Floyd Tatum Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 what do you guys think of those old roland cubes from the 80s? I think there was a 60, and a 100, and maybe some others. Used ones are still around today, are they worth getting, for a jazz tone? How much did they weigh? How well have they held up - would buying one be asking for repairs? I've tried to track down some info thru google, but with no luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I'm not sure if they were late '80s or early/middle-ish '90s models, but the solid-state Roland Blues Cube amps that I tried out in s store- a 30 watt and a 60 watt, IIRC- were really, really surprisingly good amps, very tube-y feeling and sounding; and this is coming from a real tube snob! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have a gray Cube 40 and I used to have an orange Cube 20. the 40 is a nice little light amp that gets plenty loud, has a dual input setup with stacked preamps and a master volume, plus reverb (If I'm remembering correctly...). I haven't sold it because no one wants it and I use it as a keyboard amp on occasion. Mine has never broken down, it has been in rare but constant use since I bought it new in the 1980s. For a long time I used it as my acoustic guitar monitor when I was playing out. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have a gray Cube 40 and I used to have an orange Cube 20. the 40 is a nice little light amp that gets plenty loud, has a dual input setup with stacked preamps and a master volume, plus reverb (If I'm remembering correctly...). I haven't sold it because no one wants it and I use it as a keyboard amp on occasion. Mine has never broken down, it has been in rare but constant use since I bought it new in the 1980s. For a long time I used it as my acoustic guitar monitor when I was playing out. Did the name equal the wattage in those old cube amps? I.E., is your Cube 40 40 watts? When you say loud, are you talking, loud enough to gig with a drummer? I rememer they had keyboard cubes, and guitar cubes, was that Grey 40 a guitar cube? If it's a guitar cube, that would mean it did not have a tweeter, I think - and it works ok for keyboards? For gigging with keyboards, or practicing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I'm not sure if they were late '80s or early/middle-ish '90s models, but the solid-state Roland Blues Cube amps that I tried out in s store- a 30 watt and a 60 watt, IIRC- were really, really surprisingly good amps, very tube-y feeling and sounding; and this is coming from a real tube snob! I was thinking of the orange cubes, but that's good to know, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have a gray Cube 40 Do you know the specific model name and/or model number of that amp? That would help me track down a manual for it online, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 as far as I know, it is simply the Roland Cube40. I'll go upstairs and look sometime today or tomorrow. But that is for me the confusing part... there are several varieties of Cube, and all appear different from one another, and the controls are certainly different, from year to year. My gray Cube40 is very clean looking, whereas the newer Cubes from, I guess, the 90s look more industrial and my old orange one was just cool/funky. I use it as a keyboard monitor in my writing room, not loud. But I've told the story even recently about the Cube20 filling in for a broken amp at a multi-band gig and having other bands asking if they could use it too because it was loud enough, and cool looking. The Cube40 should have more than enough power. (and yes it was a guitar amp, ergo the master volume, etc...keyboardists don't care about that stuff.)In terms of watts, I just always assumed that the number equaled the wattage, but now that you ask, I'm not positive. As I said, I used it as an acoustic guitar monitor, when playing with an electric band with a drummer, bass, lead guitar. But some guys drummers play louder than Marshall 100 watt amps, so..... "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 as far as I know, it is simply the Roland Cube40. I'll go upstairs and look sometime today or tomorrow. But that is for me the confusing part... there are several varieties of Cube, and all appear different from one another, and the controls are certainly different, from year to year. My gray Cube40 is very clean looking, whereas the newer Cubes from, I guess, the 90s look more industrial and my old orange one was just cool/funky. I use it as a keyboard monitor in my writing room, not loud. But I've told the story even recently about the Cube20 filling in for a broken amp at a multi-band gig and having other bands asking if they could use it too because it was loud enough, and cool looking. The Cube40 should have more than enough power. (and yes it was a guitar amp, ergo the master volume, etc...keyboardists don't care about that stuff.)In terms of watts, I just always assumed that the number equaled the wattage, but now that you ask, I'm not positive. As I said, I used it as an acoustic guitar monitor, when playing with an electric band with a drummer, bass, lead guitar. But some guys drummers play louder than Marshall 100 watt amps, so..... Thanks, I did manage to hunt down a manual from the Roland UK site. According to the manual, the guitar amps were called Roland Super Cube SCL-40/60/100. As I recall, the Keyboard Cubes were a different thing (although similar), so probably had a different part number. The bass cubes were called Super Cube Bass SCB-40/60/100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Roland Cubes do sound good and make great practice amps...a buddy of mine has a battery one and it sounds great... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I still have my grey Super Cube, which is 60 watts; bought it in 86, I think. Like Bill, I keep it mostly because it works ok for what it does, and it has no real resell value or reputation. