty impressive. The great thing about it is that it pretty much has everything you need to practice in a light, self-contained package - no hauling around extra heads, cabs, cables, pedals, headphones, adapters, cases, what have you. It makes you want to practice.

Used with a dual-humbucker Carvin C66, which has a fairly hot passive output. The amp models sound like what they're supposed to and respond well to picking dynamics, even though the single tone knob doesn't provide maximum versatility. The effects are decent and useable. This thing is great for low-volume woodshedding, lessons and transcription. Maybe busking too, but I wouldn't expect it to do anything alongside a drummer and certainly not at a gig (unless you're playing chamber music with a classical guitar and your audience knows to shut up). I bought this box so I could practice along with recordings without wearing headphones, which I find both physically and aurally fatiguing when I wear them for long periods. It works well in this respect. No, it doesn't have insane dynamic range, and the low end does break up if you push it. What do you expect with 2W and 5"? Come on.

Haven't owned it that long; we'll see. Considering the overpriced crap against which it competes, it's built pretty well, like a plastic cinderblock. The front is protected by a rigid speaker grill rather than a piece of cloth. The controls feel pretty sturdy, and they're recessed. The low wattage, solid state construction is a good thing in a practice amp - I can manhandle it without expecting it to explode or melt or anything.

Roland U.S.A. has this really amazing website ;-P I'll bet their Japanese site is better. Haven't tried them on the phone.

Best of its kind. For a battery-powered practice amp around $100, I don't think there's anything better on the market right now.

Features described by others. This amp is strictly for my own amusement and amazement around the house or for easy transport parties, camping, etc. Love the separate chorus/phaser/flanger/trem and delay/reverb knobs. Forget the tuning fork. Sounds bigger than 2 watts. In a perfect world, it'd have a footswitch.

So far, I've used this amp with a Gibson (3 P90's), a Washburn (double humbuckers), an old Ovation (standard piezo), and a Taylor (condenser mike at the X). Worked it over on anything from Vai to Hedges. It is what it is. A very small portable practice amp that approximates sounds of bigger amps. That being said, I'm impressed.

If it's like my other Roland/Boss stuff, it should be just fine. Looks like you could throw it out a car window with no problem. Compared to other amps I've demo'd, it feels sturdy. Knobs feel solid and it's got a neat industrial look. I've used and abused it with no ill effects, yet.

Never had problems with Roland equipment, so don't really know.

Been playing since I was 14. Long, long time ago. Until the past few years, all my equipment was Marshall (we're reviewing amps here, right?) But this thing is more fun than a bucket of monkeys. Current practice amps were a Marshall MG15DFX and an Ibanez IBZ10A. Wish I'd found this amp sooner. The modeling options are cool, and I got one pleasant surprise. Plug in an acoustic/electric, set the modeling to Mic (not acoustic), fiddle with the knobs and you get a really nice clean acoustic sound. The Marshall and Ibanez are gathering dust while this little guy gets all the play. Again, I'd trade the tuning button for a footswitch, but if you're looking for a versatile little practice amp that sounds good, is portable, loaded with fun little features and lets you plug in anything you want to play, give this a shot. It gets a 10 for the fun factor alone.

As below.

Up to the eyes in toys. The greatest part of this portable amp is the inclusion of both reverb and tremolo. Two staples of amplifier noise that I've never seen in any other portable amp. Two thumbs up.

If you: are a street performer with a silly hat who plays blues; a baby boomer who plays Beatles covers on your back deck with your balding, fattening, flower-shorted middle-aged friends; a 12-year old who waxes or wanks metallic in the basement, you will love this little amp. It can do that all (provided you are by yourself, or with only one or two other people).

In fact, I should imagine any of the above scenaria would be a great deal of fun with this amp.

