Roland MicroCube Combo

I'm the guy who's coming up with mods for this amp.

This amp is a wonder! Inside this little 2 watt beauty is not only a 2 watt amplifier, DSP effects but all is controlled by it's own CPU!

So far, I've added a speaker out, and a footswitch jack that allows me to switch between the Vox, Marshall and Mesa Dual Rectifier models. I chose those three because they are close enough in volume to be useful.

The CPU has a 7 pin pad that the service manual calls "for ONBOARD PROGRAM". Hopefully someday I'll meet a computer wiz that can tell me how to access this. There is also another 3 pin pad that is called "for DSP Edit." This might just take a pot...I'm not sure. It might be a midi port. I'll experiment with this.

It is also possible to mod this to be able to use the internal power amp even when using the headphones/record out. Stock, plugging into the REC OUT/PHONES turns off the power amp.

It also looks like it would be easy to add footswitchs to the modulation and delay effects.

I'm having a ball with this amp. The AC30 model is great!

I may put in a 20 watt power amp chip.

I use:

A Les Paul Standard, with stock pickups and a Christian acoustic bridge pickup.

A heavily modded '68 Tele with a Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge, a Duncan Classic Strat Stack in the middle and a Lace Sensor Tele pickup in the neck, along with series/parallel switches for the Duncans and a Fishman Power Bridge.

A Westone with a Fishman power bridge tremelo, Duncan Trembucker and two EMG passive humbucking strat pickups.

An old Harmony with tremelo and two experimental PJ Marx humbuckers that never made it to market. In parallel they have a Gretch vibe.

A 12 string I made out of a 70's Epiphone acoustic bolt on neck, maple body, EMG pickups, a Hot Rails in the middle and a Christian acoustic bridge.

This amp is just great! The only criticism is that the models are different volumes. I hope to crack the CPU someday and remedy this.

I break it...I fix it...I don't need no stinking repair department!

It has held up to my rewiring...that's saying alot.

Roland/Boss has been great. I bought the service manual, and when I called about the schematic being unreadable, they e-mailed me the manual on pdf.

I void the warranty of anything I buy with the first hour of ownership.

I've been playing since I was 14 in 1960 something or other...(the use of non-prescription, recreational pharmacuticals may have altered my memory.)

If lost or stolen, I'd use my GPS system to locate the amp, and would not only recover it in short order, but will reward the thief with his/her choice of a 9mm hollowpoint, or a .45 slug through the palm of their left hand. (My sweetheart just bought me a nice .45 Ruger Vacquero...a cowboy style pistol.) Thieves have to be taught a lesson.

Don't you all agree?

This amp is unlike all other practice amps, be they current or old designs. This computer controlled wonder ain't your mommie's Pignose!

Roland could have used a LITTLE more power. But for 2 watts it's absolutely great. We have a Pignose, and the venerable Pignose is old news.

I've had the amp for six months or so. I bought it because I hoped it would work well as a portable PA--it has a "microphone" input setting. And I thought it would probably also be a good, portable practice amp.

I've used it with a variety of guitars. As a practice amp with headphones, it is great. I take it on trips for practicing in the hotel room. It provides a satisfying sound without external effects or stomp boxes, so it's very easy to set up and use anywhere--particularly since you can use it with battery power. I have some awesome tube amps (I particularly like the THD Univalve), so I don't play guitar through it that much.

BUT, I particularly want to say how useful it is as a very portable PA system. I am a professor, and I use it for lecturing in large classrooms where my voice would be strained talking loudly enough to be easily heard in the back of the room. It has a microphone setting that provides a clean, very balanced, natural sound, and it is loud enough to do a good job in a big room. I use it with a Shure wireless mic with a Beta 58 capsule, and I am really enthusiastic about it. It has transformed my teaching experience--like moving from a truck with manual steering to a sedan with power steering.

It has been very reliable. Most Roland stuff seems sturdy, and this little amp feels very solid. The case is well designed with heavy molded protection at the corners and edges, and the metal grille provides complete protection for the speaker. The controls on top are easy to get to and not likely to get banged up.

I have several Roland products, and they have all been so reliable that I have never had to deal with the company.

Been playing 40 years. I have tons of gear. I don't know of anything better for my purposes, so I would replace it with another one if something happened to it.

I love the sound, the portability, and the rugged design. No complaints. The only thing I would change would be to have the wall wart built in so I could use a regular power cord for AC power.

Bought this little guy new in 2005 to use as a practice amp. I have 2 large Fenders but can't use them in my apartment.

Controls are all on top. It has 1 tone, 1 gain, 1 vol and 1 reverb control. It has a 7 selector switch for the amp model you want to play. They are: Acoustic, JC Clean, BF Panel, British, Stack Classic, R-Fire and mic. It also has a single control knob for Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and Tremolo. It runs in AC power or 6-AA Batteries. I believe it has either a 6" or 8" speaker.

Amp, Record and Hphone jacks are on the back with the power switch. I wish they had placed the power switch on the top or up front but there really isn't much room.

I would like to see a stomp box to enable or disable the effects. I don't like stopping to twist a knob to another position. It's just a practice amp so I guess they wanted to keep the cost down.

I checked out several other practice amps but none had the modeling effects and range this one has.

It's a practice amp so I will judge it as such. It's not a vintage Marshall.

I like the COSM amp modeling. I get a good tone at low volume which is what I wanted in a practice amp. It can be as clean as glass or as nasty as any distortion you can imagine. Bypass the speaker and go with some good headphones and you'll take a second and even third look at it when you hit your first note. It;s like a completely different amp. It's that good.

The amp models are fair but the effects are much better. The reverb can be turned up to create a sound that is pretty wet. Turning up the gain at about two thirds with the amp selector to BF Classic or British does a respectable job of reproducing that tone.

I just got it so I can't say anything about reliability. It's about the size of a car battery and feels very solid. Corners and sides show no weakness and the controls are either smooth or positive dependng on which one you are on.

Have had no reason to contact them but I did check out the amp and some sounds clips at the Roland website. Hearing the clips helped me with my decision. I'll give them a score for providing the info I needed to help with my decision.

I've been playing on and off for a few years and I'm a long way from being ready for prime-time. I needed a small amp I could practice on and still get my tone. I checked out this amp at a local store and then checked many other practice amps, Fender, Line 6, and a few more that I can't remember. I found nothing that suited my needs better than the Micro-Cube. I could care less about the battery option but for anyone wanting to jam out in a park someplace this would be the one to take. It's plays super clean for acoustic or down and dirty if you want to go that route.

I bought it first because I wanted a practice amp, then because it had the best tone and features to go with it. I give it a ten as a practice amp.

In my review I never referred to it as a toy or beginner amp, although it would be fine for that and I saw many of those those as well. They had volume, tone, gobs of distortion and not much else. The Roland Micro Cube has many of the same features someone with more advanced skills would want to have and carry along with them on the bus or take to a hotel room.

This amp is a little wonder! Being two watts it should be compared to amps like the original Pignose, and not to practice amps using 8" speakers and a 10-15 watt amp chip.

This amp has 6 amp models and a mic model. The headphone jack doubles as a frequency compensated record out. Looking at the schematic, the frequency compensation is also sent to the speaker. The speaker is interesting as a second ceramic magnet has been added to the speaker's magnet. Anyone taking the speaker out will see the added ceramic donut.

I have added a speaker out jack which switches out the internal speaker when used. I will be adding a line out (that will leave the internal speaker on) and a jack for an external footswitch to access the 6 amp models. Stay tuned to Chad's mod website http://www.maggiemedia.com/microcube/ for any mods I come up with.

Forget about changing the levels of the different amp models or adding additional tone controls. These features are part of a propriatory digital chip and aren't user changeable.

I love the AC30 model in this amp. The compression mimics the cathode bias of the actual Vox well.

I have many guitars including a Les Paul, heavily modded Tele, Explorer, 60's Harmony, and several others. My girlfriend and I build guitars and I mod every guitar I get my hands on for maximum versatility. All guitars have humbuckers with series/parallel capabilities and piezo bridges. This little amp is amazing. The clean tones DO distort at high volumes, but what do you expect from a 2 watt practice amp. The distortions are great. We own most of the amps modelled, including the Mesa Dual Rectifier and the amp is close enough.

I haven't had it long, but it is servicable. I purchased the service manual so I'm ready if it breaks down. It is largely digital and there is a service sequence to test the operation which would pinpoint the problem area. It is so compact and tough, I doubt I'll have any trouble with it.

I purchased the service manual ($14 including shipping) from Roland. The schematic was unreadable so I called Roland to complain. They immediately e-mailed me the service manual in pdf. and the schematic there was readable once blown up (at Kinko's).

I do my own repairs, thank you.

(FWIW, I was asked not to pass on the pdf manual. They sent it to me because I PAID for the hard copy and the hard copy was unreadable. I will respect their request not to give out the manual as I don't want to jepardize any future dealings with Roland.)

I've been playing since 1967 and have been repairing, building and modding amps for 25 years or more. If stolen or lost, the chip I added will allow me to find the amp and if stolen, I will treat the perp to a 9mm hollowpoint through his hand to teach him or her a needed lesson. I can locate any equipment of mine within minutes of finding it gone. I had too much equipment ripped off over the years and won't take it anymore. If you steal from me, expect to get caught, expect to be prosecuted, and expect to be taught a life changing lesson. Please don't test me. I'm too good a shot as is my girlfriend.

I love this little amp. The features including the amp models, separate reverb/delay and modulation effects are an unbelievable value. Most of us have spent far more for effects pedals that aren't as versatile.

I do wish it were a little more power, but I'm not complaining. I look forward to sharing mods for this little gem with other owners.

I've just bought this amp (aug 2005) and cannot complain about the features at all. I won't list all the features it has as this has been said in many previous reviews. For ?69 I think it would be churlish to complain about the quality even if they were only passable but the features on this amp are absolutley fine for this PRACTICE amp. I don't know what some of the reviewers expect from this little box. Its a practice amp. Simple as that and a dammed fine one at that. Its certainly loud enough for personal practice or even with a mate or two. Probably would struggle a bit against a drum kit. I can't agree with the comments about this being a toy. This is good musical equipment. Its solid, very solid. My Marshall MS4 stack is more of a toy.

I play various styles from rock to pop and loads in between. This amp covers the lot. OK so its a little boxy but its only got a 5 inch speaker for Cliff's sake. Of course its going to be boxy! Not even Roland can alter the laws of physics. I keep coming back to this, ITS A PRACTICE AMP. Noise wise, its quiet at low to middle volumes but gets a bit noisier at high volume / distorted settings. As far as I am concerned, all the amp settings do as they say. I've owned many amps over the years so please believe me. I linked the output from the Cube into my Marshall AVT and the JC 120 setting sounded brilliant with a touch of chorus.

I've owned a few Roland things in the past and they've all been fine. Hope this keeps up the good work. I wouldn't gig with it as its a practice amp but its going on holiday with me in two weeks time and I fully expect it will be working when I get back.

Never needed to contact Roland.

In the 30 years I've been playing guitar, I've owned many many types of equipment so I feel that my experience is worth taking note of. Only a few years ago you would have paid a fortune for this quality equipment. At this price I'm astonished at what's been achieved. OK, so it doesn't have multi channel switching, in depth FX editing, sound exactly like a Boogie / Marshall mega watt multi stack on 11 etc but for a ?69 small box with a 5 inch speaker its bloody marvellous! Go get one. REMEMBER, ITS A PRACTICE AMP.

Everything you'd need from a practice amp. Nothing else in the price range comes close... phenominal modeling. I cannot understand anyone not being able to clean up the distortions by merely turning down the volume on your guitar. Learn how to play, then review. I wouldn't expect a 5 watt amp with a little speaker to be loud... just run it out to a big amp to hear what it can really do.

The COSM modeling is so good that I'm using this as a preamp for the distortions. The R-FIER setting is the bestest over-the-top crunch I've ever used in a processer. I play a lot of styles, and this amp is amazing. Although the effects section is limited, again, what can you expect for this price?

No problems. On batteries it only lasts a few hours. So get some rechargables if you have to. Otherwise use the AC adapter.

Never had a problem. Roland has been responsive for me in the past.

Been playing 30 years. I suppose that saying that I'm using it as a preamp says enough. I run it into a Behringer GMX212, which is 50 watts RMS per side in stereo. As a practice amp it's spot on perfect with headphones or just sitting on a desk in front of me. I went on a hunt to see if Roland puts this COSM modeling in any rack unit - yes, if you want to spend $800! Forget that. It's doing everything I need as it stands. I would like a rack unit as I use MIDI to switch my gear's patches between songs. But, for now, this is golden, diamond gear.

This is just a fun amp I have used at home a bit, but I really got it to have for NGW workshops I have attended the last two summers. I have cared for it well. It is just a fun amp with some COSM modeling and some effects with pretty good output for such a toy looking amp. I like the Brit Combo setting. Though I acquired an extra power supply, certain that would fail quickly, mine has not failed in over a year. My rating is based on the amp's intention....fun toy.

The Micro is pretty good if you play with distortion, but it just will not clean up...at least with anything left. That makes it fun to mess with, but not of much sound versatility. I guess the emulations are OK, but no one could really expect anything more than what you get. It is cool though.

Mine died last night which is why I thought I would contribute. I got a year of partial service out of it. Now it is just spastic. Something has failed. I worked on the problem for quite some time last night and I think it is dead. I don't know of any warranty, and what can you really do with a $125 amp? I think it should have been more durable given the care it received and the limited service.

Forget about it. No one would talk to me today. Anyway, remember it is a $125 amp.

Great while it lasted.

Made in 2004. It has all of the features as listed below and on the site. The main things I like are the Brit Combo and Classic Stack modes -- very usable and pleasant sounding. Also, this has an Aux in for a cd/MP3 player to jam-a-long with. The best feature is the line out function. You can run a line out direct to either record or play through a PA wthout the speaker cutting out -- see below.

I use Ibanez SA160s modded with Dimarzio pickups, proco cables, and a Boss SD1 for signal boost into my amp. I have gone direct from guit to cable into the MCube as well. I play primarily rock music and this amp does that well. If you play clean and jack the vol past 2 O'clock, you will get cabinet buzz. It's a 5" speaker, so this is expected. The COSM modeling is something my ears like -- warm and articulate, not trebly and bright like the Korg REMS technology. This amp sounds very passable through a PA. I played a gig with this amp connected via its line/headphone out directly into a keys amp. it sounded phenomenal -- warm, a little bassy, but chunky and thick. The tones of this amp are well worth the $125.00 price. But the versatility is more than worth the price.

