Roland MicroCube Combo

Features have been covered by others. It has many great ones, but what were they thinking with that tuning fork? Is ANYONE going to use that? They could have left that out, and provided separate bass and treble tone controls instead. It spoils what could have been a perfect little setup, and a rating of 10. I also think they could have located the power switch a little better. It's location might make it prone to "accidental" battery drain.

It's the most versatile and decent-sounding practice amp I've ever run across. All the effects and amp modeling capabilities are head and shoulders above what the competition is offering. It's a fun amp!

Just bought it

Haven't dealt with them yet

I've been playing for 40 years, and have lots of gear. I would buy another one if it was lost or stolen. I love the sonic versatility, and the fact that it has so many features. I hate the stupid tuning fork.

Amazing features for a tiny once channel amp: battery power, nice variation of "models", some great effects (phaser/tremolo are GREAT, chorus/flange good), delay/reverb, Tone/Gain/Volume, Line/Headphone Out, Line in. As others have said would have traded the Tuning fork for separate Bass/Treble controls. Al in all a tremendous election of tools to make a tone of different tones

Bottom line, if you don't turn it up too loud (speaker huffs/puffs) it sounds truly great and THE best "practice/personal" amp I have played (Orange Crush 10, Tech 21 Trademark 10, Fender Frontman 15FX etc). You can get an incredible array of amp tones from country clean chikin' pickin' to thrash metal and everything in between EXCEPT for maybe a really good "standard rock" sound a-la Bad Company (Stack model comes close but is bit strong/edgy). Still, I can quickly dial in a wide array of sounds and the effects are top notch. Also appears that the delay automatically scales itself in volume and feedback as you change the time (REALLY cool). Short delays have pretty much no feedback and are louder providing a nice slap-back and as the delay time gets longer the delay volume drops and the feedback increases for nice spacey echoes that are loud enough to be heard but don?t get in the way. Very nice! Wide Variety of great sounds but does not like to get loud, as the little 5" speaker just can't handle it. Sitting next to me on the couch, running on batteries all I need is my Highway 1 Tele, George L cable and I am having a TON a fun! Specifically LOVE the phaser..it is JUST right! One other great feature: Line In (2 Channels!). I plug into my Pandora PX4 (great device) and into the Line in while my son plugs into the main input and we can BOTH jam with two COMPLETELY different sounds. A ton of fun!

Very well made and sems indesructable - it ls the "Little Tykes" of amps for those that have kids will knw that stuff is indestrtuctable.. Think you COULD blow the speaker but has a steel grill, recessed knobs and big bumpers around the edges.

Heard horror stories. If you can't figugre out how to use it there is a bigger problem. Getting service is a different kettle of fish.

Bought/sold returned a LOT of little amps. I only play at home and NOT loud so power is not an issue. I was looking for an amp that I could sit beside/in front of that would sound good at low volumes, did no buzz/hiss when not playing (bothersome in a quiet room) and offered some variety. The Trademark 10 is a great amp and has some great sounds but it does NOT get really clean and has no sparkle. Considering the quality and variety of sounds you can get, truly great sounding and USEFUL effects, ease of use, portability, construction this is a total winner. At $125, what you pay for a ?decent pedal? it?s a steal. It is fun and enjoyable to play, very versatile and has great bang for the buck. Again, as long as you are not looking to rock the house this is the best small amp I have found. Highly recommended!