Myself, I rented this to see if it would amplify my archtop with a clean sound that elevated it just above acoustic levels. For the most part, it did do that. It is too small--the speaker I mean, more than the 2 watts--to do that as cleanly as I needed. The bass register would often (though strangely not always) break up on the same (guitar) setting. There is a fellow much further down on this list who claims to use it successfully for this purpose on his Gibson ES-165 (mine is a Heritage 575--quite similar for those who don't know). Well...he is obviously only doing this at home. That's fine, of course, but I was hoping (because it's so cheap and compact) that it would survive coffee houses too. Sadly for me it doesn't.

However, for what it does, this amp is a truly great little toy. Definitely preferable to portable amps by Pignose, Fender, and Crate.

Two weeks are not long enough to say.

Apparently they suck. Happily for me (because I own a JC-90) I live near the Canadian head office. I can drive over there and scowl at them if I ever have to.

For what it is/does, it's great. Where was this when I was 12?

All been said before - as comprehensive as it gets at this price level. What is really remarkable is how easy it is to use - knob twiddling becomes intuitive - in seconds I was getting sounds it had taken me ages to get to on my existing kit. Portability is a major high point - already been out in the field at the back of my place - playing in the open aiar is such a buzz.

So far have only used it with a cheapo Aria STG Strat copy and the sounds I have been getting are truly amazing - how does it get this good with kit at this price level? As has been said before flanger and phaser effects are a bit coarse, but chorus and reverb are ace. The amp sims are simply spot on in my view. What I really like is that with gain set reasonably high and volume set low you can maintain virtually any sound you like at 3am in the morning without waking the neighbours. Sensitivity to playing attack and sustain levels are simply the best I have ever experienced (I don't get out much) and as for volume - it is way more than adequate for home use.

Only got it yesterday but it is built like the proverbial brick s***house - can't see any problems coming here and Roland has great rep for support in any case.

Good rep but never owned Roland product before - only time will tell.

I've been playing for about 6 months mostly on my Martin 000-1 acoustic. Bought the Aria STG004 for #60 brand new just as a bit of fun and was looking for a cheap practice amp to go with it when I hit on this review column. Just can't believe my luck - this is the most fun I've had (that doesn't involve exchanging bodily fluids) for years.

This product is so incredibly good I would advise anyone who's in the market for a new amp of any size to try it before they buy anything else - yes it really is that good! If I were thinking of gigging (in my dreams...) I would really consider using this little beauty as my preamp with a larger system or PA.

I suppose the obvious route for Roland to take now is to come out with a twin channel 'de-luxe' model with user defined memory stores so you can save those really juicy settings and pull them out at a touch of a button/footswitch. (They could take out the 'tuner' as it's not really worth having) When that happens I'll be at the head of the queue, but I just know that I'll never stop using the thing that started it all. This is an absolute classic in the making.

Just bought the amp, 2004 model I guess. All the features have been listed previously.

The amp was recommended by a friend who teaches guitar. He is currently using it with his students. Wow. For a 5" speaker it sounds great. I really like the Black Face (Twin), Brit Combo (AC30, and Classic Stack (Plexi)sounds. I use it all the time. As noted in a prior review it isn't a Marshall Plexi, a Fender Twin or an Vox AC 30 but in my bedroom and den, it is all of those amps, and its fun.

It's Roland (Boss). Appears to be built like a brick, or should I say cube.

As noted above it's Roland (Boss). 5 year warranty.

This unit is what it is. It is handy, sounds great and is a lot of fun. For the price, and more, I would buy it again if something happened to it. I really don't think that you can go wrong. Despite 6 tube amps at home, and I really don't need another guitar amp, I am considering the big brothers - Cube 30 and recently released Cube 60. I had never even considered a solid state amp until this. Try one I think you will like it.

Five amp types (COSM modeling) with modulated effects and reverb/delay. Very versatile in covering all styles. Volume and Gain. CD input, headphone out. Battery and AC adapter (included.) Decent manual. For what is is (and I'm reviewing it for what it is so I won't compare the microcube to a $60,000.00 Touring rig like Satch or Vai might use), it is the absolute King of the battery operated amp genre...hands down! I bought mine in June and have jammed with it at informal get togethers with acoustic players. No discernable battery dropoff after several hours of play at moderate to quiet levels.

