This “Roland Micro Cube Amp Review” tells why this amp packs so much punch for so little a price – and how for the cost of a good pedal you can have an entire practice amp!
Every guitar player needs a good practice amp. Something small and portable that can go anywhere, but has features and versatility for an affordable price. In the past I’ve purchased an owned several Crate and Peavey practice amps that cost around $100. They were only good for 2 things, clean sounds, or extreme metal. Roland has made quality music gear for years, and I have to say I was excited when I saw their “Micro Cube Amp” for the first time.
When you first see the “Micro Cube” you won’t believe how small it is. It’s probably half the size of other practice amps I’ve owned (I guess that’s what they call it ‘micro’). It may only have a 5″ speaker, but it’s loud as hell. The Micro Cube is a “portable amp” much like the “pignose” of yesteryear, because it runs on either AC or battery power (6 AA batteries), and as efficient as the amp is, you can get up to 20 hours of playing time on those batteries.
Using a bit of modern technology, the Micro Cube has 6 DSP effects, so if you want to sound like a Tweed, Jazz Chorus, or Metal Stack – it’s all there! You even get a Phaser, Flanger, and Tremelo. It’s got a “digital tuning fork” for tuning, in addition to both a 1/4″ and 1/8″ jacks so you can either plugin your axe, or a CD player or gadget like a cell phone or mp3 player on the go! You even get an output jack for either headphones or recording, something you seldom see in packages this small! It only weights 7.5lbs, which is probably less than most guitars, and it even has a carrying strap for your shoulder – so if you want to wander around at a local mall or the park and play, you’re always ready to jam!
In this video demo of the Micro Cube I found on YouTube you can check out the acoustic and jazz chorus sounds, very nice! You can really hear the versatility of the DSP amp models that this little amp packs in. The classic stack sounds are phenomenal. He demos the effects in this video as well as pairing it with a pedal.
You can always find deals on this little wonder on eBay (both new and used) and you can get it new in the box on both Guitar Center and Musicians Friend (listed below). If you are looking for a “guitar player gift” I highly recommend the “Roland Micro Cube Amp” (especially for students or people living in apartments, condos, and manufatured home communities).
*Update* I wrote this original post about 10 years ago when the Micro Cube had just come out. Little did we know (at the time) that this would usher in a hole new era of practice amps like the Fender G-Dec (and many others). The original Roland Micro Cube was 2 watts and ran on 6 AA batters. The newest version is now 3 watts and runs on 5 AA batteries. They also pair well with the available iOS i-Cube app (if you use Apple technology), and there’s even a bass version with four 4″ speakers (seen below):
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