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List Price: $328.50
Sale Price: $249.00
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- Features -
- 40-watt guitar amp with 10 high-performance speaker
- Three footswitchable channels, including JC Clean, Lead, and Solo with memory capability
- 10 COSM amp models, including the new Extreme amp
- Eight effects, including the new Heavy Octave and COSM vintage Spring Reverb
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The Roland Cube-40XL is a great little amp that packs a punch. It features a wide selection of high-quality Roland tones and effects. A few of my favorites include the awesome JC Clean sound, the legendary R-Fier, and a surprisingly sweet tweed tone, among others. The chorus effect is nice (but mono), as is the tap delay. There are two styles of reverb, spring and plate. The spring reverb perfectly reproduces the mechanical reverb you find on some tube amps, while the plates produce a smoother effect.
This amp features two independent Solo Channels, one clean and one lead, each of which can remember the effects you set. That's a very handy new feature I really appreciate. The built-in tuner can be used on a per-string basis, or optionally as a chromatic tuner. This was a thoughtful improvement.
The built-in looper was a sweet addition I've enjoyed, and have used it to perform some of my original tunes I couldn't have pulled off otherwise. You do need an extra Boss FS-6 pedal to use it, however. This is in addition to one FS-6 for clean/lead/solo, and another for effects. The pedals are not cheap, but well worth the expense. They are all, of course, optional, although if you intend to play live, you'll probably want at least one set. You could opt for pedals from another manufacturer, but frankly, I don't recommend it. The FS-6 pedals work perfectly for the Cube, can be configured for either latch or momentary operation, and can be chained together.
Typical Roland quality, this amp is made to last. I won't conceal the fact that I'm a big fan of Roland gear, and the 40XL doesn't disappoint. It's solid and road-worthy, not to mention stylish. I love its compact size. I can stick it in the window sill at the weekly jam I host, saving space for an extra amp on stage.
There are only a few minor drawbacks worth mentioning.
First, it's a little underpowered for gigging with a live band. That's not really surprising, considering its size. Having said that, I am still using it in a live band setting and it usually hangs just fine with the larger Fender amps. It's only when the volume gets way out of control that the Cube 40XL struggles a little. It's not really a fair complaint, since it's amazingly powerful and full sounding for such a small amp, but it's worth noting.
Second: It is, of course, a digital amp. I'm not a tube purist, by any means, but there's a difference. The Roland modeling, however, is second to none. This thing is a tone monster. It's still not a tube amp, but that's not a big deal for me. Some people can't get past the digital stigma. Personally, I think it sounds killer, tubes or none. YMMV.
Finally, I wish this thing had a line out for a second speaker or amp. If I could plug this baby into my old amp, I wouldn't have to worry about the power issue. It DOES have a Recording Out/Phones jack, but this cuts the sound from the speaker (as it should for those purposes). Also, it would be nice to send a line out to the board, instead of having to mic it. But the tried and tested mic method works fine, so it's not a big deal.
One other thing about the Recording Out/Phones jack, the sound is MONO, which unfortunately diminishes the fantastic Roland stereo effects (like the chorus) when recording or listening through headphones. Though not a deal-breaker, it seems like a disappointing oversight.
Other than these minor nitpicks, I love my Cube 40XL. It's sturdy, powerful, versatile, and cool. It's perfect for practice, rehearsals, and small venues. All in all, another superb piece of Roland gear.
If you're looking for something a bit bigger, check out the Cube 80XL.
Buy Roland CUBE-40XL 40-Watt 1x10-Inch Guitar Combo Amp Now
I was extremely disappointed by this amp and will be returning it. The Cube 40XL has a lot of great features and sounds very good. But it has one very annoying problem -it emits a soft, constant hissing sound when it's at idle. No matter the volume or other settings, the hissing is always there. It's particularly irritating when using headphones for late night practice. The headphone jack is essentially useless. I Googled Cube 40XL hiss and discovered that this is a common problem due to, evidently, a design flaw. I have a Cube 30 which I bought about 10 years ago and it's dead silent when powered on and not being played. Not so with the 40XL which is a shame because otherwise it's an excellent practice amp.
Read Best Reviews of Roland CUBE-40XL 40-Watt 1x10-Inch Guitar Combo Amp Here
Great little amp for both practice and stage. The amp models are pretty good; my only gripe is the volume change when switching from one amp type to another. The Tweed amp model has great tone, and the R'fier nails the Santana Mesa Boogie tone. The independent delay and reverb are a real plus. The effects are adequate.
The size and weight (22 lbs.) make this a great grab and go amp. The 10" speaker puts out fantastic tone!! To use the looper "live" you'll need at least 1 of the Boss double pedals (FS-6).
Overall, a fantastic value!! I plan on also buying the Cube 80XL for the line out and the extra volume when needed. These little amps replace my big tube amps and floor pedals and make gigging easy again. Great job by Roland!!
Want Roland CUBE-40XL 40-Watt 1x10-Inch Guitar Combo Amp Discount?
I bought 2 of these amps for a stereo set up. The amps sound pretty good with a strat, but they do not do My Les Paul justice. I'm happy with the amps features but but they're terribly noisy as others have mentioned. I tried using them for a recording in my home studio but the noise floor was mind numbing to deal with so I ended up using my Line 6 instead. I'm going to give these to my kids for practice amps and look into buying something further up the food chain for myself. I really wanted to like these amps. They're light weight and feature packed but the nosiness is a deal, killer for me.
The amps are fine for practice or small gigs but, if you plan on using them for recording you should probably consider something else.
This review is actually for the 20XL as that is the one I have and there is no hissing/static
problems.
After using the 20XL and being very impressed with it, I then ordered the 40XL at the reduced
price offered by one of Amazons sub contract companies, but right after making the order because
of reports of the low volume hissing problems checked on warranties and return procedures on this
amp. (Something I should have done before I ordered the amp)
What it boils down to, is that the reduced price (around 20%) you are getting from Amazon, may not
be as good as you think if the equipment is deffective.
If you return it, you will have to pay for the return shipping and in most cases a restocking fee.
I am not saying that the amp you will get will have the problems mentioned, but it looks like the
odds are about 50/50.
I buy a ton of stuff off of Amazon, but in this case, you may just want to go with one of the
regular suppliers that 100% warranty (All return shipping and no restocking charge)an amp if there is a problem.