It fell over during a rehearsal and the speaker was pierced through the holes in the metal grill. My misfortune, not Roland's fault. Very solidly built, but it is built in CHINA so inspect and beware.

Called ROland for replacement speaker. Very friendly and curteous. The speaker was available for $10.00 plus $5.00 shipping. If they sent the speaker for free, they would get a 10.

I really like this amp AND HAVE OWNED IT FOR ALMOST A YEAR -- NOT A HONEYMOON REVIEW. I have played it through the front end of a Fender Stage 112SE clean and it sounds very convincing. THis is not a tube or tube-sounding amp. It is a transistor amp that sounds very pleasing and passable. I have owned many, many amps anf guitars in the past 20 years. This ranks among the most usable for utility and tone. Very little in this world is a 10!

This was an impulse buy - I already have 2 amps and amp modelers, but thought this amp was too cute. But since I've bought this little amp, it's the only amp I'm using! As noted by other reviewers, for a 2W practice amp, it's quite loud - I haven't turned volume past 5. I just love it. Quite versatile: I play some acoustic songs and mess around with some metal stuff. In the beginning I just used the AC adapter, but the last couple of days I've been playing with 6 AA nimh batteries to see how long it lasts - have been going many hours already! I didn't think the portability is really an advantage in the beginning, but now I think it's cool to be able to move around in the house with my guitar+amp (e.g. to go show my wife my latest attempts etc! :)

I'm using a Strat with EMG pickups. I like the reverb+chorus effects! In contrast to the previous reviewer, I use mostly the Acoustic amp sound + reverb for clean songs, and the Rectifier for the heavy palm muted stuff. Unlike my other amps, this amp sounds good clean AND distorted. Maybe if you're a serious jazz player or something you won't agree, but to me, as an amateur I don't hear much buzz.

Looks strong, but being a tiny amp I'd be careful with it.

Don't know. But I trust the dealer.

I've been playing +/- 2 years - just messing around at home. Other gear: old Torque 50W and Marhsall 15W amps. VAMP2, PODxt. Several strats & an old bass. I originally considered looking for a Pignose portable amp, but I'm glad I found this one instead. To end with at least one negative thing, I think it should've been cheaper.

All the features are listed from previous reviews-great toy. I plug in my CD player to play along with it, as well as a mic. Has built-in EFX, very useful and convenient, don't need to lug half a dozen pedals along with you all the time. This amp is LOUD. Overall, i pretty much use all the features, none of them are irrelevant. I love that there are many options.

I sold my crappy Yamaha GA 10 amp (7watts) in order to get this, which is probably the best thing i've ever done. I use the cube along with my yamaha EG 112 strat copy guitar, which sounds great on all settings. I like to play rock-oriented songs: from Green Day to Nirvana, and this amp suits it well. My favourite amp models would be the JC clean,brit combo, and stacks. The acoustic setting is too soft and the rectifier is too noisy. The only minor 'issue' is the slight buzzing when i turn up the gain, but that isn't too much of a problem. The phaser,flange,tremelo, and reverb are great too.

I think it's dependable, i use it as a practice amp-not for gigs. I've had it for a week now, no problems. It looks pretty solid so i'm not that worried. If you wanted to use it at a gig, the line out is very useful to plug into a bigger amp. At the shop, i plugged the microcube into a Cube 60, and the sound was awesome.

I've never dealt with Roland before, and i don't think i will. I did however, receive the customer support from the store i bought it from-Steves music store in toronto-and the guy helping me was very useful and friendly. The warranty is a year, but steves music doesn't allow refunds-only exchange in 10 days after purchase, which is kinda annoying.

When i told my mom that the amp i was getting was 2 watts, she thought i was crazy-cause i said i wanted something more powerful, and i was trading in a 7 watt for a 2 watt amp. She wouldn't believe that a thing so low in watts could produce so much sound (she doesn't believe her own child), so she insisted on going to the store to hear for herself, which made her cover her ears. So it's not really about the number of watts that matters, but more on how the item was made.

I love that it's portable, i get to play in the backyard, where i'm surrounded by a lot of neighbours who are mostly retired with grand children. I try not to play too loud, in attempt to not cause a heart attack for ppl around me. Compared to my other amp that i just sold to some clueless guy, this is 15X better. I find myself practicing more than i did before-it's more fun and exciting. If it were stolen or lost,i've got a few sets of gold clubs in the garage, along with a few of my grandma's cookies (which are rock-rolid)-and i dont mind using them to my advantage,so back off. I bought it based on these reviews on HC-there are some reviews that aren't too good, only because those people wanted to use it as an acoustic amp for their acoustic guitar. This amp is made for electric guitar, but you can use it for acoustic-if you want an electric-acoustic sound.

This model is new for 2005 and is dubbed "The Ultimate Practice Amp". This amp's main attraction is that it can model 6 different amps, Acoustic simulation, JC Clean, Black Panel(Twin),Brit Combo (AC 30TB), Classic Stack (Plexi)and R-fier Stack (Mesa). I don't know how close it comes but I've found every one to be useful.The amp also has Chorus, Flanger, Phazer and Tremolo, of which you can use only one at a timesince they share the same selection knob. The rate/speed is variable by the same knob's rotation. It also features a Delay/Reverb selection/intensity Knob. Dial in Black Panel with Tremolo and Reverb and you can nail The Door's "Riders on the Storm" sound.This unit is extremely versatile, especially for a practise amp. Gain, Volume and Tone round out the rest of the controls.The amp has a Record Out/Headphone jack and an input jack for your favourite play-a-long-device. Did I mention that it is ac/dc ? Yes it is portable as well. It is powered with a Wallwart(which is supplied) or six AA cells.

I'm using a modified Fender Squire Series Tele, modded into an Esquire with a Bigsby which is counter-sunk 5/16's into the body. I also play a early 70's Strat, modded into a fat strat setup, a Dimarsio Super Distortion Humbucker installed (slanted like the single coil it replaced) at the bridge. These guitars and the Micro cube can get any sound I want and more. I play mainly classic rock only it wasn't "Classic" when I started playing it. I got my first guitar (acoustic) in 1964, I was six. I've owned many guitars and amps since then but I wish I had had this amp when I was a teenager.
I've only ever owned tube amps of any and every kind, this my first transistor...it won't be my last. The sounds out of this are really great...I don't usually gush...

It is brand spankin' new so this too early to apply...but it is a Roland product and if their Boss line is any indication then I'll be playing this one in the "Old Folk's Home".

I have never had to deal with Roland, as their products have never failed me. Ever!!

So...I've been playing 41yrs. and seriously for thirty of those years. I've owned or at least played on everything out there. Been in several bands of various types...and I have a good ear for tone.
If lost or stolen...I'd replace it in a heart beat...I'll probably get another anyways. What's to hate...it jumps through all of my hoops flawlessly. The best practise amp I've ever owned and one of the best amps period.

This is a response to the below post. I too, had the same problem with my MicroCube when I first got it. I was really disipointed until I started posting on different forums and got some really good answers about the Cube.

1. It's very bass heavy and thus you get speaker breakup with the tone control set anywhere below 7 on any amp model.
3. For any clean sound, turn down the gain to 1 or 2, never higher.
2. The Fender(3 on the amp dial) is useless because of the bass response. You can't really clean this one up.
3. The first three amp models (Acoustic, JC120 and Fender) have a much lower default volumne than the last three models (Vox, Marshall and Mesa)
4. There is a dramatic difference between which pickups you use.
5. You can get really good, any pretty loud, cleans with both the Vox and Marshall settings if you turn the gain to 1, set the tone to 8 or 9 and volumne to 7 or 8.
6. Reverb is very good while the other effects are just ok.
7. Remember this is just two watts going into a 5" speaker.
8. I own both the Trademark 10 and a Vox Pathfinder 15R and you're right, The Cube doesn't compare, but in my opinion it's not supposed to. The Cube is a small portable little amp that you can go to the beach with or a picnic or as I do play it on my boat. It's got a really high fun factor and for what it is, a pretty good sound.

I'm sorry to go against the unanimity on the Micro-Cube, but I feel I must write this short review to prevent anyone that likes a clean sound from ever considering buying it. I tried A LOT of them and all had a loud buzz whenever I played a bass string that irritated me so much that I returned two of them, tried three or four more in two different stores with different guitars and finally gave up trying to own one. I guess all the people that rave about this tiny amp like to play with distortion, which compresses the sound and makes this serious flaw less noticeable. If you're into jazz or simply like a clean sound, this amp is NOT for you.
The sales people that I met think (and they are probably right) that this is a cheap amp (almost a toy) made for people (they said: kids) that are into rock with distorted sounds and that it really doesn't address other publics (rehearsals with bandmates playing acoustic instruments, good quality practice amp). I'm sorry to be so negative, but the rave reviews on this page led me to think that I was trying a faulty series. I waited 6 months and today tried another that had just arrived: it's the same thing. I gave up.

I phoned Roland (here in Portugal), and they were very friendly. They suggested that the music shop took one of the amps to their repair shop. I passed that information on to them, but I'm not sure if they did it. I must say that I got the impression that the sales people thought it was not worth the bother.

I am 45, been playing since 13, but I don't qualify as a good player.
I only own small amps (Peavey Studio Pro 20w, Tech 21 Trademark 10), so it's not a matter of high expectations for a small amp. I wanted to use the Micro-Cupe with my Steinberger Spirit GT.
Roland should be ashamed to put such a low quality product in the market, even if it's so cheap. However, if you only like distortion, it may be right for you. But please let's not use the words 'good sound'.

My roland micro cube along with all of them were made in 2005, as far as I know. The little cube is amazingly versatile and fun to play with. Through its stock speaker it isnt to entertaining after awhile although suprisingly loud, the little speaker just cant express the tone its models offer too well. However as suggested in the manual it does do a much better job using the lineout through good phones, or even straight into another amps input as I tried with my pro jr . Of its 6 modeling options, 7 if you count the mic pre which I havent tried at all, I really like the vox model alot and find myself there almost exclusively now when I play through in the a.m. hours. As for its features Id say its got all Id want and then some considering its use.I like dabbling a bit with the effects it has, except the tremolo didnt seem to create any vibe with me, now that Ive got done playing around with it and settled it into what I mostly got it for; a headphone amp, I just leave it on the vox or twin model with the delay turned on just enough to come on and the gain usually left at 3'oclock, on the vox I keep the tone before 12'oclock and turn up to around 3'oclock on the twin. The vox really is bright and has a real good sound and the twin really gets me into a bouncing groove, good vibe. I mostly use this amp while Im laying in bed at night playing through head phones.As for the power, yes its louder than it needs to be for what it is.

I mostly play my standard strat through it, blues, rock, a little funk and even a little folky stuff. It suits me well for what it is intended. The unit is not noisy at all and it can give you any sound or style of music you want to play through it. Yes the gain knob is active with its clean amp models so you can get a desireable edge if you want. Ive never turned the volume past 1'oclock and it didnt cause any negative distortion on clean settings, I dont feel the need to go past 1 on the volume, actually its just right between 10 and 1'oclock. As for its distortion, the rectifier model has more than I want or like, so I guess you could say its pretty brutal. As for sound the only thing I noticed was it was better with 9's or 10's than my strat with 11's, that was a little too heavy handed for the clean models especially.

The little thing appears to be able to handle a tumble down the deck steps... we'll have to wait and see.

Ive never dealt with the company and doubt there will ever be a need too.

Ive been playing overall about 7 years. If this little amp were lost or stolen I doubt that I would replace it with another one. I like it, but it would be a little pricey to rebuy for what I use it for. Id probaly get one of those little mini twins or whatever for about $40.00. I played through one of those a couple of weeks ago, it might have just been the novelty of the thing, but it sounded pretty tough for alittle bedside or porchpicken amp. Id like to have one sitting on my desk anyway. Anyway, I got the the micro cube for night time, take anywhere playing and I like everything about it for "WHAT IT IS ".

For the money, size and it's intended use this amp has just about every feature you could want and then some. Built in effects which give you a taste of what you can expect in higher priced pedals or rack-units. What I mean by this is that the flanger, phaser, tremelo and chorus are good but by no means top notch and you shouldn't expect them to be. The delay is the same, good but by no means exceptional. The reverb is very good. A headphone/line out and aux in for your cd or ipod. The tuning fork is good for those that have a good ear. I don't so I use a regular inline tuner. And last but certainly not least, it runs on batteries. I've used mine on batteries for over 12 hours now and it sounds great.

You have to remember that this little guy has a five inch speaker and is rated at 2 watts. You are not going to get a booming bass response and fill a concert hall with rich sounds, although I have mic'ed mine through a PA and it does sound good. It has six amp models, four of which sound really good to me a a couple that are marginal. You really have to play with the gain, tone and volumne pots to dial in your sound. Remember, this is a small, portable practice amp. It's not going to give you the feel and sound of a Two-Rock through a 4-12.

Built very well. Roland/Boss makes a good product. I haven't had a failure with any of their gear.

Haven't had to use them.

In it's catagory it has no competition. Very good sounds, portable, and most of all, a real fun amp. I have been playing for too many years to mention and have some really high end instruments and amps. I got this little guy to practice with and take on my boat. As I stated before, for it's intended purpose, it can't be beat.

acoustic simulator, 2 clean channels, 2 overdrive chanells 1 ditortion channel, tone knob, 6FX (2 simultansoly) gain knob, volume knob aux input rec out/headphones. would have been better with 3 band equalizer but still awesome

i play a yamaha strat with 2 singles and 1 humbucker. you can get so many sounds out of this amp it is awesome. the clean chaneels are really good and when gain is on 10 u get really good crunch. the overdrive is good but the distortion is limited. so i use a boss ds-1 through the clean chaneel and is really good joe satriani style sound with a wah pedal as well. the clean channel doesnt distort at high volumes which is good as well. it suits every music style.

i broke the input and gain knob by doing a rock star jump with a lead to short for me which was on my shelf. but otherwise its all good. wouldnt gig with it cuz its too soft. buty i would if had a pa system

never dealed with them

great amp no matter wat u play

I purchased this gem on a search for a portable amp I can bring with me on vacations and travel. I had the legendary Pignose in mind. When I read about the features the Micro Cube had ( reverb, delay, chorus, flange, phaser and tremolo ) and the amp simulators, I had to consider this little amp. I read the reviews here on harmony-central and my interest peaked even more. I picked the Micro Cube up at my local Guitar Center, and I'm very happy to have found this gem. It's half the price I paid for my Fulltone Fulldrive. Wow.

