Roland Blues Cube Hot 30-watt 1x12" Combo Amp - Vintage Blonde Reviews

Love this amp. Just what I needed for in home practice. But will get loud when needed. I've had Katana, line 6, Blackstar…..to my ears none of these hold a candle to this Blues Cube.

Was looking for a modestly priced tube amp, but this solid state unit's build and features checked off all the boxes and deserved a second look.

With its straightforward design it didn't take long to begin dialing in pleasing tones.

After a few months of getting acquainted, it all came together beautifully.

Whether it was a Gibson LP Studio, SSH Fender Strat, Gibson LP Junior DC or Steel Lap - they all sounded fantastic through this amp.

Especially when finger picking. The tones generated for each string are wonderfully articulated.

Soft or loud - the tonal options are abundant.

Overall, the Roland Blues Cube Hot 30 SS amp delivers the goods and is a worthy investment.

Especially if you too are looking for something that offers more than just being loud. Thanks for reading this.

wow! this sounds better than my blues jr! hats off to Roland for making an incredible sounding solid state tube modeler!
sounds awesome at full power and at the lowest setting!! if you are thinking about buying it dont wait just do it! absolutely one of the best sounding amps out there

I was thinking about getting a small single channel tube amp when I did a little research on the Roland BC 30. Everyone seemed impressed with it so I thought I would give it a shot and I am glad I did! I am 62 years old and like things simple but with great tone & that is what this little amp has. I have a small pedalboard that works great with it. My acoustic even sounds good thu it! This little amp is impressive imo and so is Sweetwater's service! Thanks again.

As many have noted, this one's a "one trick pony," but what a trick! Not a lot of bells and whistles, but if you're looking for a solid foundation for straight-ahead blues/rock, this is IT! I don't use effects pedals, but tried a blues driver and it sounded so good I may actually start. Great buy. Thanks Mike!!!

I can't really add anything to all the positive comments in the previous reviews.
I took guitar back up after retiring, and if I had bought this amp first, I would have saved a lot of trial and error, not to mention money.
This is my last amp. Nothing better out there, in my opinion.

I own a pair of Katana 100's and this thing is much better sounding than those amps. I used to love my Katanas and now with this thing in the house, they sound so dark and muddy. I guess I'll have to sell them now to make room. I also own a Peavey Valve King 20 which still sounds better than everything else I own. But it's also close to 40 pounds while the Cube is a mere 28. The tone is exceptional, it's best portable solid state combo I've ever owned. If they had added a 12AX7 tube to this and made it a hybrid, it could have been the #1 amp choice above all else!

Superb amplifier! While it takes pedals well, the real beauty here is the way the Blues Cube Hot unleashes the individuality and nuance of a well-made guitar. It's especially fine with semi-hollows--you really get the woodiness and mid-range punch--but it's as good with the Fender solid-body side of the universe or with Gibson humbucker muscle. While it takes pedals well, anyone who really takes inherent guitar tones and playing technique seriously will value this amp for its clarity and tonal precision. My own preference is to plug straight into the amp, enjoying the freedom of a pedal-free zone (Respect your guitar!). If you prefer electronic gimmicks, fine...but if you love music, musicality and the unique personalities of your favorite instruments--if you respect the craftsmanship, care and design of a really well-made guitar--you simply cannot do better for the price. Great for blues, jazz, Americana and alt-rock. And for the amplifier purists, well, to my ear this rivals much more expensive tube amps--and beats most of them. Many thanks to Justin for the honest, knowledgeable advice.

I had two old amps, a tube and a solid state that both had their strengths, but were worn out (and/or cheap to begin with). I went back and forth with getting a tube amp (Blues Jr.) or the Roland Blues Cube. I went with Roland.
With a minimum of tweaking, I found a great tone, which was all I wanted. The build quality is excellent. The design is super-simple, which I favor - no bells and whistles. I still love the spankiness of a spring reverb, but the reverb on this amp is fine. The tone has the warmth and weight of my tube amps, plus the air and sparkle of the solid state. Plus, in my experience, tubes sound great...just not when they're brand new, or old - I will never have that problem.
I'm very pleased.
Shout-out to Jared, ace sales rep.

One of the best combos I've ever purchased...cant find a bad tone.
Great circuit...and for the price
It's a score...hats off to roland
And ty at sweetwater.
Thank you

Sincerely
Paolo altieri

I decided to downsize equipment. I saw this amp and bought it on impulse. It is a really great amp. Nothing fancy, just a straightforward great sounding amp. No bells and whistles, just a well built, well thought out design. Light weight and small but mighty. Every note comes out clear and really cuts through the mix. Would definitely recommend it.

I'm primary a bass player (50+ years) but bought this amp to take to local jams and play guitar. At 28 lbs with a great tone and an attenuator feature, it is ideal. As others have said, it does have the feel of a tube amp. My other guitar amps are a Fender Front man and a Bruno Underground 30 head with a THD 2x12 can. The first because it is what it is and the Bruno because it is way more amp than I need and is underutilized. This little Blues Cube is exactly what I need.

This Blues Cube Hot was designed for someone like me. I'm in my sixties and have played many years. I love the size, the power option flexibility, the simplicity, the gradations of gain distortion. It's not too heavy. Best of all I get an amp that sounds great without worrying about tubes. You can get nice clean tone and whatever level of breakup you need, nice reverb too. My favorite setting is clean with slight breakup and often switching on my favorite overdrive, the Mojo Hand Rook. This amp is great for everything from low volume to gigs.

Sounds great and has helped me nearly complete my rig. The power attenuator is so useful and it has great eq controls, it can go from glassy cleans to dirty with some gain at a turn of the knob.

If you're using a distortion pedal, I would highly recommend boosting the bass and the gain because it does accurately effect the tone like a blues or pro junior. This way your distortion won't get too waspy

I had run with Vox AC15s and AC30s as well as a Fender Princeton for 20+ years but I bought this amp after hearing several BC-30s and I have to say this is probably the best sounding amp I ever had. Awesome adjustability with the controls, you can really create any desired tone you wish to have at any time. The boost is also actually really impressive in my opinion. This amp has fast become my go to amp for pretty much everything. I especially love for studio recordings because of how clean the amp sounds.

