[jazz_guitar] Review: Roland Blues Cube Artist: It's a Winner! (at least for me)
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Chris Smart csmart8@cogeco.ca [jazz_guitar]
Hi folks.
Awhile ago, I stirred it up on Facebook amongst my audio and guitar
friends by announcing I was quite possibly saying goodbye to my
beloved tube amps. Well, I did just that! I've spent 20 years
playing through various tube-based guitar amps, and at least ten
years with the centerpiece of my stereo being a nice little 2-watt
class A single-ended triode tube amp. Along the way,I havve tried
two modelling amps, and gone quickly back to the genuine article,
because, for me at least, the technology in the modelling amps did
not match the marketing hype at the time.
Fast-forward, and my main amp is now a Roland Blues Cube Artist,
1x12" combo. Wait... What?? Have all those metal shows ruined your
hearing Chris?
My tone search thus far, is peppered with experiences like the
following. Perhaps you can relate. First, I read about some new amp,
tube or otherwise, that has all the features I want. Second, I
listen to innumerable sound clips and Youtube demos, and get very
excited. Finally, I get to a store that stocks the particular amp, I
plug in, and I'm immediately disappointed. Sometimes it doesn't
sound like the demos I have heard, but usually, it doesn't feel good
somehow, in a way I can't put my finger on. Mesa/Boogie amps are
especially like this with me - I love how everybody sounds through
them, and have even owned a couple in the past, but have never felt
connected to them properly when I'm the one plugged in. It's weird!
There is some sort of tactile feedback I want to experience that for
me at least, is not there with so many amps.
About a year ago, I was initially very skeptical when I started
hearing about the rebirth of Roland's Blues Cube line. Granted, I
almost bought an original blues cube back in the 1990's, so I did
expect good things. I remember the original Blues Cube as a sleeper,
meaning an amp that most people ignored, but that sounded
surprisingly warm, responsive, and harmonically-rich. However, if
the new Blues Cubes contained COSM modelling as in the other Roland
cube line, that would turn me off almost immediately, before even
trying one. I have an older 30-watt cube I use for teaching, but I
sure wouldn't gig or record with it.
No, the Blues Cube appears to be an interesting amalgam of both
solidstate technology and DSP modelling, that Roland are keeping
tight-lipped about. They do say that this is not COSM modelling
though. All we know is, they have done their best to emulate, through
whatever combination of analog solidstate and DSP trickery, the
venerable Fender Bassman circuit, which was also the catalyst for
early Marshall designs.
There are four amps in the new Blues Cube range so far, two of which
do not meet my needs. First, the Blues Cube Hot is similar perhaps
to the Fender Blues Junior. To me, it's too small, does not have
some features I want such as an effects loop, and sounds smaller and
brighter as well. I do wonder what harmonica players will think of
it though. It might be just the thing if you play in a blues band and
always put your pedals in front of the amp.
The Blues Cube Stage is a small 1x12" combo with a maximum power
output of 60 watts. This was the only version of the new Blues Cube
I could find locally to try out, once the various online demos got me
suitably excited. To me, the feel is awesome. It's very
touch-sensitive. However, I found it sounded boxy, probably due to
the smaller cabinet size. Also, there is no effects loop here.
Again, it's simple, and if you only run a couple pedals in front with
not too much gain on tap, this may be just what you're after.
The Stage was impressive enough for me to order a Blues Cube Artist
1x12" from a ubiquitous Large and Musical online retailer in Canada,
along with the GA-FC footswitch for it. After some delays, it looked
like I would be waiting almost two months, so I canceled one order,
and found another shop with the amp in stock who were willing to
match the price and ship it out ASAP. Thank you goes to Cosmo Music
in Richmond Hill Ontario Canada.
The Blues Cube Artist comes in two flavors, 1x12" and 2x12"
combos. The specs are the same. Personally, being a small guy who
doesn't exercise enough, the 1x12" was big enough for me, being just
a little bigger than the Blues Cube Stage. It's well under 40 pounds
and feels lighter than you'd expect, given its size. Both BC-Artists
can output 0.5, 15, 45 and 80 watts, and both have an effects loop.
There is some power amp modelling going on under the hood, so the
power scaling is not just a gimmick. Put it down to 0.5 watts and
turn the master up all the way, and experience lots of spongy tactile
response. The 80-watt setting, through it's open-back cabinet,
should be loud enough for most band situations. Each power setting
selects among discrete power amps inside the chassis, so this is not
just one 80-watt power section throttled back. It sounds identical at
the various wattage ratings on the rotary switch. That's nice, given
how many tube amps lose their balls when scaled back.
What does it sound and feel like? Well, it sounds and feels like an
old Fender amp. No really! go try one! Descriptions like this are
not that useful, but I'd say it's creamy, musical, and warm. Best
though, it feels great!
Caveats:
There are two inputs on the front pannel, high for running your
guitar straight in, and low which is better suited for pedals. If
you plug your guitar straight into the lower output, you may notice a
lot of the magic has gone. Put some pedals in line, and things are
great again. If you're plugging straight in, don't bother with the lower input.
There is a real lack of clean channel headroom running straight into
the higher input. Jazzers will want to keep the gain for this
channel extremely low. You will not find JC (jazz chorus) type
"brittle" cleans here. You are almost guaranteed to get a little
hair on your tone.