I play a PRS Artist III and a Strat Plus with Texas Specials. For amps, I own a Mesa Boogie Mark IV, a vintage JCM 800 head from 1981 and a 1965 Fender blackface Bassman. My styles range from blues, jazz, metal, alternative, classic, punk, funk and more. I can get every tone I need from this little thing. The acoustic and Jazz Chorus are super clean. Clean enough for jazz especially with the tone down on my guitar. The Distortion ( British and Rectifier ) is brutal enough for anything from Judas Priest and the Scorpions to Nu-Metal. For a $125 amp that can tote along with me on travel, I have to give this a 10.

It's made by Roland ( Boss ). Everything they make can survive a holocaust. This seems to be made as sturdy as their pedals.

Never had to contact Boss or Roland.

I have been playing for 21 years. I have studied music theory, played in countless bands ( jazz, blues, metal, alternative ), been on the radio, ect. I have spent well over 20 grand on music gear. When I find something that cost less than most guitar pedals I own and produces this much tone that I can fit in my suitcase, I'm estatic! It's great for the beginner- pro. It's perfect for anyone that needs a good versatile practice/performing amp for apartment living, living room, hotel, limo, park, campfires, picnics, you name it. Takes batteries or ac adapter. You can't beat this. If I lost this little amp, I would simply buy another. It's refreshing to not have to spend over a grand to put a smile on your face.

Already covered below, I won't waste your time. I will say that for $125, I can't believe how packed it is. Seperate bass and treble would be nice, though.

I play LP's, Strats, Teles, Flying V's and a Danelectro U-2 RI thru this. It's really versatile, but my favorite sound is probably a Strat with the Brit OD model. Really cool. This amp spends most of it's time in my suitcase since I travel a lot in my work, and I always take a guitar and this amp with me. I've already drank my fill in the bars, and chased my share of women; besides, I'm married with kid and dog...you get the picture, and it's this: I'd rather spend my time practicing in my hotel room when I'm on the road working than anything else. This amp gives me a ton of sounds in a tiny package that's just a great value. Nice cleans to (for a 5 inch speaker at 2 watts) outrageous distortion. I hate Harmony Central Reviewers that give nothing but 10's. But you gotta realize that I've spent tens of thousands of dollars over a 37 year stretch chasing tonal nirvana. And so this is a $125 TEN. For what it is.

I won't gig with this, I've got a studio full of classic tube amps at home for the stage. BUT, this is built very well, and so far, it's travelled the country in my suitcase probably 8 times and it's cranking along just fine. You know the abuse that checked luggage gets on the airlines? My suitcase is 2 years old, cost as much as this amp did, and it's being held together with duct tape. It's a reliable amp.

I have a closet full of Boss pedals, a GT-8 processor, and this amp. Never had a lick of trouble with any of it. Never had to call Boss or Roland.

No guitarist should be without one of these. Buy one today.

First off--this is a practice amp, so with that in mind, yeah--it's a 10. This little guy has a ton of features stuffed into a block about the size of a car battery. It doesn't have a lot of power or move a lot of air, but it really isn't meant to do that.

I have to tell this story--About a month ago, I was asked at the last minute to sit in as a guest of a popular local hippy band at a large outdoor concert. I was happy to oblige, but all I had in the truck was a Tele and the Microcube. And a 20' ProCo. Eh.
While the band and the techs were setting up, I positioned the little amp on one of the FOH speakers as a monitor. One of the techs gave me a SM57 and a boom for my amp, not really paying any attention to what I was rigging up. I set the controls to the Marshall model with a little slap. Gain at about 11 and volume around 1:00. Did the sound check-- The sound man added some bass to fatten up the tone and that was it.
During the show, I was standing next to a guy playing a strat thru a 2203 half stack and we heard each other just fine thru the monitors. We did a two hour set of Little Feat, Grateful Dead, Byrds, and their originals, and capped it off with Hendrix's Little Wing--I boosted the Chorus and it sounded GOOD.
After the show, a got a lot of nice compliments from musicians and folks in the crowd--but what really got me was the sound man--He came down straight from the board right up to me and said-"what in the hell are you PLAYING thru?" I pointed to the micro cube and he could not believe it. I smile whenever I think about the look on his face.
I'm not telling anybody to sell their rig and buy one of these for gigs--I still have my stuff--all I'm saying is that it can be done. Having a good sound man is always a plus--he consistantly had me where I needed to be in every song, so credit where credit is due.

I think I can depend on it for rehearsal and practice. Since that show, I've been rehearsing with a new band and just bring the microcube--we mic everything at rehearsal, and it does just fine. For shows, I'll be bringing and amp and a pedalboard.

NA

I've been playing 35 years, some of them professionally.
Other equipment I use include 3 Strats, the Tele, a Taylor, 2 Soldanos (SLO100 & HR50), a Bogner 412, a Marshall 412, Fulltone, Barber, & Teese pedals.
This little amp is a great value. I have no hesitation recommending it to anyone for a practice amp. And it turns out to be a pretty good emergency amp.

Bought newone in the summer of 2004.

As well known, it has several amp simulation and concentrated effects.

Manual is simple. In fact you will understand everything without seeing it. It's simple.
Two different sizes of headphone jacks and AUX IN are good features.

Generally light, small and most of all I can play outside without any electrical extensions. Around 20 hours with 6 AAA batteries....Very nice feature!!
Make some gig with friends and even in a picnic amp for music and dance.
Very versatile if you consider not only playing guitar but also for another things...

I use Fender strat and tele and play classic rocks such as Deep Purple, Led Zepplin, Hendrix, Malmsteen and some of 70' and 80's metal.

Amp simulations are quite good compare to the price.
Especially, the VOX one with 75% of gain and tone. Also with 50% of reverb. This is only a tone I found for stand alone.
Blackpanel amp is also good since its Fender like...
Marshall amp has quite good middle range while become crap in high gain.
Moreover, match with external effects (overdrive etc) Marshall amp with almost ZERO gain makes very nice tone.
Mesa amp is....just a noise.

In beginning, you will have fun with FX effects and soon you will found only reverb is useful. If reverb and delay can role simultaneously it will be better.

Two most defects I suggested are;
First, it makes totally different sound when using headphones or lineout. Manual says, using headphone makes better sound than speaker....REALLY?? With headphone, it sounds like a saw.
Second, you can not do something with only a single tone nobe. No middle, no high and low.

It will be fun if make a gig only with microcube.
It's just a small amp for the practice.

Very dur.
Never broken. Maybe name value of Roland.

1 year warranty but never demanded.

I played electric guitar for about 20 years.
With low budget and for the practice, this amp is perfect unless you are not looking for a great sound.
If I stolen or lost this one...well...I'll forget it and will find some other practice amp.

For what it is this thing has a lot of features. I think it's already been covered. I have one possible "complaint". The AUX in does not have a volume control. This means that if you are going to play along to a CD or MD and actually do this in the street as a part of your performance (I do this from time to time) you're gonna have to record the back-up tracks as loud as possible or you may have a problem. On the other hand, with its own volume control the AUX input would have taken up space and used battry power.

And yes, one more thing. The smartest thing for a battery powered amp is to have the on and off switch located in the intpu jackTHis will lessen the chances of draining the batteries by accident.

Otherwise it's great. Especially the good sounding reverb which is not found in these kind of amps in general. I can't think of any reasonably priced battery ap that has it in fact.

Again, for what it is it's great. I have other battery amps that are louder, cleaner and sound better but they are also more expensive, bigger and heavier.

I have gigged with this one at small cafe type gigs and for acoustic shows it works just fine. Not getting enough clean volume out of it? Select the "mic" setting, much louder.

Can't really say yet but I do not expect any problem whatsoever.

Haven't had any reason to deal with Boss but they have a very, very good reputation when it comes to support of their products.

Great amp. I wanted to have one that was small enough for me to carry it to work more or less everyday without being bothered by it. This is it.

And for what it's worth... I've played in the streets for over 10 years. This amp is as loud as you'll ever need. Or at least in most cases that's true. People want to hear you when you play something cool in the streets but they don't want the sound to attack them. This amp is just right.

Bought new. Made 2004?

Features already noted by many others.

Has the basic amp models, mod effects, delay / reverb effect you need, let's you play along with CDs, MP3s, is highly portable, and sounds great for a small amp in the bedroom. For what it is, it's unsurpassed for features. And... if you wish, you can also feed it into another amp. The amp models and FX are good enough that it stands on its own as a basic guitar processor.

I've only tried it with my Agile LP 2500 (LP copy) so far.


I set it up on top of my Pro Junior, and had my MagicStomp amp / FX processor on hand, too, to compare the amp models. And I had my MP3 player to pump some backing tracks into the MicroCube. Playing was done in the bedroom with the kids not too far off sleeping.

A few points:

- The amp models are just top notch. Really very impressive. It's not marketing BS when they said they put high quality modeling into it.

- Compared to MagicStomp modeling, the MicroCube models were good or better. The cranked Vox on the Cube was very cool.

- I also piped the Cube into my Pro Junior. Worked great.

- I accidently hooked the 'Aux in' of the Cube into my Pro Junior. It worked... playing BOTH amps at once! I don't think this will hurt anything, but it's certainly not something they say in the owner's manual. For the most part, when I played the Cube into my Pro Junior, I used the REC out, and that cuts out the Cube's amp.

- The lil' Cube amp by itself has its own wonderful vibe. It sounds just great cranked on recto tones for bedroom volumes. The JC Clean with a little modulation is also great, as it the Twin amp with some reverb.

- With backing tracks from my MP3 player (um, a Palm PDA for me... ) you got a great practice tool going. You can jam away and quickly jump around to different amp models and FX. The Cube controls and feature are limited, but the 'KISS' principle of simplicity rules when you just want to play and have fun.

- I was prompted to get the Cube, believe it or not, because I found the GDEC by Fender to be a lot of fun. I got to thinking about it, and figured that this MicroCube + an MP3 player or drum machine will be more fun and sound at least as good or better in the long run.

No, it's not as wonderfully toneful as my Zvex Nano Head or Fender Pro Junior. But that's not why I bought it. For what it is - portability and versatility at a low volume - the sound is superb.
Anyway, big thumbs up for the MicroCube!

Seems reasonable solid. Time will tell.

NA

I think I've already said it, but so far I'm very impressed. I haven't tried it with batteries.... and that will be a key use when I do try it that way.

But based on how much fun it is to play and jump around to different quality sounds on this thing, I have to give it a high rating.

The features of this little gem have been covered. It's a 2 watt modelling amp with 5 amp models, an acoustic guitar simulator and a mike channel. One tone control, volume and gain, speaker simulated headphone out/record out, Aux in, batteries or wall wart all in a tight little tone package.

The tone is wide ranging enough, but bass and treble would have been nice.

I wanted an external speaker out jack, so I added one. I wil be adding an uncompensating line out as well.

The tweaking Roland did on this speaker (take a look at the extra magnet on the back of the speaker) has somehow extended the frequency response of this little thing. Ran through a pair of Greenbacks in a halfstack and it was unbelievable. With an uncompensated line out, I could drive a larger power amp with the Cube and use it for a preamp.

The effects aren't earth shattering, but they are simple to use, versatile and do the job.

The reverb is a bit bright. I'd like a bit fuller reverb tone, but heck...the amp would be worth the money even if there were no effects or reverb.

All kinds of guitars including modded Teles, Les Pauls, Strat types, electric 12 strings...all with piezo bridges and very versatile pickup switching. (I build guitars, effects and amps, as well as mod them). This amp will suit nearly anything I play. It will be used in home practice but might make it into recording or even band practice. The clean models hold up well, especially for the low power and small speaker. The distorted models are great. Heck, the first time I played the VC30 model, I could actually hear and feel the "power amp compression" as I played. Few tube amps can do that at household/bedroom volumes.

It's not noisy (aside from my sloppy playing), but I don't use single coils and shield all my guitars.

The distortion models are pretty good. Next to my girlfriend's triple channel, dual rectifier Mesa, it holds it's own tonewise.

Again, my only tonal beef is I wish the reverb was a bit fuller.

I've been modding it for some other functions, and it's built pretty sturdily, especially for a SMT build (surface mount components.) I did seal the inside of the cabinet to protect against moisture damage. Water and partical board make a big mess. It shouldn't need servicing. I have lots of small practice amps and this one, while not the loudest, is the most versitile, and it should stand a lot of hard use.

As a repair tech, Roland is not the easiest company to deal with. They job out their repair parts to a third party company and it can take a while to get parts or even schematics. This may be the weak link. But, I do own a lot of Roland and Boss equipment and have had little trouble with any of it, even when I've extensively modded it.

They are nice people though once you can get through the menus to get to one. But long, vague menus are everywhere, and they aren't any worse than any other company. I usually rate recorded menues by the background music used while on hold.

I've been playing since 1967 and hope to improve one of these years. This thing is so cute, if stolen, I'd definitely hunt the skunk down and get it back. My girlfriend's buying me a sweet 9mm Baretta for my birthday, and I gotta shoot something...it might as well be someone who steals any of my equipment. While I am not the expert shot my girlfriend is, I can look pretty menacing without being armed. I'll be itching to practice shooting something.

I've got lots of small practice amps (and lots of mid sized and large amps as well.) My favorite was the old Peavey Decade (I've got 5 of them) and they are all tweaked to taste. I've got old tube amps, like Kalmazoo, Harmony, and others. Danelectros, Silvertones, Fenders, Vox's and lots of others, including home built. This one is special as it has a pinch of nearly every amp I own in it.

Comparing it to our Pignose, the first and for a long time the best practice amp, it's like comparing a 72 Dodge Dart to a new Accura. Both do their thing, but the Micro Cube is just too much fun.

I wish it had an uncompensated line out (which I will add) and if I get my hands on the schematic, it will have other new functions.

I may build the rotary switch decoding circuit for changing models into a pedal to allow me to change models. The decoding circuit is fed with only 3 wires so this may be possible.

AN EDITORIAL OPINION. As I read reviews on Harmony Central, I read time and time again people griping that they hate the piece of equipment they are reviewing. Well, why the heck did you buy it in the first place, and why do you expect it to do something it clearly wasn't designed to do?