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The clean channel is great- nice & crisp without sounding tinny (though if you want tinny, you can get it). The drive channel gets REALLY loud; but it's not quite a tube style sound to me. Get it off the floor on an amp stand and it can compete with a moderate-pounding drummer. If channel switching was better, I might be happier with it. Even using an A/B box into the 2 channel inputs, it will just use the drive channel. The spring reverb is really nice, though. Weight isn't too bad; 25-30 pounds? Keep the pots clean and it will treat you well. I sometimes use it in conjunction with another amp, and with a chorus pedal I pretend it's my poor man's Jazz Chorus amp. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 ". Even using an A/B box into the 2 channel inputs, it will just use the drive channel. " If I am remembering correctly: That is because there is a switching jack in line... plug into it and you get the drive channel, because it isn't really two channels, it is a stackable preamp system, where the one preamp can feed into the other and the other hits the amp. A daisy chain, not an either/or. "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Didn't know the topography of it, Bill; thanks for clearing that up. Still, one of the drawbacks to it I never understood (until now) and still don't like. Just remembered that last week, I saw an ad for a Roland Bolt 60. It's a Cube, with a SS preamp, but a tube power section. I hadn't heard of them before. Interseting concept, like one of the Peavey combos from the 80s. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s mel gibson1642606968 Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I've got 3 of those Roland Cube-60's. One orange and two grey. The grey ones are Cube-60 Chorus's. One is enough to stand up to a drummer and another guitarist with a 50w half stack. And a bass player with an Ampeg full stack. I've done it. Just one can get painfully crazy loud if you want it too. I'm a Marshall tube type of guy but sometimes I don't feel like packing a heavy tube amp around just for jams and small gigs. A pair of these Rolands fit perfectly in the car trunk with a Strat HSC laying on top. The orange one doesn't have Chorus. That's the only difference. Otherwise they are the same with a clean channel and an Over Drive channel. I have a two button pedal with a pair of quarter inch mono male jacks and a single button pedal with a single jack. Those three buttons are for O/D, Reverb & Chorus. I mostly rely on my pedal board for those effects. I have stereo outs on my last gadget/Chorus pedal. The 2 go to my pair of grey ones and with them separated a bit or a lot, the tone does improve. Yeah! I think of them as my split 120 Chorus. They don't kill me when I move them around. The top control panel from the left on the orange one; O/D&Normal inputs, O/D, Vol(pull bright-on), Trble, Middle, Bass, Reverb, Master Vol. Rear panel from the left (6 input jacks); O/D foot switch, rev.f/s, pre-out, main-in, headphones, ext. spkr-8ohm min., and a power switch with a 3A fuse on the right. -------------------------------------------------------------- On the grey Cube-60 Chorus, top panel from the left; O/D&Normal inputs, O/D, Vol-pull bright, Master vol, bass, middle, treble, reverb. Then, a reverb dual/off/ext only switch, and a chorus on-off switch. The back panel of 8 inputs, power switch and fuse. From the left; O/D, chorus, reverb, chorus/reverb out, pre out, main in, ext spkr 8ohm min., phones. (power switch and then fuse). I lend my orange one to my keyboardist if he wants to use it. They seem to be worth about $300 used in this area. They're not a common sight. Not many people really do know of them. Except me and a few others at this time. They are quite reliable too. I've never had a problem with my original grey one I got way back. The other orange and grey ones I've picked up in the last 2 years. Here's a review. http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Roland/Cube-60+(70s-80s+Era)+112+Combo/10/1 I would never sell these amps. They're just way too handy and versatile without all that modelling crap in the new ones. Modelling is ok for the studio but not on stage live. Too much fussing with amp controls. I like to set my amp settings and then leave them alone for the whole night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s mel gibson1642606968 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/pickypicky_2007/CIMG0367_edited.jpg http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s146/pickypicky_2007/CIMG0366_edited.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9554 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hi friend, 2 years ago I bought a Roland Cube 60 combo Japan, but without the original speaker, still I look in vain. I need to send detailed photo labels from the speaker or, where appropriate advise how the speaker could be to replace the original one. Thank you for your response. Regards Marcel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Wow! Old thread resurrected. At least one member on this thread is deceased, and I believe another was banned....right around then. Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_C Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I can't comment on the old Roland Cubes, but I do own a Cube 40XL (2-3 years old) and really like it. Very good tone from the JC-120 clean channel and plenty loud enough to play w/a drummer. Plus, it's "grab & go" portability. Very pleased with the amp. If you play cool, you are cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Welcome aboard 9554! Don't forget you can always start a new thread instead of finding an old one in the dead letter file...Hopefully someone will chime in that knows Roland 60's. The Feel Free to Ask Myles thread is always a great place to visit with amp questions...Looks like you need a 12" with the right ohms and there are a lot of places to order one if this is correct. Try visiting Roland's website for specs too... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKEGEARGEEK Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 UH Guyz .. google images.See the word KEYBOARD on the amp ? Means the CK40 is a Keyboard Amp & YES plenty loud enough to gig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Welcome aboard Mikegeargeek! Hope his old thread is working for you! Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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