i love this amp .the modeling sounds are fun to play with.i have little use for the tuner.the tone knob works fine.efx all sound usefull. delay /reverb very eazy to find cool tones on.gain and volume work great on the different modeles dont know what to make of the security slot on the back? no explantion just a web site www.kensington.com/ some kind of wireless USB? one beef the record out/headphone i wish it had a line out so i could plug in my tuner/still hear amp when pluged into p.a.lots of power for and tone for a battery powerd amp. i'm a multi instrumentlist it was bought to play ukulele thru but i've tryed electric uke'guitar'bass' baritone guitar and mics. bass was a little touchie but what can you expect from a little practice amp

piezo sounds are great for my acoustic ect. the brit combo stack and r-fier sounds noisy till you play them noise suppresion would be nice.over all this little puppy screams

looks tuff not giged yet

good rep. roland thumbs up

30 years of playing. i might buy anouther one right now.2 of these plus a battery mixer mini P.A. I love the tones i can make and it is handy with all my different inst.pignose hog30 blows it away. loud but tasty.a line out so i could use it as a monitor while go to P.A. oh well no big deal

small, highly portable and enough ear candy controls to make it a ton of fun ... one mono input...gain, volume, tone ... EFX (4) and Delay/Reverb ... six different, suprizingly well done amp models and a mike option ... built in tuning fork for "A" with half-step and whole step options are a nice thought ... battery (6 AA's) or plug in with supplied AC adapter ... rec out/phone jack and aux in (2) inputs come stock ... a well chosen set of controls and choices ... you get the feeling that the MicroCube was designed by an actual guitar player.

Amazing sound from two watts and one 5" speaker! Blows a Pignose away, no question ... from the very clean "acoustic" setting you can dial in a JazzChorus, then a Fender classic, up to a little Vox combo sound, on through to a classic Marshall stack, or go on to some real grit with the Mesa rectifier heat setting ... I love the sound of this little amp and am growing more fond of it daily ... I'm wondering what it would sound like miked in a studio (?) or hooked up to a 4x cabinet (!?) ... I think this is destined to be a true classic in its genre.

Don't know ... just bought it ... would assume local dealer would be more than helpful if I had any warranty trouble (a plus about buying local) ... so far, I turn it one and it works fine.

I've been trying to get OFF of Roland's mailing list for years now! Caution, once on their mailing list, you are there for good!

I bought this amp 'cause I needed a small amp for my shop ... something that I can both test my guitar's with as they come off the bench, as well as my customer's pickups and setups ... I have since fallen in love with it and find that I am playing my own instruments a lot more because of it ... I can highly recommend this amp and the most fun a guitarist can have for the money (legally!) ... without question I would replace this amp if it were to be lost or stolen ... If you are looking for a small practice amp, a battery portable, or just something that sounds different, try this little puppy out ... it's a gas.

This is the practice amp I've been waiting for. It has all the features I need and will run on batteries. My acoustic guitar sounds especially amazing through it and that's what I use mostly on those camping trips where I need the battery power. I wish it came with a place to store the AC adaptor so you could keep that handy when you do have a place to plug it in.

I have played a Variax, a Les Paul, a Fender acoustic and a Martin acoustic through this amp and although the sound is pretty much what you would expect from the electrics, I was really surprised how great the acoustics sound through it. I think the sound of this amp is everything you could expect from a small wattage amp through a 5 inch speaker and more.

It looks very well made and durable which is pretty important with something as portable as this. I've used Roland equipment for years and have always loved their reliability. I have no reason to suspect that this amp would be any different.

I have dealt with Roland in the past and I find them as impersonal and uncaring as every other company of their size. I try to avoid dealing with them and have had very little reason to have to anyway.

I've been playing guitar for 40 years. I have my own home recording studio and use LIne 6 gear for performance and Roland gear for recording. I'm sure that if this amp was stolen or lost, I would replace it because I need a decent sounding little amp for camping trips and this really fits the bill. I usually play guitar for about 30 to 35 poeple gathered around a huge campfire with no power available. It's perfect for that.

Just a note here on adjusting the volume and effects. Their could be a tendancy for owners to pick this amp up and adjust the controls while it is in their hands. The amps weight and size make it slippery and it can easily fall out of your hands and hit the floor. This happened to me but I was quick enough to catch it. It is neccesary to have one hand around the holding strap while adjustments are made to the knobs to avoid a serious accident with this amp.

