Roland MOBILE Cube AC 5-watt 2x4" Acoustic Combo Amp Reviews

I've been using this amp for my solo act for years in restaurants. I plug my Telecaster with Ibanez tube screamer and Shure Beta 57 for vocals into a Boss VE-8 and from that into the guitar input of the Mobile AC. The VE-8 acts as a preamp and therefore the sound is loud and clear. Believe me, it's loud and clear even without the preamp! My entire rig fits in a small Husky tool bag.

So far I'm very impressed with the product. And I am excited to learn more about how to use of it. Very convenient. Appreciate the fact that I don't have lots of cords to deal with.

OMG! This amp is an incredible value. Hard to believe such a small package could make such a rich and robust sound. Roland's signature chorus is excellent, as is the reverb, the highs are smooth and the bottom is tight. My electric sounds great through it. Honestly, I would not hesitate to use this amp in the studio by micing it, since a mic doesn't really know how big the cabinet, and it's a great way to get that moving air sound.

Surprising volume and toke very good reverb effect for such a small amp.

Perfect little practice amp or will work for a tiny gig. Onboard chorus sounds great and there's amazing Bass for 2 inch speakers. Batteries don't last long at a high volume but it's still Cooks.

I AM REALLY IMPRESSED BY THIS AMP. ITS
SMALL SIZE BUT BUILT VERY STURDY. IT SOUNDS GREAT WITH MY GUITAR. VOCALS
ARE GOOD ENOUGH. IMPUT FOR BACKUPS,
OR SOUND FROM PHONES IS GREAT. MOST REVIEWS DONT HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT THE SYNTHS LIKE ROLAND DS WHICH CAN BE BATTERY POWERED. MY. POINT IS I WAS
REALLY SURPRISED WHEN I PLUGGED MY
FA 6 ROLAND IN TO GUITAR INPUT. I EXPECTED DISTORTION, BUT WHAT I HEARD
WAS CLEAN AND NATURAL. ITS LOUD ENOUGH TO BE HEARD FOR SMALL GROUPS.
IF YOU DONT LIKE THE VOCALS YOU COULD USE A CLEAN EQ PEDAL, OR SMALL VOCAL
PEDAL TO PLUG MIC INTO.

Over the years I"ve owned numerous Roland products & have loved them all. This one is no exception! Considering it"s size & power it exceeded my expections. Clear sound with surprising volume. This will be very handy in the small venues. Buy with confidence!
Thanks to Sweetwater for all the incredible service!

I have a couple of battery powered amps but this sets a new level. The sound of your guitar comes through clear while retaining the full sound of the instrument. It works great with a mic and guitar plugged in together as well. I was surprised to find how much I like the sound of an electric guitar through it. This isn't a 'wall of sound' but it can be used for smaller acoustic gatherings where you need a little more volume, it's perfect for that and practice. I have a parlor guitar that isn't good for bashing and this really lets it shine through when playing ensemble. Really great Hi-Fi sound in a small package at a GREAT price. Yep I'd replace it in a heartbeat if somehow lost.

I've had this about 3 weeks and I just want to play with it all the time. It's friggin' awesome. Let's be frank - it's not a Marshall stack or a Twin but it makes my Taylor sing. The classic Roland chorus, adjustable reverb . . . I have been setting the volume a tad more than my unamplified sound. SWEET! I have "cranked" it a few times - sounds good. Not overly impressed with the microphone however I am using a high impedence Shure that is over 40 yrs old. I usually play about 2 hrs/day; now I have to make myself stop. For just sitting around and playing guitar I can't say enough good things about how wonderful this sounds. I've been using batteries but also got the AC adapter.

I wanted a small amp that I could take anywhere with me that I could use batteries with but also had the option of a power cord. I wanted a rich sound not a cheap tin box sound. I talked with my Sweetwater Rep Devin Cunningham & he recommended the Roland Mobile AC amp. It is only 5 watts but it definitely sounds like more than that. It has reverb, jacks for your mic, guitar and a cd trainer or other device of your choosing. This amp is small and weighs under 6 pounds so I can conveniently take it outside to practice and on trips. You will not be disappointed in this amp if you are looking for a small amp with a great (huge) sound.

Really a nice little unit! Plenty of power for mild amplification to acoustic sound. Battery life seems good but I ordered the AC adaptor anyway.

For the small size and price range this amp far exceeded my expectations.

I use my Mobile AC Acoustic Combo Amp as a monitor to enable my soft voice and acoustic guitar to be heard in a group of mostly electric instrument players. It seems to help them remember to back-off excessive amplified noise.

I've had this for about 2yrs, and have found it to be a fun lil porch amp for playing outside. Love the battery aspect of it as you don't need an electrical outlet, freeing you up to use it anywhere. It sounds very good when I plug my Fender Stratocaster into it. When I plug my Breedlove Companion (small) guitar it also sounds good and is very usable. It is not very loud, so when I plug my Taylor American Dream guitar into it it drowns out the sound of the amp. Great amp overall for how I use it.

Yes , i love this product . The sound is great with my Acoustic-E Guitar.
And i use this for my Electric Guitar too.
Just one thing that i recommend with sound on Bass or Low sound is very heavy, So you have to control your hand (how to play) .
I mean we have to play low sound gently .

support to play in door and out door , And i say yes with this price it's Worth !
Highly recommend.

