Roland MicroCube Combo

^This is a follow-up, 3months after(in fact 90days, 100hours solid).
What I said about rechargeble batteries is not correct, it lasts not 20 hours with 2300ma-type, but more likely 9-13 hours depending on how loud you play of course.
The more I play with it the more I like it, and the less I change my settings... I am especially fond of the classic stack with gain at ten o'clock which allows me to have a nice nice clean tone on the in-between auto-split position of my ibanez rg guitar, then a good crunch with only switching on humbuckers, and the tubescreamer ts7 (ts mode, drive O tone 9 level 10) for leads and solos(sound gets tighter and naughty rhaa lovely!
It is reliable so far, the loudspeaker is amazing. Have fun!

This is a new amp just purchased.
I was looking for a small portable amp to take bascially anywhere that was versatile. This thing fits the bill perfectly. You can use an ac adaptor or AA bateries which is perfect for that portable thing I was looking for.
It's a one channel amp but there's an additional input for cd and alike. It sports a headphone jack as well.
Like others that have reviewed this amp and talked about the "tone" control, I wish it had a treble and bass control instead. It has this tuning fork thing which produces an A note. I love this feature because I always forget my tuner. For two watts this thing has enough power for a small party jamming with friends. Roland claims you can get 20 hours on the batteries.

My favorite guitar is a 94 prs eg model with Fralin pickups. But at a bonfire party I'll bring my Peavey Fireza with p90. I bought this guitar for under 200 set it up and it's a fabulous instrument. I also have a 99 prs custom 22. I'm not crazy about it though.
This amp can suit any musical style with the modeling, tone and gain control. Just tweak away. The modeling consists of accoustic - great with accoustic guitars, the Roland JC - dead on and good for a clean channel, Black Pannel - like fender tones, Brit combo - nice sounds, Marshal stacks and the R-Fier good distortion channels (remember this amp only costs $120. Also, there is a mic channel good option

It has been pretty reliable so far, but time will tell.

I've been playing for 30 years and moding tube amps for about 4 years. I have a Marshall 800 combo - great amp. A Carvin Vintage 16 - Fantastic amplifier, and a combo that I built using a traynor 100 watt head, totally modified.
I love the portability and sounds of this amp and I would buy another

Got this amp online and it was delivered this morning. Been playing around with it for hours. Has various amp simulations and some basic effects. I think the tuner is very handy. I don't find the single tone control to be a serious limitation - it works fine. The effects are pretty good although I'm only likely to use the reverb/delay and a little chorus. The phaser and flanger are a bit over the top. I never use effects when I'm gigging. I bought this amp because I'm thinking of doing a little busking.

I play a Gibson Junior 1963 model that has been fitted with dual humbuckers including a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge. I play R&B around the local pubs with a 4 piece band. The clean amp sims are very nice particularly the Jazz Chorus. The mild overdrive of the AC30 sim doesn't really do it for me. The Marshall Plexi sound is absolutely wonderful - pure Angus Young. I'm not partial to the sound of Boogie Rectifiers and initially I didn't like this sound at all. However, it requires a completely different setting of the tone control - it sound best backed off quite a bit and is, in fact, a very usable setting.

No idea but it looks very well put together.

Only just got it and never owned a Roland product before. Three year warranty.

I've been playing for over 25 years and have done thousands of gigs. My main amp is a Laney VC50 although I also own a Laney VC30 which the other guitarist in the band now uses. I think the micro amp is brilliant - if it was twice the price I would still buy it. Roland have set a new standard here, there really is no practice/battery amp that's anywhere near this good. As others have said, every guitarist should have one of these. It will interesting to see how the other manufacturers respond. At present it has no competition. If you are in need of a practice amp look no further.