It's like buying a used Geo Metro and then complaining you can't haul your three wheeler or water ski so the car's a piece of junk.

Choose the RIGHT tool for the job and use it in the manner it was meant to be used.

I bought a Zoom amp modeller some time ago. It sounds great, and I love it, but you cannot store settings as you can with a POD, or Beheringer modeler. I could complain it's a P-O-S because I can't store presets, but it wasn't designed for that. It was well worth the money I bought it for, and will sound as good 15 years from now as it did when I bought it.

I have a blackface Deluxe Reverb (not a reissue.) Should I complain it doesn't have channel switching? Should I rant and rave that it doesn't keep up with the other guitar player's 350 watt Marshall Mode 4? Of course not. It's one of the true classics and it is what it is. It does one thing...but it does it like God was breathing through it.

Lighten up. Music is entertainment. Don't use the annonominity of a forum such as this to sound like a bigger idiot than you might be.

And don't criticize my spelling. My head isn't cooperating today.

I just bought the Micro cube for teaching private lessons in students homes. One channel, digital modeling, lots of features for such a small amp (headphone jack, CD line out, 6AA battery or adapter power, 6 amp models, effects, ability to use two effects simultaneously.) 4 inch speaker, 2 watts. Like I said, I use the amp for teaching. If I ever do street gigs (which I have yet to do) this thing would be perfect. The amp gets pretty loud for 2 watts. FX include chorus, delay, flange, phaser, reverb, tremelo. Amp models include acoustic simulator, JC 120, Fender blackface,Vox AC 30, Marshall, Mesa Rectifier. MAster volume and gain control.

I play mainly a Parker Nitefly. The amp is very quiet (generally the single coils in the Nitefly buzz like a mother#@$#%^%, not so when I plug into this.) Plenty of variety to the sounds. I especially like the Fender and Vox models. The cleans don't distort but at higher volume the amp starts to crap out. (No surprise with the 4 inch speaker.) For what it is, this thing sounds really great.

We'll see.

I've been playing for 18 years, professionally since about age 16 or so. My main amp is an Ampeg Reverberocket reissue. (Great bargain tube amp.) The micro cube is an amazing piece of gear for what it is (a practice amp with a 4 inch speaker that's about the size of a, I don't know, it's pretty small though). For the size it sounds amazing. Surprisingly rich lows on the Fender model. The vox model has a great clean to dirty range. Overall if you're looking for an extremely portable little practice amp (particularly to teach lessons with if you do "housecall" lessons) this is the amp to buy. Price is a little high but it was a good purchase.

This little amp is loaded with features.
Check their website for all the details.
The nice features are:
The cd/mp3 input jack, which is very cool when you want to play along with a song.
The battery operation. Although I haven't tested it, they say you can get around 20 hours of playing with 6 AA batteries. Now, how cool is that?!
The tuning fork button is very appreciated too.
Lots of effects and amp sims.

The one thing that bugs me a bit is the placement of the controls. They are at the back of the top. I mostly pratice sitting down with the amp at shoulder level. There's no way to see the controls that way, you have to lean the amp towards you every time. A bit annoying.
And the power button is at the back of the amp, in the middle somewhere..... very hard to find while not looking. Annoying too.
Because of those few design flaws I have to give it a 9.

I use a Gibson SG Special and an Ibanez SZ320MH with this amp.
I bought it as a bedroom pratice amp.
It is not a noisy amp. And although they say it's only a 2 watts amp, man, it can get pretty loud for 2 watts.
When you start going over the halfway volume setting, things start to get mushy, muddy and crappy. Stay below volume 5.
After the initial WOW feelings you get with something new, you get critical pretty fast with this amp. The micro cube tries to be several different amps in one, and fails miserably with each.
But don't get me wrong, for the price you pay this is some incredible little piece of hardware. Just don't buy it for it's incredible sound, of which you'll soon tire of. It's a small inexpensive practice amp with loads of bonus stuff in it, and works wonders if you see it as such.
So, based on what it is and not on what it tries to be, I have to give it a 9.

Very solid stuff this micro cube.
I guess you could kick it, drop it, carry it everywhere with you and it would still keep on playing.
I'm very delicate with my stuff, but this baby can stand some pretty evil abuse for sure.
Very reliable.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I've been playing for about 26 years. I bought this amp as a practice amp, and it does the job very well. It's just that after a few months I got tired pretty fast of the crappy sound. Now, I basically play my guitars through my V-amp, with headphones, without using the cube.
This Roland Micro-Cube is a very good practice amp if you don't expect incredible sound. You get what you pay for here.
It will probably end up in the hands of my 13 year old son (which has recently showed interest in playing guitar himself) and I will go and get myself a Line6 Spider II amp, a bit more expensive but in a diffenrent category too, which IMHO will make my guitars shine a bit better while practicing.

It's amazing how many features they packed into this small box.
6 COSM amp models, 6 effects, tuning fork. One of the best features is the small size and that it runs on batteries, it seems to draw little current so batteries last long time.
I was looking for something very portable, so I can easily move around and it fits the bill very nicely.
The only feature I don't care about is the tuning fork, I would prefer a bass EQ instead.

The sound is amazing for such a small package, I found that it gives the best tone with volumes knob turned to around 9:30 and 10:00, after that it's starts distorting and bass is starting to kill the speaker. But even at that setting it gives enough volume to practice at home.
I like the JC Clean, Black face and Brit combo settings the best, reverb, chorus, flanger and phaser are very nice. I don't use tremolo much.
i tried it as a preamp through my 50W marshall and the amp models sounded quite nice.
Sometimes I connect my Boss drum machine to Aux in and practice with that and it sound good.

It is very well built, front grill is a very solid mesh, and the box itself is very thick and sturdy.
I never had any problems with any boss/roland stuff, so I expect this to be very reliable.

Never dealt with them.

This is a very nice, very protable amp, it's not loud enough for gigging or practicing with a band, but for home practice it's perfect.
It's got very nice tone and features for such a small package.
I'm 100% satisfied with it and I would get another one in a heart beat. There isn't much that you can compare this to, so if you want a small very portable amp that sounds nice, has some effects built in and runs on batteries, there is no other choice, but that's ok because this thing does it very nicely.

This amp has a LOT of features for such a cheap box. The only feature that I would add would be an extrenal speaker jack. It has a recording/headphone jack that is controlled by the volume control. I assume that you could run it into another amp and use the Cube as a pre-amp. That should be interesting. It has effects and models. It's a really fun amp that will pull good things out of your fingers.

Sounds... This is why I bought the amp today. It sounds good. I was looking for a SS amp, I have quite a few tube amps and a Flextone III and a Trademark-10. I went to the store to try out a Peavey Bandit II but it didn't speak to me. I tried one of the Fender Dyna-Touch amps and it is an ICEPICK, you can't dial the higs out of it. I tried a Vox Valvetronix, a Vox Brian May (it's a great little amp too), I tried the other Roland Cube amps but this one grabbed my pants leg and would not let me leave without it. It is sitting right beside me now. I love it.

Who knows? Roland has a good rep. No worries...

????

It's a great little amp that makes me want to play and it doesn't hurt my ears...yet.

I really am in love with it so far. I was just on Ebay looking at the Cube-60 amps and the Blues Cube amps... that's how impressed I am with this little wonder. BTW, I build small amps...tweed Champs and 5e3 deluxes. They are nice but they will not do what this little amp will do without being louder than I want them to be. It was time to feed the GAS and this really did the trick.

The amp was made in 2005. It is a very small unit designed for portability first and foremost -- 2 watts power, 5 inch speaker, 7 pounds weight, runs for 20 hours on 6 alkaline "AA" batteries or on power via a wall wart. It will accept 1/4" mono or mini-jack input (e.g. for a CD player). A 1/4" "rec out" jack can be used either for recording or for headphones.

The amp includes COSM amp modeling with 6 amp types, ranging in style from clean to heavy metal. Effects include chorus, flange, reverb, tremolo, and delay.

The amp is amazingly quiet when powered up. With all controls set to maximum, there is no audible hiss. As a front end for recording, this thing will do the job.

I've tried the unit with both guitar and harmonica, using the "mic input" setting for the latter. It will produce a decent blues harp sound for harmonica, though 1) not very flexible and 2) more prone to feedback that I like. The effects don't sound very good with harmonica either.

The unit sounds terrific with guitar -- every amp model has lots of character, and they cover a wide range of sounds for such a small and inexpensive unit. The effects obviously were designed to sound best with guitar, and they do the job. The main limitation on the effects is that they have very little flexibility -- one can set delay time but not number of repeats, for example; one can set chorus and flange wet/dry but not depth, regen time, etc., etc.

Reverb or delay mya be used with any of the other effects.

For a 2 watt amp, it's plenty loud.

I haven't had the amp long enough to know how it will perform over time. External design and build quality seems very solid -- lots of reinforcement on the corners, metal grill protecting the speaker, nothing sticking out waiting to be broken off, etc.

Because I haven't had a breakdown, I've never had to call the company. The warranty is 1 year, pretty normal for this kind of gear.

Given the design intentions and constraints -- very small size and weight, very low price -- this thing is terrific. It's loud enough and light enough for street gigs, it's quiet enough to plug straight into a recording console, and the palette of amp models and effects, while limited, has enough variety to be useful in a range of styles. The quality of the sound it produce for guitar is remarkable.

I'm sure that many guitarists would find this to a be a useful tool.

See rolandus for the features or just read the other posts. This amp is wonderful for me.

I have many strats in different configurations..stock, with real Bill Lawrence pups, with Carvin pups, Fat strats too, and a Parker Fly Classic. I can use this amp for most of my styles Blues, Rock, heavy rock etc.etc.

The amp is just plain cool and gives you a nice feel when you play your guitar. I am not a fan of the rectifier setting. I do like the Fender settings and the marshal setting as well as the jc setting. This amp works well with my rc anbd ac booster pedals.

At higher volumes it can get bassy...flabby, fartty.

I also have the cube 60 but I purchased this first. Other than these two roland amps, all my other amps are vintage to new fender tube amplifiers, crate tube vc series, and boogie. This amp is light and sounds fine.

I have done some interesting things with it that you should try also.

I run the line out to an eq pedal then feed my fender tube amps or my mosvalve power amp. I use the eq pedal for a boost for my solos. This little amp is amazing when used as a pramplifier like I use it sometimes.

I have rehearsed with this amp with an sm57 mic in front of it. I like trying things!

The FX section is not usable however (I cannot use it anyway), the reverb and delay are.

The clean settings work better for me. The recto sound which I do not like at all. I really don't like it on the cube 60 either.

People that are more into the heavy distorted sound can give a better descriotion than I can.

This is my third one. The first two had problems with the wall wart powersupply getting very hot and the amp sagging out. This one has been solid and works all the time. It has fallen off of my deck and down the stairs, my dog ran off with it to get me to play with her and dropped it down a flight of stairs. It didn't even sustain a ding in the finish. I guess I was lucky for the first time ever.

I can depend on it and actually will be using it at a gig feeding into one channel of my deluxe reverb. I always have a backup whether I need it or not. Get serious, if you a being paid to play, you better be prepared for whatever.........

I haven't had to deal with anyone but my dealer.. They are top notch. Daddy's Music in North Dartmouth, MA. Probably the only good shop in the chain.

Been playing since I was 7, now 46. Still gigging on weekends.
I love the sound and size and ease of setting up anywhere. I love being able to mic this tiny thing an dplay a gig like I had my full rig on stage.

Lots of features for a highly portable, $125 practice amp that fits in a suitcase. I was looking at a Pignose until I saw the FX and amp models this has.

This was purchased to bring on business trips. I keep getting hassled in every hotel when I play my guitars through my THD Univalve.
Lately I have been flying out of state and I wanted something that would fit in my suitcase. This fits, and leaves plenty of room for everything else.
I have tried my Tele, Strat, and Les Paul through this amp and they all sound good. Recently, I bought a freaky acrylic travel guitar off eBay but it I don't have it yet to run through this amp.

I contend that this amp has plenty of clean headroom on the JC 120 setting when using the supplied power adapter. Dying batteries may produce a different result. Adjustment of the Gain and Volume knobs are key, here. The Black Panel setting has an emphasis on bass and treble frequencies and the speaker does become overloaded at higher volumes on this setting. The bass craps out. No matter to me, I don't use it as I prefer the JC 120 for the flat eq'd clean sounds.
My favorite sound is the Vox model. It is suprisingly dynamic and resopnds well to pick attack. I never would have thunk it was possible from a solid state amp like this.
The Marshall and Mesa models are fun for a few minutes but I end up back on the Vox. The Marshall and Vox are voiced with a lot of midrange and the Mesa is voiced without midrange.

The Reverb, Delay, and Phaser are my favorite FX. I think they sound best with the clean amp models but that's because I rarely use effects with my bigger amps anymore. With this amp, they add a depth to the clean sounds that really makes me feel like I got a great PRACTICE amp for a great price.

I haven't had it long enough to rate in this category.
It seems sturdy. I am going to fly with it soon and I'll report back.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing for 24 years. I have THD, Fender, and Marshall tube amps and a few nice guitars.

This is the best $125 I have spent on music gear in a long while.
Because of it's perfect size and quality of sound for my application, I would surely buy it again if lost or stolen.

If you want an amp this size and configured as it is for anything other than practice, good luck with that.

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).

Made in 2004 this practice amp still suits the old fashioned styles I play: Stonesy rock, Beatles, early days Led Zep, some Stax-influenced soul vamping ;). No channel switching, no effects loop, but but the various amp types are very tweakable and it has built in effects.
Jack for headphones (works best with the clean sounds, I'd say it's more of an emergency option straight from the amp. If you want good 'phone sound, run the amp into your stereo and that HP output).
Like mentioned earlier, the tuning fork isn't essential, that's where the on/off switch should be. A digital tuner would be nice, but I'm not sure if it would fit. This is a nice and compact little thing! Put a tuner in front of it (let me digress here for a bit: I use the tuner of a Pandora's box, but I wouldn't put that in front of the Cube. So I use Boss' Acoustic Simulator as a by-passer, when I step on it the signal goes into Pandora and I can tune *silently*).
I think all modelling types are useful, depending of course on the style you play. I won't be using Mesa a lot unless I want to blast out something like My My Hey Hey. It can get brutal!
I use it at home, more than enough power for that. Surprisingly deep for it's size.
Comes with a wall-wart.