I run a HSS Ibanez with medium output pickups. Using the JC 120, Fender Blackface, VOX and Marshall models at low to medium gain levels, I can get the Microcube to create a musical sound without losing the sound of my guitar and pickups. The Recto setting is too heavy for the guitar's character to shine through...but it is a GOOD sound, nevertheless.
Again...for what it is...this box is the absolute best in its class by an order of magnitude...AT LEAST! I have no shame when jamming with the lads. It sounds excellent.

For what it is, it is unstoppable. Go get one!

Just bought this amp and I've had a few small amps (EH, Crate) and this one is just simply great for what it does. Which is provide a personal amp for playing remotely. Its battery powered with easily available AA batteries, it has its own tabs for for a guitar strap and has most of the effects you need for simple songwriting or jamming with friends in a very close and personal way. I wish it had a regular tuner insteade of the A 440 tone, which helps me to tune the A string but I'm not sure how to tune the rest yet. It has a headphone out and stereo ins for plugging in a CD/MP3 Player or a laptop. Just imagine taking some lessons with you on an iPod and this amp and a small guitar (see my setup below) to practice in the park. AWESOME!

I'm using a Steinberger Spirit (aka the Broom stick) guitar with a Seymour Duncan 59 (Neck) and a JB (bridge) and it all fits in a backpack. This guitar now sounds so awesome that I am using it for recording a lot now. The guitar itself is small about 2.5 feet in length and VERY light. Then I bought the Roland MicroCube and fellin love right away. Then I signed up for a Guitar One magazine subscription and I downloaded some of the lesson sundbites from the website. Then, when I want to go to the park, I pack the amp, the guitar, the Guitar One magazine,my iPod with downloaded sound files and songs I've written, a notebook and pen, and I go practice in the sun. a notebook to write notes. AMAZING!!! If it didn't add that much weight I would add a laptop.

I left one of these amps at my friends house to jam and I will buy another to go to the park with as stated above.

So don't expect it to replace your gigging amps even for small coffee houses. If you're in the subway you might be ok, except when trains go buy.

What it does fairly well also is record so if you want to go to a friends house or to the park (se above) and you want to record some ideas or even practice out on a sidewalk or by the water. This amp is amazing for that.

For sound for this price compared to others that cost more and sound worse this gets a 10!

I once owned Boss pedals and Roland synths and Amps. Roland and Bossboth are reliable companies.

Don't know about customer support but products are so reliable that I've never had to use them. So I'll give it a 9 by default.

Awesome for what it does. It makes you portable. Check all of the other amps at this level and you will not find one that has all of these features at this price in one package. I would love to see a full size tuner but other than that it kicks arse! I AM buying another one.

Cute, very small (2/3rds the size of a Pignose), has modeling (allegedly), runs on batteries, uses a wall wart otherwise. The design and trim are tacky and ugly. I'm glad they put the "faceplate" up top-- it's especially ugly. The whole thing looks and feels appallingly nasty and Crate-like. Even at this price point, Roland could have done a lot better.

I'm sorry, but I spent ten minutes with one of these, and that was enough. Even taking this amp for "what it is" (a $120 practice amp), I don't understand where the barrage of glowing praise is coming from. The reviews below might lead you to believe that this is a miracle of modern technology. The clean tones ARE pretty good. Every single one of the overdrive and distortion models sounded absolutely terrible to me... and I was being forgiving, measuring by the standards of every sub-$100 practice amp I've ever played.

The amp is NOT any louder than you would expect for the size and 5" speaker, and-- worse-- when you crank it up to medium levels, the output is very unnaturally compressed and squashy. It sounds like the speaker and the power amp are giving up simultaneously.

The effects are a fun toy and sound alright, but there's not much flexibility. Then again, I don't care. Built-in DSP or no, I simply think effects belong on the floor.

This is definitely not a space-age miracle. It's not even a very good value as a practice amp.

