Roland DB-500

[Dr. Cheese]

I played one these today and I thought I had great volume and tone. It was not super light, but it comes with wheels. Can anybody share feedback on this little combo?

[jnewmark]

I have the DB 700 , which has the 15, and it's my go to combo for small gigs, even without PA support. I love the compressor on these amps, and it is conservatively rated at 275 watts ( my tech says it's almost 300 ). I put it up on a tilt back stand, and it is perfect. The memory function is a bonus, and a good chorus if that's your thing. I also love the slap tone on this combo, even if it is a cheap tweeter, combined with the compressor, it gives me a nice, squishy slap and pop tone. On the heavy side for sure, but well worth it imho.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

I have the DB 700 , which has the 15, and it's my go to combo for small gigs, even without PA support. I love the compressor on these amps, and it is conservatively rated at 275 watts ( my tech says it's almost 300 ). I put it up on a tilt back stand, and it is perfect. The memory function is a bonus, and a good chorus if that's your thing. I also love the slap tone on this combo, even if it is a cheap tweeter, combined with the compressor, it gives me a nice, squishy slap and pop tone. On the heavy side for sure, but well worth it imho.

Thanks for the info!

[bassmachine2112]

I have a db700 as well and the powered extension-excellent
Db700 is heavy but the ext is light-neo speaker.
Older DBs are made in USA.
Very underated combos,had mine for 10 years now and never missed a beat

[jasper383]

The old, now defunct, guitar store here had a DB700 on their floor for years and years, and it was always a treat to play through it.

Big, heavy, and very expensive, but it sounded great and Roland makes durable stuff.

[Dr. Cheese]

I checked out some reviews and see this was a pretty expensive amp. The one I saw is $300 and the tone is wonderful. It's very loud too. I think I might get it or get a TC Electronic combo.

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by bassmachine2112

I have a db700 as well and the powered extension-excellent
Db700 is heavy but the ext is light-neo speaker.
Older DBs are made in USA.
Very underated combos,had mine for 10 years now and never missed a beat

I always wondered what the powered extension would sound like with the DB 700. Do you stack the the extension underneath the 700 ?

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

I checked out some reviews and see this was a pretty expensive amp. The one I saw is $300 and the tone is wonderful. It's very loud too. I think I might get it or get a TC Electronic combo.

Yes, these were very expensive if I recall. $1000+.

If everything works on it, I would say $300 is a very good deal.

[DWBass]

I think Alain Caron used these rigs (combo amp plus extension cab) for awhile before switching to Markbass. Very expensive so I don't think they sold a lot of units. Good rigs from my understanding.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by DWBass

I think Alain Caron used these rigs (combo amp plus extension cab) for awhile before switching to Markbass. Very expensive so I don't think they sold a lot of units. Good rigs from my understanding.

I'm getting for sure.

[hgiles]

Theres a fellow on CL trying to sell a DB500 with a black widow 12 in it. I couldnt get any info from TB on it so I passed on it.

My dad alway like Roland gear and many of my friends use their stuff (keyboard).

[Jeff Scott]

The one I owned very briefly was very boxy sounding, more apparent to longer I used it so off it went.

[Dr. Cheese]

I took my TL-5 to the shop and played it through the DB 500 and my bass sang like I never heard it before! I love the tone of this combo like nothing I have heard before. It is clean beyond words!

I put it on hold to pick up after Christmas.

[Dr. Cheese]

The one downside if this amp is that it is so clean, it's going to make me have to upgrade the preamp and shielding in my TL-5. Still, there's no rush because my TL-5 sounds incredible passive through that DB-500.