I use mainly a Les Paul Classic with the hot humbuckers, this works best with the Vox modelling. Tone at about 2 o'clock, gain at noon or a little past, and I have a nice warm slightly distorted sound to play all the Stones, Mick Ronson w/ Bowie and The Black Crowes stuff I love. A little more gain and it's Good Times Bad Times Jimmy Page time. The Marshall thing I don't use much but crank it and go Angus go! LP brings nice dark clean sounds out of JC and Fender settings, in fact the first usable clean sounds I've gotten from that guitar, the pandora's box settings always came out colorless. Acoustic style works fine with the LP, good enough, that's why I use the Boss to "switch on" the tuner. LP gets pretty bassy with all the other settings except Vox where it's well balnced somehow. But at least I get that bottom to drive the rhythm!
I also use a Strat which is naturally better for clean sounds and doesn't emphasise the heavier strings that much. Sounds harsh on the acoustic unless the tone is well on the bassier side. What I like about the Cube a lot is that the settings work with different types of guitar, they just change character instead of becoming unusable or weird.
I'd say MC is quiet, then again I haven't had to turn it even half way up. You do get a good sound and tone at low volumes, interference free.
Like I said the amp is very tweakable, even with just one tone knob it gives a wide range of colors. The different settings react to gain and volume interaction beautifully, like my fave, the Vox (British Combo) goes from clean to crunchy to dirty.
All FX have a range from hardly there at all to a lot, tho' delay isn't very dominant and tremolo should have that adjustable depht. Good thing delay or reverb can be used all the time while chorus, flanger, phaser and trem cancel share a control.
Put any pedals in front of it, and you can use the aux in to play along a recording or a drum machine, whatever.
Rec out, connect the thing to a stereo system or a PA and it sounds even better.

This a sturdy little thing. Take it anywhere. No need for back-up unless you really want to make sure. It will last a long time, tho' it's in the toy amp category, it is a well-built toy, good materials have been used.

-----

I've been playing since 1978. After playing bass in some bands through monster Peaveys, I've settled or stressless life of making demos and just paying what I like on six strings at home. My previous little amp was THE Pignose, but it lacked the depht I needed even with Pandora's Box. Micro Cube delivers (I'm so happy!).
I'd buy a new one if I lost it.
I chose it for it's features and sound. It's the best in it's category. It's loud enough (and then some) for playing at home or jamming with another guitarist or a bass player... and a quiet drummer... Cubes 15 or 30 would be too much, and this has most of the same features.
I wish it had a tuner. Otherwise it has plenty for the price, in fact everything I need to just play and enjoy the music.
With aux in I can for example use the Boss acoustic pedal through it when it's connected to the hifi-system. Additionally the MIC-option can be used for voice, and Cube's reverb works for that too, so it's usable for some low budget home recording: no need to buy anything else but a mic for your vocals.

I bought mine used. Whoa! This amp is cooool! Amp modeling, digital reverb & delay, chorus, flange, phase shifting, tremelo. All in a $100 battery operated amp. Unheard of, dude.

If you've ever been put off to modeling amps before, try this out ASAP. You will be shocked at how good this can sound, even thru its measly 5" speaker.

I bought this on a whim off eBay. I collect battery operated amps and I bought this one and an AXL Thin Amp on the same day. They also arrived on the same day. I first played thru the AXL. It wasn't bad, a little tinny sounding. The effects were OK, but a bit hard to dial in. My wife asked me to turn it down.

Then I plugged into the MicroCube. Immediately it sounded rich, full and cool BEFORE I EVEN TURNED A SINGLE KNOB! That's because this amp cannot sound bad (at least to me). My wife came into the room and (no lie) said "honey, that sounds nice. Is it new?" ...I rest my case.

I've tried the Line 6 amps before and never liked their modeling amps (I love the POD and Variax). This amp, this small, battery operated "toy" amp has completely changed my mind about modeling amps. I get it now. It took Roland to show me the light. This is the future of amp technology, folks.

It has 6 modeling amps - Acoustic, JC Clean, Black Panel, Brit Combo, Classic & Rectifier. Also has a mic setting. Every one of these is usable. If you can't find a setting you like on here, it's time to get new batteries for your hearing aid. There's not a guitar that I own that I cannot make sound good on here.

I'm primarily a roots player, so I don't like a lot of useless overdrive settings. I do a lot of Pre Production with artists before I record them. That means we sit down and go over the arrangements, key selections etc. I use this all the time for that, plugging an acoustic electric guitar into a clean setting on it. I also use it for songwriting. It inspires me when I sound good. And when I'm inspired, I write better songs.

It has basically 2 EFX knobs. One controls chorus, flanger, phaser and tremelo - these effects are preset and by turning the knob CW you progressively get more of that effect until finally it enters into the next effect. It's hard to explain, but is very intuitive and easy once you do it a few times. The presets are very good. Sure, you can't adjust every parameter of an effect, but that also allows you to be creavive on your instrument without fiddling around with knobs all the time. It's simple. Brilliant!

The Delay/Reverb knob works similarly, except the delay time changes as you turn the knob. The reverb gets heavier and deeper in the same way when it's turned CW.

I usually don't ever use a line out from an amp to record with, but I was in my studio the other day and needed to lay down a quick guide guitar and used the Rec/Out and got an excellent result. I'll be recording more that way in the future, mainly because the amp modeling is so useful.

I'm not sure this amp is loud enough for club work. Maybe for a coffee house. I was so impressed with this amp that I also bought it's bigger brother the Cube 30. Same kind of setup, but with more power. (I'll review the Cube 30 after I field test it on a gig.)

I'm serious though - you cannot sound bad with this amp. Impossible.

I've always had good luck with Roland/Boss stuff. I have already used this in professional situations with spectacular results. For only $100!!!

In all my years, I don't believe I've ever had a Boss/Roland unit ever fail on me.

I'm a professional player. I play with The Hellecasters and also write a column in Guitar Player Magazine on eBay strategies. I am not a Roland endorsee. I just love this amp and now own 3. This amp will be a classic in 30 years. Hell, it's a classic now.

The only negative for me: The on/off switch is on the back and almost impossible to find. The tuning fork switch is pretty useless for me. They shoulda put the on/off there instead.

Point is, that most "modelling" anythings sound crappy. Hated the Pod. The MicroCube sounds quite convincing. I prefer some sounds to others, but that is personal. The Good Stuff: battery operated if you need it, portable and light too....so good for that alone.

Last gig I took it along as my "pedal board"...yep, just used all the settings instead of pedals, and used the line out into a bigger amp.

Worked pretty well.

Tried it with a range of geetars, all sound reasonable, no real problems here.
I play everything from hard rock to.....well......and I think that the sounds are all useful.The reverb is pretty good too for a box like this.

I think you would get pretty good results recording with it.

I have a heap of "collectible" amps, from AC30s to BlackFaces, and I think this amp stacks up pretty well sonically.

Agree that the worst part is the bottom end, the bass "woofs" out badly if pushed. But used carefully, it is a great box for the price.

The idea of using it as an on-stage FX means that if you just use a reasonably clean, punchy amp, you can cover a lot of amp sounds. Need to be careful with settings and how you drive the big amp, but overall a good concept.

who knows?

no need yet

Have been playing for 40+ years. Have tons of geetars, from Fender to Gibson and humbucking to single coils, plus many amps....from little valve guys to collectible models to solid state ones...if it sounds good, it is good.

No one amp does it all, some are better when the right pedals are in-front.

But for what it does, this is a good, useful box, for rehearsing, recording, or driving a big amp...and for travelling...combine with a Hohner G3T for an excellent portable setup.

Yes, I would probably replace it if it went away.
Best: sounds, portability.
Worst: bottom end (small speaker syndrome?)

MGF in 2004, This amp is the proverbial 20lbs of "stuff" in a 5lb box! For a portable mini, you just can't find a more feature rich small amp.
It includes 7 guitar amp models including Fender and Marshall and a mic preamp model.
6 DSP effects: chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo and separate Delay/Reverb plus a built in tuning fork model! It also includes
recording/Headphones output and stereo Auxiliary input for CD players, etc
I can't thnk of any other features I need in such a small footprint.
I use this thing all the time instead of my big Line6 because it runs off of batteries.

I have several electrics; Strat, Les Paul and a Gibson ES-335. It sounds terrific with all of them. it gives quite a bit of versatility
with no noise or hum unless you crank everything up to 10. You do have to ride the volume volume levels depending on the model you select.The effects are relatively decent too. Don't let the specifications fool you (2 watts and a 5 inch speaker) This cube can crank it out, it's all you'll want in a practice amp for sure. It sounds more like a 10-15 watt unit but it is so lightweight to haul around.

Obviously, this is a practice amp-don't try to gig with it unless you are soloing for your preschoolers Barney show. If I had to draw on paper what I thought I needed in a small, portable, light weight A/C and battery operated unit, The Roland Micro Cube nailed it!
This thing is dependable and came with carrying strap (looks like a car battery with it on) and a power A/C adapter. It'll run about 15-20 hours on 6 AA batteries.

I have never needed it, but Roland has a cool website with quite a bit of info and very nice Videos there on the unit with video/sound demos, (That sold me!).
Parts & labor warranty is 3 years.

I originally purchased a Fender 15R and was very disappointed. I exchanged it for the Micro Cube and have never looked back! I'd recommend this little bably to anyone wanting a real practice amp.
It is by far the best money I've spent on guitar products in awhile
(don't tell my wife!).

Very good features for the size and class of this amp - but definitely not made for acoustic guitars with active pickups.

Sounds excellent with passive pickups only - on solid body electric guitars. I brought my Godin A6 and Taylor 514ce into the store to try it and it distorted even on the clean setting on low volume - it simply sounded awful with these guitars. I tried other acoustic electric floor models on this - There's no usable acoustic guitar tones at all. It's definitely not made for acoustics and acoustic hybrids with active pickups. The Fender Amp Can sounds better, louder and can handle the active pickups - but it doesn't have all the fancy sound effects. I normally use a little chorus and reverb on my Marshall AS80R to spruce up my acoustic tone. I really was looking for something small, battery powered with decent volume to use while playing intimate solo acoustic gigs at the local coffee shop. I guess I'll have to continue lugging my Marshall to the gigs (but it's way too big). I play mainly instrumental fingerstyle solo guitar where a small amp is needed to cut through the typical chatter and murmer level of your typical coffee shop. It's definitely just an electric guitar practice amp - or for the electric guitar playing street musicians you see playing at your local outdoor Saturday Markets and such. I really tried to like this little puppy for my style of playing - but it just won't do. Roland should come out with a battery powered version of the AC-60 - I'd buy that!

...for electric solid body guitars only, this fits the bill...I suppose it is reliable enough to use for practicing and such.

Haven't dealt with Roland/Boss, but their website is pretty decent.

I've been playing for over thirty years in various rock bands, acoustic duos and jazz trios. But i've since hung up my electric guitars and concentrating on strictly acoustic fingerstyle. Again, I tried to like it for my style of playing with the guitars I use and have come to the conclusion that acoustics jsut weren't meant to be played through this thing, no matter how much you tweak it.

I'm not going to re-hash these; they're all there below. I say 8 because, while there are lots of features in a very small package, I think it needed one more knob to provide better control over the chorus/phase/flange/tremelo.

All kinds; Strats and Teles, LPs, Gretsch, Rics. Seems to work well with all on the Class A, pretty well on the Stack. I don't use the Rectifier mode, and am disappointed with the blackface mode (I know it's supposed to be bassy, but it's too bassy to my ears). The JC120 is fine for clean, as you would expect from Roland. The main model that I was interested in was the Class A anyway, and to my ears it's the best of the lot. I really like the way this mode distorts as well; to my ears not nearly as harsh as the other models...much more tube-like. As to the effects, they're fine, but I'd like something to tweak the depth of the tremelo; it's the one effect I'd like most to have, but I don't use it because I can't get it to sound the way I'd like. Oh well, if I want tremelo I'll use a pedal; not a huge deal. Chorus, flange and phase are better, though I don't use them much. I do think that the delay and reverb are very good; delay's quite good for a slap-back Sun Studios sound, or even a Dark Side of The Moon tune if maxed. The reverb sounds like a good spring reverb to me, but I use it at a very low setting, just to add a bit of depth.

Seems to be fine, but I hope not to drop it. At least it weighs less than most of my "real" amps.

I've been serious about playing and getting good tone for about 6 years now. Good tone is like the Holy Grail; I'll spend the rest of my life looking for it, and will only come close to finding it. The thing about this little bugger that led me to put this review out here is that I think the Class A mode is FANTASTIC. I have a 1963ish Vox AC30, which with all of its foibles sounds great, a Korg AC15 (also sounds great), a Pathfinder Stack and a Brian May; the MicroCube's Class A mode sounds as realistic as any model of an AC30 that I've ever heard, and in some respects it's much more "user friendly" - sizewise, loudnesswise, heatwise, weightwise. Would I give up the AC30 for it? Well hell no, but for sitting in the living room practicing, this beats lugging the AC30 downstairs anyday (kidding-- I wouldn't), and with the effects this is an outstanding little package. I likely will rarely use any of the other amp models (maybe the stack if I play some Oasis tunes); the Class A is enough for almost everything I play anyway, and even with the other amps I have that should be more true to Vox tones, I honestly think this one beats the Korg amps at their own sound.

This little amp has a decent smattering of features to keep practicing and playing with small groups fun. It has a few different amp emulations (acoustic sim, Roland, Fender, VOX, Marshall, and Mesa-type sounds), as well as a modulation-based effects knob and a delay/echo-based effects knob. None of these effects are super-controllable or "perfect" sounding, but they DO sound good and like I said, keep playing fun. The modulation effects run a bit thick sounding. There is also a gimmicky little tuner (you hit a button and it makes a tuning fork noise)... I actually find it useful and if they got cost-savings by doing it this way, good for them. Also, there is line-in and out (recording level too), and it can run on batteries. That is cool.

This amp sounds pretty good, and at times will really surprise you for its sound vs size! However, let's not kid ourselves, it has a 5" speaker and since it is a closed-back enclosure, when you turn it up load the bass puts out more thump than the little guy can take and it makes a bit of a muffled "huffing" on some settings. BUT... you can work around this. The VOX and Marshall emulations seem to have enough mid to high range sound that they can cancel this effect out. Also, it seems like if you turn the volume past 1/2 way, the bass doesn't increase any further--that part of the volume curve seems to just boost mids and highs... a good thing. These are the sounds that make you cut through when you are playing anyways. The amp sounds more like an 8-10 watt amp in my opinion, but since the bass seems to have a good deal of weak-spots, you can't really use it for any type of live performance, except maybe solo playing in a small room. If you can live with these quirks, and they are kind of endearing since the amp is so tiny, it may be perfect for practicing alone or with some friends (no drums).

