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Average Price: $50
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Description
Unleash your guitar's potential anywhere with the Roland Micro Cube, a portable powerhouse that fits your lifestyle. This mini guitar amplifier is perfect for musicians on the move, delivering a full-bodied sound experience without the bulk. With its compact design, the Micro Cube offers a versatile range of tones through its eight COSM amp models, from warm jazz cleans to earth-shattering metal riffs. Its user-friendly interface allows for seamless transitions between these sounds, making it ideal for both beginners and seasoned players looking to experiment.
The Roland Micro Cube isn't just about the amps; it also features eight onboard effects, including delay, reverb, and modulation, all accessible at your fingertips. This amp doesn't just enhance your sound; it transforms it. Its battery-operated design means you're not tethered to an outlet, so you can take your music anywhere—from your bedroom to a beachside serenade. The addition of an auxiliary input means you can jam along with your favorite tracks, or use the recording output to capture your latest riff for posterity.
Key Features:
- Eight COSM amp models for a range of tones
- Eight onboard effects including Delay/Reverb and Modulation
- Compact and lightweight design for portability
- Battery operated for ultimate convenience
- Auxiliary input for jamming along with your favorite tracks
- Recording output for easy capture of your sessions
Product specs
| Brand | Roland |
| Model | Micro Cube 2-Watt 1x5" Guitar Combo |
| Finish | Black, Red, White |
| Year | 2004 - 2014 |
| Made In | China |
| Categories | Guitar Combo Amps, Small Amps |
| Built-In Effects | Built-In Effects |
| Color Family | Black |
| Electronics | Solid State |
| Number of Channels | 1 Channel |
| Number of Inputs | 1 Input |
| Output Power (Watts) | 2 |
| Power Tube Type | None |
| Reverb | Digital Reverb |
| Speaker Configuration | 1x5" |
FAQs
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What type of power supply does the Roland Micro Cube require?
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The Roland Micro Cube can be powered by 6 AA batteries for portability or an AC adapter, which is included with the amplifier.
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Does the Roland Micro Cube have built-in effects?
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Yes, the Roland Micro Cube features built-in DSP effects, including chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, and separate delay/reverb.
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Is the Roland Micro Cube suitable for recording or headphone practice?
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The Roland Micro Cube includes a recording/headphones output, making it ideal for silent practice or direct recording.
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How many amp models are available on the Roland Micro Cube?
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The Roland Micro Cube offers 7 COSM amp models, including the JC-120 and a special mic preamp model.
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Can the Roland Micro Cube be used for flat tunings?
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Yes, the Roland Micro Cube includes a digital tuning fork that supports flat tunings up to 2 semitones.
Videos
Damir Magassumov
Roland Micro Cube Test
Reviews
PROS
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Exceptional portability, ideal for travel and on-the-go practice
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Versatile built-in effects praised for quality sound
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Excellent for beginners with easy-to-use features
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Can operate on batteries, enhancing its portability
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Offers a variety of amp simulators and effects knobs
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Delivers clear, quality sound at low volumes, simulating a cranked tube amp
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Durable and lasts long on battery power
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Suitable for home practice, with all necessary tones included
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Bright, clean sound settings available
CONS
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Not ideal for live gigs due to limited volume/output
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Onboard effects may not satisfy all users
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Not optimal for vocal amplification
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Roland Micro Cube.
Use cases and applications
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The Roland Micro Cube is ideal for small, acoustic settings like home church groups with a ukulele, not for louder environments.
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The Blackstar Fly 3 Bass, running on AA batteries and potentially expandable with an additional cabinet, is another alternative suggested for low-volume scenarios.
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Users report that the Micro Cube GX can achieve a decent doom metal tone with a distortion pedal, though it requires experimentation and is not ideal for heavier genres.
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Owners mention using the Micro Cube GX primarily with headphones due to its less impressive speaker output for metal tones.
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Connecting the Micro Cube to a larger cabinet, like a Marshall 4x12, has been reported to significantly improve sound quality.
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Features and functionality
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The battery-powered feature is a major advantage for portability and convenience in non-electrified settings.
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The Micro Cube includes built-in effects, but they are often criticized for being weak and not suitable for serious distortion needs.
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The Roland Micro Cube GX features a long battery life, providing over 20 hours of playtime, making it suitable for extended practice sessions.
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The Micro Cube GX lacks a three-band EQ, limiting tonal control, which can be an issue for users seeking specific metal tones.
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Users mention that adjusting both the volume and tone pots can subtly modify the overall tone, with the master pot compensating for any lost volume.
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Comparisons
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The Yamaha THR10 is better for classical gigs and offers more functionality than the Micro Cube, including use as a party speaker and soundcard for recording.
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The Fender Rumble 40 is recommended over the Micro Cube for better bass response and higher wattage in a similar size and weight class.
