I purchased a Blues Cube Hot (partly because of your videos) and I absolutely love it - I use it with a myriad of pedals: compression, drives, modulation, delay, reverbs - and it handles them all VERY well. Thanks for posting this great vid.
Roland has a knack for making almost all of their amps very good platforms for any kind of pedal! I use the Stage model with my helix floor and it's nothing short of amazing!
I'm surprised given this is a solid state amp (no tubes at all is my understanding) how well it sounds with overdrive type pedals....given the so called 'common thinking' is that overdrives and the like won't sound good at all with a SS amp as there no tubes to 'over-drive' as it were. But this really sounds fantastic.
Your reviews are top notch Sir. +Brett Kingman. What I'm really fancying now is a comparison of this hot little awesome amp to its newest release the "british modified EL84"... So... please? :-)
I thank you for your kind comment and would love to assist, however I'm not the first call for Roland around these parts. That title is reserved for my friend, James Ryan, who would probably be pleased (and able) to grant your request. Cheers.
Thanks for your reply bret - this is Roland's loss. ... James Ryan, of course I've watched him... So freaking irreverent mate. haha I like that, but I still like more your reviews. cheers
I think I'd need to be in the room really but ......... I listened back to the 'Ghoul Screamer' demo/review you posted recently and to my ears that sounded the way I'd expect a classic TS pedal into a vintage-style Fender to sound - in your face but still a little soft and forgiving around the edges. The Roland, on the other hand, seems to have a much harder edge to it whereby every little pop, squeak and scratch jumps out of the speaker. So to me the Roland still has many of the characteristics of a classic solid-state amp even if it sounds more 'valve-like' than most. Caveat: I appreciate I'm not quite comparing like with like and in different circumstances might well be blown away by the Roland's tones. In a band setting, live or in the studio, it may well sound fantastic and could be just what a lot of players need. Nice set of demos Burgs, as ever you manage that neat trick of being both engaging and informative.
It's not stated but I'd guess almost all of what you hear and cite as an amp sound is that SM57 (type?) mic fairly square center, smack against the cloth. There's nothing characteristically SS about this amp (IMO/IME). It's terrific in a band situation, and takes pedals far better than a Blues Junior I had the chance to play against recently (as well as one I tried to like for a year).
