Roland Mobile Cube - Best purchase I've made all year

**MarkRhodes** · 10-21-2018, 10:26 PM

Got this two weeks ago but just unpacked it tonight.

Christened it with a bit of Herb Ellis. (This is from his "Two Shapes Blues," which he played in G; I play it in Bb here.)

Low volume, clean tone, not much delay, and I'm happy with the way it sounds. This will be fun to get to know better.

**blackcat** · 10-22-2018, 03:49 AM

Thanks to everyone. Really tempted. Battery-power useful and dimensions ideal.
David

**christianm77** · 10-22-2018, 03:58 AM

I like the slap back. Is that an Ibanez AF85? I have the exact same guitar (now with Gibson pickups)

**MarkRhodes** · 10-22-2018, 10:29 AM

Yes it is! I bought it from Musician's Friend back in 2002 or 2003. Think I paid $300 for it and a case. Worth it.
I have big hands and wish I had a deeper cutaway, but the guitar has been a boon companion for a long time now.

Only quibble is that the jack gets loose and the sound cuts out sometimes. Had the jack replaced. May have to do that again. (Irony is that I almost never plug it in, so it's not like the jack gets a lot of use and / or abuse.)

As for slapback, it's my favorite thing about rockabilly guitar. (Which I like.) Might have to play more of it now! ;o)

**blackcat** · 10-23-2018, 08:35 AM

Managed to find the clip below. In user's experience, is this sort of sound achievable with the amp?

**John A.** · 10-23-2018, 09:36 AM

Yes. Sounds like the "British Combo" setting to me.

John

**bonnerj** · 10-23-2018, 12:07 PM

According to the video description, it's the JC clean setting (translated using Google translate):

"In the first half we normally connect directly to the INPUT with the amp directly, from 2: 00 to the AUX on the back via the ZOOM MS - 50G. The first half uses the channel of JC CLEAN, GAIN, TONE is about 12 o'clock and Reverb is running. This sound is also pretty good, but since BASS feels a little heavy, I usually practice by connecting to AUX via the effecter like the second half. The effector side uses only Reverb and Delay, and the preamp is in the none state, but unexpectedly it becomes a tone oriented to jazz. Use guitar: Ibanez PM2-AA"

**John A.** · 10-23-2018, 12:20 PM

OK, so it's the JC model + an external reverb and delay. But it still sounds like a MicroCube, so I stand by what I said that the sound is consistent with other users' experience.

John

**bonnerj** · 10-23-2018, 04:04 PM

John, sorry, I didn't mean to sound dismissive. I agree it sounds like a Micro Cube. I generally use the JC Clean setting, but I played around with the Brit combo today, and it's a good setting, too.

Interesting, though, that the YouTube guy finds the bass heavy on the JC Clean (if the translation is accurate).

Joe

**John A.** · 10-23-2018, 04:58 PM

No worries. My own comment came off as testier than I meant it to. Maybe by "heavy" he meant that the bass was distorted or strange sounding? It took me a few reads of that paragraph to figure out how he was connecting stuff, and I'm guessing he's not a native English speaker so he might mean heavy in some non-obvious sense. The MicroCube has some pretty extreme compression going on with the JC and BF models, and low notes sound artificial (especially the BF). I think that's the one bit of wisdom people should consider with the MicroCube -- the clean models stay clean by compressing the signal so much that it can't overdrive the analog pre-amp and amp components of the amp. The ones that are allowed to distort (Brit Clean and the Dual Rectumfryer models), paradoxically have more usable volume and a much more natural sound because they're not trying so hard to keep it clean. At least that's my theory.

John

**jaco** · 10-23-2018, 05:13 PM

I've got a slighter bigger model but only use it for practice. Love it,,,good tone, some effects but I just use a slight reverb, the price was the deal maker.

**Jonah** · 11-24-2018, 07:34 AM

Hi,

I just got used Micro Cube (old one - not GX)... on clean sound I try to figue out how tomake middle and bass less 'boommy' over trebles...

It is not noticeable in lines but clearly heard in chords.

It has only one tone control, if add highs it is better but it makes treble too bright to my taste...
I tried to mix with guitar's tone conrols and gain/volume.. but could not find solution so far...

It is not critical of course - especially at very low volume.

It happens with another guitar too - with singles as with humbackers - just the level and colour of it is a bit different..

**John A.** · 11-24-2018, 01:17 PM

Which models have your tried, at what gain and volume settings? I find the Brit Combo to be the most usable sound. I usually have the tone knob set at around 9 o'clock, and turn up the gain up just enough to get a little compression and warmth, but not enough to noticeably overdrive/distort. I've never found sound that amp to be boomy or bottom heavy (quite the opposite, actually). But no matter how you set it, it's not as big, balanced and complex a sound as you'll get from a bigger combo. Small speaker, small cube shaped closed-back cabinet, it is what it is.

John

**Jonah** · 11-24-2018, 03:58 PM

mostlly I tried JC CLEAN

'Boomy' is not quite correct word - I meant that whhen you play chords these basses and especially middle notes make a bit messy resonant sound... to my ear it should be a bit drier and more articulated.. have more clarity in voicing.
And with jc clean the trebles sound weaker...
And if the chord tones are especially resonant it goes crazy...
like in xx5555 you hear g and c over everything and they sound like one tone.

But this Brit thing you offered made more balanced. Thanks

Now i tried the Brit as you suggested - the tone is different but it seems really more balanced...

Thanks

**jazzbow** · 11-24-2018, 04:18 PM

Micro Cube can be modded. 1/4" shunt Jack input and lineout into a 4 ohm cabinet.
I have a 2x10 cab and the micro cube sounds 'way huuge' through it.

The open back cab I made works as a stool, the cube sits on a table so I can tweak the sound.

One day I'll post up a clip

**Gitfiddler** · 11-24-2018, 05:06 PM

You might consider getting an EQ pedal to help expand the low/mid/high frequencies.

**Bflat233** · 03-07-2019, 02:40 AM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Got this two weeks ago but just unpacked it tonight.

Christened it with a bit of Herb Ellis. (This is from his "Two Shapes Blues," which he played in G; I play it in Bb here.)

Low volume, clean tone, not much delay, and I'm happy with the way it sounds. This will be fun to get to know better.

OK - you've had it for about six months now - what is your take? Have you tried it in a jazz combo setting? Do you think it would produce a warm tone and cut through drums, bass, piano, horns, etc.?

Thanks!

**christianm77** · 03-07-2019, 12:37 PM

I don't think it would be enough with drums tbh. Maybe light percussion.

**MarkRhodes** · 03-07-2019, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by 3rdwaverider

OK - you've had it for about six months now - what is your take? Have you tried it in a jazz combo setting? Do you think it would produce a warm tone and cut through drums, bass, piano, horns, etc.?

Take Christian's word here. I have yet to play it outside my room. I like it but can't speak to how it would work with a band.

**Bflat233** · 03-08-2019, 12:14 AM

Thanks guys - I was hoping for a better report.

I'm heading to a jazz workshop this summer and I was thinking about getting a super light, super portable amp that can produce a good tone and project. There will be drums, piano, horns, bass. Sounds like I'm describing my Quilter MicroPro 8, but I don't want to risk bringing it into a setting where I can't watch it all the time ... I also have a Cube 60 but it's pretty heavy ...

The floor is open for ideas ...

**christianm77** · 03-09-2019, 07:36 PM

Nah the amp is great, but there's only so much that tiny speaker can do.

There's that funny tiny French amp that Pasquale uses, not expensive - anyone remember what it's called?