Seems really solid! Comes with 5 year warranty. Well built and Roland/Boss has a good name. The AC/battery options are nice too. I hope the bass-issue where it really muffles the sound isn't causing any hard to the electronics, but it doesn't seem like it... it's designed to be a combo amp.

Never dealt with them. Big company, so I don't know if that's good or bad.

This little item is something that will turn heads when people hear it because it definately outplays itself. When you DO find those sound sweet spots on it, it is certainly sweet. My "other" amp is a Tone King class-A tube amp, and before that I had a Top Hat. So I "know" what good tube tone sounds like. It has a certain cushion-quality to the sound that is warm and enjoyable to play with. Well, surprisingly, this little amp has a few sounds that have a similar vibe to them. I really think it's a cool amp... maybe it is a bit of a "toy" but at the price who can mind that? I plan to use it at home and for ensemble practicing with other guitars. It should do fine. Maybe it will become a collector piece one day!

This is a brand new Microcube. See features below. The tuner is great. Headphone jack is a life saver late at night. Extremely versatile. Only gripe is that the power switch is a little tough to find sometimes since it's on the back of the amp.

This baby sounds excellent. It quickly has become my primary toodling amp. I typically play through it with a PRS CE22, which sounds excellent on either humbucker or single coil configs. The model I use almost exclusively is the Marshall stack. Can go from huge gain to very clean with the twist of the guitar's volume knob. I especially love the PRS's single coil settings. In a strange way this little amp has inspired me more than my real tube amps (Peaveys, Mesa's, Marshalls, etc.). Noise suppressor works perfectly and seems pretty transparent until you forget the amp is on while taking a breather.

No problems after four or five months. I could use this thing to jack up my Nova while changing punkin' oil!

This is probably the best $125 I've ever spent. I've been playing for about 15 years and this is my first "micro" amp. I also currently own a Peavey Classic 30 and Mesa Rectoverb. This amp stays by my couch along with my PRS, making evening practice much more enjoyable and inspiring.

this little toy was probably built around 2002 or 2003.It works with 6 AA batteries,and adapter cable for normal use.It comes with 7 different channels,tone,gain,efx,delay/reverb.its great for practicing and its pretty loud for its size.

I USE THIS AMP AS MY PRACTICE AMP AT HOME OR AT PLACES WHERE A NORMAL SIZE AMP DOES NOT FIT.IT SOUNDS GREAT THROU STUDIO MIXERS AND IDEAL FOR RECORDING DEMOS OR ANYTHING THAT REQUIRES QUICK WORKING.IT FEATURES ACOUSTIC.JC CLEAN,BLACK PANEL,BRIT COMBO,CLASSIC STACK,R-FIER,MIC.

I CANT TELL YOU IF YOU COULD GIG WITH IT...BUT IT SURE AS HELL HAS HELPED ME THROU MY PRACTICE SESSIONS AT HOME.

I NORMALLY WOULD HESSITATE TO RECOMEND ANY AMPLIFIER AT ALL.IVE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS AND HAVE HAD SO MANY AMPS I COULDNT REMEMBER THEM EVEN IF I WANTED TO.BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THIS AMP REALLY SOUNDS GREAT FOR MY TASTE IN MUSIC(HEAVY METAL ALA IRON MAIDEN,JUDAS PRIEST ETC.)AND WOULD STRONGLY RECOMEND YOU TO GIVE IT A TRY...YOU WONT REGRET IT

This two-watt device (sounds louder -- you could JUST do a guitar-acoustic piano duo with it -- but will not outshout a ten-watt amp)offers six amp models, incl. Blackface, Roland jazz chorus 120, Vox AC 30, Marshall stack, rectifier etc., but I'd say only three and a half -- the JC 120, Vox, stack and rectifier -- are really useable, despite good sweep on tone, gain and volume knobs. Same for effects (tremolo, flange, phase, chorus, delay and reverb), more on which below. Roland could have left off a couple of features and lowered the price. On the plus side, battery power accentuates marvelous portability. Two points off for the stuff that doesn't work well, but let's be clear: This is the best truly portable low-power practice and party amp I've ever owned or tried, period.

I use this amp with single coil and humbucker axes (Washburn, Reverend) to play Delta blues, Motown and soul, usually with slide. In AC30 or JC120 settings it sounds great, biting and bright; the amp is worth its price for these two models. Volume is adequate for party situations; the overdriven blues feel is there if you want it (think early Stones), and the clean sound is really pleasant. (But NOT on the acoustic amp model, a total loser.) I don't play enough metal or heavy overdrive stuff to have a valuable opinion on those options, but the stack setting sounds nice for heavy blues riffs. Like amp models, effects are not all useable to my ears. The amp has a fine slap-back delay; however, reverb sounds a bit shrill and seems to muddy the chorus, the best effect on the amp. Tremolo is OK, but I can't set the phaser or flanger low enough to avoid nasal hiss. Amp also works well with a Digitech RP50, which I bought to have a multi-effects as light as the Minicube; the Blackface model on the RP50 is noticeably better defined than the amp's.

I've had this for a few months, and rely on it for party gigs and no-drummer jams with other musicians. Roland gear is famously reliable and I see no exception here. Note also that ANY 9-volt DC wall wart will drive this thing -- no hidden costly replacements here.

No need for support yet.

I've been playing four decades, and owned Fender (tube bassman and bandmaster) and Ampeg (B12 and V4) tube gear, but my most relevant experience here is with very small transistor amps -- Yamaha (wore one out), Park (excellent cheap gear), Pignose and Minicube. I love amps you can carry in one hand to a party or bar, and that give you good sound without hiding your voice (thus cutting the need for a mike). Before buying the Minicube I compared it to Roland's other cubes (15 and 30) at length and decided they were too heavy and powerful for what I was looking for. I have owned a Pignose for 15 years and until now it was the best amp I knew for these applications -- very dirty, but lots of soul and fully portable (in fact, a tad more than the Minicube), and it doubles as a handy easy to use preamp, the one feature I would like to see on the Minicube. The Minicube is still a great alternative, with far more sound options. I would buy it again in a second. If you want a small amp for a band setting, don't get this. I'm not sure it has enough power for the street, either. But as an indoor personal amplifier, all I can say is thanks, Roland.

Well documented features - multiple effects, multiple overdrive/distortion models (Acoustic, JC-120, Blackface, Brit Combo, Classic, R-Fier), tuning fork, etc. etc. Like countless before me, I could have forgone the tuning pitchfork for another knob dedicated to tone (or effects control) or perhaps a metronome. But definitely keep in mind that this is a tiny, inexpensive practice amp - and for those purposes it truly exceeds normal expectations. It's funny, 2 watts and under $150 on paper does not inspire consumer confidence at first just because good amps are expensive as a rule, but I guess technology's creeping up on us real quick. I'm jealous of the kids who get this today, cause I would've LOVED this thing when I was 12.

I use the microcube with a 1995 Gibson ES-335, Gibson mahogany Les Paul double cutaway (no maple top), and an Ibanez RG 450 with a S. Duncan Jazz in the neck. I also own a '65 Reissue Fen. Twin Reverb, Keeley modded Sparkle Drive and Fulltone FullDriveII (and also had a Zinky Superfly that I regretfully returned because the price was too much - the best amp I've ever played through). My style was in some weird, nebulous rockbluespsuedojazzspeedmetalfunk bullshit for an almost unbearably long time for those around me but I've finally started grasping better the art of composition and singing/songwriting (and using my voice made it ten times more difficult to play my old shit anyways) so I find my tonal needs are changing. But I still practice my chops on both clean and distorted tones and the amp models were better than expected.
The Rectifier channel was responsive to fast, dynamic, alternate picked passages with a good, heavy attack - could get a good, cowboys from hell heavy crunch. This channel does actually reward good technique and gives a great, thick, brutal-enough lead distortion tone with the gain set at about 2-3 oclock and the tone at about 1-2 oclock.
The Classic is a bit too midrangy for me, but still gives a good, thick, Marshallesque tone with a bit more transparency than the R-fier. AC-DCish (although definitely not as ballsy, but again 2 Watts!)
Brit Combo with medium gain has perhaps the best picking response of all the channels from smooth to breakup - I like this channel but I believe the addition of another tone knob could've really helped here.
The Blackface has a good fendery thick clean tone with the gained dialed up - however lower notes with my ES-335 in the neck positions often yielded mild speaker buzz at normal volumes.
The JC-120 is a nice, tighter clean than the Blackface, harder to break up and slightly more sterile but a good transparent clean (though speakers will also eventually buzz if pushed to hard - 2 Watts!).
I don't use the Acoustic as I personally think it lends a strange tone - but I also personally think that it's weird to try an emulate an acoustic sound with a solid body.
I tend to never use effects these days but they're relatively decent. The flanger and the phaser are a bit too overwhelming, so their application is a bit more difficult (although the effects will appeal to some). The reverb is pretty good in my opinion.
Depending on where I sit in relation to the amp determines its noisiness in high gain settings. Sometimes a little bit noisy, sometimes almost dead silent.

It just screams solid-state and the construction materials are strong and industrial-like. It really does last forever on six batteries - this is a pivotal selling point I think. I've had it for just a couple weeks but I really doubt that it'll breakdown.

Dunno. Other people seem to like the support.

I've been playing for over twelve years with intermitten gaps. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely buy it again unless something better came along. I guess I hate that the amp can "fart" out a little with too much bass on the clean tones, but I believe that that sacrifice for portability is a sound one (no pun intended).
I love the versatility of tones I get - they are all good enough to inspire a literal 300% increase in practice time and including that with the fact that it really is dirt cheap for what you get, I'm giving this thing a rock-solid ten.

Portable DSP guitar amp, 2 watt power, 5-inch speaker, runs on battery or AC power (adapter included). 7 COSM guitar amp models including JC-120 and a special mic preamp model. Onboard DSP effects: chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, delay, reverb. Separate gain and master volume control. Digital Tuning Fork with support for flat tunings up to 2 semitones. Recording/Headphones output and stereo Auxiliary input for CD players.
The biggest feature that is missing is that there is no straight-through or bypassed clean amp tone. I think there is a real need in the market for a low-power box with a small speaker that just amplifies your guitar in a near-field listening environment. For home solo practice or jamming with a stereo, you don't need to create a big sound that fills the listening room, but you do need enough sound to get over the acoustic sound of the guitar. I have the same reservations about the MicroCube that I do with the Tech 21/Behringer-type modeling amps. Every 'sound' is a model. There is no clean sound, it is a model of a clean sound. You can turn off the DSP but you can't turn off the modeling.

If you like a high-gain type of sound you'll probably like the MicroCube. The MicroCube's sound is hot in the upper midrange and quite 'shouty', even on the 'clean' amp models. Of course this makes it sound a lot louder - this is as loud sounding as 15+ watt amps - but I'm not a high-gain type and I found this tiring to listen to after a while. Personal preference here, I like something more along the lines of the small (and cheaper) Vox amps which give a warmer sound at the expense of some midrange definition. It is also interesting that you can have the gain turned to zero on the MicroCube and the amp still makes a sound. That's a clue that they build a bunch of gain into it already. With high-gain usually comes buzzing and the MicroCube is about average on the buzzing scale.

Looks and feels solid. I'm not a big fan of wall wart power supplies but that's par for the course.

This amp tries to do a lot and obviously there will be compromises. You'll get some modeling and effects, but you can't tweak the parameters. The battery power option gives the MicroCube a bit of an edge in the market and if you need that feature then by all means give this a try. Judged purely as a small amp, The MicroCube is expensive, although it certainly doesn't give up anything in build quality or performance. But for home practice I've gotten a lot of mileage out of powered computer speakers which you can plug straight into your guitar with a 1/8 to 1/4 adapter plug.

This is a follow-up. I have connected this microcube to a 12" fullrange 4ohms speaker, just out of curiosity. Well, thing thing is definitely louder than 2 watts! Unbelievble how loud it was on the rectumfryer setting, and mean.
The bad news are: this amp loses its qualities (definition, tightness, clarity) when not connected to the speaker it comes with.
I also tried a 2x10" box (@40hms, very important) with the same problem.
And if you go the line out way, it is still the same thing. I also found the phones out to be uninspiring (and I've got good expensive akg's) and lifeless.
The bottom line: use it as it comes, just your guitar into it and enjoy the results. No way to have better sound out of it.
Still, it offers such great fun you absolutely have to own one.

The new micro cube amp. A lot of good effects like chorus, flanger,phaser,tremelo, plus delay and reverb to add on. The effects are excellent for practice use although not quite as tweakeable as a pedal. Being a practice amp it really does not need 2 channels and the tuning fork fits in with the idea of it being a portable amp.

The amp sounds great with humbuckers or single coils which is the mark of a real good amp. The amp is super quiet, no noise or hiss to speak of. From authentic surf music to metallica this amp has them all covered. The distortion does take more time to dial in than the clean channels. Play around with the gain, volume and tone knobs to get your favorite sweet spot.

The worst thing to do is to buy this amp because of it's current status as a "FAD" amp. If you have a specific need for a small amp such as portability or very low sound requirements then go for it. The worst possible thing to do is to buy this amp based on these reviews if you have no practical use for it. This amp has an industrial look to it, it's not pretty at all and pretty much nails the apperance of a small car battery with the strap on top and the 6 knobs(filler caps?)on top. This amp sounds authentic with it's modeling but it can't match the dynamics and presence soundwise of a larger amp with a larger speaker. The amp sounds like I'm listening to a radio when I playing it. I generally prefer my larger amps with an 8 inch or larger speaker to this little microcube. If you don't have a specific use for this amp and just decide to purchase it because of it's current "fad" status you may end up not playing it much like me. Just think a bit before you lay out your hard earned cash on this little guy.

see below

great for bedroom and studio

seems solid

its a roland

well i love this little box...sounds great and it doesnt annoy the wife if i have it in the corner of living room. My only wish would be that you could adjust the level of the effects but it seems you can only adjust the speed at a set level. I am acctually going to buy another one and split the signal. This way i can play around with mixing the effects and also play around with out of phase effects between the two for my recording studio. Then I will record in stereo via mikes. The small speaker seems to produce a sound that sits well in a mix. The amp modelling sounds are very usefull ... the guys who knock this amp must be looking for something else. I always thought that somebody should make a little micro amp with a built in tube preamp...this is the closest ive seen so far.. a real classic....im sure the future will produce some more amazing amps in this micro class...and this is the one to have really started something...a real keeper.