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The Peavey Vypyr is recommended for metal due to its better distortion capabilities and range of effects compared to the Micro Cube GX.
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The Orange Micro Terror paired with a Harley Benton 1x12" Cabinet is suggested as a more powerful alternative for those considering future stage use.
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The Vox MSB25 Mini Superbeetle and Joyo Zombie II Bundle are suggested alternatives for those seeking more flexibility and tonal variety.
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Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 14 Reviews and 77 Ratings
234
Durable, Great tone, packs a punch
This thing is lightweight, nice to carry to gigs, but also loud as all get out. Looking at it you would not expect it to produce very strong sound. Its got a lot of nice presets, including a microphone preset, and has tone, gain, volume, flanger, tremolo, and so much more on it. love the tone it brings to my electric.
329
Everything about these have already been said; one of the greatest amps ever produced.
First amp I ever owned and my god what a flawless starter amp! Amazing value in a light-weight and small sized package for transporting anywhere. They are also very versatile with built in effects that actually sound good lol; amps with built in effects usually sound like shight. Really nice volume, great distortion and awesome well-defined tones! These really are the BEST option for beginners who have never played before.
207
Great little amp for practice
I have one that I use for learning new stuff for my covers band, it’s handy and sounds great for its size. I don’t use the onboard effects really, just don’t feel the need.
178
A great useful option
I bought this amp because i can't take the mustang to my guitar class (so heavy for a thirty minutes walk XD) Have a amazing clean sound with de "clean amp" setting, so bright. A like the fx too, so powerful a great chorus and reverb. I thinks is perfect if you need to take a few of effects and you don´t want to take all your pedalboard or a heavey weight tube amp, for a practise.
420
Handy and easy to use
This works great for guitars, not too good on vocals. But it is really handy and last long on battery power. The best portable guitar amp in my opinion.
102
130
Great!
Great amp for beginners and for practice. It has all the tones you need for practice at home or even recording with it . Not good at all for live gigs .
132
Artist usage
Add artist
"I use it for the dressing rooms, just playing around, and on the tour bus as well. Also I find it to be just the job coz often these days bands are invited down to do acoustic sessions. It normally involves two of the band pulling out acoustic guitars and doing a half-arsed version of your punk rock hit. In The Cribs there are three of us who play guitar and I just thought that would be overkill. I have to fight for it sometimes, coz I say look, that microphone you were gonna put in front of my guitar, just put it in front of this little amp, and then you see their faces drop as I get out my electric guitar! I just dial in a little bit of delay, and a little bit of reverb and it does an absolutely great job. We used to have a few Roland Micro Cubes in Modest Mouse that we used to put beat boxes through and all these weird samplers and it just did the job great."
In the video titled "Steve Vai 'K'm-Pee-Du-Wee' Full Video" by Everybody-Loves-Gav on YouTube, Billy Sheehan can be seen using a Roland Micro Cube mini guitar amplifier.
Matt shows off the rig that he uses to practice while on tour. He uses a micro cube amp to warm up
In this instagram post, he is seen jamming with his family. He’s using a Roland Micro Cube.
In this NPR live performance, Frank Black can be seen playing his pickup equipped Martin D-18. The guitar is never shown in full detail and at first glance it doesn't look to be hooked up to an amp but when the shot zooms out, the dark background reveals a dangling wire coming from the accoustic guitar every now and again. The amplifier in the back is clearly used by Joey Santiago which means the Roland Microcube in the front (definitely not a GX version, which has an extra knob) is Frank's.
In his YouTube video titled "How To Sweep Pick," Steve Terreberry uses the Roland Micro Cube as his only amplifier.
"I was working in my [home] studio trying to write a guitar solo for this song called “You Don’t Have Me.” I was playing with the track, and I came up with what I thought was a really good solo idea. I had a MICRO CUBE sitting on the floor, and I just grabbed the vocal mic that I’d been singing into, shoved it in front of this little MICRO CUBE, and recorded that solo. I put a harmony on it, and just kind of pieced it together as a scratch demo, thinking that when I got into the studio, I would re-record it.
When I got into the studio and played it for everybody, they said, “Why do you want to re-record that? That’s got a great tone. It sounds really good.” I said, “No, no, no. Let’s set up some amps and we’ll try to do it again.” And we tried re-recording the solo, and it just didn’t have that unique sound, which was a small, little amp sounding like a really big amp. So it wound up staying on the record as the final solo on “You Don’t Have Me.”"
"I also use the [Roland] MICRO CUBE amp backstage to warm up. It’s great. You can throw batteries in it, and I’ll take it in the back lounge of the bus, or wherever, and the thing sounds amazing. It’s fun to sit there and play through. The thing’s great. It’s all you need. [BOSS and Roland] just make a ton of cool stuff for guitar players and I can’t say enough good things."
Album Usage
The Roland Micro Cube has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Roland Micro Cube, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
Community setups
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