Roland KC-550 Reviews 4.6/5.0 based on 14 customer reviews
Sweetwater Advice
Nick Church
The power to handle your left hand, and the clarity to handle your right hand! This amp is ambidextrous! The flexibilty of the EQ and signal routing only add to the desirability of this amp!
Jeff Hollman
Roland has long been making the clearest, loudest, and most useful keyboard amps in the industry. It's rare that I sell any other keyboard amp in this price range.
Customer Reviews
Caseyfrom Peabody, MA February 18, 2013Music Background: Keyboardist, songwriter, live musician The bestI had the older KC-500 for years. It was the only amp I had ever used for keyboards. The drawback was the weight, and after years of lugging this thing around to gigs I sold it thinking I could get a similar sound in something with less overall weight. So I bought a powered PA monitor. Boy was I wrong! The KC amp moves air and retains a perfectly balanced tone. Nothing else punches through a like the KC amps. Keyboards have such a variety of tones and shapes and these amps have the best clarity and balance across the entire spectrum. You "feel" the sound, and it cuts through a live sound mix perfectly. The tonal balance is great whether you play piano, organs, synths, strings, etc. the amp delivers the sounds with a clarity and drive that is above all else. There is more than meets the eye here, it's not just a high powered speaker with a ton of wattage. Don't fool yourself, when you want the real fat tone you need a big heavy well-constructed box like this to project your sound - a lightweight plastic PA speaker is not going to project the sound in this way, it takes mass and air movement to push sound. If you want the best sounding keyboard amp, buy this now.
Doug McCutcheonfrom Cleveland OH November 5, 2012Music Background: Pro musician This amp is a monster!In the past 3 weeks that I have had this amp, I have used for as diverse gigs as playing a five-piece rock/blues/soul band in a club to a four-piece oldies band to solo gigs at restaurants and as background music at public libraries. This amp covers it all! The shape switch is great for playing at low, low volumes, as I did on the solo gigs. BUY THIS AMP WITHOUT DELAY!
from November 5, 2011 Get This Amp!!!This thing is king for gigs, several stereo input channels including vocals as well as stereo/direct out. Had this thing since 97 and its still pumpin, even after getting tossed around for a thousand shows. Ive even ran this as a bass amp for small clubs and its great as a monitor, cant go wrong here.
Grant Wellsfrom Norman OK USA June 7, 2011Music Background: Music Grad/Pro musician/ Music Writer KC-550Big fat delicious sound across the spectrum. Its four inputs are perfect for my 3 keyboards and vocals. I think the only thing better would be to get another one and connect them for stereo sound. The XLR out is perfect for the gigs I've been doing recently. Just run one cable to the sound guy and your golden. I would recommend this amp to anybody who plays keys. Can fill up a good size room all by itself. Great as a monitor as well!
Robertfrom Northern California December 19, 2010Music Background: Pro musician FAB!!!After years of using piece meal amps and speakers I finally bought a real keyboard amp - the KC550! It took a little while to tweak it since there are tonal options but the tone is warm and full; it sounds great just as a stand-alone unit. One nice thing is that even when played soft it gives you the full spectrum of sound and if you crank it up to 5 or more it is ear splitting unless your ears are already shot. The tweeter is a little thin but something magical happens to the entire unit if you run this in stereo. In stereo the sound is beyond fab! ...It then has a huge full sound without needing tons of volume. It's new so haven't gigged with it yet but by comparing it to the JBL Eons, Yamaha PAs, Cerwin Vegas and Peaveys I've used this wins hands down.Another nice aspect is that it is built like a tank yet it is still manageable to move. The wheels easily come off for stacking too! The controls are smooth and have a real nice feel to them. Take a good look at the back of this because the I/O options are very flexible. If I could change anything I would give it inset side handles so one doesn't have to do a dead lift from a single point. I'm not big though and it is still doable. I am considering adding the 350 to run in stereo on stage but have a current stereo set-up at home (using a single Event Precision 6 monitor for the stereo). For the price of this you can't go wrong.
Mark Reichardfrom Groton, CT March 16, 2010Music Background: Pro musician, Live sound engineer Excellent ampNot only does this amp work great as a monitor but if you use the stereo inputs it works as a stereo DI box. You'll monitor in Mono but the output is stereo. It has a very loud and clean output while not using too much stage room. I place mine on top of my Motion Sound Pro 145 and I couldn't be happier with it.
Phil "killa" Gerbinofrom Rockville Centre, N.Y. October 26, 2009Music Background: Best blues band, Mamafunk and the Mudcats Amazing keyboard amp!I had been playing through a 100 watt peavy with 2 12" speakers. What a piece of junk next to the KC-550. This amp has me and the whole band impressed. The quality of sound from this puppy is phenomenal.(spelling?) It is truley a keyboard's dream for live performing and recording.
