Roland Blues Cube Artist 1x12" 80-Watt Combo Guitar Amp

95
GEARANK

95 out of 100. Incorporating 125+ ratings and reviews.

Street Price: 

$1,070
Roland Blues Cube Artist

Gearank Recommendation

The Roland Blues Cube Artist appeared on our recommended list for Solid State Guitar Amps from August 2020 until July 2021.

Overview

The Roland Blues Cube Artist looks and sounds the part of a vintage tweed tube era amplifier, but the innards tell a different story, being a solid-state amp with Roland's Tube Logic technology. And for something with tube amp modeling and USB direct recording, the amp comes with a streamlined set of features, having just two channels, clean and crunch, both of which have boost switches.

Interestingly, this more traditional setup helped the amp score high points from users who want a pedal friendly amp that has the feel of tube without its usual drawbacks.

Giving it a bit of an edge over older amps, is its built-in power attenuator that lets you lower the power rating from 80W down to 0.5W.

For a bit of tone experimentation, the amp comes with a "dual tone" switch for blending the two channels in a way that's musically pleasing. Roland also equipped this amp with tremolo and reverb that complements its simple setup.

The Blues Cube Artist lets you expand your tonal palette via its swappable "tone capsule", which is an analog component that you actually switch out to give the amp a different sound. There are currently three available tone capsules, two of which are artist signatures from Eric Johnson and Robben Ford, and the third one being Roland's own rendition of the Blues sound.

If you're looking for a solid state amp that behaves and sounds much like old tube amps - without the complication of tube maintenance and consistency - then do check out the Roland Blues Cube Artist.

Specifications

  • Power: 80W/45W/15W/0.5W
  • Speaker: 1 x 12"
  • Amp Modeling: Tube Logic 2-Channel (Clean, Crunch)
  • Effects: Reverb, Tremolo
  • Input: 2 x 1/4", 1 x 1/4" (Headphones)
  • Outputs: 2 x 1/4", 1 x USB Type B
  • Weight: 35.31 lbs.
Although this was previously on our recommended list, there are now more highly rated options available which you can see in our guide to The Highest Rated Solid State Guitar Amps.

Demo

About the Author

Alexander BrionesAlexander Briones

I have been writing about and researching music gear for many years, all while serving as a music director at my local church. I engage in guitar playing and singer-songwriter stints, in addition to mentoring young musicians and teaching guitar and bass.