This amp( I'm sure the whole range) is still being underrated. Don't make that mistake ! This is a fully armed , ready to rumble tone machine, that caresses the soul , and then hits you with blistering blues/rock tones that are not only touch sensitive picking wise, but also very equalization sensitive ( just like a great tube amp). You can amuse yourself all day with the possibilities and come up with and dial in tasty tones for just about any tone hue you can think of. Studio worthy, home practice or creator content,jam with the band or rehearsal,,,,Play a club and open all 30 watts of thunder? Yep. I thought I'd need the stage or the artist for that , but this amp has its own voicing ( I wonder how it'll sound paired with a state or artist? Hmmm) Anyhow , if you're a tone hawk looking for versatility, power, tube behavior, and rugged and solid construction/reliability, all in a small combo( that has attenuation .05 watts, 5 watts 15 watts or 30!)then definitely put aside the now ridiculous controversy regarding solid state and tubes. The lines have been blurred to where the payoff in not chiropractic bills and being able to achieve " that slight breakup tone" , without having to crank to 7 on a big ole tube amp has arrived. She's a peach!

Don't prejudge or prematurely rate this amp when you first plug in... take some time... hang out with it... drink a beer or two...
The more you tweak this amp, the more you'll keep wanting to keep plugging back in. The response in the sound when playing various ways is great... beautiful high end notes... gripping mid-neck chords.
I have only plugged in a Caline OD with the Cube for some extra crunch on the OD and some brightness with the clean boost. The Cube reverb sounds fine. Both at the bridge and neck you can get some very sweet and resonate tones.
Totally happy with this little amp. I mainly keep it set at a half watt at home and have never taken it to 30w. It's got a lot of volume. It's been about a month and I am enamored with the sounds on this thing. Watch some youtube reviews... check the player's expressions when they feel and hear the amp respond to the finger style... that said it all for me. That feeling when you play and the amp delivers.

There's not much I can say beyond what has already been said here. You will not regret buying this amp!

I have played my acoustic instruments (guitar and mandolin) as well as my electrics (Tele, Strat and lap steel) through this amp and have been able to achieve the right tone for each - clear to crunch with a dialed in reverb. This amp has exceeded my expectations thus far!

I've had this for a couple of weeks now. Can't believe what a tube like sound it has! Great at home or on stage!

I wish I had this thing years ago....I have had some heavy Fender tube amps (Hot Rod Deluxe)that I dragged all over the place....Great clean sound, but somewhat limited overdrive. The sound is amazing with this , but goes to another level when you drive a processor into it. Clear, crisp, nasty, whatever you want. I just bought a Strat Professional which compliments it well. Even at 0.5 Watts, this is loud enough for practicing. 5 watts is good enough to annoy the wife, 15 watts should scare the dog, and 30 should cut through a full band rehearsal easily. ...and it's LIGHT. I play it exclusively now. Roland hit a home run with this.

Great amp!

... and that is exactly what I was looking for. Blues, blues-rock, and, when inspired, a touch of jazz are my things. Played the bar circuit in college (late 70s) and a few years after, but house noodling and the occasional jam with the boys has been the deal since the early 80s. Got rid of all the tube amps (other than a basic 90s era Blues Junior) a few years ago and have been looking for a well-built, hum free, good sounding SS amp for years now. Bought and sold many of the usual suspects. As a few others have mentioned, most modeling amps give you so-so recreations of great amps and that's it.

Tried a buddy's Blues Cube Artist about a year ago. Impressed. Researched it. More impressed. Owned the Blues Cube Hot (in the very attractive Vintage Blonde Tweed) for a few months now. Truly couldn't be more impressed (especially for $...).

My take? Roland makes products of exceptional build quality and very often nails what they seek to do. In this case, and specifically for the bottom of the line "Hot" model of the Blues Cube line, they sought to use their considerable sonic engineering expertise to emulate the well-known and popular Fender Tweed sound -- (IMO), clear, clean, chimey enough, and a touch more mids-forward than their silver amps.

My purchase was all about the cleans and running it clean as a pedal platform for 8-9 favorite pedals. I've played around with the amp's gain just long enough to hear that there are quality musical sounds in there, but that wasn't my interest. Running it clean, it's quiet, very faithful to its Tweed aspirations, and works very well with my pedals. Tinkering was definitely required because pedals are always going to interplay differently with tubes than they do with SS. But without much effort at all, I found the personal sweetspot (and often very pleasantly surprised just how sweet it was) with overdrive, distortion, fuzz, wah, and some modulation effects. Love being able to attenuate the volume down from 30W - 15W - 5W - 0.5W and get excellent to good quality and, umm, depth, at more home friendly volumes. I'm not crazy about the sound at 0.5W, but it's really, really good at 5W. Would I have liked an effects loop to separate the tone and modulation effects? Sure. And the top models of the Blues Cube line have that. But since I intend to run this amp clean 98% of the time, that wasn't even a minor issue for me. Similarly, the Hot model doesn't allow you to plug in one of the tone modules. Great idea (no personal experience with how well it works, but Roland knows their stuff, so I suspect they're great), but more than enough with the basics in this amp and finding tone with my pedals to keep me very happy.

Finally, and not at all least, Sweetwater is so easy and professional to deal with. I've been working with Taylor Schneider for years and he's absolutely top-notch -- friendly, professional, great with follow-up, and always eager to help. He's a great public-facing asset for an already great company! The Blues Cube Hot was temporarily out-of-stock when I tried to place my order. Taylor called Roland, got an update on expected delivery time (rather than reading from his screen/book), and followed-up timely once they arrived. Thanks, Taylor.

I recently ordered a Blues Cube from Sweetwater (Tyler N. helped seal the deal)!