I have no reason to trust nor distrust it. I've owned a couple of Roland keyboards and FX processors, which have all been fine. People seem to have good luck with Roland amps generally.

Not putting manuals up online is just greedy.

I don't play much any more and, given all the stellar reviews here, was thinking about this as a downgrade from a larger Yamaha modeling amp prior to an out-of-state move. I thought if it was remotely passable, I'd do it. I was expecting the amp to be remotely passable, bridging the gap between practice amp and semi-usable tone. It did not even meet my basic tonal expectations from a practice amp. The ability to run on batteries is pretty cool, the basic clean tones are merely OK, and the effects are "convenient." Other than that, I just don't see why this thing is worth $120. I might pay $75 for it. I have absolutely nothing against modeling amps, when the modeling's done right (see also: Yamaha). But I've played no-name practice amps that have better distortion "channels" than this. Am I just missing something here?!

2 watt practice amp with 5" speaker.
COSM amp sims and built-in effects.
Amp sims :- acoustic, jc120, twin, ac30, plexi and rectifier.
effects :- delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo
Runs on mains (psu supplied) or batteries.

Have been playing 27 years most of which have been spent playing in covers bands and have been teaching for the last 15 years.
I was looking for a practise amp with built in effects to save me from having to plug in my usual amp/fx setup just for a few minutes practise at home.
I saw this amp demo'd recently and couldn't believe it wasn't being miked up. The sounds from sound a small box are quite stunning. The amp sims are very very good. At this price I didn't expect too much from the effects but they are also very good.
I actually found some of the tones quite inspirational.
Easily loud enough for home practise.
The rating of 10 is based on the sound of the Micro Cube compared to the competition.

I have loads of Roland/Boss gear including keyboards and guitar effects and have never had a problem.

Never had to call them.

Stunning.
If you want a small portable practise amp with superb inspirational tones this is the only option.
The best #75 i've spent on guitar gear.....ever !

I really like all the amp models and effects. Using an acoustic guitar, I figured I'd be really limited in what I could do with this amp, but I was pleasantly suprised. The only thing I would change is to eliminate the tuning fork and replace it with a tuner, or something else. The way I see it, if this is my biggest complaint for this amp, then I consider myself lucky. I really like that I can power this thing up with AA batteries and move it wherever I like. The aux. input is another really nice feature. Viewed as a whole, the MicroCube is just a great package. It's versatile, the amps/effects are really good, and it's plenty powerful enough for home use. This amp would be a bargain at $150, much less $125.

I'm amazed at how much sound variation I was able to get out of this amp. I have a Washburn D-10SCE acoustic guitar, and I had no expectation of the sound being anything spectacular. I purchased the amp just on the hope of a good clean channel, and maybe the use of chorus or reverb. I'm happy to say that I'm having a great time experimenting with the different amps/effects (which are superb, in my opinion), and I've already found many enjoyable variations that work well with my acoustic guitar. Not only can I get the nice clean sound that I was looking for, but I also get a nice middle of the road electric/acoustic sound that I really like. As others have said, I'm amazed that this is only 2 watts. It's plenty loud enough for my purpose, which is entertaining myself at home.

This is a really solidly built little amp, but I just got it, so I can't comment on reliability.

I've never had to deal with Roland, and I hope to keep it that way.

I purchased this little amp based on the reviews I read here, as well as word of mouth recommendations at some local music stores. I am not a serious guitarist. I was just looking for a small practice amp that I could screw around with at home. I read hundreds of amplifier reviews and spent hours trying to figure out which small practice amp would most adequately suit my needs. Maximum versatility in a small package is how I would sum up this little amp. I am very thankful that I discoverd the MicroCube, because I think it more than lives up to its hype-which is amazing, because the hype is considerable. I have no doubt that I couldn't have made a better choice. I never write product reviews, but I felt strongly about this amp, so I figured I'd add my two cents. I knew within ten minutes of opening the box that the Roland MicroCube will be with me for many, many years.