Roland Cube 100 ???

The WideBody · #1 12-01-2011, 08:58 AM

i have been on the hunt for a portable practice slash small jam rig. i am looking at the roland cube. all the literature states 100 watts into the internal 12" speaker. when you hook up the external cab - does it just divide that 100 watts into both or does the power go up as in most other solid state amps i have been researching? secondly. i was hoping that i could find a matching roland 12" extension cabinet but have been unsuccessful.

thanks for your input.

az

Avezzano · #2 12-01-2011, 09:50 AM

if you have an "ideal" perfect amp connected to a 8 ohm cabinet, you will have 100 watt, ok? When you connect in parallel a second cab having the same characteristics of the first, given that the amp is "ideal" theoretically you should have a 200 watt of output power, but in reality an amp that is rated 100 w / 8 ohm when connected to another additional cab will go reasonably to 150 or so, given limitations of the power section and other technical issues. This is a realistic case...

rad bassman · #3 12-01-2011, 10:01 AM

i can answer this as i have a roland CB100 cube...
firstly the cube is a great lil bass amp with some really great and usable sounds, for 100 watts it is great..

the extension cab feature IMO isn't as great as it seems tho, yes alone you get 100 watts, with the extension speaker plugged in you get LESS! the internal driver is wired in series with the extension speaker jack socket, so when you use the option you effectively run the amp at 16 ohms, thro the internal driver and the extension speaker, probably using 60, maybe 70 watts, its not all bad tho, ive used my cube with my warwick 2x10, that cab has a better low end than the cube's driver, but i would not say that it makes the setup any louder (or significantly quieter), what you lose in watts used you gain in speaker cone area.

i have not done any real testing of Db levels, just speaking from personal experience of what i hear.

i have done a lil surgery on my cube to bypass the internal driver completely and driven my fearful 15+6, sounds fantastic, definately louder and deeper than the cube own driver, not enough watts to get the best out of my fearful tho

The WideBody · #4 12-01-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rad bassman

ive used my cube with my warwick 2x10, that cab has a better low end than the cube's driver, but i would not say that it makes the setup any louder (or significantly quieter), what you lose in watts used you gain in speaker cone area.

i have been playing for about 5 years, but don't have alot of experience with different amps and cabs. i don't understand the relationship between volume and speaker cone area. it seems counter intuitive to me. i was hoping that by adding an external cab to this little combo, i could increase the volume. the combo alone would be my practice rig essentially and when all the gang got together i would run another and maybe bigger cabinet to keep up. but based on what you are saying, this doesn't seem to be so. please educate me. thanks.

bmc · #5 12-01-2011, 01:45 PM

I have a cube and love it. I have tried it with my 8 ohm SWR Basic 2-way and it is hohum.

I tried it out with a 4 ohm Yamaha BBT110s cab and it was stunning how it gave it girth, depth and volume. I am toying with tracking one down. I assume it was the impedence of the cab that made the difference.

Great little amp. I bought mine to practice and now use it every week for coffee house and pub gigs.

rad bassman · #6 12-01-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The WideBody

i have been playing for about 5 years, but don't have alot of experience with different amps and cabs. i don't understand the relationship between volume and speaker cone area. it seems counter intuitive to me. i was hoping that by adding an external cab to this little combo, i could increase the volume. the combo alone would be my practice rig essentially and when all the gang got together i would run another and maybe bigger cabinet to keep up. but based on what you are saying, this doesn't seem to be so. please educate me. thanks.

basicly, this is my non technical understanding, sound is air movement, more cone area moves more air thus more volume.

the cube is what it is, suitable for coffee house gigs, quieter bar gigs, home practice, controlled band rehearsals etc etc, its only 100 watts at the end of the day, IMO it does well for 100 watts

oldcatfish · #7 12-02-2011, 10:47 AM

I have the Roland CB 100 and I bought an Eden EX 112 extension cab to go with it. On it's own, the Roland barely gets over a moderately loud drummer--and that's pushing the amp hard. But with the extension cab, no problem. The Eden is a 4 ohm cab, and I believe that that is the key---most people who try an 8 ohm cab aren't impressed. To answer your question directly, you lose wattage, unlike most other amps. But the added speaker area more than makes up for the wattage loss.

oldcatfish · #8 12-02-2011, 01:18 PM

I should also mention that the Eden cab was not expensive: $249 new at active musician. It took a few weeks to arrive, but the cab is great--light weight, great tone that plays well with the Roland.

