Roland Micro Cube Bass RX for DB?

[bribass]

Anyone ever try one of these w/ a DB?

http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...40&ParentId=58

or these?

http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...52&ParentId=57

[bassist14]

no,
but i heard some of these
http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...3&ParentId=417
several times on stage. and they sounded good

[jsw]

I use this amp with my Azola Lightning Bug when I travel. It is small and light enough that it can be taken as carry-on luggage with airlines. I had a gig bag made for it by a sailmaker.

As far as I know it is the only battery-powered amp for basses that uses AA batteries. If you power out, just replace them and carry on. No need to plug in and recharge. I get about 5 - 7 hours out of a set (6) of AAs. If you can or want to plug in it will take 110v or 240v. The built-in metronome and tuner are nice features.

I play bluegrass/acoustic roots and it is great for jams and practice sessions. I find the sounds is more natural if you keep the volume to a minimum and dig in a bit more on playing.

Overall, understanding its limitations, it is an excellent little amp.

[velcronator]

I was surprised how good it sound at a jazz gig. haven't tried it with drums yet. Thats usually a good test.

It outlasted my acoustic image.

[bribass]

I picked one up.
First impressions plugged into the AC in my living room ;

...my eyebrows are raised, pretty natural sounding plugged DB straight in w/o external pre, 'Session' and 'Flip-Top' settings seem the most warm sounding, should be very useful for a light Jazz gig and a little extra portable help in acoustic / outdoor settings.

We'll see on tomorrow's (otherwise un-amplified) Jazz brunch w/ sax & baby grand piano.

I'll report back..

[RMacBass]

I just posted a thread about using a Mackie SRM150 for a small acoustic gig. It's mic-stand mountable, has a mixer and balanced DI, for $50 more than the Roland. It probably doesn't have as much low end as the Roland, but for smaller acoustic gigs you might like having your sound up near your ears.

Headway EDB-1 + Mackie SRM150 + mic stand = acoustic gig heaven?

[bribass]

Originally Posted by bribass

We'll see on tomorrow's (otherwise un-amplified) Jazz brunch w/ sax & baby grand piano.

I'll report back..

I know that Mackie unit. Nice little set up there. I tend to like my amps on the floor for the added low end. This Roland box even has a mic pre setting. Your rig makes me think about trying it that way.

The Roland performed like a champ w/ Realist straight into Roland w/o any external pre. Med to large restaurant placed near the back wall of the stage, angled up a bit, this little 15 lb. box put out more than enough (surprisingly) clean, warm tone for a drummer-less Jazz trio (pn, sx, db). Me thinks it could even stand up to drummer on the tasteful/ quieter side.

Used the supplied AC converter. I haven't tried it on battery power yet.

Of course it's not the my AI Focus -> EA Wizzy 10 set up, but I can see it's gonna be very useful in the right applications. The easy load-ins plus AA battery operation for outdoor / sans juice situations makes it a winner right there. Buskers are gonna love this thing. Put in a back pack, rehearse in the park and then use it for the restaurant gig on the way home. Could be good for the road as a 'hotel room rehearsal' rig or as a back up when the sound guy doesn't have a monitor for the bass player yet again.

It has lots of stuff packed in that made me afraid it may be just a toy amp. Amp modeling and fun slab effects like octaver, chorus, flange, T-wah, delay, reverb, mic pre and more than a few usable drum practice grooves AND a tuner. Can't say I need all those bells and whistles in a db amp, but fun stuff as a slab practice amp. Effects actually sound good..and it seems like a sturdy little thing. Affordable at $239. It may run on batteries, but it's no toy.

Bri

[nickidame]

Tried it, love it

This is a great little amp - and well suited to Bass Guitar and Electric Upright... No personal experience with Acoustic upright, but my guess is that it will respond nicely.

There's a minute amount of latency when going through the "front" of the amp - also, even with the superflat or flip top setting... there's a bit of shimmer that creeps in. So, if you're looking for a really flat and transparent sound, try plugging in through the back.

That said, if you go in through the front, you can shape the sound a good deal. How you choose to model the sound is highly personal, but I found that bringing the midrange up a little, and tapering off the high end worked well.

Also, just a shade of "chorus" and "reverb" gave a very full effect.

To be truthful though, after I mucked around with the modeling settings I find that most of the time I prefer going through the back.

Battery life is excellent - although, there's not much warning when they run out, so having spares is a very good idea.

I'm a fan

[bribass]

Originally Posted by nickidame

Tried it, love it


Also, just a shade of "chorus" and "reverb" gave a very full effect.

To be truthful though, after I mucked around with the modeling settings I find that most of the time I prefer going through the back.

Battery life is excellent - although, there's not much warning when they run out, so having spares is a very good idea.

I'm a fan

Yeah, I'm gonna try the Aux. input on the back of it, maybe w/ a pre. Thnx for the tips.

Bri

[Gary Lynch]

I bought a Roland MC Bass RX. For outside unplugged busking it's great. I get a real clean tone from it using a Bass Max pickup. Not the best pickup but it sounds fine. For practice it works great on DB, ABG, and Slab bass. It is good for low volume use. I mean it actually produces a good tone for the environments I described. And where there is no power to use, it's great running on the batteries. I play with banjos and dobros as well and the usual accompaniment of instruments which are damn loud and the bass always can use a boost and this provides jus enough to cut thru and give the guys a nice bottom end to be heard though all the instruments as well and the street or audience background noise. I thought I might not like the tone because I can't stand poor tone but it actually does very well for low volume. It was well worth the $249 to my door.

What I really enjoy is I no longer have to work so darn hard to get volume from my Upton. I used to have to dig to China and pull to the moon to get the notes out over and under all the other guys. Now I can work less hard and get as good or better tone.

A fine practice or busking amp that is the first battery powered unit that actually has some tone. I look forward to down the road when these are taken to even another higher level. For now I'm stoked. It's tiny! It's lightweight!

[the tree volta]

Man, I've got one coming to me i can't wait! I've heard nothing but good news about them.
Yo Nickidame we met at Long & McQuade about a month ago, we were talking about fretless basses.

[nickidame]

Originally Posted by the tree volta

Man, I've got one coming to me i can't wait! I've heard nothing but good news about them.
Yo Nickidame we met at Long & McQuade about a month ago, we were talking about fretless basses.

It's a small world

[Rick Auvil]

I like my Roland Micro Cube. Use it with a variety of drummer-less, upright and electric situations and it has never let me down. Battery life is great, but I still put a new set in for each battery-powered gig - fear I guess.

[what the pluck]

i gotta try one of these! im looking for something just for monitoring really in small cafe type gigs.. this might do the trick. Just seems weird... massive instrument... tiny amp.