Cool, they look like nice little amps! :D
They kind of seem too cheap to be much good, but I already had quite a bit of history with Laney amps when I went out looking for a CUB10, so that didn't worry me.
I nearly bought the 10 I found - it has a stunning sound. But I also found the brand new (at the time) 12 next to it. For my old place, the 12 seemed a lot more versatile, so I got that.
The 12 is doing nicely in the new place, and I love it. But I do suspect the CUB10 would sound heavenly in there.
I see the 12 obviously has more features like the EQ, <1w input and reverb option on the 12R, but is there a lot of difference between the basic tone(s) of the 10 and 12?
I felt the 12 was just a little more versatile...
The 10 I tried had this gorgeous "plug in and start playing" tone. I don't think it's a one-trick-pony, but it pretty much gave me "my sound" straight off the bat. It's got a master volume which was what attracted me to the 10 over the CUB8. From what I remember it has that warm thick blues/rock "electric guitar" sound without getting muddy - "smile from ear to ear" guitar sound. It kicks out a lot more bottom end that you're expecting from such a little box. There's not huge amounts of gain available, but plenty for most things I do.
The 12 can produce a lot more tones and can get you more gain - we're not into "hi-gain" territory though! The day I was trying them side-by-side I got the impression the 12 isn't quite so warm sounding as the 10. However, the decider for me was "can I get the 12 to feel/sound almost like the 10?". The answer was yes, not identical, but close enough to pay a bit more for the versatility and the >1W setting (which I still use, even in the new place). The amp really gets going on the 15W setting with the master at 2 or above. Get it up to 5 or 6 and we're really talking :D - I suspect at those volumes the 12 can actually impersonate the 10 very well.
Not sure whether the 10 has an effects loop? I just noticed the other day (now that I have enough space to walk behind an amp) that the 12 does. I've not used it, but I have put pedals in front of it - and it takes them a lot better than my VOX AC4 does (for my tastes, anyway).
But there is this certain sort of guitar sound (very good for blues rock players) that the CUB 10 just chucks out without even thinking. I nearly bought it instead because of that. I might even be tempted to get one as well anyway!