Being a lifelong tube guy that gigs occasionally, I was looking for something small/light enough to cart around, yet not compromise sound--I found it! The amp truly emulates the tube sound (warmth and sag) and the digital reverb is above average and maxed, has the cool surf sound. Another point is having the attenuation power function function from 1w to 30w really sold me on it. In fact, I don't think I'll have to go above the 15w power setting for the venues I play at.

I'm glad I got it and so will you if you are a tube amp aficionado.

This amp is quite great, and super loud for 30 watts. The stepped power settings is what really sold me on this. Also, it has such a lovely, chimey, ringy reverb that doesn't sound forced. The Blues Cube has some surprising dynamic response, like it's sensing the wave-form of thought coming from your right hand. It's really a joy plug into. I was getting really frustrated in trying to find a solid state amp that didn't do the whole 'modeling' thing. God, I hate that stuff. Why would you want a box that does a poor job mimicking 101 different great amps from back in the day? This is the antithesis to that: this amp does a great job sounding like itself from today. Remembering that the amp is half the instrument, this is the perfect complement to any well put together guitar.

AWESOME AMP!
I sold my Blues Jr within one hour of playing this amp.
That said I am a HUGE Fender fan, my first Fender amp was purchased in 1969 it was and is a Fender Pro Reverb 75w. and I still have it after hundreds of shows later it still plays.
So now you know that the Roland Blues Cube is a pretty serious amp to turn me around so quickly.
LOVE MY BLUES CUBE

Norm Cote

Fantastic little amp! I've been playing a friends Blues Cube the last couple of months after my Blues Jr. smoked. Immediately fell in love with this amp and I get the tone I need without pedals. I highly recommend this amp! It's great on stage and in the studio.

I'm impressed! It's small, easy to lug around, and packs a punch for a 30-watt amp! I am just getting back into playing again, and have barely begun to explore the full scope of this very versatile amp; but I'm pleasantly surprised with my discoveries thus far. The sound is clean from 0 to 10 (and I've only used it at 0.5 and 5-watt capacity in my tiny home-studio in NYC) and yet - with the boost switch - I can dial in just enough dirt and more sonic depth with the tone switch. This is an awesome amp and I am really happen with this purchase!

It is important to establish a solid base, from which one can then build upon and add layers of colors to. And this BCH has definitely met that criteria for me. Looking forward to recording and using this lovely in small venue gigs in the future.

and the BCH has done everything I wanted/expected it to. I've owned many of the iconic tube amps over 50 years, 65 Princeton, 66 Vibrolux, Mesa Boogie, Dr. Z Maz 38, 59 Bassman RI etc and after reading all the positive reviews I decided to pull the trigger on the BCH. For my purposes 20-40 watts has always been the zone that works for my style, but the balancing act between getting the tone I wanted, working the tubes and speakers at their optimum for the venue I was performing at got to be a chore. Between that, the added weight, and always second guessing the tubes longevity, I was ready to blaspheme my decades of tube worship into the world of solid state. Have you noticed how when YouTube reviewers start with a "clean" setting but it usually sounds pretty dirty? The BCH's clean is actually CLEAN and it goes from there. The boost is ok/usable, but for me, just "close enough" for living room practicing... for gigging it takes whatever pedals I need for dirt just fine, and I can easily dial in the volume appropriate for the venue with the four wattage settings. For the dedicated tube guys out there, God bless ya, but for me, the trade off between weight, reliability, cost, maintenance and versatility for that elusive "tube goodness" was worth it. Over the decades I've played with a lot of tube guys who alienated audiences while attempting to satisfy "their sound" to themselves... solid state's come a long way, and worth investigating IMHO. Sweetwater's rep goes without saying. Delvin's been my guy there for decades.

After doing a s%&#! ton of research, and weighing every single pro and con of tubes vs SS, I finally pulled the trigger on this amp middle of last year. I had never actually played tubes before, so I didn't have much to go on. I have since tho, and let's just clear that up first: NO, this is not the same. But it's just...different, instead of a simple comparison. It also weighs far less than tube amps, doesn't require any maintenance, and frankly, plays beautifully. 4 different attenuation settings are also pretty nice for playing at bedroom volume, although I inevitably just keep the 30w setting, using the guitar's volume knob to adjust volume. It's just an awesome amp, with sweet singing [almost organic] sustain that takes pedals beautifully. I am still going to purchase a tube amp someday, because well...you just gotta. But I'm also keeping this one forever.

The tone and responsiveness are really good. This amp always makes me smile...with my PRS, my 339 or the SG...even the hot Ibanez Woody...I'm getting great blues tones. The wattage adjustment is invaluable for practice at home. Roland really created a gem of an amp!

Well, they finally did it. I've been a tube guy for 50 years and never thought I'd find a lightweight solid state amp that does exactly what the advertisements say. It is very simple to understand and operate for old guys like myself. Sound Engineers love it as do my band mates. Even with loud stage volume I set it on the 15 watt option and still have plenty of Headroom with a strat.

I was looking for an ultra-portable amp I could use for practice and especially for playing in small venues. My Sales Engineer Matt recommended the Blues Cube Hot to me a couple of years ago, and although I have a number of other amps (Mesa, Fender, and Marshall), this has become my go-to when travelling. This emulates tube tone, has a lot more power than advertised and is very durable. I love this little guy and it has enough guts to play in any small or medium sized venue. I am extremely pleased with the amp and I thank Matt Emick for the recommendation.

I was looking for an amp for smaller gigs so I didn't have to carry around my old Mesa Boogie 22 Caliber tube amp, and this seemed to fit the bill. I have tried several amps as an alternate, and this one is so good I don't even carry around the Mesa Boogie any more. It doesn't quite have a "perfect" tube tone, but I have not heard anything closer. It's simple, light, has an open back like a traditional amp for storing the power cord. Just what I was looking for. In my opinion, if you are looking for a clean traditional flat tone you have to literally put the treble on zero. I find this amp sounds great with the bass at 4, mid at 7, and treble at 0 or 1. Roland amps always have too much high end in my opinion.

If you are looking for a light weight, simple, clean amp to run your pedal board through at gigs, this couldn't get much better.