I have always wanted a battery-powered amp in my modest collection for the obvious reasons. I chose the micro cube because I have had very positive experiences with ?workhorse? products from Roland. Bingo, I got lucky with my first choice! I play as a dedicated rhythm guitarist in the gypsy swing/acoustic jazz style of music and primarily use a good quality German amp designed for acoustic instruments. My vintage acoustic arch top guitar is fitted with a reputable piezo pickup and small preamp (Pickup-the-World). I only play clean so the only useable settings for me on the Roland micro cube are Acoustic and JC. I use no effects. I was amazed with the clean tone and ample volume that this product delivers. I will likely use this amp for occasional busking, acoustic camp jams and small venues where conventional power is a hassle. I don?t have to wait for to charge the unit. When the batteries die, I simply replace them. I could have done without all the other modeling and effects; however, from a marketing standpoint, I completely understand why Roland decided to do this. I think Roland has been thoughtful in their design of this product and we should tip our hats to them. I appreciate my micro cube so much that I sought out a $6, black and gray, zippered, canvas lunch totter (looks more like a camera bag) in which the amp fits perfectly. This is a product that all guitarists should have in their collection.

Noted above.

Too new.

Never had to seek customer support with Roland products. They are fairly responsive to my technical questions when I am researching products.

Noted above.

The other reviews cover the main features, but I wanted to elaborate on a few of them, for example, the line input. This is great for learning songs or jamming. You can connect a Walkman-type device using a standard stereo 1/8 cable. Use the headphone jack and control the volume with the device's volume control. The MicroCube does not alter the signal in any way, except for converting it to mono. Sound is not CD-quality but good enough to be useful.

The 'digital tuning fork' merely produces a tone which goes away after a few seconds. A real tuner would be nice, but given the small size and cost of the MicroCube, the 'fork is useful and better than nothing.

There aren't a lot of controls on this thing and I was able to figure them out in a few minutes. One knob controls chorus/flanger/phaser/tremelo, and a separate knob controls delay and reverb. Example: If the delay knob is all the way to the left, the effects are off. As you rotate the knob clockwise, more delay is introduced. When you reach the 12 o'clock position, the effect is changed to reverb; as you rotate clockwise, the amount of reverb is increased. The EFX knob works similarly.

Very versatile. The Tone control sounds like it is active and makes a noticeable difference, unlike passive tone knobs that merely cut the treble. There are really 5 amp emulations on the COSM Amplifier control, along with a reasonably good Acoustic setting and a Mic setting. I think it sounds very good through the speaker (my favorite is the Brit Combo setting). I tried running the Rec Out into a mixing board and it sounded pretty sterile, so I give it a 9.

It looks fairly butch.

n/a

For years I've been looking for a small amp that would make it quick convenient for a lazy old guy like me to take outside on the porch or picnic table and start playing without having to deal with a lot of cables, power cords, pedals, etc. I bought this after reading the positive reviews on Harmony Central and am very pleased. The only feature that I would personally like, although it would add to the size and cost, is a built-in memory card slot and MP3 player. I would also like Heather Locklear to be waiting for me when I get home from work at night, but I suppose you can't have everything! Kudos to Roland and thanks to the other reviewers. Just remember, this was designed as a personal practice amp and excels at that role, but it is not meant for other uses such as jamming or recording.

Lots of features. 5" speaker, 2W practice amp. Has amp models, effects, 1/4" and 1/8" aux inputs, and a digital tuning fork, which provides a reference tone. I would rather have a full runer than the tuning fork. You can use delay or reverb, one other effect (chorus/flange/phase/tremolo) and an amp model simultaneously. This has just about everything you would need for a portable/practice amp.

The sound is shockingly good for such a small amp. You won;t get a huge anount of bass for this box, but the clean amp models (JC-120, Fender Twin) actually give you good clean sounds at good volume. Other amp models are also excellent (Vox, Marshall, Meda) and give you a wide variety of sounds. The effects are good also. The sound is way better than other portables like the Pignose which I also own. I can't imagine anyone with reasonable expectations being disappointed - the MicroCube sounds like a much larger amo.

Haven;t had it long enough to tell, but Boss/Roland gear is usually very sturdy.

Roland iss one of the last companies that doesn't put manuals online, and their phone support is not toll free.

