REVIEWED
HANDS ON... ROLAND CUBE-40XL
Guitar Combo
£
199.004www.roland.co.uk Roland UK 401792 702701
Looking for a compact all- singing-all-dancing guitar amp? Then step this way, sir, the new Roland Cube-40XL could be the perfect solution...
CHECK THIS… •
Three footswitchable channels include JC Clean, Lead, and Solo with memory capability.
• 10 COSM amp models, including the new Extreme amp.
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• Eight built-in effects, including the new Heavy Octave
and COSM vintage Spring Reverb. 80-second Phrase Looper.
Power Squeezer for full natural sounding gain at low volume.
Hands-free channel switching via footswitch (sold separately).
20 3pickup
Mission Control: The Roland Cube40XL packs a lot of features into its compact design.
Roland Cube series guitar amplifiers are something of an institution. Since the 1980s these compact yet very powerful solid state amps have proved popular with musicians looking for a small but no less effective combo for practicing, teaching and even playing live. The latest Roland Cube-XL series represents the peak of evolution for these amazing little amps – which have sold an incredible 1 million units since the Cube series was first launched – and so let’s take a closer look at the new Cube-40XL. Roland has really poured a lot of development into this new Cube-XL series and the 40 watt model includes 10 great sounding amp simulations that are based on Roland’s COSM digital amp modelling technology, including an exciting new ‘Extreme’ mode that delivers a massive stack-like wall of sound! There are two new built-in COSM modelled effects too; Heavy Octave combines a crushing HM style overdrive with a powerful one octave below the original note (which means that you don’t necessarily need to down-tune to get convincing ultra-heavy contemporary metal sounds). At the other end of the scale an all-new stunningly realistic sounding vintage spring reverb lets you create a subtle ambiance or crank up the ‘verb for some surf-drenched mayhem. The clean channel takes its inspiration from the mighty Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus combo, a legendary amplifier that is renowned for its ultra clean tone and distinctive chiming built-in chorus. The Cube-40XL is a clever little beasty, too. It can even remember your favourite solo setting in both the clean and lead channels in the form of a dedicated ‘Solo’ mode that guarantees you’ll nail the right tone every time that you step up a gear to take a solo. Think about it, with your dedicated lead and clean tones, plus their solo modes the Cube-40XL offers four different tones instantly, not bad for a little solid state amp, we reckon. As am amp designed for performance and practicing the Cube-40XL also includes an 80 second looper that lets you record sound-on-sound loops to jam over. Neat. For more reflective unplugged-style moments the Cube-40XL also includes a built-in Acoustic Simluator that uses a specially created EQ curves that transform an electric guitar into a realistic sounding steel strung acoustic at the flick of a switch.
The new Roland Cube-XL range includes four models, the CUBE-80XL, 40XL, 20XL, and 15XL, so there is a cube out there for you, whatever type of music you want to play. PM
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