After just a couple hours I had this little fellow sounding very similar to my Mesa Boogie Mark 5 with vertical twin V 30 , 12’s. Cube only weighs 28
Pounds. Very responsive to the right hand and works great with effects pedals. Sounds like it has much more power than it does.

I'll admit that I'm biased towards Roland and, having checked one of these amps out a few months ago, was a fan of this one even before I even got it. As I'm getting to know it, and it's capabilities, I'm appreciating it even more. As advertised, this is a solid state amplifier that pretty much works like a tube amp. I have a bad back, so the light weight was a big selling point for me, but the Blues Cube Hot also packs a lot of punch. Of special note is the output control that allows me to play with a full band in a large club, or at home without disturbing my wife and still retaining the full range of the amp. Thanks to Matt South and Sweetwater, still the BEST!

This is a great amp that provides everything I need! Very pleased and happy. Thanks to Kevin Samuel for his spot-on recommendation.

I was originally using a Vox AC30 (which I still own) for band practice and gigs. It was and is WAY more amp than I will ever need. I decided to buy this amp to make transporting my gear a little bit easier. I've had the Blues Cube for about 2 years now, and I'm still glad I made the purchase. I've used it in a five piece band consisting of drums, bass, keys, and violin. I've never had to turn the master past 10-11 o'clock on it's loudest setting (in fact most of the time on on the medium watt setting). I love the option of turning the wattage down but maintaining the tone, and it does a really good job on staying consistent.

After playing my AC30 for a couple years I was convinced that I needed a Tube amp if I was going to get something smaller, but this solid state packs a punch and also accepts pedals very well. It has an amazingly dynamic response to my guitar playing to the point I forget I'm not playing a tube amp. I've even used it for recording instead of the Vox. The blues cube is amazing and I expect it to keep chugging along for many years to come!

Amazing ! solid state ? re-invented ..My opinion fender blues jr. don't compare to this amp, i had it, i had mesa boogie, Marshall, fender ,Bulgera, I am currently using a tube vox 20 which i love , Now after reading about this amp and watching every video i can i have to tell you i was skeptical about buying a solid state especially a Roland amp .But i am glad i bought this. Let me tell you its not the solid state you are used to it really gives you that tube sound , and much heavier /fatter tone then the Jr. and the boost and tone circuits are awesome also .what i love about it is you can play at a lower volume and get the fat ,boost sound, you don't have to blast it like a lot of other amps.the watt selection was Genius! really i have to handed to the engineers on this one, they did an excellent job..and let me tell ya..its a gorgeous looking amp also and nice heavy weight to it.. This amp gives you the sound of a more expensive amp, its really worth the price.My fender american telecaster sounds awesome.haven't tried my les paul or my PRS Santana or my strat yet ..but i'm sure i won't be disappointed..and if you are deciding which next amp to buy look at this closely i'm telling you..you'll love it especially if you play in your bedroom or den/basement ..and i would think its plenty loud enough to jam with... Been a sweetwater customer for a long time also.. so what are you waiting for? order one !!!

I had a Blues Cube 30 that I loved and 20 years ago, it burned up in a house fire. I bought this one and it is the best. I can get the sounds I like through all my guitars that I have tried with it. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson and Epiphone. I am really happy with it........ the .5 watt is really loud. More than that gets too loud for me and I have to start dialing it back. Blues tones and country tones are great......I don't play metal or use lots of distortion, I like clean sounds, so I don't know how they would sound through it.

With just a few tweaks of the knobs you can go from smooth, clean jazz to crisp overdrive. Was jamming along with the Stevie Nicks RnRHOF replay last night and even my wife liked it.

This amp has the versatility to cover all the bases from practicing in a small area to playing out with the guys! In my humble opinion it"s a good deal for the price point!

I spoke with my SweetWater Engineer Michael Grebe for a bit on the phone about my amplifier needs. He pointed me to the Roland Blues Cube Hot, considering my needs. I ordered it a few days later and man-oh-man, that thing sounds sweet, so to speak. The amp is heavy, considering it's size, but I look at that as a good thing. Big 12 inch speaker and it sounds like one. It gets loud in my opinion.

I've heard folks say the gain / crunch sound isn't that good, but I disagree. I think it sounds amazing and I purchased a TC Electronics Dark Matter distortion pedal with it. Love the amp with and without the pedal. I use the amp with a Gretsch Streamliner guitar and I also run a harmonica mic into the amp. Both sound fantastic and it gives me the sound I'm looking for. It's the best amp I have ever owned. SweetWater Rocks!

I recently acquired this amp for my newly purchased Gibson Les Paul Studio Smokehouse Burst Bucker and all I can say is wOw ! Nice size and nice sounding amp .The sound is AMAZING . I'm new to the guitar world , but this amp sounds really good . Thanks to my sales engineer Kurt Martin ! ! ! The amp looks vintage and oh so cool . I hope this is my first and last amp of a lifetime !

I've always been a bit of a Roland guy - lugged a JC 120 around for nearly 30 years (insane looking back as I think it is responsible for some medical issues now LOL). Wised up (so I thought) about a year ago and purchased a JC 40 - but it failed me the first time I took it to an outdoor gig (sounded brittle, sterile, ice picky, etc). I loved the concept of the (2) 10" speakers so decided to replace with a Fender 68 Custom Vibrolux. I went to the store to test it out - played it for about 4 minutes and then plugged into the Blues Cube Hot sitting right next to it and played the cube for about 20 minutes. The tone was exceptional - not just for a solid state amp... exceptional right along side any great amplifier - as is - no real tweaking involved - just put the bass and treble at about 1 o'clock (I like to take the mid down to about 9 o'clock for a bit of a scooped sound - personal preference), maybe just an overdrive pedal to boost the mids back up for a solo - good to go!

I went home and ordered up the cube. Woke the next morning thinking I was crazy to buy a solid state over the tube, so I called my rep and changed the order to the Vibrolux. It arrived - I do love it, but still couldn't stop thinking about the cube (fact is they are two entirely different amps but both fantastic)... so... I ended up looking at the Blues Cube Hot again - reading the reviews over and over and just couldn't help myself - two days later I hit the "add to cart" button. Now I have them both as well as my JC 120 and also two Peavey Classic 30's I like to run in stereo (these are also great amps) - but again, just too much to lug around!

