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Just got one of these older 1980s Roland Cube 60 chorus amps after reading some things about them on this forum and watching this youtube video...
I saw it pop up on Craigslist for $100 so I jumped at it.
Initially I was really happy with the amp and the tone I was getting. But for some reason after putting it on the table next to my desk where my old amp sat I started feeling the amp was getting a much brighter tone than I was after even with the settings in the picture.
The volume knob thing is just the most recent thing I tried. Maybe I'm just being really picky or something. It was only $100
Maybe my gear acquisition syndrome got the best of me or some property of the room, I don't know. Maybe the amp just sounds better on the ground or something? lol
I've read that some people replace the speakers in these, anybody who owns one want to chime in?
Thanks!
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04-25-2018 11:02 PM
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The "pull bright" knob isn't pulled, is it?
And yes, amps sound different on the floor than they do when elevated on a table or chair. Bass is reduced which makes the amp sound brighter. Putting it back on the floor would be a cheap modification.
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Nope pull bright isn't pulled.
Yeah I guess I'll just put it back on the ground. I was trying to be considerate to the neighbors.. lol
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I played with a bassist who used the same 80's vintage cube bass amp, and if you took it off the floor, it lost all it's bottom end.
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These are really good amps.
Some amps do sound better elevated, others not so.
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Where the amp is physically definitely makes a difference.
For a few years, I used an empty solid-wood cabinet as an amp stand. Reduced the bass in a 2x12 100w running hot, and gave midrange resonance to my ears. I'll be building an amp-stand for my current rig soon, in order to brighten it a little ... and kill some time having a little power-tool fun.
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Update: The amp is back on the ground and sounds pretty damn good again. lol
Still curious if anybody has one of these and has swapped the speaker. Specifically with a cannabis rex. I've read that some people do that replacement but have never heard a sound clip. Also the cannabis rex is a 50w speaker and the cube is a 60w amp.
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Swapping out the speaker will make a difference. The original Roland 60 speaker has an aluminum dome dust cover, contributing to its high end. Plus, like most combo amps, they are very omni-directional, or beamy. If you stand to either side of the amp, the tone seems to change.
If you're considering a Cannabis Rex, its a very efficient speaker, so it could work.
Since yours sounds great on the floor, try tilting it back a bit. I do that with my Cube 80GX and it smooths out some of the highs. That's cheaper than a new speaker.
Enjoy your amp!
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You got a great buy there.
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It's so interesting that the tone of the amp can be affected so much by location.
Yeah the only thing I'm worried about with the cannabis rex is that it's rated for less power than the amp puts out. 50w vs 60w.
And apparently the amp is more shallow than is typical for this size speaker so some 12in speakers may not fit.
I might find a used one on eBay or something with a return policy and see if it sounds good.
But it would be nice to hear from somebody who has done the same or a similar speaker change with this amp.
I do like a dark amp sound. Like Jim Hall on his 1975 Live! album.
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If ya wanna make that thing ultra-light, try a Lil Texas neo. More than powerful enough, and a loud 101 efficiency. Just a hair over 4 lbs weight and 5" deep.
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Lighter is always better! But I don't mind sacrificing a little weight as long as it sounds good.
The lil Texas seems to be advertising it's top end and Fender-ness? I like a really dark tone.
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So in general, is a quality amp like this from Roland, being 30years old, going to have a louder “noise floor” than what one would experience with a current Roland amp?
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I’ve got the orange cube 60 version. Super crispy when you want- I like my jazz sound to have a little snap and sparkle and not too dark. I’m a single coil guy 100%- telecaster and Godin 5th sound awesome through my orange cube. I’m not much of a tweaker so it has the original speaker- only mod was I asked Japan psych rocker kawabata makoto to sign it after he played through it at a local show.
i love the amp. Bullet proof. I paid less than $200 and have played bass, electronics, voice and guitar through it with no issues.
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Amp placement makes a huge difference in perceived output. Some people like to affix a cardboard circle to the grille cloth over the dust cap to cut back on beamy highs. For a hundred bucks you've got a classic workhorse amp at a heckuva deal! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Don't swap the speaker. In that amp the speaker is a big part of the mojo.
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Also, IIRC, in that amp you need a speaker that is really shallow, yet can take a power rating of 60 watts. The factory speaker can, but a replacement speaker fitting these specs will be difficult to find.
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I was thinking of maybe putting an Eminence Beta 12A in it. I guess that's what they put in those Henriksen amps. And supposedly can get a really dark tone.
I can always swap it back if I don't like it I guess. Lorne Lofsky and Vic Juris have supposedly swapped the speakers in theirs and still like them enough to use them.
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I bought my orange cube-60 in the mid-80s, and used it on thousands of gigs until it became undependable, and my tech moved to Florida. IMHO, it's a BIG mistake to put it on the floor. It's so small and omni-directional that you have no way of telling how loud it is on a gig. I'll never forget the time Ralph Lalama went right up to my ear and yelled, "You sound good, but LOWER YOUR FECKING AMP!!!!!!! You have to elevate it AND tilt it some way. If there are no chairs on a gig, you're fecked.
That great original speaker dried up and cracked, so my tech put in a low weight Weber speaker in there. I went from having an Ed Bickert (esp. thru my Hondo Strat copy) sound to a Kenny Burrell D'A sound, overnight.
The only times it needed to be repaired was when I was using it so much that the board became separated from the chassis from yanking it around so much, and had to be glued back on.
Someday, if i find another tech who knows it really well, I'll take it out of retirement, so it can rejoin my seven other amps in rotation.
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I really like the old Roland Cubes. I had two Cube 60’s in the past (an orange one and a cream one) but I foolishly let them go. I still have an orange 40 which is very nice, but not quite as big sounding as the 60. After some searching, I just found an orange 60 again but there seems to be a problem with the reverb. When you turn up the reverb control and tap the amp, it makes the typical crash of a functional reverb, but there is no reverb added to the guitar signal. Footswitch doesn’t solve the problem. I looked inside and can’t see any broken wires or any obvious problem. Since I know the reverb is functional, this must be a simple fix. Any input from the experts here would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want to just use a pedal, because the spring reverb is one of the things I really like about these amps.
I have another question as well...I have to plug into a house PA system at one of the restaurants that I play in. The amp has a “pre out” and a “main in” on the back. I assume those are for adding effects, but I am wondering if can I use the pre-out to connect to a pa?
Thanks,
Keith
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IIRC, both Ed Bickert and Jimmy Raney put their Roland Orange Cube 60 amps on chairs.
You might want to listen to some Ed Bickert and Jimmy Raney YouTube videos from the era when each was using the small, orange Roland amps to judge how dark they sound.
I really like the Roland, but judge that they aren't as inherently dark as, say, the comparably-sized Polytone Mini-Brute amp. (Jim Hall used these.)
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Here's Raney on a 60 watt Cube:
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I agree. I have Roland Cubes and Polytones that are the same size, and the Polytones are definitely darker.
Originally Posted by Greentone
Keith
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I actually watched this video from the same guy in my original post before buying the Roland which compares it with a Mini Brute
While the Polytone is a bit darker, I don't think it's significantly darker than the Roland. The Roland just has a bit more attack to my ear. I think this could be modified by changing the speaker to something without an aluminum dustcap.
But yeah, taking it off the ground does make it sound really middy and punchy. If that's what you're after.
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Any Polytone can be made to sound much brighter than you’d ever want, you just have to turn the knobs. I don’t know if they all have a dark,medium, brite switch like my MB 1, but if you want a Les Paul to sound like a tele bridge pup into blackface DR, the Polytone can do it.
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