Last but not least, the reverb on board sounds like a plate type,
with considerable pre-delay. It's lush and lovely and does not get
in the way, but it's not a nice metallic sprrrrring type reverb, if
that's what you're after.
I haven't yet tried the headphone and line out jacks. Nor have I
tried the USB jack straight to my computer. Yes, there is a USB jack
on this very retro Roland cube amp - go figure. As far as I know,
this is strictly for audio, not for software upgrades.
The Blues Cube Tour is a head-only version of this amp, with a
maximum power output of 100 watts and two effects loops. I have not
tried this model. I've heard that Oz Noy is using one - can anybody
confirm or deny this?
One last thing: Roland have included a means, albeit an expensive
one, of revoicing the Blues Cubes, in the form of a plug-in module
they are calling the "Tone Capsule". I can only guess that this is
some sort of ROM chip containing different software for whatever
parts of these amps are controlled by DSP.
Buy the Eric Johnson capsule, and you get, by all accounts, a glassy
clean channel, and a crunch channel that sounds like a Marshall under
a pile of thick, fuzzy blankets. Personally, although I love Eric's
playing, I don't like a fuzz in front of a Marshall. But, I can't
imagine a more picky tone hound as him. Am I gullible, or should I
assume he would not put his name to anything that he didn't think was decent?
Robben Ford, another tone monster, has also lent his name to a Tone
Capsule. Will it turn the Blues Cube into a Dumble? I doubt it, but
again, the fact that Roland were able to get him on board is
intriguing. the RF capsule is not yet available in stores.
Last but not least, the Ultimate Blues Tone Capsule, designed with
input from Kirk Fletcher, is Roland's attempt at reconfiguring the
Blues Cube to sound like a Fender Super Reverb. I have one of these
on order, mostly because it promises more clean headroom on the clean
channel. That will, at the very least, make my new amp more
flexible, especially for jazz.
Well, I hope someone found this interesting enough to go plug into a
Blues Cube somewhere. Turn the thing up, and try to forget that
there are no glowing but tempramental glass bottles inside.
Chris
----------------------------------------
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and
cats." - Albert Schweitzer
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Tom Samarati samarati@yahoo.com [jazz_guitar]
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From: "Chris Smart csm...@cogeco.ca [jazz_guitar]" <jazz_...@yahoogroups.com>
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
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Sent: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 9:13 PM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Review: Roland Blues Cube Artist: It's a Winner! (at least for me)
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John Ellard johnellard1@yahoo.com [jazz_guitar]
Thanks for this lengthy, informative review, Chris.
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peter.crist@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
I'm not gear-savvy at all and after several decades in hiding I am starting to play open-mics in order to walk before I run (solo-only so far). Open mics are not an issue but once I need to carry an amp to a gig the issue is I have a 45 year old Fender Vibrolux Reverb 50 pounder that is a back killer for me just to get it on and off a cart. Something like this Roland or a Fender Mustang III, which I think is 36 pounds and about the same price, has some appeal. Would I be crazy to sell my old Fender or maybe that's a separate question. Why is Roland better than a Mustang. Any other ideas?
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Tom Samarati samarati@yahoo.com [jazz_guitar]
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From: "peter...@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]" <jazz_...@yahoogroups.com>
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2016 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: [jazz_guitar] Review: Roland Blues Cube Artist: It's a Winner! (at least for me)
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'J. Vega' JVegaTrio@aol.com [jazz_guitar]
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peter.crist@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
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peter.crist@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
Hmm - it's been about 40 years since I've checked out Cannabis... thanks Juan.
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Daniel Crowe dcrowe2011@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
I am new here but wanted to put in my 2 cents. My friend, Mitch Watkins (jazz player and mentor to many, Leonard Cohen and Lyle Lovett’s guitarist) likes his new ZT Lunchbox. Literally about the size of a large lunchbox, it packs 200w but lacks reverb. I happened upon a DV Mark Little Jazz (this is one that was made in Italy) recently which is about the same size and had Bill Webb put in a switch so that you could silence the fan. Both my ES-350 and my Tele with Charlie Christian Lollar’s on it sound great through it and it has a lush reverb. Haven’t tried it on a gig yet so can’t tell if it is loud enough but great for practice.
On Oct 30, 2016, at 5:23 PM, peter...@gmail.com [jazz_guitar] <jazz_...@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Hmm - it's been about 40 years since I've checked out Cannabis... thanks Juan.
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peter.crist@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
I shopped around a bit - did not find a JC-40 to try - stumbled on a used JC-77 (mid 1980s) and fell for it. $200 less than new JC-40 and 7 pounds heavier. About 9 pounds lighter than my old Fender Vibrolux reverb. It sure sounded sweeter than the Mustang III I tried. Hope it lasts - have an actual 2 hour solo gig this Friday. Pray for me!
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Tom Samarati samarati@yahoo.com [jazz_guitar]
Subject: Re: [jazz_guitar] Review: Roland Blues Cube Artist: It's a Winner! (at least for me)
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rpjazzguitar@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
I bought a used JC55 years ago and it became my main gig amp. I've heard better sounding amps, but they're typically heavier, more fragile (like my ancient reverberocket) or more expensive. And, the JC55 sounds pretty good.
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rpjazzguitar@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
Nothing inherently wrong with the product, although I'd be reluctant to gig with an unfamiliar amp unless I had a backup, just in case.
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rpjazzguitar@gmail.com [jazz_guitar]
Last night, I played a brand new Roland Cube 40.
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