Underwhelming 
by BuleriaChk from Santa Barbara, CA, August 2008
Music Background:  Flamenco Guitarist for 35+ years

The sound from this amp is very disappointing - very thin, and the effects aren't very good. It is not FRFR (so even a CD sounds colored); like all Roland Cubes (except the new Mobile Cube) the preamps/speakers seem voiced for electric guitars, and ignore the necessary response for electro acoustic guitars.

But check out the new Roland Mobile Cube - IMO, the sound is incredible; FRFR (so you can use modelers with it), and sounds fantastic with acoustic guitars plugged straight in (even my nylon string Flamenco)

  A Godsend for the Apartment Dweller 
by Paul R. Potts from Ann Arbor, MI, June 2008
Music Background:  Amateur Musician/Producer

Amp "modeling" and tube "simulators" may never achieve the Holy Grail of tone for guitarists obsessed with it, but Roland shows off their years of expertise in modeling because this little amp is amazingly musical; the amp models and effects just sound very good (I guess the term is "suprisingly good," but I'm not really surprised because it is a Roland, and their stuff really is made for musicians).

It's a considerable achievement getting such nice sounds out of such a small low-power box. I grew up with solid-state amps that cost far more and sounded far worse, with ugly-sounding hum and harmonics; my playing would have improved far faster if this thing had existed in 1981 when I was in Junior High trying to coax heavy metal out of a Fender Mustang!

The kick-back design is great for setting on the floor or a table while you practice; you can keep it pointed towards you, allowing you to keep the volume relatively low and still hear what you're doing. The controls are simple and effective, giving you two knobs to control two sets of effects, and I have not tested the battery life at high volumes but at low practice volumes it seems impressive. (It also comes with an adapter which is nicer than the usual wall-wart). I've tried it with numerous electric guitars, a Roland guitar synth, and a couple of acoustics including a Godin nylon-string acoustic; they all sound very lively through it. It sounds good enough that I am planning to use it for recording, since it has a line out.

It is designed with a second channel for a microphone and a stereo line in for an iPod or similar device; I have not used it with a mic and wouldn't expect it to give a huge amount of headroom before distorting, but this thing was not made to entertain a crowd. Besides working well as a practice amp it is very nice to take outside onto a deck or patio or to a park. It gives you plenty of volume for a small picnic or some such and would even work with a small group, assuming you had a drummer who can exercise restraint (some drummers can actually play quietly!)

I would recommend this instead of the Micro Cube for more serious players. Get this for yourself and the Micro Cube for your son or daughter because it will enforce even stricter volume limitations but has much of the same excellent tone. I like this so much I am probably also going to buy the micro bass version.

  Little Amp with a big sound 
by Warren Shenesky from Orlando, FL, January 2008
Music Background:  Pro Musician - rock

I found this protable amp to be very loud on the sound. And the sound is great - loud or at low volume!
The gain is very clean and I have since remove a distortion box from my effect chain when I use this amp.
Batteries drain in a few hours at loud volume - but I use recharagable - so that is not a problem.

Highly recommend for practice.

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