Bass Through Roland Cube Guitar Amps

dmc79 · #1 02-22-2011, 05:34 AM

In my search for a small practice amp I went into a local shop this morning and tried a Roland Cube 20X. The sound blew me away for the size and portability of the thing, and the on board effects were fantastic. I had pretty much decided to buy it when the store guy came back to me and was a bit embarrassed to say that he'd only just realised it was a guitar amp. I had been playing it for ages with him stood nearby and chatting to me and he had only just realised. He said that someone must have put it back near the bass amps by mistake.

I was gutted as i absolutely love the sound of it. I did a search about running a bass through guitar amp but most of it was related to cabs/heads or large combo's. Would the same rule go for a small practice amp? I play in a church praise and worship group through an Ashdown 180 watt combo but other than that i only ever practice at home. Do you think considering I only want something small to play at home which i won't be maxing out anyway, that i should just go for it as i like the sound, or do you really think i wouldnt be wise at all to buy that to play bass through a guitar amp? (BTW I have been using an old tanglewood guitar amp at home to practice bass on, its been ok but the Roland 20X blows it out of the water!)

bluesdogblues · #2 02-22-2011, 05:45 AM

IMHO if you like it, buy it and use it...

I often use my hifi stereo set (input my bass to it's mic input port (!) to practice at home)...

WhiteNinja · #3 02-22-2011, 06:30 AM

You can get the Roland Cube bass version. I got a Cube-30 Bass as a practice amp at home and it's pretty solid. It was the only amp in that price range and size that offered enough low-end for bass (at least for me).

Been using it for 5-6 years now and never had a problem.

frankie5string · #4 02-22-2011, 06:37 AM

Hah! I was gigging with a Roland Cube 100 for a while until the bands got bigger and the horn sections got louder. I highly recommend them. They're solid and loud, have good controls and some of them have nifty little "fun features" on them like chorus and flanger and a drum machine.

dmc79 · #5 02-22-2011, 09:59 AM

i know they do the cube as a bass amp too, but even the 30 watt one is like £200, which seems a silly amount of money for such a small amp. my budget was £100 but i love that Cube 20X guitar amp so much i would stretch to £130 for that. i am a terrible impulse buyer so had to force myself out of the shop to give myself time to think, i have resisted the urge to go back this afternoon and buy it but the more i think about it the more i want it!

frankie5string · #6 02-22-2011, 10:23 AM

Honestly, I don't think you'd be disappointed... yes the 30 is more expensive, it's a very loud 30 watts. For some people a gig-ready amp especially suited to coffee house gigs and quiet shows. How many 30 watt bass amps do you see these days that are actually gig ready?

But I agree, Roland has always priced their bass amps very high since they added COSM to them. I think they all could stand to be 100-250$ cheaper...

Have you looked at the Acoustic line of amps? I have an Acoustic B20 that cost me $150 in Knoxville, TN and it's a really nice little amp... it even has a 12 inch speaker and has a kind-of old school tone vibe to it. Perhaps someone is carrying them on your side of the pond?

Bassflute · #7 02-22-2011, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmc79

In my search for a small practice amp I went into a local shop this morning and tried a Roland Cube 20X. The sound blew me away for the size and portability of the thing, and the on board effects were fantastic. I had pretty much decided to buy it when the store guy came back to me and was a bit embarrassed to say that he'd only just realised it was a guitar amp. I had been playing it for ages with him stood nearby and chatting to me and he had only just realised. He said that someone must have put it back near the bass amps by mistake.

I was gutted as i absolutely love the sound of it. I did a search about running a bass through guitar amp but most of it was related to cabs/heads or large combo's. Would the same rule go for a small practice amp? I play in a church praise and worship group through an Ashdown 180 watt combo but other than that i only ever practice at home. Do you think considering I only want something small to play at home which i won't be maxing out anyway, that i should just go for it as i like the sound, or do you really think i wouldnt be wise at all to buy that to play bass through a guitar amp? (BTW I have been using an old tanglewood guitar amp at home to practice bass on, its been ok but the Roland 20X blows it out of the water!)

most bass players have known for years that the Keyboard cube sounds better than the bass cube...but there are much better small bass amps now, for a little more money...

http://www.ibanez.com/Electronics/model-P5110

Killer little thing.

Cheers,
Cameron

oldcatfish · #8 02-23-2011, 07:53 AM

Rolands cube amps use a full range speaker, since they are built around the COSM modeling. So the speaker is more likely to be able to handle bass than a traditional guitar speaker. So if you aren't running it at high volumes, it should be fine to use a bass.

dmc79 · #9 02-26-2011, 03:45 AM

tried the bass cube 20XL yesterday and was very impressed, the COSM modelling, effects etc are fantastic - can't believe how good this sounds for a 20 watt practice amp - will probably get one of these as soon as get the cash together!

Boyakasha · #10 02-26-2011, 03:56 AM

If you're really intent on getting a cube get the bass one, you might end up damaging the speaker on a guitar one, and it will never have the same bottom as an amp cube.

I have the Cube30, a great amp, but I don't think it's worth the pricetag since I could have gotten a 180/250W amp for the same price.

dmc79 · #11 02-26-2011, 04:36 AM

thanks, yeah i will do the sensible thing and get a bass amp! i do really like the cube but other than the horrible looking green stagg amp that i didn't think much of i haven't tried others. Size is an issue, it will rarely (if ever) leave the house, we haven't got loads of space and 2 young kids (anyone who has had them will know they are far more interested in their dads gadgets they find lying about than their own toys!) so if its small enough for me to shove away in a cupboard quite easily then all the better. I suppose with this in mind i don't mind forking out extra for something if it is small but powerful and versatile.............

frankie5string · #12 02-26-2011, 05:27 AM

You might also want to look at the GK MB150E... for a little more money you get a little more oomph and the speaker output is parallel, not serial.

**Staccato** · #13 02-26-2011, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteNinja

You can get the Roland Cube bass version. I got a Cube-30 Bass as a practice amp at home and it's pretty solid. It was the only amp in that price range and size that offered enough low-end for bass (at least for me).

Been using it for 5-6 years now and never had a problem.

+1 to the CB-30 (Roland Cube-30 Bass). I paid $120 used, and it still doesn't have a scratch on it.

Great practice unit w/ Boss effects built-in!

dmc79 · #14 02-26-2011, 05:58 AM

the CB30 sound popular but they've been discontinued. Can only see the 'XL' cube models around now. Looked on ebay and not much cube bass stuff comes up so they must be popular

frankie5string · #15 02-26-2011, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmc79

the CB30 sound popular but they've been discontinued. Can only see the 'XL' cube models around now. Looked on ebay and not much cube bass stuff comes up so they must be popular

They are very popular... When I got my TC Electronic Bass Rig I immediately ran home and put my Cube CB-100 up for sale... Within 4 hours it was sold... to a jazz bassist.