I use it at home and it's inspired me to play more frequently.
The features have already been discussed.
For what this amp is designed to do, it gives quite a bit of versatility.
I'm impressed with the long battery life I'm getting. I love the portability and never plug it into an electrical outlet.
The tuning fork is better than nothing, but a tuner would have been nice.
Nothing here to be really unhappy about and a whole lot to applaud.

It's hard to believe the sound quality from such a little box.
The acoustic sound isn't very accurate, but it's still very usable.
I can't say every sound is usable to me, but as an overall package, this amp really shines.
If I want super clean, it's there. Nasty? It does that too.

It's built like a tank, so I doubt I'll have any problems with it.

This is my first Roland purchase and I've had no need to contact them.

I've been playing for 40 years. I've had a large variety of equipment.
I currently have a couple of Warmoth Teles, a couple of Agiles, an Ovation Custom Balladeer, Peavey amp, various accessories and effects.
I'd buy this amp again in a heartbeat if it was stolen.
I don't understand the harsh review a couple of reviews down. This thing sounds good and gets better the more you learn what you can do with it.
Even a quick listen in a store should merit a halfway decent review.
To each his own. I love mine.

Others have already covered it. More versatile than it has a right to be for $125. Best in class product, in terms of features and performance.

works great with humbuckers or single coils. Surprisingly (almost shockingly) good driven tones (the marshall and mesa models are particularly notable). Clean sounds are mediocre (really the only weak point), but for $125 who cares. Delivers much more than you would ever expect. And the gainy sounds actually "feel" like a real amp (of course it's not as big and meaty sounding as a 1x12 combo or 4x12 stack), unlike the line6 stuff I used to own. Sounds bigger than the 5" speaker has a right to...

The effects are terrific, if not totally flexible, but so what - it's $125!!!!

I won't rate this section since it's a new product, but it seems very solid and well built from the outside at least. I don't know how they do it at this price point.

No idea, not an issue at this point. There web site is pretty bad and hard to find information on.

I've been playing for approx. 30 years. I play professionally, doing session work and live work. I have an endorsement deal with a major guitar manufacturer. Not bragging, just qualifying my statements above. Stylistically I'm a rock/jazz guy who does alot of improv. My main gear is customized tube equipment and I'm a tube snob. Love the appeal of new tech but haven't seen it really work out soundwise (at least in an amp).

This product is a winner any way you look at it. Don't listen to the knuckleheads who dissed it for one reason or another. I could take this to a gig, mike it up, and I don't think most people would know the difference, it's that good. Sounds great, feels great, ultra portable and light (reason I bought it actually), and even runs on batteries so I don't have to worry about my 2 year old electrocuting himself when daddy plays in the living room.

One of the most well thought out products I've come across lately. Boss has a winner with this one and it will FLY off the shelves.

Oh- and I didn't even mention much about the effects - 2 independent effects, and they actually sound great. No I don't work for Roland, and I actually don't like some of their gear (the VG8 was a great concept but I think it blows soundwise). They did their homework with this one.

The features have been covered ad nauseum below, so I will not replicate that information here. Suffice to say, the amp has an amazing array of capabilities for an inexpensive battery-powered practice amp. I am thoroughly impressed. It also outputs a room-filling sound -- it feels more like a typical solid-state 15W amp.

The amp can reproduce a wide variety of sounds, given the combination of COSM amp modeling and built-in effects (reverb, chorus, flanging, phasing, tremolo, delay). It runs the gamut from very clean to decently-distorted.

The construction quality was another thing I was unprepared for in an amp this inexpensive. All of the knobs, buttons, and switches are solid and well-built. Nothing rattles. The case and metal grille are superb. The jacks are sturdy. It's built like you'd expect an amp that cost 10x as much to be built.

As if COSM amp modeling, built-in effects, 20-hour battery life on 6 AA's, and solid construction weren't enough, Roland thoughtfully added an 1/8" and a 1/4" input jack for audio input (e.g.: CD player, drum machine, or other audio source). The source is automixed with the guitar input. There isn't anything on the market at this price point with these features and portability.

Very toy-like appearance, several effects situated on same rotary button, no tempo adjustment on delay.

Useful for camp-fire or busking.

Tried it in a music shop. Nice sound. I'm sure you would get the same sound through your portable stereo if you use an effect-box (i.e. VAmp).

This is not a guitar amplifier at all. Has no characteristics you would want.

I was looking for a practice amp for my son. I tried both the Cube15 and MicroCube. Since he plays with a couple of friends with a music teacher I decided to go for the Cube15.

So it depends of what you are looking for. I'm sure you could get a lot of fun with the MicroCube as well. But I don't think it will last very long.

This is a neat little guy. It has a Digital Tuning Fork, a Tone Knob, Two effects brackets : 1)Chorus/Flanger/Phaser/Tremolo; 2)Delay/Reverb, an Amp bracket : Acoustic/JC Clean/2x12 Blackface/Brit Combo (Vox)/British Stack (Marshall)/Rectifier (Mesa/Boogie)/and a "Mic" mode. A Gain knob and Master volume knob accompany the whole set.

This thing can run on AA batteries for up to 20 hours or you can use a 9v adapter (which is included brand new in the box). The power switch is on the back, and there is also a headphones/recording out as well as an auxillary in.

5" Speaker, I've heard this thing is SUPPOSED to be 2 watts, but there's no stinkin' way...this thing blows away my Behringer GM110 30-watt combo in loudness and in style, character, and tone. For an amp of this size? This thing gets a solid "10" for features.

I use this with a Fender Stratocaster. I've also tried running a Boss SD-1 SUPER OverDrive into it. I'll rate each effect, amp style, and feature accordingly.

AMP MODELS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Setting 1 : Acoustic

It sounds somewhat realistic in an Acoustic/Electric sense. What I mean by that is, it sounds like an Acoustic with a preamp that's plugged into a mixer board, but all the highs are turned up, and you get this really tinny (not brassy, there's a difference) sharp sound. It basically sounds like the Boss AC-2, and I never really cared for that. I'm sure there is a noticeable difference in the tonal characteristics between humbucker and single-coil equipped guitars, however with my Strat I am not impressed with the sound. It does start sounding a bit better when you add in some chorus and reverb, but this could never pass for a realistic acoustic sound. It sounds too digital and fakey. Go out and buy yourself a good Taylor. You'll be glad you did. This feature gets a 7.5 out of 10.


Setting 2 : JC Clean

Roland has always been known highly for their crystal clear chorusy clean sound. In my opinion, the JC Clean is your basic, no frills clean channel. There's not much amp character here, just a nice, clean, sparkly clean channel. It's totally transparent and doesn't even color your guitar's natural tone. This feature gets an 8.5 out of 10.


Setting 3 : Black Panel

This setting is an emulation of the well-known and sought after Black Panel 2x10 Fender Twin Reverb. Dark, moody, and gives you the warm fuzzies. Works well with a Stratocaster or a Telecaster or the like. I think this channel sounds best with some good ol' Tremolo and a half-way cranked reverb. If you have a Boss SD-1 or an Ibanez Tubescreamer, THIS is the channel to use it on. Real smooth and responsive...you Blues players will love this. Rating : 9.0 out of 10


Setting 4 : Brit Combo (Vox AC30TB)

The Roland instruction manual that came with this amp says that the "Brit Combo" setting supposedly emulates a Vox AC30TB (TB stands for Top Boost). It sounds dark and real british, but there's a slight gain problem. It doesn't seem to have quite enough gain. It's almost as if you put a booster in front of one of the clean channels and turned up the grit a little, but even with the gain maxed it sounds like a simple overdrive pedal. Where's the great Vox sounds I hear on those Radiohead albums? This setting really doesn't appeal to me, but I'm sure it appeals to some, so I'll give it an 8.0 out of 10.


Setting 5 : British Stack

This is supposedly the vintage 70s/80s Marshall Full-Stack emulation. Don't get me wrong, this sounds like some of those vintage sounds alright, but once again, you'll have to use a booster in front of it to get over-the-top gain. No shred here. No EVH-Brown Sound here either. The other thing that irks me about this setting is that it has a tremendous honkey midrangey character to it. It's like playing through a bugle. Plus it has a shrill top end as well. That's not the classic "Greenback" style Marshall sound that is talked about in the Roland User's Manual. Greenbacks were known for having rounded, mellow lows, and smooth, bright (not shrill) highs. But how can I complain...I mean, it's a hundred bucks and some change, right? Rating : 8.5 out of 10.


Setting 6 : Rectifier

Emulation of the Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Stack and Combo. This is quite possibly my favorite setting on the amp. Now I'm not a gain freak if that's what you're thinking...but I do prefer more gain and a chunky, heavy low end and a fuzzy even-layered high end. This setting delivers. You have gobs of gain to spare, and it cleans up pretty nice (albeit not as nice as my Behringer GM110 though). When I tap on my Boss SD-1, I can get over the top gain, and just for kicks I tried some death metal licks and it shines right through. One complaint I do have however is the shrillness of the high end when you turn the tone knob past 1 o'clock. T

This thing seems sturdy enough. I've carried it from separate rooms, and the pegs on the side to carry it are sturdy. It's small, but like one reviewer said below, you could probably throw it out a moving car's window and pick it up five minutes later and it would still work fine.

Got this thing brand new for $99.. which was cool because the store had it marked for $139, then they marked it down to $109, then I talked them into selling it to me for $99. How sweet it is to go bargain hunting!

I think this amp will assist me greatly in recording and home use. It's not even close to being loud enough for playing out, however it holds its own against most 20-30 watt amps, and this thing is only supposed to be TWO watts!!

Either way, $99 for an amp is a steal, no matter what. Some of these older guys who have been playing for ages are kicking themselves at the prices of amps that you can literally carry with one hand. The tone and accuracy are amazing in the Roland, Behringer, Line6, and Vox Modeling amps. This one being a Roland is no exception.

I had a guy come in while I was giving this amp a test drive who had played back in the late 60's/early 70s, played through the expensive, botique amps of their day...I'm talking Marshall '59 Plexis, JCM800's, etc. I plugged in and played through this little amp that could probably fit in your big uncle Bill's overalls. They were literally astonished, saying "wow, that sounds JUST like the Marshalls we played through!"

So if you're a stay-at-home hobbyist with your guitars, own your own studio, and want to record or practice late at night with excellent sounding amp models and effects, the Roland Micro Cube is the way to go. Not only that, but it's portable too. Take it to the beach and be Dick Dale...flip on that Reverb and the Blackface Setting, baby! Tremolo pick your way to Guitartown!! Impress the ladies!! I don't care what you do with it!!

It's a great little amp. Highly recommended.



God Bless You!! JESUS IS RISEN!!!

~Jared

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.

^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?!?!

For a very small portable amp it has all the features I need.
I use it with my very tiny 'The Bone' Travel guitar (www.soundside.de), with my Strat, a Line6 Variax - all sounds very nice.
I addition to this amp I use tube amps, a Vetta II and Yamaha DG-Stomp.

I compared it to all the amps in this size and none has so much features.

It's unbeliveable - this tiny 2 Watt amp makes a lot of noise - and gives you a sweet tone - both clean and distorted.
I used it yesterday together with another guitar player and an normal amp - this small amp can be very loud - I give a 10 because I can't give a 20.

Don't no yet - but it looks and feels very stable.

Don't know.

This small amp sounds nice - has an inbuild effect and reverb/delay.
All I need.

If I compare it to my Vetta II (20 times more expensive) even than I like the sound of the MicroCube.

Don't expect to much bass - but the mid's and treble are nice.
If you play with low volume than the bass seams to increase.

I did not like the sound of the recording out - but maybe I have to do some EQ'ing on my mixer.

If it would be stolen I would try to get a new one - it was not easy to get one here in Germany.

Tiny little black box with lots of different noises for hardly any money: battery option, several amp models and a range of effects with limited but quite ingenious controlability. Better described by others.

I wanted a small amp purely for practicing on my own at home. My Fender Blues Deluxe is a fine amplifier, but too noisy for home use, plus you'd never get the valves warm enough to get a nice range of tones at low volumes.
The key here is the range of sounds available for the asking price, and given the tiny costs and tiny dimensions, this amplifier is a 10 all the way. The overdriven sounds are terrific with either my SG Standard or my American series Strat, particularly with a doubling delay effect. The acoustic modeling feature is unusable with the SG, but quite effective with the strat. The effects are limited, but for a cheap practice amp I haven't heard anything else that gets even close.

Only had it a coupla weeks, but I've been using roland synths and boss pedals for years without stress.......
It's by no means a gigging amp, but I do travel a lot for work, staying in hotels. This amp and a set of headphones in a rucksack mean I can get plenty of practice in while I'm away, and I'd be surprised if it ever went wrong.

No dealings

If you're thinking of buying this amp, don't disappoint yourself thinking it'll ever keep up with a drummer. It won't. Quiet practice, in the car, on the street, easy carriage, good value and great range of sounds for the money are all the right reasons to buy it. So buy it!!

Mine was ex-demo, and came with the power supply and instructions but without a box, which saved me #9 off the UK list price of #79.

Been playing drums, guitars, basses and keyboards for 23 years, but I'm really trying to concentrate on six strings these days. I have a Gibson SG Standard, American Series Stratocaster, Fender Blues Deluxe, Fender M80 combo, Boss ME 50 and Marshall Bluesbreaker pedals. Mostly playing blues and rock stuff and trying to write and record at home using a Boss DR5 rhythm thingy and a Boss 1180CD. Haven't tried recording the Micro Cube yet, but I'm expecting it to be noiseless if I bypass the speaker. A fabulous and unbelievably inexpensive little toy!

The flanger, phaser and tremolo are too "whooshy" for me to use them on more than a riff or two. The chorus is probably the best of the effects but I always prefer a basic crunch with some reverb and nothing more. The distortion is extremely musical and, with the reverb, is the only effect I need. If you never played with the other effects before, you will have some fun making funny noises for a while.