I have to say... the cube is now my number one! The sound is simply amazing. It really is - and not just the sound, but the "feel" too - it actually has a bit of that "spongy sag" feel - I mean, its true that the Vibrolux can get to a sweet spot (when it's volume is at about 5-6) that the cube just can't quite get too, BUT there are so many variables in terms of room size logistics, etc that I would say while the cube will only get to about 96.42% of the sweet spot the Vibrolux can offer, the difference is that it WILL be right at that spot 100% of the time - it is very consistent across all levels of the attenuation selector (oh, and it is loud as *#$* - I don't think I will ever need to run it on the full 30 watts) and at 27 little lbs it gets first call! It has made me appreciate the simplicity of a single 12" speaker - I have heard some here describe the sound as "boxy" - maybe so, but if so... then I guess I like boxy - I think it has an amazing quality of its own - the sound of a little amp gettin wooped with a hot slice of bitchslap! The quality of the sound instantly finds its own place in the mix. If you are even thinking of this little gem, think no more - just hit the "add to cart" button. Heck, just go ahead and order up a Vibrolux while yer at it! Also, thank you Sweetwater (and my rep Jeff Green) for a very consistent and exquisite shopping experience.

An easy ,enjoyable gem with fat tone using any type guitar.So far, the half watt and 5 watt settings are my favorites .Amp tones are meaty and just a blast,clean or driven.Kudos to Ed Nystrom.

Well, I have to tell you, the Roland Blues Cube Hot is a really great sounding amp. It can give you jazz, fusion, rock, blues and all those things in between. I really like it; it inspires playing. Running the line out to my BluGuitar BluBox results in some very good, very usable tones that can be used on a DAW track without reservation. I use an Rode NT1a mic and the recorded sound (via Focusrite Scarlett 18i8) of the Blues Cube Hot in Studio One 3.5 is warm, clear, strong. The cabinet is well made, solid, attractive. I believe it to be a professional level guitar amp and at its price-point, it is a steal.

I went to my local music store to finally try a tube amp, after many years of apprehension due to their level of required maintenance and issues. I grab a guitar, the employee plugged it in and when he turned on the brand new expensive tube amp, it had a terrible hiss and buzz sound coming out of it. He said, "Whoa, that one's got a tube issue. Here, let's try another..."

I knew then that I would not be making the switch to a tube amp. After hours of research and video reviews, I decided on this Blues Cube Hot with Tube Logic and could not be happier. With your eyes closed, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this solid state and a tube amp. Watch the video reviews for yourself.

This amp puts out the cleanest cleans and just the right amount of dirt (I do mostly blues and some country). I play plugged straight in and often go hours before making a single adjustment on the amp's settings. Oh, and lastly, this thing gets LOUD if you want it to. On the 5w setting (it goes up to 30w), my wife heard me playing while parked in the driveway with her windows rolled up...

Your search is over. Buy this amp now, of course from Sweetwater.

This is a great amp! Love the way it sounds. Just what I was looking for. Even my friends with tube amps were impressed. Roland did a really nice job with this one. I would definitely recommend this amp.

I've been a bit of a gear snob in the past with my amps (Lil Dawg, DR Z, Keedy, RocknRoll Amps, etc). This little amp sounds every bit as good as these amps. I have never been more impressed with a solid state amp than I have with the BC Hot. This things sounds exactly like a vintage 59 Bassman that has been serviced and tubed. I was kind of hesitant to write this review because I want to keep these babies a secret.

Do yourself a favor. If you're a blues player looking for a 59 Bassman amp that sounds great but does not weigh a ton and blow your ears off, then this is the amp you are looking for. Great amp.....!

I've been searching for a certain amp sound that may exist in my other amps but, if so, I haven't yet been able to get it out of any of them. I'm familiar with Roland's high quality and great gear and then saw a great review of the Blues Cube Hot by Skunk Baxter.-what an endorsement! He sold me. I essentially only play at home but I have neighbors nearby so I bought this amp partially, because of the attenuator.

Just like it was advertised, this amp mimics a tube amp at every volume, and in every way, except for the lighter overall weight. I can sit in front of the television, playing my guitar at the 0.5 watt setting and get great tones and eerily tone-like sensitivity to the touch. All the while still being able to completely hear and understand normal dialogue on the TV.

I'd also like add that myself and two close friends have been ordering gear from Sweetwater for several years. It's been a pleasure working closely with Mark Stein who has just been nothing short of fantastic and helpful at every turn. We've never experienced a hard-sell and have always come away 100% satisfied with each interaction. The Sweetwater team goes all out to provide high quality service. Thanks for everything, Mark!

This amp will be any kind of amp you want it to be ,absolutely love it ,,Brian Vandekeere was great at assisting me ,,thanks Brian thanks Sweetwater.

I have 12 different amps fender orange Marshall. Behringer bugera and done have this bluesy sound

I've been hunting for great tone in an amp I can play at night in my apartment and when I jam with friends.

I finally found it. I've tried many amps. The Vox Valvetronix were nice at volume but sounded like crap at bedroom volume.

The Fender Mustang III has good enough tones but you have to fiddle with so many knobs or hook it up to your computer. In the end I spent more time messing with stuff than playing.

The Blues Cube Hot is pure tone. Plug in, tweak the eq, turn up the reverb, and play. I fell in love with the first note.

No other amp has been this effortless to get great tone at any volume No speaker swaps needed. No magical NOS tubes to hunt down. Just effortless, excellent tone.

I was looking for something simple to use with classic tone that didn't weigh a ton, mostly for home use but capable to play out if I wanted to take it to the local jam.This amp is perfect! Great tone and I love the power attenuation, it's surprising how loud even the half watt setting is. I researched a lot of amps and this seems like it was designed for just what I wanted. Of course Sweetwater made my decision easy with their great customer service. I'm very happy with it.

