Looking to upgrade my Micro Cube

sabretooth · 29th March 2011, 10:26 PM

So I've been learning for about a year now - I've got a Epiphone Les Paul Special II and Roland Micro Cube amp. I guess over the past year I've been praciticing, I've been slowly noticing the sound difference in amps. One of the big things I've noticed is the difference in sound quality between my Micro Cube and my guitar teacher's Cube-30X. The larger driver obviously produced better sound, but the distortion seemed a lot better too.

To my ear my guitar doesn't sound too bad, and please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking that upgrading from the little Micro Cube is going to be smarter than a change in guitar.

I'm tossing up between the 20X and 30X - I don't think I'd need the extra size over the 20X that the 30X has, but I'm open to input on this. Any thoughts?

atmo · 29th March 2011, 10:31 PM

Personally, I don't think it's a worthwhile upgrade, unless you have a way to do it without it costing you much.

CB434 · 30th March 2011, 3:12 PM

Haven't played the 30x or the Micro much. Coincidentally, I'll be getting a Micro Cube in the near future.

The Micro's strength I think is that it's so small, you can turn it up and put some energy into the speaker. Compared to having a 80W 12 inch speaker with the amp volume on 0.5.

The 30 will have more headroom but to get it moving air would run the chance of annoying neighbours or people you live with. The bigger speaker, the more headroom, I agree with your thoughts.. It's just a matter of what a priority is to you. I also agree with you that amp makes a bigger difference in tone, vs guitar. As long as the guitar is already suited to the sound your chasing.

You know.. 30 is still too small to play with a drummer. There could be some logic in waiting until you go the full way to a larger amp to play with a band.

You have to watch out with "fancy" or expensive practice amps, because after all they are only used for bedroom or practice. It comes down to how long you see yourself practicing in your room, how long until you see yourself joining a band and how much you see your practice tone as a priority. For alot of people who have higher end amps, Cubes are great, because they allow you to quickly plug and play and turn the volume up a bit.. the tone isn't as important as it's only practice. You should forget about everyone else though and go with what's best for you. A better bedroom tone could inspire you to play more for example. I agree with atmo though, it's not worth paying alot of money for.

DJ Fusion · 30th March 2011, 4:22 PM

Are you playing with a band? Do you want more volume or a sweeter tone?

Going from a Micro to a Cube is kind of like upgrading from a Barina to a Fiesta. Put up with it for a bit longer, save some money and buy a real amp which will last.

If I were you I'd save your cash for a small valve amp like Blackstar HT-5, Orange TT, Vox Nightrain etc.

sabretooth · 31st March 2011, 1:16 AM

Definitely not playing with a band - just practicing myself and learning songs by Muse, Foo Fighters, etc.

I'm not after anything fancy - just something I can practice with, play the songs with a relative closeness to what they should sound like within the limitations of my own ability. It's just something I do for myself and will never progress to a band/performance scenario.

Though by the sounds of things it may not be worst the upgrade - it sounds like it's not a big enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. so I might just wait until a second hand one floats around for the right price.

CB434 · 6th April 2011, 5:36 PM

I was in a similar situation (only with thoughts of a band down the line but not right now) and I originally wanted Blackstar HT-5 and went with HT-60. So that if/when I join a band, I'm already set up. Rather then having to save some cash while they find someone else (been in that situation years ago).

The HT-5 is great if you like heavy gain tones. More modern music. Compared to other small tube amps which are usually better for "classic rock". It's cleans and lighter gain sounds are okay too. Even in a home use sitaution you can appreciate the difference with a tube amp. They require maintainence (changing tubes) that's the only thing.

A Cube 20 or 30 would be good too. Less maintenance.

If you got the HT-5 or a Cube 20 or 30 and a Pod or Digitech Multi Fx pedal.. you could experiement with alot of different amp tones and effects/OD pedals (I like the Digitech more for this). And have yourself alot of good clean fun. It can be inspiring to play with better tone, that's for sure. I'd probably recommend the HT-5 but it's up to you.

Maybe keep a look out for 2nd hand gear like you said. I was lucky to get my HT-60 on ebay new for the price of the HT-40. Just a fortunate set of events.

There's no hurry either.. if you see yourself keeping this hobby for many years you can always upgrade again here or there. Coinciding with how your skills improve etc.

The cheapest route I have used which worked very well.. was a multi fx (RP250) pedal into a 15 or 30W Peavey transtube (dirt cheap used) with a decent clean channel , using the amps models on the pedal to simulate 16 or so different amps (compared to the 4 or 5 a cube gives you). The Peavey's distortion sucked but the clean was great and was a good platform for using the multi fx. The presets help alot as well if you want to play along with the CD. I'm talking about making your own of course, because the default presets of any multi fx sucks ass. You could set it up for example the sounds of 3 different Foo Fighters albums tones beside each other. No it's not exact, but it's close enough that if your playing is good it will sound very good. Perfect for playing along with your stereo. I guess it depends if you like tweakability.. the one I had, it was like having little computerised versions of the real pedals (the knobs did the same thing as the real counterparts) so it was a great way to learn about how they all work before buying any of them individually.

The biggest problem with any Cube for jamming with the CD, is having to turn to knobs between songs/bands. Presets help alot with that.

The prices of multi fx are like video cards, buy the older model (or used) and it's like half price of the newer one.

