Roland Blues Cube Hot VB

I am musician for almost 40 years and I always have tube amplifiers. I have to admit that I hate the sound of transistor amplifiers. I've been owner of Fender Twin Reverb Silverface, Fender Vibrolux, Marshall JCM 900 with 4X12? Celestion cabinet, Music Man 2X10? EV combo and now I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe George Benson.
I bought this amplifier for two reasons: the weight (12Kg) because I am getting old and the reviews that claim that it sounds like a real tube amp.
Roland says that they tried to emulate Fender Bassman. Does it sound like the Fender Bassman amp? Not 100% but it is close. You can still hear the metallic highs of a transistor amplifier but you can correct that with the equalization or with smart compressor settings.
With pedal effects though, sounds great. Better than expected. The tone button I think is useless because makes the amp sound like a transistor amp.
The button that really surprise me is the boost button. I never though that I am going to use that because I don't play blues and I never use crunch sounds. I play Jazz and sometimes Fusion and I use pedals for that. But I have to admit that boost is incredible.
Do I recommend this amp? If you play Blues, Jazz and you want a light weight amp, loud enough for small gigs and the ability to study in your room with 0,5Watts, the answer is yes, this amp totally worth it.

This review is not written from the perspective of someone who plays clubs and gigs, but from that of a guitarist who had spent years searching for something that would sound and feel good at low to moderate volumes at home.

I had tried almost everything and wasted a great deal of money along the way: amp sims, studio monitors, amp pedals, USB audio interfaces, analogue gear, digital gear—you name it. I had also tried several of the popular “Kat & Cat” combo amps, but there was always something missing.

For the record—and if it means anything—the only products of this kind that I believe are genuinely worth the investment are Yamaha’s THR amps. Everything else you may have heard is mostly marketing, accompanied by glowing reviews from overexcited YouTubers chasing clicks with titles such as “GAME CHANGER!” and so on.

Many of these products may be excellent tools for specific applications, but nothing—and believe me, NOTHING—can replace a real amplifier with a 10-inch speaker that responds naturally and organically to your playing.

For me, a valve amp was never the answer because, as I said, I cannot play at high volumes and I did not want to get involved with external attenuators.

And then came the revelation: the Blues Cube Hot.

I do not know whether it sounds exactly like a valve amp, and frankly, I do not care. What I do know is that it responds immediately and proportionally, without any perceptible delay, to even the smallest changes in my playing and dynamics.

I know that its power control is excellent. Even at 0.5 watts, it delivers exactly the same fundamental tone as it does at 30 watts, without any real loss—apart from the inevitable physical effect of the speaker not being driven to the same degree.

I know that it takes pedals exceptionally well. Even without them, however, the controls and features provided give you enormous flexibility to create almost any sound you want—OK, perhaps not metal…

Most importantly, after years of searching, I have finally found that elusive “something” that had always been missing.

To everyone following a path similar to mine: stop wasting your money! In this particular case, believe the hype. Everything you have heard about this amplifier is true.

My only criticisms are that I would have liked an effects loop on this version as well, and that the headphone output is merely acceptable.

Other than that, the Blues Cube Hot is an outstanding amplifier—especially for anyone who needs inspiring tone, genuine dynamics and the feel of a real amp at home-friendly volume levels.

First of all, I'm not a professional musician. Playing for fun with friends. I've been playing several tube amps in rehearsal rooms but for home practice I have a small and cheap solid state amp (Fender 15R) that served me well for years but with two "small" drawbacks - not a great sound and cheap pots. Now, the home practice game is at a whole new level!

When I've decided to buy a new practice amp, it had to fulfill three key points:
1. No maintenance
2. Power attenuator
3. Good headphones and recording capabilities
(4.) Good sound of course...

I've read a lot of reviews and probably watched all Roland blues cube videos on the web before deciding that this amp is the one I'm looking or.

The amp sounds amazing! It does not resemble the major brands as emulators do. I have an Tech 21 amp simulator and this is different. Everybody thought that this is a tube amp.

Sound remains unchanged and only the volume level drops when switching power control between 5W, 15 W and 30W. The change from 5W to 0.5W is good for midnight playing, if you are careful with the volume knob, but the amp does not sound as open as with the other power levels. I think that the best low volume sound is with 5W and lower volume levels from the volume knob.

Almost stopped using pedals with this one. I like the sound so much that most of the time I play it with the guitar connected directly to the amp. It nails the blues, funk and classic rock style.

For people considering buying this amp I will recommend to get a footswitch as it will be easier to switch the Boost and a cover to protect it from dust as this is an open back amp.