Roland Micro Cube
A few months ago, as I was getting ready for Artsplosure, I started shopping around for a small amp that I could use at the show to boost the volume of my flutes. Several of the members of our local flute circle have Roland Micro Cubes, so I thought I would give it a shot. A few clicks online at one of my favorite music gear websites and mine was on its way.
A few days later, the UPS guy dropped off the box and I ripped right into it. The amp is tiny — 9 by 9 by 7 inches — and quite honestly, it looks like a toy compared to my big Fender bass amp. Yes, it comes with an AC adapter, but my favorite feature is that it runs off of AA batteries as well, a huge plus for portable playing. Anyway, I plugged in my microphone, cranked up the dials, and started playing. The volume and sound quality blew me away. For a little tiny amp with a 5 inch speaker, this thing sounds amazing. The specs on Rolands site say that it only has 2W output, but this thing could easily compete with most of the 10 or 15 watt practice amps I’ve seen.
The coolest thing about this amp — on top of the fact that my set of AA batteries lasted through two full days of playing and still have plenty of juice (Roland claims 20 hours of battery life) — is the effects. If you want to sound like R. Carlos Nakai with thick reverb and lots of echoes, just turn a few knobs and there you go. These aren’t cheesy little effects like you see on some of the cheap amps out there. These effects sound really good, and they can definitely compete with my favorite reverb/echo preset on my Alesis Microverb. To top it all off, for you guitar players out there, it has some great COSM amp models. My acoustic guitar sounds pretty good through this thing, but my electric guitar sounds incredible with the Brit Combo or Classic Stack settings.
All in all, this is a great little amp. It’s so light and portable, and thanks to the batteries, you can play it just about anywhere. Someone always brings their Micro Cube to our flute circle meetings, and they always come in handy, whether we’re playing at a coffee shop or in someone’s living room. For $125, you can’t beat the quality and the features. My Micro Cube is probably my favorite purchase this year (after my new bass guitar, of course).
December 26th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
For NAF, what mic/preamp set-up do you use with the Micro Cube?
December 31st, 2007 at 10:06 pm
I usually use the Pick Up The World Mini Mic and preamp, available from Oregon Flute Store, because it’s easy. There are a couple things to watch out for though. First off, you’ll have to experiment with placement of the mic — it attaches with velcro, and you have to place it just right so you don’t pick up too much wind noise. Also, the mic is pretty sensitive, so it tends to pick up finger noise.
Some friends of mine who have the same amp just plug in a vocal mic — something like a Shure SM-58 or any one of the generic knock-offs that are available at a lower price point than Shure’s products. I haven’t really heard anything that sounded BAD, but it really comes down to the quality of your mic. I wouldn’t expect great sound from a $5 Radio Shack mic, but you should be able to get something decent at a local Sam Ash, Guitar Center, or other local music store.