Solid-state, closed-back amp made probably in 2003 (but available 2004).
This is the most feature-laden "practice" amp I've ever beheld, nearly perfect for my needs (I don't gig). I play standards, pop, rock, blues, church stuff. This amp can handle what I can throw its way. I use it for church practice, for going to friends' houses (they play only acoustics), or for quick noodling around the house.

One channel only, but two channels can be faked by quickly turning the modeling knob (and gain knob and volume knob). I can imagine some competitor aiming to one-up the Microcube soon by making a similar amp with two channels, which I think would be cool. (Like, don't you have to "practice switching" on a "practice" amp?)
I'm still undecided about the tuning fork. I know it's there for convenience/completeness, but I do keep a tuner and sometimes a real tuning fork in my gig bag anyway. The space on the console could have been used by another eq knob, or even an effects loop jack. (I'd really only use the effects loop to try and see if a graphic eq would take the place of a missing bass or treble knob. Otherwise, the loop would be less important in this amp, IMHO.)
The effects, though only 4 in number, represent the most commonly used effects you could use. Nothing too esoteric here. What I would like to have seen is a pushbutton to turn off/on the effects instead of a full counter-clockwise turn (or a partial clockwise turn) of the knob. That way you can preset the effect you want and turn it on for the chorus of the song, and off for the verse. Or something to that effect.
I can see myself using the aux inputs a whole lot more than the headphone output.
Love the battery capability of this amp. Normally, I don't mind if a product I buy doesn't come with an adapter because from other products that have already died I have SO MANY adapters that would work with any new products. However, this amp DOES come with an adapter with a longer, albeit thinner and more fragile, cable. I'll probably color-code this adapter to remind me to use it ONLY with this amp, if I should run the amp without the convenience of batteries.

Here's a feature no one else has mentioned yet: a security slot, for use with a Kensington MicroSaver lock. That further assures you the amp won't walk away from your office or hotel room.

Sound is surprisingly good from only a 5-inch speaker. All modeling choices seem useable, effects also useful. At a supposed 2 watts, it seems much louder than other small amps (5 - 8 watts) that I've owned/built.
Have yet to try augmenting the modeling sounds with any outboard pedals.

Short of actually opening it and checking the circuitry, I have to say from the outside it looks like I can depend on it. By that I mean that if I've driven past the half-way mark on the way to a friend's house and realize I haven't packed a back-up amp, I wouldn't drive back to pick it up. No worries.

Middle of the road rating here. Roland has a lovely website, but I get the feeling it's just advertising. Last time I checked online, no manual for the Microcube was available, and there's no email support available. You'd have to make a long distance call (not toll-free?).
I must assume, then, no schematics would be available, either, if you wanted your main repair guy to work on it, or if you wanted to know more about the gear you use.
On the plus side, there are more than two places in my state that say they are authorized service centers.
Anyway the amp is inexpensive enough that, rather than paying outrageous repair bills, you can just trash it (or donate it) and buy another one.

One thing that still escapes me is that some amps are made with the controls on their tops. It just seems to me that if you want to hear what your amp really sounds like, the amp should be pointed to your ears. But if that's done, you can't see the controls. If you tilt the amp to see the controls, you're then listening with your knees. I thought only crickets have ears in their knees.
Could be another species with out-of-place ears, but I'm pretty sure it's not humans.
Now, I know this is the Cube Series, so that's their excuse. The amp wouldn't look squarish enough to be called a CUBE with the controls in front.
Well, this amp's many features make it a worthwhile purchase despite my thinking that the controls are in the wrong place. But I still don't "get" top controls.

If lost, would I buy this amp again? Depends on the market at the time. If some competitor addresses some other (minor?) concerns mentioned by me and other reviewers and does it better, I may jump ship, or I may buy again.

This amp takes the place of my previous favorite small amp, a Yamaha G-5. The Yamaha was a 5 watt amp with a 6-inch speaker and was open-backed and AC powered. It was the smallest amp I could find that had an honest-to-goodness reverb tank. I was able to get a schematic for that amp and modified the G-5 to work off 2 9-volt batteries.
With the effects of the Microcube, it's obvious that for me the Roland is a clear winner, and stands head and shoulders above any small amp currently available.