Also, the Roland is a very versatile combo, can get close to most sounds.

fingerbun · #9 12-02-2011, 01:30 PM

I am in the process of building an extension cab for my Cube. I have ordered a CB100 speaker and will reverse-engineer the cabinet from the Cube's dimensions and port construction. Not hard to do, and cheap.

I am expecting/hoping this will add more depth to its sound rather than volume. If I wanted volume I would look at powered extension cabs.

oldcatfish · #10 12-02-2011, 02:01 PM

Quote"I am in the process of building an extension cab for my Cube. I have ordered a CB100 speaker and will reverse-engineer the cabinet from the Cube's dimensions and port construction. Not hard to do, and cheap.
I am expecting/hoping this will add more depth to its sound rather than volume. If I wanted volume I would look at powered extension cabs."

--It will add volume though. At least my Eden did. With the extension cab, not only does it seem louder, but it will literally shake my windows.

fingerbun · #11 12-02-2011, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldcatfish

Quote"I am in the process of building an extension cab for my Cube. I have ordered a CB100 speaker and will reverse-engineer the cabinet from the Cube's dimensions and port construction. Not hard to do, and cheap.
I am expecting/hoping this will add more depth to its sound rather than volume. If I wanted volume I would look at powered extension cabs."

--It will add volume though. At least my Eden did. With the extension cab, not only does it seem louder, but it will literally shake my windows.

I will be interested to hear what it does to the volume. It's going to be an 8ohm cab which is not the best choice for volume but I want the cab to match.

With the extension cab it will be used for upright bass, where volume is limited by feedback anyway.

oldcatfish · #12 12-02-2011, 05:59 PM

If it's an 8 ohm cab, it probably won't add volume then.

The WideBody · #13 12-06-2011, 09:10 AM

thanks for everyone's input.

does roland make a cab to match the amp. i looked on their website and could only find the powered 15" cabinet.

i have built a couple of cabs in the past but am short on time now a days.

oldcatfish · #14 12-06-2011, 05:15 PM

No, they don't.
But really, the Eden one that I use is a really good match.
Until I got it, I just used the Roland's line out into a powered PA speaker for more volume. It worked ok, but the Eden actually does sound similar to the Roland's speaker.

sad_katz · #15 12-06-2011, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldcatfish

If it's an 8 ohm cab, it probably won't add volume then.

By doubling the speakers, you're gonna see 6db increase (or double the volume) despite each cab seeing decreased watts. Volume is all in the cabs

fingerbun · #16 12-07-2011, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sad_katz

By doubling the speakers, you're gonna see 6db increase (or double the volume) despite each cab seeing decreased watts. Volume is all in the cabs

I am going to be interested to see. I know I have tried adding a 2x10 and didn't get an obvious volume gain. Now I just have to figure out how to make sure the speakers are in phase.

keko · #17 12-07-2011, 02:13 AM

Consider also new Cube 120!!!

I owned Cube 100 and it was not loud enough to me for use as stage monitoring bass combo with 3,5-5 kW PA support of my band!

Consider also new Carvin MB12 (I just bought one recently)...plenty of power (200W) and SPL from little lightweight D-class package, ...it's low budget, but contains 3-way neodymium speakers system, ...beat the competition just like that!

Possible connection of external 8 Ohm bas cab is allowed, than You reach whole 250W of digital power output!

sad_katz · #18 12-07-2011, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fingerbun

I am going to be interested to see. I know I have tried adding a 2x10 and didn't get an obvious volume gain. Now I just have to figure out how to make sure the speakers are in phase.

The easiest way to minimize phasing issues is to pair *(identical)* cabs. Probably should've said using two identical cabs instead of just doubling speaker sizes. The box's physical design also contribute to the volume and tone of the cab.

If you're pairing different cabs, then I have no idea how to do solve that in practical ways.

fingerbun · #19 12-07-2011, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sad_katz

The easiest way to minimize phasing issues is to pair *(identical)* cabs. Probably should've said using two identical cabs instead of just doubling speaker sizes. The box's physical design also contribute to the volume and tone of the cab.

If you're pairing different cabs, then I have no idea how to do solve that in practical ways.

Indeed.

I will have same speaker and same cab dimensions. Hoping that is close enough to identical for my purposes.