This amp has a variety of amp sims and effects, but I simply dialed in the tastiest tone for my playing style and then welded the knobs in place. OK, I didn't actually weld them, but please don't twiddle with them when I'm not looking because I have them set just right!
I play solid body guitars with humbuckers in a melodic metal/hard rock/neoclassical/death/thrash style and this amp sounds just perfect to my ears at comfortable volumes. It gets as loud as I like (if I need more volume I can use a bigger amp). I can also turn it down so low that I can barely hear it and practice without disturbing my husband in the next room with no door between us.
The harmonics/overtones are delicious and inspire my best playing. The amp is very responsive to my touch on the strings, and has brought new joy to my practice and jamming hours!

I have only had it for about a week.

I have no experience, good or bad, with Roland support.

I just love little amps and have many. My main little practice amp before this was the Marshall MG15DFX. I also have the Marshall MG10CD, which would be more useful with a reverb in it. For its portablity, versatility, solid construction, and price, I give the Micro Cube a BIG thumbs-up!

Portable battery powered and ac powered amp. It has amp presets and effect like phaser, chorus, flanger , tremelo, delay and reverb. The distortion is contraled by the gain and the presets you choose like british combo, stacks, blackface, you get the idea. It has a headphone jack and a cd input.

I use Fender stratocasters with texas specials, a guild/DeArmond starfire special, and starfire custom. I play mostly british rock and blues. This amp kicks butt! It really caters to every style out there....metal to soft music. It has amp modeling that hits each amp on target. Whether you want a Fender Black face , a Vox ac30, a marshall, or a mesa-boogie, it's a simple twist of a knob. The reverb is awsome!!! I like reverb!!! It's amazing how such a small amp can have as many effects and lush reverb with kick ass amp selections in one package. I have to say,, I have been playing for over 16 years and this is one of the best products for guitarists out there. It's portable, battery powered ac optional, with everything under the hood. I agree with thearlier reviews in saying that a guitarsit definitely designed this amp. It is the perfect portable amp.

I've had it a week. It looks pretty tough. Hope it has the reputation of the JC 120 in this department.

If you are looking for a portable amp with a lot of options...get this amp. It's better than most practice amps. I owned a Tech 21 and it cost me $300. This amp blows it out of the water in both portable size, power, overall sound quality, effects(which you don't get on most practice amps....Boss effects remember...and great sounding reverb. I wish it came out a long time ago....I could of saved a lot of money. Well, I'm glad I have it now.

Features have been covered in detail already. I agree with the comment that said "seems like it was designed by a guitar player." There is nothing like it out there, and Roland should be given credit for designing such a unique, high quality, compact portable compact amp. Some people complain about the tuning fork, but having it saves space and weight for those musicians that truly desire portablility and do not want to carry an extra tuner around.

I have tried a number of portable amps (Pignose, EH Freedom, etc.) but I like the sound--and volume level--of the MicroCube best. The small speaker does an excellent job of keeping the music under control as the volume is increased. My favorite setup is the Flange-Marshall-Delay combo: spacy and brutal! I have found that putting the Tone, Volume, and Gain knobs at the 12 o'clock provides an ideal The amp seems to have the best I have found the ideal settings for volume versus clarity and compression. I was gonna give the MicroCube a 9 here, but considering the price, and the fact that Roland is the first company to put out a portable amp like this, I have to give it a 10!

I really like the modeled sounds, and think that Roland did a decent job on the preset ranges.

I will not rate here because I have only had the amp a few weeks. It looks and feels very sturdy. Time will tell...

Again, I will not rate here because I have no experience with Roland support.

A smash product. To Roland from all of us who like to play guitar in the car, on the sidewalk, in the woods, under the stars, and anywhere else the power company does not provide a power outlet: THANK YOU!!

I use this little guy mainly in my car. I drive in early to beat traffic,( Los Angeles, Cal ) park near work, get a cup o' joe and sit in the car and I can get 3-4 hours of uninterrupted practice before work, at lunch, and after work. ( I practice in the car until after rush hour, then smooth-sailing for the drive home.) I use a Steinberger Spirit guitar, which is very compact, has a full-scale 24 fret neck, but it's headless, and has a small body, just enough to mount the pickups (HSS), bridge and controls. GREAT for travel. The whole guitar-amp rig takes up little room in the car. The CD player is right there in the car for backing & jamming tracks. Crank up the CD player and the Micro Cube, and you're ROCKIN! I attach tab / sheet music to the sun visor - handy! My car's a "rolling woodshed", and this amp is perfect for this.

I agree with all the good reviews. Best quality to me is how responsive to touch and pick attack this little amp is: In less than full tilt overdrive mode, you can play a quiet phrase, and the tone mellows out, and you can hear subtle vibrato and micro bends and pick percussion or palm-muted notes very clearly. Dig in harder, and the sounds jump out and break up nicely. There is a nice "presence" and dynamic with this amp, unheard of and amazing for something this small and this inexpensive. Given the right note, volume and tone, some notes will sustain and even "bloom" like the big-guys! Most tiny amps I've used don't have the gain and tone to make finger-tapping sound right. This does. The reverb is amazing: Very spacious and airy and analog sounding. I like this reverb better than the reverb on my Mesa Boogie F-30. However, the low-end gets a little loose and flubby and the speaker can't handle it sometimes. The bass notes fart out and overpower the higher frequencies. I may lower the bass-side of the neck and middle pickups, and see if this helps, since you can't dial-out the bass.

Minor complaints: The chorus sounds odd to me ( another reviewer noticed this, too ) it doesn't seem very "rich", or something. I've never heard an acoustic simulator that sounded good, this one sucks less than most: It's got that "twangy" acoustic-simulator edge I don't particularly like, and I can't get rid of it without making the acoustic sound dull. Dump the tuning fork and replace it with an optional boss-type vusual tuner, would add about $10 to the price.

New

The best amp for it's size and price, period.

When I don't have or I am in between gigs, I always make it a habbit to play street music in whatever city I am in on any given day, weather permitting, of course. I play all original street music & I play mostly improvised pop, rock, jazz, blues and ambient ebowed-soundscapes ( I use a line 6 DL/4 in long loop mode in conjunction with a Marshall Blues pedal-distortion box ) and I improvise either 30 second riffs or drones that ideally loop evenly so it serves as a seemless song/ballad &/or blues/jazz progression/ambience. & depending upon the intention behind the loop, I will play either slow or fast/finger picked/picked, etc, & vamp over the top of the loop and solo until there is nothing else to say. These quasi-songs I write on the spot will at times usually last for 15-minutes or 45 minutes depending upon the level of foot traffic where I am playing and what passers-by sentiments reflect at that moment and what I have to offer them: i usually will work from 2pm-230am - long stretchh, but it's worth it and very lucrative if you know how to pace yourself & have a set of tunes already written that you know will generate a certain response. To note: I work as a street musician mainly in my hometown, Downtown Philadelphia ( Old City Section on weekends and wednesday nights ) and also in NYC and or other highly populated urban cities around the world if I am on tour there as just myself or with other acts. & Street Music is BTW, a great way to get direct & immediate feedback on how well you can reach people as well as how good yuu are @ reaching the music that is inside you. Plus, in addition to being excellent practice of your instrument Street Music is also great & excellent practice of performing in front of what is really the largest audience you can ever imagine in many cases. Street Music requires that you are prepared, always thinking ahead and also demands that you are able to shift gears quickly ( stylistically and emotionally - as people no matter how good you are will say stupid things or ask you to play something else other than what you are playing at the moment and people can often be clueless to what you are doing and want to have a conversation with you while you are in the middle of playing a song. But to be able to take the compliments, the insults, the indifference and to be able to read people in the sense of knowing intuitively as to what will connect with them or not and make Money for you while constantly adapting-re-adapting your musicial intuitiveness as a performer, is a thrill ride and not an easy task to pull off in any city. I had previusly been using a 10 watt peavey battery operated amp but didnt like the weight of it ( loved its clear and warm tone - especially for my big archtop...the wes montgomery tone was everywhere using the peavey portable, but it still was not quite a sound floating my boat for a number of reasons mainly being the amount of batteries it needed ( 8 D-Cell Batteries, which really weighed down the total bulk of what i was walking around with in the city ) and also the fact that it didnt have a reverb or chorus setting; that meant I would have had to buy an addition chorus or Multi FX pedal and the cost would have been equal to or in execess of what the micro-cube cost me. & for my inside-indoor gigs, I use a GT3 and a Roland GR-30, in addition to 4 Line 6 DL/4's through a Fender Ultimate Chorus Amp and a New LOGO Peavey Bandit set up left & right running in stereo; when recording I usually run my guitar directly into the board and use FX plugings or I may use a clean setting I made on the GT3 and edit in a sound or amp I want. But with all that I am saying here nuances matter and I knew that a cosm reverb was the best and I also knew that cosm chorus/mods were going to be tremendous and I like the size and smaller batter requirements of the microcube. I do not like other users find I really need a bass setting as that my guitars are all

See above

Has been tripped over by stumbling drunks @ 2am has been knocked over by druken college woemen and has fallen down 2 flights of stairs due to my carelessness in having only owned it 1 week and one day thus far. And it still works like a champ.

Have never dealt with Roland for Support Issues

I have been playing for almost 30 years ( i started young - I am 34 ); I would buy another microcube if this unit were stolen and I saw this product as the only one witht he features and price i needed as well as being portable enough and powerful enough to project my sound as it needed to be heard on the street.

Here are my two cents...
The amp works perfectly with rechargeable batteries(NiMh, 2000ma, lasts twenty hours).
The speaker(4ohm)is quite good, has twin magnets and is especially designed for the microcube:tight bass, clear mids, good highs and efficient. No better small speaker for this amp, I tried some I have at hand just out of curiosity...
This amp has a noise-gate! I can hear my p-u's hum when I play very softly but when I stop then hum disappears, well done Roland! And when playing normally it masks the hum of course.
The volume knob reaches its full power at noon, after that it rolls off the bass frequencies to push mids and highs further. Interesting for projection...

The amp reacts very good to the guitar's volume pot, so you can do it all with your fingers. I find this feature very pleasing. Dancers and soccers plays with their feet, uh?
I found out that about guitar's vol pot it is better if there is no capacitor(as with a marshall I have) otherwise sound becomes harsh when rolling off (I tried with a PRS H/H and 270pF cap).
The phone jack has just enough power to drive my AKG 240DF 600ohms(!)cans: I mean it's powerful! With 32ohm cans you becomes deaf...
No bass eq is a blessing, for what is not in the models also lacks with more bass added. No to mention I want to play with my GUITAR.
"JC clean"wonderful with humbuckers, cleans them up. "Blackface"wonderful with singles... "Acoustic"far better than expected:useful when strummin'n'singin', guitar is then laid back in the vocal range but present otherwise.Nice.
I also tried the cube with a small e-a guitar(Ibanez talman tcm50), nice reverb and just enough volume to finger pick clearly.
In fact I am fond of this amp...

It couldn't be better made, and I know what I'm talking about. Alps potentiometers, very clever electronic design, proprietary boss chips,and so on. Very impressive, and not only for the price asked.
9 because only time'n'abuse will tell...

Run, don't walk, run to get one! You can't be wrong, I think it is the biggest evolution in amplifiers those last years.
The price is a full mystery,china or not(ss peaveys also come from there and they are not cheap nor that well done).
And I'm sure it sounds good as hell on a bigger 4ohm speaker...
HATS OFF, ROLAND!!!

All you need for a small practice amp that sounds very good and last quite long on set of batteries. As for all the eq I don?t think you need it because of small speaker size.

Outstanding very good if you can?t find a usable tone here you are in trouble. Speaker farts a little on high volume but not to bad depending on settings and how you are playing. Played outside camping and volume was ok. Pinched harmonics were easy to play. Favorite 2 models are fender sim and brit combos. Brit combo sounds great with all gain setting and sounds pretty sweet maxed out. Effects are very good not too much delay though but enough to shape sound a little. Even though reverb is not a spring sim I like it. Chorus does not sound right to my ears. Phasor and tremolo are two favs of modulation.

No problems but you can trip power switch when transporting. Roland should have put a better quality switch (different type) that is not prone accidentally tripping it on.

Ok it find right number they know their stuff. But you pay for call. Also not being
Able download manuals in PDF form is a big downer.

Price sound & performance this thing is great. Who has something that competes with this no one that?s who. Small amps RULE

As said by other reviewers the features for the price are outstanding. However, there are a few caveats. The tone knob should be a 3 band eq. The acoustic modelling selection is weak in my opinion. I will never use it. The tuning fork takes up valuable real estate that could be used for other features. I also don't like how you can't use the effects simultaneously. Its one or the other. Those are my only complaints. This amps' features are well worth the $. I have a POD and I will probably sell it now as the modelling of the Microcube covers everything I need. The size is perfect for moving around. At seven pounds its very practical. I plan to put it into my backpack when I cycle to a friend's house for a jam.

This amp is super quiet; no background noise. I love the Jazz Chorus model. The distortion models are also ticky-poo. Basically, all the models are top notch except for the acoustic model. The acoustic model is meant to make an electric sound acoustic. I don't think it does. I was hoping it would be dedicated to acoustic guitar use. This amp sounds excellent. Its definitely loud enough for a living room jam. However, I dont think it could compete that well with a drum kit. with my Alhambra classical

This amp is built like a brick. Very solid. I have only had it for a week, but I can't see any problems that could be the fault of the amp. Its built that well.

n/a

Though I have been playing for about 14 years, this is my first amp that I have actually bought. I primarily play acoustic. I have an Alhambra solid wood classical (this guitar sounds beautiful... it cost over $2500 Canadian) and a Godin nylon-electric.

I made an amp using a 5 inch speaker and components from a pair of computer speakers. Actually, that amp works quite well. Once I saw this little dealy I knew it was time to break down and shell out the bread.
I have been looking for the perfect amp for my needs for a long time and when I came across the Microcube I knew I found the amp I will own for many, many years. I have tried the Mountain amp (but at $400 it is too much $ with few features) and many of the mini amps like the fender and marshall variants. I also seriously considered the Fender Amp Can, but the features, sound, weight, and style of the Microcube are far better and it costs way less.

The Roland Microcube is extremely versatile. I can use it busking, camping or jamming with friends or I can just leave it plugged into the wall sitting on my coffee table.

The features offered, for the most part, are fantastic.

At two watts, the sound is really good and it is loud for its size.

The price is very reasonable for what you get.

I am very happy with this purchase and I would definately buy another Microcube if something were to happen to it.

If you dont need a super loud amp and you like portability, versatility and great sound from a small size this is your best choice hands down.

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.