New member...Amp advice+Roland Cube?

[poppy]

Hi,

I've just found this forum and am hoping you can help me out. I've been playing guitar on and off for quite a few years and recently decided to start seriously learning to play Jazz. I don't have huge funds for gear, but have bought an Ibanez Artcore AK85 and now need to sort out a suitable amp. Because I'll still want to play other styles too, I'll need to use the same amp for my other guitars (a Fender Strat and an electro-acoustic).
I'm considering the Roland Cube (probably the 60 watt as I will be playing at Church occasionally). What I've heard of the modelled amp sounds (on the Roland website) has been quite impressive, and would give me a good degree of flexibility for the different guitars and styles I'll be playing. Some people say that this amp isn't suitable for jazz because it doesn't have a true clean channel as one of the amp models is always selected.
Has anyone here used a Roland Cube for jazz and if so how do you find it? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Poppy

[mahayana]

I found reviews here

www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Roland/Cube_60_112_Combo-01.html

(one review)

"Price Paid: US $345
Features: 10
The main thing I was looking for in an amp was a great tone to compliment my jazz archtop. I knew this one had it the moment I played through it. What's more, the tone controls on the clean channel really affect the sound variations to where I can easily hear the settings I like. The effects sound natural to me, WAY BETTER than the Line 6 Spider II, which was a big disappointment. The enclosed speaker cabinet is far superior to open back amplifiers, which tend to sound whooshy.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a lot of chord melody and jazz lines. Kevin articulated it very well in his review: this amp does give you a "feel," and makes you play better. It sounds so good you don't want to quit playing. It has more power than I'll ever use, but when I cranked it up on the clean channel there was no distortion and no background noise. I am thrilled at finding this gem of an amp."

[poppy]

Hi,

Thanks for that link...Sounds like it should be very suitable. Most of the other reviews there for the Cube seem to rate it well too.

Poppy

[mahayana]

Harmony Central looks to be a pretty big site. At first, I found their reviews for Roland AC60 Combo, a completely different amp with smaller speakers. Once I found the Cube 60, there were two sections, this one and another for Cube 60s made in the 1980's. Not sure what the differences are between old and "new for 2004" amps, but there may be used ones available at places like musicians friend or ebay.

Also, lots of places linked around this forum do amp reviews- all the guitar magazine sites, other guitar and jazz forums. Might get a more objective view from articles comparing this amp to others. Several folks here favor the Fender Hotrod Deluxe. If you can, plug your guitar into that Cube 60 before you buy it.

[pinsk94]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Some great info and people can be found here.

Those Roland Jazz cubes have been used for some time by jazz guitarists. My old teacher used them, and my brother has to. FYI, I am pretty sure they are designed as Keyboard amps so there are designed with very little "sound coloring" in the preamp as opposed to electric guitar dedicated amps. I currently use a Genz Benz acoustic guitar amp which is probably close to the Keyboard amp concept with more options. Good Luck.

[L4sleeko]

Hey Poppy, how do you like that AK85. I am considering buying one of those. It sure is sharp looking. . I also like the AF85 with flame maple top. Anybody tell me if there is a big difference in a laminated spruce top and a laminated Maple top sound-wise? My local music store told me that the AF85 has been discontinued but it's still on the Ibanez website. Anybody know about these? Thanks and chow. ?;^)~

[jazzerjohn]

I'm a new member here, and I really want to thank all you out there for your comments and opinions about the Cube 60 amp. I went ahead and bought one and it arrived today. I just took it out of the box after dinner and I haven't been able to keep my mouth from dropping for the last hour of playing through it! Boy, SS amps have come a LONG way from the last one I owned back in the 70's...a Yamaha B100-212. It was so clean you could shave with it. Horrible, actually. Anyway, this little Cube 60 absolutely is astounding from all angles: construction, clarity, quietness, sheer volume and flexibility. While like many of you I will not probably use a lot of the amp sims except for the blackface and JC Clean channel, they are worth the price alone! I've been playing for 42 years professionally, and for the last 10 years have been playing through either a MusicMan 112-65, MusicMan 210-65, or some Fender I happened to flash on at the music store. But none...I repeat, NONE!...of these vintage amps hold a candle to the tone and clarity of this amp. Now don't get me wrong, the MM's are my babies, and they sound awesome at higher volume levels in country and rock. But someone here posted the observation that tube amps sound different in every venue...and that's true for me as well. But this SS amp seems to be constant no matter what the weather, temperature or humidity according to the dozens of comments I've read about it before buying it. I'll never sell my MM's, but I won't be lugging them (they're HEAVY!) to my one-nighters anymore, either! Sheesh. Thinking about buying one? DO IT! I was torn between the Cube 60 and the Fender Jazz King, but I don't see how the Jazz King sounds any better and is nearly twice the cost and twice as heavy to lug around. Nope, the older I get, the lighter and smaller my kit gets. Cube 60. Definitely underrated and a fantastic little gig and jam amp.

[bloftus]

a cube is not ideal for jazz, but I would recommend a roland chorus or a polytone. jazzguitar.yolasite.com/guitars.php <--there's short descriptions of these amps on this site, or you can check out musicians friend

[kiwifil]

Hi,

I am new to the forum. I have been playing for over 50 years and have played all styles but have gravitated more to jazz over the last 15 or so years.

For the last 25 years I have played a Roland Cube 100 Guitar Amp and it has been a fantastic amp tone-wise. There are better reverbs (I only use to level 3 to just add a bit of echo) and have never used the drive channel.

The amp has great power and I have never used it at full volume, but is also great at lower volumes which I use when playing background music at dinners etc. I play a Cort Lary Coryell Archtop and the combo sounds smooth which is what I am looking for.

But I have found over the years that there is far more to getting great sound than just guitar and amp. Set-up, strings, pickups and how the guitar is fingered and played are all factors too.

I love my old Roland but I also think it is getting a bit tired so I may have to put it out to pasture soon.