PSG Amplifier

[Ken Byng]

I have the Roland and I think it is excellent, especially for the price. It is a modelling amp, but I don't use that side of it - just the clean channel. It will never replace my Webb, which cost many times the retail price of the Roland. The 80XL is fine for smaller gigs and has plenty of headroom. The Roland is also excellent for recording, either miked up or using the balanced output. The amp was primarily designed for guitar, even though it does a great job for steel. Therefore for those players who, like me double up on steel and guitar this little amp is just the job.

It works well on C6, and the 12" speaker doesn't break up at all with big chords. The biggest thing for me is that the amp is very compact and lightweight. When I was in Dallas a few weeks ago, Mickey Adams had a number of little Roland cubes in the Mullen room. My friend Charles Tilley from Plano, Texas bought one and as far as I know is delighted with it. It is worth taking your steel to a local dealer and trying one out first. Just make sure you use the clean channel.

Billy Murdoch also owns one so he might chip in here.

[johnbudding]

Thanks for your replies. Really useful information! I think I'll try the Cube out.

[allan cook]

I have just bought a Roland Cube 80 XL and it is brilliant. It is far better than my Nashville 112 in my opinion. The on board delay and reverb are good too.
Even better, a bit of negotiation at the local music store and I got it for £269. Bargain!

Phil

[johnbudding]

Right! To the Cube! I imagine it'll be great fun with the built in FX for both steel and guitar too. Thanks so much everyone.

[Ken Byng]

I have just bought a Roland Cube 80 XL and it is brilliant. It is far better than my Nashville 112 in my opinion. The on board delay and reverb are good too.
Even better, a bit of negotiation at the local music store and I got it for £269. Bargain!

Phil

Blimey Phil - you robbed them. I have paid more than that for an effects pedal!! Great price and another happy customer. Plus you won't break the knobs off the amp which is a serious design fault of the NV 112.

The older versions of the 80 cube either had reverb or delay, now you can use both simultaneously.

[Zebedee]

DINOSAUR ALERT

I don't bother with any of these new-fangled amps, it's the Peavey Vegas/Peavey Session 500 for me every time, you can't beat a 15 inch speaker, in my humble opinion

[Ken Byng]

Richard
Here is part of an interview with another dinosaur - Bobbe Seymour. In this he discusses his amp preferences (remember the interview is at least 15 years old).

"An amplifier needs to be deliver the sound of the guitar without adding or subtracting a whole lot. I can't understand the guys that pay big money for custom amplifiers. They're in vogue today and out tomorrow. If they just bought one or two Peavey Session 400's they would sound better. As far as I'm concerned the Session 500 was the dog of the era. Considered great by amateurs only. You can't beat the 400's. The joke amongst Telecaster players goes: Question: What do you do if you see a steel guitar player drowning? Answer: Throw 'em a Session 500 amp! The 500's weren't even as powerful as the Nashville. I use two Session 400's. I use a Boss DD-3 delay. Sometimes I'll use their RV-3."

I agree about a 15" speaker Richard, but amps equipped with 12" speakers can also sound great. Don't forget, Lloyd Green's classic album that he cut with Charley Pride at Panther Hall was played through a hired Fender Twin Reverb with 12" speakers.

For a newbie, there are more options than just Peavey these days. My garage is full of Peavey amps that I am unlikely to ever use again. I had a Session 500 when they first came out. It was a back breaker and I never could get a decent tone out of it. It was also in and out of the repair section at Peavey's. In the end, Peavey UK swapped it out for a brand new Nashville 400 in 1982 because my Session 500 was so unreliable. I used that amp for the next 28 years until I got my Webb.

I can tell you that the Roland delivers a big tone for such a small cabinet, and is priced at a very attractive level for a newbie or someone who wants a portable amp for smaller gigs or sessions. Quite a few players in the States are now realising that steel guitar can sound great through amps that don't have the Peavey badge on the front. Mickey Adams is no mug when it comes to playing steel and even he has been surprised at just how good the Roland is.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

As a Cube owner I guess I should put in My two cents worth
I have owned many amps and am pretty settled now on My TC Furlong with the Telonics pre 1000
However I was looking for a practise amp which would do double duty(Steel and six string) and saw the write ups on the U.S.Forum about the Cubes.
I got interested and when I read on this Forum some time ago what Ken Byng had to say about the Cube I was sold. I respect just about everything Ken says about steels and amps he is a very well respected player and very humble indeed,never blows His own horn and is one superb player(cheque in the post I hope )
No more leg humping
The cube is a teriffic amp and I have played it on several gigs and the beauty is that it is so easy to set up,guitar to vol ped to amp, the effects are good enough for the live gigs.
Paid about £285.
Billy
PS I only use the J.C. setting with a little delay and reverb for steel.

[acerod]

Dave Kirk has a system where he uses the Nashville for steel with an Evans pre-amp for guitar by switching the Nashville pre-amp off. Saves carrying two amps around. If you contact him I'm sure he'll explain it to you.

[STEDDIE EDDIE]

thanks guys for your endorsements of the cube, its always good to hear these reviews from people that actually use the gear, re dinosaurs, if you are happy with your sound, then stick with it, and dont feel the need to apologise, its whatever works for you that counts, but i would buy a cube with confidence now, having read Ken and Billys comments,