This amp sounds really Good! I just love the blues sound and this really gives it. When my buddy heard me strike the first few notes on it all he could say was"Wow". I watched alot of reviews on this being compared to a Fender Blues Junior because that was the amp I was going to buy, but what made me decide to jump the fence and buy this was the fact that it had a built in attentuator where you could dial it down from 30w to 1/2 a watt. Also it gave the tube sound without having any tubes! Don't have to worry about the tubes! Love it!!!

Before purchasing this I was lugging my 75 pound AC30 with me everywhere. I love the sound of that Vox amp, but as my band was having more and more practices, it just wasn't very practical to carry it around every week. I looked into getting a smaller 1x12 tube amp, but just couldn't bring myself to pay that kind of money (especially since I already have all the tube power I will ever need in my AC30). I stumbled across this amp, and noticed there were ONLY solid reviews for it. After owning it for a few months, I totally understand why. This thing is LOUD! Often times at practice I will have it on the 5w setting, and the one gig I played with it - only had it on the 15w setting (as the amp was mic'd up into the PA). It takes my gain/distortion pedals SUPER well, it has a beautiful clean setting with LOT's of headroom, and it responds very well dynamically to how hard you're playing. Most of all I love that it's solid state. I sometimes have to remember that it is a solid state because is responds so much like a tube amp. Tube sound without the Tube maintenance and instability.

Whether you're gigging, need an amp for band practice, or need a small amp for quiet at home practice, this thing will deliver! Totally worth the price!

Ive always played clean sound Fender twins or Music man now playing Messa Bogie tried this it weigh is next to nothing and to me its in a class of its own ! One word Stunnig !!!!!!!

This amp has been great for my situation. Our amps are mic'd on stage, so we can't have the amp too loud. The power attenuator allows you to dial a great tone at lower volumes. You can dial in a good clean tones. The drive button gives a pretty good distortion sound too. The reverb is very usable too. When playing leads, a reverb setting at 1 o'clock sounds very lush. I would definitely recommend this amp for worship music.

This amp was everything I'd hoped it would be. I tried several different tube amps and nothing really suited my needs. The power attenuator was the main selling point along with the 12" speaker. Tone at low volume is very full. Very warm tone, still playing with various settings. Reverb is perfect. And this thing can go from a whisper to ear damaging. You can spend lots more if you think it's worth the brag factor...it's not. My last solid state amp was a Danelectro dirty thirty, It worked for 20 years with no maintenance, til the pots got too scratchy. How can you argue with that? Buy this amp!

I can't say enough good things about the quality and tone of this amp. I have played Fender tube amps for most of the last 40 plus years. I was looking for a lighter weight option for taking to gigs and open mic nights. This amp has just blown me away with tone. In my opinion the Blues Cube Hot is a great choice for anyone that loves the tone and warmth of a tube amp but is looking for a well built lightweight amplifier that nails "the sound." The selector that allows you to go from .5 watt to 30 watts is a very nice feature. The amp at 15 or 30 watt selection can easily play over a heavy drummer. It has amazing volume for such a small amp. It is a great value and tone wise is superior to it's closest tube competitor.

The Roland Blues Cube Hot is an amazing sounding amplifier! My experience with tube amps is somewhat sorted - I got tired of their finicky nature. The tubes would go bad, they sound different after about three hours of being on (which is not always bad, but you must adjust your playing), and you have to be super careful when transporting them. Now, here's the thing... tubes sound amazing and that's why I stuck with them..... until now! Enter the Roland Blues Cube Hot!

I bought this amplifier sight unseen, only having heard YouTube clips and various reviews by others who had purchased the product. I figured if I didn't like it I could send it back - thank you Sweetwater! But, my apprehensions were soon laid to rest the day I got the amp. I turned it on and it sang. It sounded great on its own. The breakup was smooth, the overall tone was sultry, and the reverb was excellent. I threw some pedals at it (my board has 20) and they handled very well indeed. Transparent overdrives sound weird to me through a solid state amp, but not the Blues Cube Hot. It's like it was built with this in mind. Other pedals sounded awesome through it as well - compression, various modulations & delays/reverbs.

So, why the Blues Cube Hot? I needed a single channel, clean sounding, amp with warmth. The other Blues Cubes look amazing as well, but they are a bit more expensive and have more features than what I need or want. The Hot is a little brother to those, sounding every bit as good with the same Tube Logic Tech. I play mainly Praise & Worship and ****/gospel, and mic'ed the amp sounded great. It was every bit as warm as it is when playing in my practice room, translating very well with a Sure SM57, as it is in my church's sanctuary. I want to try it live through one of the line outs on the back to test the tone in the church that way as well. I haven't done this yet, but will soon in our next sound check.

Summing up, I am very happy with this purchase! I finally have a GREAT sounding amp with tube attitude, but without the fickle nature of valves. From the onboard control, giving power control from .5 watts up to a whopping 30 watts, to the wonderfully smooth sounding reverb, this amp gives you what most modern solid states don't offer: simplicity and warmth. If you are questioning whether or not this amp is for you, I would suggest giving it a try. You can't go wrong with Sweetwater and their return policy. Test the amp for yourself - like I said before, the Blues Cube Hot is an amazing sounding amplifier!

this Roland Blues Cube Hot is everything you will need for Blues, Rock .....Sweetwater is the best people to buy from...fast delivery and sound advice.. will buy again...

Did not expect a solid state amp to sound this warm and organic. Since receiving the BC Hot, I have not bothered to turn on my 15W Tube 1 x 10. I think the 1 x 12 speaker arrangement works well for me, especially with my Gibsons and PRSs. Most importantly, in the .5 W and 5 W settings, I can achieve great sounds without risking a nasty letter from the condo board. Now, I need a few pedals to round out the sound.