This is a bit larget and heavier than the Pignose, but sounds way better and has many more features. I play a wide varietly of guitars through it, and it's good sounding enough that I now do the vast majority of my practicing thtough it, I would be surprised if a year from now, there weren't more models in this line and lots of knockoffs from other companies. If you want to carry just a guitar nad an amp for portable use, the Micro Cube is teh way to go.

I won't repeat the info from above. This is an almost perfect practice amp for my simple use. The sound, workmanship and features are way more than I expected for the money spent.

I will second the guys with the Steinberger Spirit guitars. The little Roland and the tiny Spirit were made for each other for practice or just messing around on the couch. The two instruments fit in a backpack! In my humble opinion, these are two the best musical instruments around for great quality, portability, and a small investment, not just for practice either. The sound is great on any setting. The amp works great with my Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis too. On JC with a little reverb with everything else flat, it just makes the jazz box louder without adding anything to the sound. Lovely.

I haven't had it long enough to know about the reliability, but it seems to be built like a tank.

No info here yet

I have been playing for my own pleasure for years. I have the Spirit, the Gibson and an old Ovation Viper solidbody I bought in about 1980 or so. It sounds good too (single coils like a Tele.)
I would replace the little Roland in a minute. It's much better than any other little amp I have owned or have tried, and it fits in my Miata!

More features than any practice amp has the right to offer.

This little sucker sounds amazing! The low end is truly astounding. Tone control lets you dial in the sweet spot. I use the Rectifier and Black Panel settings most often with a bit of chorus or delay as needed. The only dissapointing thing about this amp is the direct sound. This amp sounds amazingly thin direct into a mixing console. Outboard EQ would help, but whu bother when there are so many better options available. The Behringer V Amp series (even the $69 X-V Amp)sounds much better for this application to my ears. Still, the Micro Cube is absolutely the best portable/practice amp ever! I might try mic'ing this in the studio!

Seems reliable enough.

Awesome! Just buy one!

As described by others.

Awesome. No one has covered this yet...you can run this to the board for recording and it sounds great. Very little noise. Mic'd is good too, really fun to use..it's user friendly. It's intuitive, think the tones and effects you want and turn the knobs and there it is. Great for experienced guitarists and newbies too. It has genuine tone that does not sound like a transistor radio. Built in noise gate, pick dynamics, and sweet tone are amazing for an amp in this price range.

Built like a plastic cinder block. I'm sure it will last, but only time will tell.

Never dealt with Roland support.

Playing 35 years. Lots of gear, mostly high end. Demoed this with my son's 3/4 squire toy Strat; sounded great. With a real guitar its a blast to play. Dig the uses for recording. Sounds great with my Taylor plugged in. All sounds are good. Very usable. Roland will clean up with this combo; makes all other portable amps look really chintsy. For the money it is an insanely good value. No matter how much gear you have...this one is an amp every guitarist can use.

There are more than enough features jam-packed into this little unit than one will need, especially since it's designed to be super portable. I am impressed by the tonal variety for such a compact unit.

I use an Ibanez 540-SFM with a Duncan Scremin' Demon in the lead and QM series pickups for the rest. I play everything from Old School Rock to Metal to Classical and I've found settings I love for all varieties. I cannot believe this thing is rated at only 2 watts! This thing wails! Honestly! The distotion settings are sick. I played along with the new Slipknot CD and had no problem dialing in the tone. Best little prtactice amp on the market, hands down!

Dropped it twice the last time I thought for sure the amp was broken because it fell off the back of my tailgate onto asphalt. Nothing was mwrong with the amp, just a few scratches and I played on!

N/A. Haven't needed any work done to the unit.

I've been playing for 17 years. My current system is a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier head into a 4x12" Celestion loaded Cab. I use a Line 6 210 (2x10") as a practice amp with a Line 6 POD XT for more tonal varity, and now this Micro cube for camping trips and other getaways. Just listen to it...you'll be amazed by it's versatility. Did I mention I can't believe it's only rated at 2 watts?!?!