Roland Mobile Cube Battery Powered Stereo Amplifier

Miracle little amp. I have two, and use them several times a week. The only tweak I'd love is for an extra tone dial -- at the moment it's one tone dial that adjusts both mic and guitar. So you can't turn up the tone on the vocal and down on the guitar if you have a passive guitar pickup. I've solved this with an extra tone pedal, but would love to be able to do it on the amp itself. Otherwise, this is plenty loud -- I never have it up above half way and I play regularly to 50 or 60 people all singing, dancing and playing hand percussion. Batteries last a couple of hours -- rechargeables mean you can recharge one set while playing with another, so you're always covered. Doesn't come with a power lead, but they're fairly cheap online.

This little thing is a BEAST of an amp for lap steel guitar. It's voiced remarkably well for Hawaiian lap steel. Bobby Ingano is a Hawaiian Lap Steel Master from Hawaii, and he currently tours with Taj Mahal as his steel player and backup electric guitar player. Bobby tours the world with a Roland Mobile Cube for his Rickenbacher Frypan Lap Steel, and a Roland Micro Cube for his stratocaster. Both are powered by 6 AA batteries, and all he does is have them both mic'd with an SM57. Don't knock it till you've tried it. In addition to being very portable, the benefit of gigging with a battery powered amp is that you don't have to plug into the wall. Very many bars, restaurants, venues, etc have dirty power that can introduce noise into your guitar amp. Being Battery powered means you are a completely self sufficient little ecosphere. You can get consistent results, sound, and tone in every playing situation. If the little amp isn't loud enough, then you're likely playing in a band situation where someone can mic your amp with an SM57. IMO, one of the best tones for lap steel guitar, and very serviceable tone for electric and acoustic guitar.

bon produit, pour ce que c'est ! puissant, souple, et trés polyvalent. juste dommage que le chargeur ne soit pas venu avec !

Mainly the sound quality and multiple functions.

Great little amp. 5W is plenty loud for home practice. 3/4 way up will have neighbours banging on the walls. I've had it since 2008 but only now playing it more as I have a new guitar. The things I would have like to have known is a comparison against the Micro Cube and Street Cube (5W version) so my review is with this in mind : - versus Micro Cube : Mobile Cube bit louder (5W vs. 3W) but the main difference is that the Mobile Cube accepts a mic + instrument + mp2/aux. Micro Cube is either mic or instrument + aux. It may be possible to have an additional instrument on the Mobile (using the stereo input, having one instrument in Left and one in Right jack but I haven't tried). Micro Cube has more guitar effects (phaser/flanger/tremolo/octave) and around 7 amp simulations, whereas Mobile cube has chorus/echo/reverb effects and 2 type of distortion This is fine for me as I don't play with distortion and need only echo/reverb for that 1950's sound. Otherwise guitarists may be better off with the Micro Cube and if I were to make purchase again, I'd probably go for Micro Cube (GX version) as I am primarily a guitar player and I don't expect to be singing; the extra features, though probably won't be used, would be nice-to-have.The mobile cube is however shorter which is good for storage in a small flat but both have similar weight. - versus Street Cube : half the cost and half the weight with the same 5W output. Again Mobile lacks effects and amp simulation. Street cube has bigger speakers probably leading to fuller sound plus 3-band equalizer. I leave off one star for power supply annoyances. My rechargeables are probably not up to scratch as others appear to get good mileage from batteries, but I was only getting a few hours out of mine. I did buy a non-Roland ac adapter but it took the seller several goes to get it right : one was clicking, the other was not isolated and hummed, the third was good. I would prefer the ac adaptor supplied or even better built in and advise the purchase of a Roland adapter.