Just realized that my decades old Cube sounds better (louder & more transparent) than my AI Clarus SL/EA Wizzy 12” rig. The Cube has been in deep storage. And I haven’t plugged it in since I bought it used in the early 90s. Pulled it out to sell recently. And I now I want to gig with it. But I don’t trust it because of it’s age. Wondering what the odds are that recapping will ef-up this cheap but great sounding amp. Also feeling a little weird about investing $200 in a beater (it looks bad) that may be worth less than $200 in value after I get the work done. Anyone have any experience refurbishing this amp? Or care share a little sage wisdom regarding the prudence of restoring this old orange character?
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Double Bass Roland Cube 60 Bass (orange) recapping a good idea?
- Thread starter fasternak
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- cube 60 bass recapping roland
Hard to say, that amp only produces
60 watts on a sunny day with a light breeze. The rear port is prone to chuffing when you run the amp above 6. I owned one and gigged with it, for about two years. Sounded nice for the time but then I purchased a Gallien Krueger 200 MB. I’d say the caps are probably fine.
Thanks for the reply, Ric! I’m (upright bass) jazz musician. Don’t need more volume than this for piano trio in small venues. I sold my GK 200 MB and bought the AI Clarus SL/EA Wizzy 12” rig. You may think I’m crazy for saying this, but my Cube 60 Bass sounds better than either. I gather you think the caps are in reliable shape despite being 30+ years old. I need something reliable, though. Think recapping might mess up the transparency I like so much?
I wouldn’t recap it until it crapped out. Take a backup amp if you are really worried about it. I had an amp crap out at a wedding. Did the rest of the gig acoustically. Pulled like a madman to make sure I was heard. I always take my upright on serious gigs.
okcrum
in your chest
Let sleeping dogs lie seems to be the common opinion here. But it’s still not exactly clear to me why I should wait until I need to do it. Is it the unnecessary expense or the risk of altering the performance quality of the amp that should give me pause? If it’s the latter, then should I only replace the cap that blows and leave the rest of the originals alone? Apologies for dragging this thread out. But I’d like to leave the backup amp at home. So I’m hoping recapping is not likely to bang it up too badly.
Yep. Not an MBOL sound, but IME it works better than the Cube doubling in a live band that can get loud.
If caps fail, It’s generally the big electrolytic power caps which would result in hum and maybe popping. Replacing them with new equivalents won’t affect the sound you like.
The small caps you see in the signal chain are build differently and can generally last for many decades.
The small caps you see in the signal chain are build differently and can generally last for many decades.
Fasternak,
Juat as a way of background, I am also primarily a Jazz musician. I've done short stints with Diana Krall, Bobby Shew, and more recently a concert with Howard Levy, Philip Jers, and a few other quys and gals.
I gigged with the Cube 60 until the 200MB came along, but I always had a Walter Woods in my back pocket when I had to do bigger things. I liked the Cube 60 it's very compact and portable. So if you dig it
go for it, but I'm pretty sure trying to upgrade or update that amp would be a gesture in futility. First you'd have to find the schematic, which may be possible, then you have
to find a amp technician who can repare older solid state amps, (not an easy thing,
depending on where you are located, then the technician has to source the parts, and finally there's the time and cost of doing all these things. Just my take of course. I have an Ampeg B-15N(C) that still works fine and it was manufactured in 1964, so
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Ampeg has appreciated, while our Cube 60's
have kind of dissapeared of the face of the earth.
I should add - electrolytic caps don’t usually fail from use (they can but it’s not as common). They fail from sitting around without a charge on them. So if you’re using it now and using it regularly, it should be fine.
It’s been sitting unused in the back of the garage since the early 90s. I bought it used then. And it’s in rough cosmetic condition. And it has a very slight hiss. I thought it was junk until I tested it with the intention of selling it. The transparency shocked me. Now orange is the new black.
Fasternack, Sorry added my reasoning to the post when I edited the entry.
Thanks again, Ric! I’ve got a qualified tech who wants $175 to $200 to do the job. I may be wrong, but I don’t think he needs a schematic to do the job. (Is that the Cube 60 Bass schematic I see in your last msg?) It follows, I’m still leaning toward doing the deed.
