Alternatives to Roland Cubes?

[Philly Q]

OK, I've just sold my Edwards Potbelly to a guy in work.  He's in his 50s, taking up guitar basically from scratch and he wants an amp strictly for home use - he lives in a little studio flat during the week then goes home to his wife in Gloucestershire at the weekends.

He's looking for a small, bells-and-whistles combo which will give a variety of useable sounds at bedroom levels.  We're not talking valves - probably something with digital modelling and built-in FX.  Costing no more than, say, £150.  And must have a headphone socket.

I was thinking of the Roland Cube range, but I'm not too clued-up on the different models - don't some of them have built-in drum patterns and things like that?  And what about alternatives - the Vox AD15 maybe?  Anything else?

Any ideas would be much appreciated.   :D

[sgmypod]

yeah vox's sound better to me..also there's the da5 vox

[samoth2]

The cubes are great considering the price, I really like my cube  :)

[BigK]

+1 on the vox for £150 you can get the ad30vt (£129 on GAK) worth it for the 12" speaker and the two footswitchable channels. I think they sound better than the roland's.

[dave_mc]

I'd say it really depends on what he plays... from what i remember, i preferred the roland cube for high gain stuff (tell him to avoid the 15 and 20 watt versions, as they don't have as many (if any) amp models), while i preferred the vox for more vintage tones. To me personally, the cut-off was 80s rock/metal- anything 80s rock/metal and heavier i preferred the cube, anything lighter i preferred the vox.

Though if he plays an equal amount of both, i'd prefer the cube, as i wasn't too fussed on the vox's high gain tones (there's a new higher gain vox valvetronix out, but i haven't tried that, and i've heard mixed reviews)...

just in my opinion, and bear in mind i've never owned either, that's from faffing about in a shop... EDIT: i'm not sure about headphones either- i'd assume they have them, but i wasn't looking into that. Not sure about drum patterns either... :lol:

[Philly Q]

To me personally, the cut-off was 80s rock/metal- anything 80s rock/metal and heavier i preferred the cube, anything lighter i preferred the vox.

I don't think he'll be looking for anything very heavy - not sure, but I think he likes fairly middle-of-the-road '70s stuff.

I'll do some more reading up on the Roland and Vox lines.  I'm liking the sound of the Vox AD models I think.

[GuiTony]

EDIT: i'm not sure about headphones either- i'd assume they have them, but i wasn't looking into that.

Actually, isn't that quite a key point?  

If you think about the difference that a decent set of 'phones makes to the sound of something (even an iPod), it must be worthwhile spending a fair amount on decent 'phones, else you might not get the full quality of sound from the amp - the amp is producing the sound, but you can't hear it through bad 'phones ...

Just a thought  :?

[Philly Q]

Good point, but I think the phones are more for keeping quiet than getting optimum tone.

Anyway, I'll help out on the amp but let him sort out the phones bit for himself!  

[Fourth Feline]

I am loving my Fender 'G-Dec Junior'.  You can only select one effect at a time  to compliment the amp type being modeled, but the simple 'band in a box ' type bass, drums and piano loops in any key or tempo are great for either teaching timing in a more 3 dimensional way than just the straight metronome - or great for jamming when he gets more advanced. The 'band' has a seperate volume control fromthe guitar too. Simple idea, but very handy.

The Junior version is all operated from knobs  on top of the amp, ( no menus to scroll through ) very sweet sounding fromthe factory ( even nicer with a 8"speaker upgrade ). I even like the look of the thing as well .


 :D

[Philly Q]

Thanks Derek, that goes on the list too!  :D

And price-wise, it's comparable with the Vox AD15VT and Roland Cube 20X.  All 15-20W and 1 x 8".  I also quite like the look of the Micro Cube RX, with four little 4" speakers, but it's a fair bit more pricey.

Must admit I'm getting tempted to buy one of these myself!  :lol:

[kellar]

I absolutely love my Cube. The Cubes do not have a drum machine on them. The 20x has 6 effects (tremolo, delay, reverb, chorus, phaser, flanger) and 5 distortion settings, as well as a tuner, acoustic simulator, clean channel, and onboard EQ. You can plug in your headphones and MP3 player to jam along. Can you tell I love it! :D
I wouldn't suggest the 15x as it lacks the effects. The 30X and 60X are the same as the 20X, they just have a few more distortion settings and are higher wattage.

[hamfist]

My cube 60 is very impressive for what it is.

On the "Vox or Cube" debate, I'd add that I'd take Roland's reliability record over Vox's anyday !   The Cube is certainly well built, and has an amazingly tough exterior (I wish all amps were as resilient to scuffs and scr@pes). I hear that the Cube's one weak point is the plastic input jack, which can be broken if it gets yanked or banged.

[Philly Q]

I absolutely love my Cube. The Cubes do not have a drum machine on them.

I think the Micro Cube RX has some built-in rhythm patterns, but it's a bit different from the other Cubes - seems to be aimed more at buskers with its battery option and strap.

If it was for me, I'd be (slightly) leaning towards the Cube 20X.  I think m'colleague, having grown up in the '60s, might be swayed by the Vox name.  I don't know about the reliability issue, but the Vox range uses Korg's REMS technology, which I've been impressed by in my various Korg Pandora models.

I'll do a really detailed comparison of the specs over the weekend. :D

[headcreeps]

(deleted)

[MDV]

Yeah, take the valvetronix for everything but scooped, high gain metal. (Wich the vox still does well enough). (My mates 15W valvetronix sounds better for 9 sounds out of 10 than my cube 30 - and the cubes sound very good for what they are!)