Sorry I know I'm rambling.. just have a bit of experience being in your position at different times of my guitar life. GL n HF

29th March 2011, 10:26 PM	#1
sabretooth Overdue for a new title Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: QLD Posts: 8,276	Looking to upgrade my Micro Cube So I've been learning for about a year now - I've got a Epiphone Les Paul Special II and Roland Micro Cube amp. I guess over the past year I've been praciticing, I've been slowly noticing the sound difference in amps. One of the big things I've noticed is the difference in sound quality between my Micro Cube and my guitar teacher's Cube-30X. The larger driver obviously produced better sound, but the distortion seemed a lot better too. To my ear my guitar doesn't sound too bad, and please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking that upgrading from the little Micro Cube is going to be smarter than a change in guitar. I'm tossing up between the 20X and 30X - I don't think I'd need the extra size over the 20X that the 30X has, but I'm open to input on this. Any thoughts?

29th March 2011, 10:31 PM	#2
atmo Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Geelong Posts: 636	Personally, I don't think it's a worthwhile upgrade, unless you have a way to do it without it costing you much. __________________ Worklog: Tranzfuzion

30th March 2011, 3:12 PM	#3
CB434 Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 22	Haven't played the 30x or the Micro much. Coincidentally, I'll be getting a Micro Cube in the near future. The Micro's strength I think is that it's so small, you can turn it up and put some energy into the speaker. Compared to having a 80W 12 inch speaker with the amp volume on 0.5. The 30 will have more headroom but to get it moving air would run the chance of annoying neighbours or people you live with. The bigger speaker, the more headroom, I agree with your thoughts.. It's just a matter of what a priority is to you. I also agree with you that amp makes a bigger difference in tone, vs guitar. As long as the guitar is already suited to the sound your chasing. You know.. 30 is still too small to play with a drummer. There could be some logic in waiting until you go the full way to a larger amp to play with a band. You have to watch out with "fancy" or expensive practice amps, because after all they are only used for bedroom or practice. It comes down to how long you see yourself practicing in your room, how long until you see yourself joining a band and how much you see your practice tone as a priority. For alot of people who have higher end amps, Cubes are great, because they allow you to quickly plug and play and turn the volume up a bit.. the tone isn't as important as it's only practice. You should forget about everyone else though and go with what's best for you. A better bedroom tone could inspire you to play more for example. I agree with atmo though, it's not worth paying alot of money for.

30th March 2011, 4:22 PM	#4
DJ Fusion Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 4,868	Are you playing with a band? Do you want more volume or a sweeter tone? Going from a Micro to a Cube is kind of like upgrading from a Barina to a Fiesta. Put up with it for a bit longer, save some money and buy a real amp which will last. If I were you I'd save your cash for a small valve amp like Blackstar HT-5, Orange TT, Vox Nightrain etc.

31st March 2011, 1:16 AM	#5
sabretooth Overdue for a new title Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: QLD Posts: 8,276	Definitely not playing with a band - just practicing myself and learning songs by Muse, Foo Fighters, etc. I'm not after anything fancy - just something I can practice with, play the songs with a relative closeness to what they should sound like within the limitations of my own ability. It's just something I do for myself and will never progress to a band/performance scenario. Though by the sounds of things it may not be worst the upgrade - it sounds like it's not a big enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. so I might just wait until a second hand one floats around for the right price.

6th April 2011, 5:36 PM	#6
CB434 Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 22	I was in a similar situation (only with thoughts of a band down the line but not right now) and I originally wanted Blackstar HT-5 and went with HT-60. So that if/when I join a band, I'm already set up. Rather then having to save some cash while they find someone else (been in that situation years ago). The HT-5 is great if you like heavy gain tones. More modern music. Compared to other small tube amps which are usually better for "classic rock". It's cleans and lighter gain sounds are okay too. Even in a home use sitaution you can appreciate the difference with a tube amp. They require maintainence (changing tubes) that's the only thing. A Cube 20 or 30 would be good too. Less maintenance. If you got the HT-5 or a Cube 20 or 30 and a Pod or Digitech Multi Fx pedal.. you could experiement with alot of different amp tones and effects/OD pedals (I like the Digitech more for this). And have yourself alot of good clean fun. It can be inspiring to play with better tone, that's for sure. I'd probably recommend the HT-5 but it's up to you. Maybe keep a look out for 2nd hand gear like you said. I was lucky to get my HT-60 on ebay new for the price of the HT-40. Just a fortunate set of events. There's no hurry either.. if you see yourself keeping this hobby for many years you can always upgrade again here or there. Coinciding with how your skills improve etc. The cheapest route I have used which worked very well.. was a multi fx (RP250) pedal into a 15 or 30W Peavey transtube (dirt cheap used) with a decent clean channel , using the amps models on the pedal to simulate 16 or so different amps (compared to the 4 or 5 a cube gives you). The Peavey's distortion sucked but the clean was great and was a good platform for using the multi fx. The presets help alot as well if you want to play along with the CD. I'm talking about making your own of course, because the default presets of any multi fx sucks ass. You could set it up for example the sounds of 3 different Foo Fighters albums tones beside each other. No it's not exact, but it's close enough that if your playing is good it will sound very good. Perfect for playing along with your stereo. I guess it depends if you like tweakability.. the one I had, it was like having little computerised versions of the real pedals (the knobs did the same thing as the real counterparts) so it was a great way to learn about how they all work before buying any of them individually. The biggest problem with any Cube for jamming with the CD, is having to turn to knobs between songs/bands. Presets help alot with that. The prices of multi fx are like video cards, buy the older model (or used) and it's like half price of the newer one. Sorry I know I'm rambling.. just have a bit of experience being in your position at different times of my guitar life. GL n HF