Everybody else covered this already. I gave it an 7 because I would have liked 3 band eq and switching from clean to lead sounds. I can see why Roland selected the tuning fork, but I'd rather use a tuner and have either of the other 2 features.

I think the sounds are pretty good for what they are. Very easy to select amp models and 2 effects, there are six available but you only get two at once. This is not a tweakers amp but it produces pretty decent sounds with minimal effort at a managable volume, perfect for practice sessions.

I expect no problems as it seems solidly built. I guess you could gig it with a mike but thats not waht its meant for.

No dealings with customer support, but I have to ding Roland here as they are one of the few companies who do not put the manuals online in PDF format.

I've been playing on and off for a few years and just recently got serious about learning to play for real. I would heartily recommend this amp over most of the practice amps out there in the same price range. I'd even go as far as saying its better then the Tech 21 Trademark 10 for the beginner simply because its so easy to dial in a a particular sound. That said the Tech 21 Trademark 10 is better if you are a tweaker because it has way more flexibility and will result in a better overal sound if you put in the time to figure out the right switch and eq settings.

it has what the box says it has, lots of sounds!

This thing is amazing. it sounds better than all the cheap practice amps I have ever played and it is as loud and has more features than some amps costing much more. Plus it is battery powered!

I had this thing packed in a duffel bag and it was thrown on cement. it did cause a slight chip but I can't beleive it isnt broke. it landed HARD! this thing is as tuff as my mothers meatloaf! I broke my teeth on that stuff!

?

I bought this thing for the ease of use, having battery power and am absolutely blown away by the features and sound and construction quality. I dont think I have spent money this wisely since I bought the shoeshine machine my uncle invented! I broke my teeth on it!

Well, it sure packs a lot into a tiny little box. You get a variety of different amp models, some FX (chorus, flange, and so forth. Also reverb and a very cool tremelo.) There's an AUX in and a gimmicky tuning button, so it is fairly comprehensive for so small a box. I'd prefer bass & treble knobs to the simple "tone" knob though.

This is being used with a Telecaster. I'm playing early mod-rock with this. (Think early Who, kinks, etc.) It works out wonderfully, especially the Vox emulation. Through the speaker, it sounds very nice indeed. I don't really care for the "r-fier" (rectumfryer?) setting much, but if you like hair rock, it may work for you. I also found the acoustic setting fairly useless. The clean amps (black panel & JC) are really nice however.

The problem here: The line out / headphone *SUCKS*. The headphone amp is underpowered, and it is easy to distort it. Not the pleasant, modelled distortion you get from the amp itself, but a nasty, cheap sound. If you plan on driving serious headphones (my Sennheisers cost more than the damn amp!) forget it. As a line out, you have to be _very_ gentle on the volume to record a decent signal.

I've owned a number of cubes going back to the original orange beasties. I wouldn't worry about this. Roland amps are very durable.

I haven't dealt w/Roland for amps, but have for their synths and MIDI stuff going back to the 80s. It's a mixed bag - it really depends who you get on the phone. They try to be helpful at all times, but sometimes it is hard to get a knowledgeable person. They're middle of the pack in this regard.

I've been playing for over 20 years now, and own way too much crap to list here.

I find the amp generally good, but remain annoyed at the details that Roland missed. Again, the headphone / line out is inexcusably bad. Just a cheap headphone amp circuit. Couldn't roland have spent $2 more on a decent circuit? Maybe getting rid of the cheezy tuning fork would've freed up the bucks for this?

If it were lost or stolen, I probably wouldn't bother replacing it. I compared it to a Vox pathfinder 15r, and chose the roland for its small size & the modelling circuit.

Bottom line: a good little practice amp with an extremely nice tone in most settings, but if you plan on using this as a recording tool, get something else.