Thanks to my Sales Engineer Matt South for recommending this amp to me over a year ago. I wanted an amp that could take pedals well, cut through over drums and be loud enough to satisfy any small venue..I also wanted something for home recording at low levels without sacrificing quality. This amp checks ALL of those boxes. There is nothing else that comes close. It does require plenty of knob honing to dial in your tone. The reverb is very good. The tone button leaves little to be desired. A foot switch would have been nice. The speaker is good. It hasn't been broken in enough yet, so it might be better than I think. Roland created an impressive clean platform amp that rivals Fender amps at half the cost.

Context, first. I've owned a number of tube amps over the years, e.g., a Fender Bandmaster, Laney VC30, Fender Super Reverb, AMPEG combo, etc., and while I liked the tube tone, I hated the maintenance and weight. Plus, I don't play in a band or out much, so it just didn't make sense to maintain expensive tube amps like the ones I mentioned.

Cue now. I play at home and occasionally jam with other folks. I wanted that Blackface/Tweed-era tube tone without tubes. Was it possible? Internet and YouTube searches pointed me in the direction of various solid state amps not that solid state/analog amps have come a long way in the last decade. I bought a Boss Katana and was woefully unimpressed and ended up returning it. The bass on it had a fart-like warble and the highs were shrill. Aside from the effects and volume attenuation and headphone jack, I just didn't get the hype. I was always aware I was playing a modeling amp and never could lock in a clean tone I liked even after messing with the Boss Tone Studio.

More Internet searching lead me to the Blues Cube Hot. Yes, while Roland and Boss are different arms of the same company, I feel like there two lines of thought (plus, we have to remember the Blues Cube preceded the Katana). With the Katana, you can tell the mindset was, "Get something affordable on the market with lots of effects to try to please lots of people and cut corners on cabinet construction and the speaker." With the Blues Cube, you can tell (as it states it right there in the manual) the mindset was, "We want to replicate a Fender Bassman without tubes and that's it."

And that's exactly what you get. This thing oozes Tweed-era Fender tone. Keep the volume low and it stays super clean. As you start to move up the knob (around 4 to 5), it gets that gentle breakup and the more you push it, the more breakup you get. Bass, mid and treble response feel great and you can even hear that bottom-end sag. I especially like the addition of the tone switch, as it gives a nice top-end sparkle. This is similar to the "Bright" toggle/switch on Vox amps. The reverb is great, too.

The more I play this combo, the more I love it. It really digs the hot MFD pickups in my G&L ASAT. And wow, this sucker is loud! Even on the 0.5 watt setting, it's got a lot of volume. I'm sure at 30 watts it could definitely keep up with a band. Plus, you can either mic it or go directly out to the PA, so I can't imagine volume would be a concern.

This is exactly the amp I've been looking for. No tubes and excellent clean tube-like sounds. It's no frills and that's the way I like it. Set your master, adjust the volume for desired breakup and do a little EQ and you're set. Seriously, I may like this amp more than the Blackface-era Bandmaster and Super Reverb I used to have.

This amp is loud. The piano player I jam with asks me to turn it down at .5 watts and it is at about a "2".
I wanted something that would replicate the sounds I wanted without searching for them. I didn't want an amp that did everything or an amp with tubes. I don't want the weight or the hassle. Even at the lowest setting it is loud and clear (a cool function is that it goes from .5 watts to 5 to 15 to 30.)

I subtracted 1/2 star only because I was hoping for a little more "Growl" from the amp, but since I haven't pushed it yet to peak levels I may be missing something--I don't begrudge all the five star ratings here. I could get a pedal but I play clean most of the time with a bit of reverb anyway.
It sparkles truly. I don't know all the words for what happens but you can get this amp to sound so amazingly rich.

It doesn't do a lot of things, there are few settings other than boost and reverb and one other, but if you don't want to hassle the weight and the tubes, this Roland fills the bill. Set it and forget it. It's no toy, just a really solid piece of equipment. Easily loud enough to gig, even outside I would think.
It is my second Roland, the other being a tiny Cube that I can carry in a shopping bag. At my age, I am done amp shopping. This one is be all end all.

I have a tiny Roland Cube which is fun, but I wanted something bigger my tiny brain could work. I wanted an amp that sounded great without the hassle of tubes. I didn't want it to do everything but mow the lawn. The cleans are awesome so far. Weekly I jam with a guy on piano, and trust me, for indoor jamming without upsetting the neighbors, 0.5 watts is plenty. 15 or 30 it seems would be plenty for a performance. My only knock is after six days I am still looking for a little more grit. I like the sound of the bit of distortion so far, but the real grit perhaps is in there somewhere, awaiting discovery. I haven't been able to turn the volume on the guitar knob past two. I like the color on this, I love the sound. It buzzes a bit, but that seems to vary. The reverb is good. Some folks complain it is a little sterile. I don't see that. For the first time, my Lone Star Strat finally flies. It has two single coils with a humbucker in the bridge that splits. I hated using the two single coils before. I didn't get enough sound out of them. Now I finally hear that Strat chime. Looking for a good fairly light flamethrower of an amp? Don't want to figure out all the settings only to lose them next time? Check this out.

As wonderful as a tube amp can sound, I did not want the hassle or weight of a tube amp. My sales rep Luke Herian recommended the Blues Cube Hot and it is everything that I have been looking for. Great build, very solid, excellent with pedals, the power selector has a perfect range from the .5 watt - still almost loud for home practice - to the ear damaging 30 watts. LOUD! It's compact and relatively lightweight, looks great, sounds full and articulate or down and dirty, and the reverb is lush & natural. The 12" speaker gives me all of the range that I've been looking for with full deep bass and excellent clarity. The noise level is minimal even at 30 watts. This is a great amp.

Did a huge amount of research! Looked at the combo amps an came down to the Roland and Fender Blues Jr. Ended up buying the Roland based on the finicky problems with tube amps. Bought a Demo from Sweetwater and I received it the NEXT DAY! Couldn't believe it was a demo not a scratch on it. The sound was great and warm for blues while "edgy" for rock. sounded great for both! I would definitely recommend this amp to anyone. I'm playing an Epiphone Sheraton Pro ii and is a great pairing!
Thanks Sweetwater!