Waynefrom Houston, TX March 11, 2008Music Background: Hobbyist musician/producer. Amazing!I have been using this amp for about 2 years now, and am still very impressed.I originally bought this amp to use with my Roland V-drums. And the main reason, is that it had a 15" woofer so I knew it would reproduce the kick drum accurately, whereas the other amps I tried just sounded thin. Well, it sounded amazing on my V-drums, and really reproduced them very well. But what is really impressive about this amp is the flexibility. I have used my V-drums with it, my guitar and bass through my PODxt into the KC-550. My iPod sounds amazing through the KC-550. I have actually used it as a standalone DJ rig at a smallish party, and all I had was my iPod, a microphone and my KC-550. It did a great job. And of course it sounds amazing on keyboards also. I don't have an actual synthesizer, but I have used my Axiom-61 into Reason 3.0 on my PC, and output it into the KC-550 and it sounded really nice. I have been using it a couple years, and have nothing bad to say about it at all. It continues to impress me. 
from December 25, 2012Music Background: Formally trained keyboardist Roland KC-550This is a very nice sounding amp, holding up Roland's reputation for producing quality keyboard products.I have used it now a few times in rehearsal competing with 2 Marshall half stacks, bass and drums and not only did it stand its ground, but sounded good as well when blending with the rest of the group. The quality of the sound comes through clear & clean at various levels. I am glad I decided to get this amp. The practice room we rent will only allow vocal mic's into the house PA & no instruments, ipods, etc.
Dennisfrom Rochester, NY June 22, 2011Music Background: Lifetime Working Amateur Musician Have used 2 of them for 10 years.As good as it gets without getting a Leslie 3300 for the Hammond sounds. I have had 2 of these for about a decade, played in a blues band and also my own piano jazz trio, plus vocals with a TC Helicon vocal processor. I set them up in stereo and sometimes even add a bass unit. I plug my vocals in, my bass player and my two keyboards (Yamaha CP 300 and one of several options for synth or organ.) They are very rugged and only weigh 75lbs. each, so one man can handle them easily. I get my entire rig into the back of my Pilot, with room for 3. The sound is unbelievable. They are dead silent until you start playing or singing, as long as your settings are appropriate. Keep all unused pots on zero, turn your keyboard volume up. Tons of headroom. You'll never need to go past 5. Nice upgrades would be chorus, phaser and reverb, but you can get all these with a simple board...as long as you find stereo inputs. Remember, these are fairly long-throw speakers, so they sound best about 30-50 feet away, or more. Awesome gear.
Steffrom Belgium June 1, 2008Music Background: Musician, Experienced sound engineer Clean sound for many purposesI have this amp for a few months now, and I don't regret getting this one. It's sound is just amazing and it has enough power to get me heard over my band mates (they have a nag to play somewhat loud).I use the KC 550 with a Yamaha NP-30 and an old PSR-220 for the moment. Sound: Great! This amp reproduces the sound as it should. It has a rich bass response, which I like very much about this amp. Though I got to be careful not to drown the bassist sometimes. (Can be solved with the EQ). Vocals sound very good as well. To prevent 'howling' when using a mic, try to lower the High range by about a fifth. In most cases it solves it for me I've ran a electric guitar trough it a few times, it sounds very clean and almost acoustic. Versatility: I like that the KC 550 has four (Stereo) inputs and an extra AUX input, making a total of five inputs. I use it as a monitor and mixer when we record our songs by ourself. The sound output, when all channels are mixed, is very good. A great plus to this amp. There are casters attached to this unit, which can be taken off. This is a good thing, since it's not that light (~27 kg) and somewhat bulky. The KC 550 has a Stereo Link ability; you can link it with an extra KC 550/350. Combined you can have ten inputs (eight without AUX), though on two different outputs. This unit features a three band EQ, which is all I need actually. Overall: This amp is great for small to medium-large sized gigs, and has enough power to be heard over the guitars. It does need some tweaking when in larger areas. (I have to give the high-mid range a small boost for better sound.) The four (or five) inputs are good for me, I only use three at the moment. I'd certainly buy it again if it ever should get stolen.
Joseph Andersonfrom Greensboro,AL July 14, 2006Music Background: Musician Good Clean SoundThis amp sound clean and clear. The bass sound is full and punchy. I use the amp with my Motif6 and was blown away by it's amazing sound.
PATRICK BOWLINGfrom LOUDONVILLE, OHIO March 23, 2008Music Background: 6 YEARS SOUND REENFORCEMENT-BIG SOUND!!! GOOD VALUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!GOOD UNIT FOR THE BUCK! NICE SOUND, THE 4 CHANNELS ARE A PLUS. VOCALS ON CHN.1 INPUT ON PAR WITH A DECENT MIXER. THE POWER CORD SHOULD BE OF THE DETACHABLE TYPE, (IEC), IF YOU PUT A COVER OVER THE UNIT, THE POWER CORD WILL MAKE IT HARD FOR A GOOD FIT. TWO TECHNICAL NOTES, THE SUB OUT IS FULL RANGE, NO INTERNAL CROSSOVER INCORPORATTED. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PASSIVE CO ON YOUR SUB, YOU WILL NEEED AN ACTIVE CROSSOVER. THE XLR OUT ARE TOO HOT IF YOUR GOING TO A BOARD WITH ALL CHANNELS IN PLAY. HAD TO GET A COUPLE OF ATTENUATORS TO QUELL THE DISTORTION. -10DB DID THE JOB, (BTW) THIS CLIP WAS WITH THE GAIN AT IT'S LOWEST SETTING. ALA AN ALL, A DECENT UNIT, HAVE HAD MANY COMPLIMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE ON THIS UNIT IN A LIVE SETTING.
Jonathanfrom Roanoke, VA May 29, 2012Music Background: Performance mainly beefier, but heavierThe sound of the 550 is beefier than the 500, probably due to the back being enclosed. However, that being said, it is also heavier. The ground switch is great to have though as the 500 had poor design...always battling the buzz in different venues...the ground switch fixes that....otherwise, same amp... |
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