I don't actually play guitar, I'm a singer and was interested in a portable amp that could play backing tracks from a device (like iPad) without extra equipment or fiddling around. This amp works great! I can put reverb on my voice but it leaves the backing track unaffected. You can also use the "wide" feature to give your music a stereo distribution, which is very nice when I'm just playing the backing track during practice. I took off half a star because there isn't much bass produced by this unit (even using the power adapter plug). And I also had to buy a new mic cable with a 1/4" jack to plug in my mic (or get XLR to 1/4 adapter). Other than that, the sound is very good, clear and undistorted at medium volume levels. Being able to adjust the volume of each input with a knob on top was a huge selling point for me, so you don't have to grope for your device every time you need to tweak the aux volume. I'm very satisfied with this purchase, it's lots of fun to use when I'm rehearsing and so much better than the tiny speaker I had plugged into my iPad before (that was the same price as this unit!). Plus I think I'll be able to use it to perform in small rooms without lugging my full size monitor.

Even though it is only 5 amps, this little box is sufficiently powerful to work a small room. Small and easy peasy to transport. Easy to use, like that I can plug in my iPad and play along with Eric Clapton's San Francisco Bay Blues! Use it for our Uke group of 50 people. Didn't realize how much I would like the battery option. Controls are simple but effective.

The Roland Mobile AC is a nice, well built, usable little amp.
A solid little product. As a guitar amp, it sounds just okay dry, if a little "boxy". Add the chorus and reverb effects and it gets pretty nice. Some say the chorus is too much. I love it. Reverb is nice as well. The wide effect is a bit quieter and as it should be, wider. It's loud enough to "enhance" a performance. Small rooms, intimate settings will approve.
Playing back music from a computer or pad also sounds great. It'll get a lot of use!

A great little system, has great sound and volume with clarity and to boot in stereo. Only problem I cam see is you do not know when the batteries will go bad, there is no metering device for the battery. Could be a little bit of a stickler during am outdoor gig.
Overall, for the sake price, well worth it and would recommend hands down.

I am plugging a 5-string electric violin into the Roland Mobile AC. Using it on the beach or campsite. This amp can even work a little louder than needed. Nice. Another fine little Roland Amp!

Remember: the Mobile Cube AC is not the same unit as the Micro Cube or the Cube Street...

The Roland Mobile Cube AC (MCAC) just arrived, and I spent a short while comparing it with my Mobile Cube (MC) (how complicated can it be?). Guitar is nylon string Takamine TC132SC.... CT2 preamp, etc....

Impressions: the sound is quite acceptable; not as rich or detailed as its bigger brothers, but quite useable. Reverb and chorus are fine (the reverb at its max setting is even a little "over the top", and should satisfy any surf freak....

The interesting part came when I compared it to the Mobile Cube....

The MC (Mobile Cube) had a bit of noise even with everything unplugged, effects off or at minimum. The MCAC was silent as far as I could tell....

1. First I checked out the audio in. The MC seemed to boost the mids substantially by comparison (and then cut them substantially with center cancel turned on). The MCAC sounded much more natural, and much better for the percussive backing tracks I use.

2. Guitar In - I only compared the MCAC with the Acoustic setting on the MC. For my Takamine, the sound was a bit "ringy" through the MCAC (even with chorus and reverb off), but sounded much more natural than the MC, which emphasized the mids as mentioned above. (Initially that was acceptable to me when I first got it, because I was trying to get rid of the bass from the SBT I was using...) There is a very slightly discernable piezo "quack" that is unnoticeable in my bigger amps (AC-33, SA-220, A-Ref) except a very loud volumes (which I seldom use); of course that may be an unfair comparison, since a low volume for the bigger amps may correspond to a loud volume for the MCAC).

3. I particularly like the volume adjustment for the backing track (audio in) on the unit itself, so I don't have to fumble for the mp3 player....

I'm not sure it would be loud enough (without distortion or quack) for busking, but if you just need an enhancement of your basic sound, rather than full on projection to a crowd, I think it would be quite sufficient (i.e., might work in a subway, or coffeehouse if the crowd wasn't too big or noisy) For practice, it is great.

I didn't check the mic, because I don't sing that much anymore, unless it is Flamenco (because the crowd is going to dissipate pretty fast if I do....:-). But I would imagine a difference, since the audio in's were so different.....

This amp is a great addition to Roland's line, with a great form factor for its intended use. I play a Takamine TC132SC nylon string, and while the sound is not as rich as the AC-33, it is still quite acceptable. Backing tracks sound fine, and I like the fact that the volume is adjustable from the top, instead of having to fumble with the mp3 player

The chorus and reverb are good. The quality of sound is much better than the Cube Street for my application. And it does sound better than the Mobile Cube on the acoustic setting (although the latter is no slouch either).

Although it doesn't have the richness and detail of my Fishman SA-220 or LR Baggs A-Ref, it is quite useable, and fits perfectly in the sportpack on my motorcycle (I use a BR-80 for backing tracks)..

For me, it is a keeper.....

The amp sounds amazing with a thinline Ibanez classical. I would make sure your guitar has at least bass and treble tone knobs, because the one on the amp has limited versatility.

However I don't much like the sound of steel string guitars through it (Martin with Fishman Sonitone, Yamaha with atmosfeel). First of all, a large guitar like a dreadnought or grand auditorium is basically as loud as the amp maxed out. A jumbo is probably louder. It starts to break up at the same volumes as the classical with the heavier attack of steel string, and like I said it's difficult to tone it down with the knobs. Even if you only play fingerstyle, I would not recommend it for steel string acoustics.

Cuts out without warning. Sounds fine when it works but randomly just cuts out and slowly comes back to volume. Got this for headphone practice but its cutting out makes it not worth it at all.