Roland Micro Cube

[GuitarsCanada]

Review Submitted By
torndownunit

Product Name
Roland Micro Cube

Would you recommend this product to others?
yes

Your overall review of the product
great

Did you feel there was good value for the money?
yes
features, quality of construction all seem good for the price ($150)

How would you best describe yourself?
Part Timer

please select a choice
I own this gear

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Your full review

I was in the market for one of the 'mini' amps to keep beside my bed for quiet practicing at night. I asked about the amp in the forums and didn't get a ton of input, so I thought posting a review might be helpful for people.

First of all, my rating is based on what I bought it for which is listed above. This amp does have some shortcomings if you want to play really loud through it. The common 'speaker farting out' issue you read in reviews does indeed exist. But, it only occurs when you really push the amp hard. Which is really not what it's designed for. It's a small, 2 watt amp. The Cube 15 or the Vox DA5 would be a better choice if you want something louder.

The amp is loaded with features for such a tiny unit. It has 7 amp models and 6 effects. It has a built in 'tuning' fork, recording/headphone out and can run on batteries. You can also plug and mp3 player into it and play along.

There are a few small features that made me pick it over the Vox DA5 which I would say is it's competitor. One key thing is it runs on double AA batteries, where the Vox runs on C's. If you are anything like me, you have way more things around your house that use AA batteries than C's. It's more convenient. Also, I wanted something with some type of tuner. The tuning fork is just a tuning tone, but it's more than what the Vox offers. I have no idea why none of these amps have a built in chromatic tuner on them. It would make a lot of sense.

The Micro Cube has a separate dial for the reverb which is nice. A lot of these style of amps have reverb combined with another effect.

Beyond that, the Micro Cube is just a little smaller and a little lighter. It's perfect for sitting beside a couch or bed.

The amp models and effects range from 'decent' to 'outstanding'. The "JC Clean" model is amazing. And the "R-fier" is great for low volume high gain tones. The reverb is pretty decent. The only effect that gets a thumb down is the phaser which just sounds bizarre. I personally have no use for it anyway though. I mainly just use a little reverb.

Again, this is a great product if you have the right use for it. It's strictly for low volume practice. If those are your only requirements, than this is a great cheap option. If you also require some volume, the Vox DA5 would be a better choice.

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Gear used for this review

I run my Reverend Flatroc, which is a Gretschy sounding guitar and my MIM Fender Ash Tele into it. Both guitars sound great.

With high output humbuckers, I would have to guess that the speaker 'farting' issue would be more apparent.

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[Tarl]

Nice review. Out of curiosity.....did you run the amp on battery power at all? If so did you see and difference in it's performance?

[torndownunit]

I haven't had a need to run it on batteries yet as it mainly just sits next to my bed for quiet practicing at night. When I do run it on batteries though, I will update the review if there is any difference.

I read a lot of reviews on the amp while I was deciding what to buy though, and I didn't read many mentions of performance issues running on batteries. Since it's such a low power amp, I can't see it taking that big of a hit.

[bRian]

Was in Long & McMusicstop the other day, they are on-sale for $119.

[torndownunit]

Ya I got mine locally, which meant I paid a little more but I didn't have to spend 1 1/2 hours driving. So in the end it all evens out likely. But I am very sure you can find them for that price, and less.

They are one amp I likely wouldn't buy used because I am betting a lot of people blow the speakers on them. I read a lot of reviews were people are complaining about how they can't dime they amp with the high gain setting and play metal songs on it. As I mentioned in my review, you gotta have some common sense lol. It's just not for that. So I'd hate to think of what some of the used ones have been through.

[marshallman]

I've got one like this also. Like you said, great amp for jamming late at night. The two models I like the best are the JC clean and Rectifier.

For this tiny if an amp, equipped with a 5 inch speaker, it's sounds really good.

[noman]

Bought a used one for outside practicing but was hugely disappointed. I thought the speaker was lifeless even a low volumes. Quickly resold it for what I paid and got a Vox AVDT30..........much better and was only $50 more..........