I bought this amp because I wanted a high quality, light weight solid state amp with a great clean channel. Previously I had a Fender Blues Junior and the tubes went out on me while playing. While the Blues Cube Hot does not quite have the same warmth as the Blue Junior, it does sound very nice. It has depth in its tone and can get very loud. If find that it can be quite trebly sounding, especially if you engage the tone button. Therefore I set the treble low at 3 o'clock, mid at 12 o'clock and bass at 9 o'clock. This provides the warmth I am looking for with just the right amount of high-end (I play American Deluxe Strats: SSS, HSS, HSH). When engaging the boost button, I was surprised how much I like the overdrive sound. Of course I wish I could adjust the overdrive, but again I wanted this amp for the clean sound as I use pedals in front of the amp (which sound great!). One other issue on the overdrive... when the boost button is engaged, the volume is slightly lower with the overdrive tone versus clean. Again, being able to adjust the amount of overdrive and the volume for the overdrive would be nice, but that is why Roland offers the Blues Cube Stage and Artist; both have this control capability. The build quality of the amp is excellent and it is very light weight and portable.

after a couple of days with this amp I was ready to send it back. I couldn't get any useful tones out of it. but, by day 4 I was all in. I discovered that the "boost" button was totally useless. to my ears it made it sound like a cheap beginners amp with a $49 distortion pedal. if you use the volume control as a gain, and the master as your overall volume, you can get some true tube amp sounds. it's perfect for recording. also, don't expect much bottom end.

Had this amp for 1 yr + now and still figuring out new settings. The Bassman tone is totally dependant on your power settings. If your running the boost with low output pups, set your vol and master for your cleanest tone. My amp is a bit dark, so bass and mids at 3, treble at noon at 0.5 power. Take it up to 5 or 15 watts and you can pull master down to noon and keep a tight tone with some sweet bluesy breakup. This amp is totally capable of low gain tube screamer sounds all on its own. My Strats love it! Still best $... you can spend on a very versstile amp.

I was looking for an amp about the size of my Peavey Classic 30, that I could keep around the house and switch on whenever I had a musical idea. No warming up, no hum, no wear and tear on the tubes. Some people would go for a 6" lunchbox amp but these sound like lunchboxes to me.

Enter the Blues Cube Hot. As you would expect from Roland, the clean tones are gorgeous; not quite as rich as tubes but 90% of the way there. The Blues Cube Hot with a 335 guitar is stunning, IMO. The power attenuator is very effective. With a single coil guitar and lower output "vintage" pickups, at the minimum half-watt setting, the Cube is almost too quiet for a bedroom!

The overdrive tones are not bad, but if you want the sound of overdriven tubes at this price you're probably better off getting a tube amp. The Cube works just fine with pedals so that's another option. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased and I think the size, weight and price are right. In fact, I'm thinking of getting a Blues Cube Artist as well but I don't think they should make you pay extra for the tone capsules.

Boss katana 50 watt does the same thing for half the price plus all the cool boss effect comes with it too I've had both amps, kept the kayana

The good: it's loud. It's clean. The variable power selector is awesome for small room application. The reverb is great and has lots of headroom when adjusting a little verb or adding a lot of verb. The bass, middle, and treble controls are very dynamic. In clean mode you can get all the deep warm tone and tube like compression you get from an actual tube amp (so much so that my compressor pedal is now off my board). The amp is light, it will be a joy to carry to any gig. This amp is ultra pedal friendly, takes my overdrive and delay pedals like they've been friends for years.

Conclusion of The Good: great jazz amp, ready for gigging, just plug in and go.

The bad: Using the pre volume and the master volume to achieve breakup is not there for me. There is absolutely no warmth or dynamics when trying to achieve that tube breakup sound. Even with the boost feature all it did for me was sound worse, and noisier. There's no need for the extra tone button either, this amp has so much high end already.

Conclusion of the Bad: if you're getting this amp for its overdrive/breakup ability, look elsewhere. My Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive puts this amps creamy sustain ability to shame.

Final Conclusion: I was looking for an ultra clean jazz/blues amp without a lot of bells and whistles, and it delivers just that. I use pedals and it does that very nicely. This amp works great when being driven by external devices, and when being used just clean. I burned up my old tube amp and wanted to replace it with something similar to the Blues Junior I had (that was just too loud) and was solid state, so no more tube worries or maintenance.this amp reminds me of my old blues junior in tone and volume without the heavy weight and uncontrollable high volume. The price is steep but worth it in the long run. Hoping this is the last amp I have to buy.

Tonally, this is perhaps the best solid state amp ever built. It perfectly mimics a late Fifties Fender Tweed -- and by that I mean it's the only solid state amp I've ever played that accurately mimics tube rectifier 'sag'. The consequence of this is a touch-sensitive string tone that can be dug in or played as lightly as you like. Depending on how you set it up --with boost, without -- it can sound like anything from a Bassman to a cranked (but attenuated) Super Reverb.

So... why two stars? Well, I bought this during the pandemic from Sweetwater and from Canada, even though I was warned by my helpful sales rep the warranty would only be good in the U.S. But... it's a ROLAND, right? They last forever!

Except... they're now built on a factory line in Malaysia, and mine died. Badly.

After taking it to my local Roland repair guru -- thank Goodness I'm in a large city -- I learned it was entirely build faults. The power supply had not been properly soldered to the board, which led to a short, which blew the sound processor chip (these basically have a computer motherboard inside, not a simple PCB), which appears to have been faulty to begin with and therefore couldn't handle the voltage spike, and then the fuse.

The subsequent heat build caused the already-partial power source solder to give, and it died completely. Figuring it out and getting it fixed, without warranty coverage, cost $. I know I took that risk, but I did it on Roland's traditional rp. But like every international corporation, it appears their quality can no longer be implicity trusted. Do not make the mistake I did of getting one of these without warranty.

Brilliant amp, hopefully I'll now love it for life. But the extra $ it has cost me does not make me inclined to trust Roland with future purchase. Malaysian factory line? They might be a little under-compensated, or over-tasked, but this wasn't good enough.