I’m a tube snob. Well, not really a snob. I recognize there are good non-tube guitar amps. But I definitely want my amp to be a tube amp, because I do think that’s the way you get good sound.
But there are times when a non-tube amp has advantages that fit a certain application or use situation better. One such situation is busking, playing in the street for tips. You want the amp to be small and easy to carry. You want it to run on batteries. A tube amp is not really going to be the best thing for that.
Enter the Roland Street Cube EX. It has these functional abilities and you think, great, I’ll use it and live with it not sounding quite as good. To the contrary, it really is a nice sounding amp. And, to busking I add the job of doing gigs for senior audiences, or any small gig for a low number of people (or even a moderate number of people).
It has 4 channels, they claim (I think it is). But really it only has 2 channels, one intended for a microphone, and another intended for an instrument, probably a guitar or a keyboard. It has 3 power levels; I use low power for the senior gigs, and medium power for busking. I think I’ve used high power once, maybe twice. The instrument channel has a number of voicings, but I only use one of them, Crunch, which gives a nice amount of distortion, but not too much, it still has very good clarity. It has a knob that is chorus for the first half of its sweep, and then delay. The delay is ok, if seldom used by me; the chorus I strongly dislike. I do use its reverb (decent, but not as good as a Fender Deluxe Reverb, but what is?) for both guitar and on the microphone for vocals.
It can be plugged in, or run on eight AA batteries. I carry the AC cord (includes a transformer box) “just in case,” but I always use batteries, Duracell rechargeables. I recharge after two 2-hour sessions. You can do more, probably a 3rd session and into a 4th. But running out of juice in the middle of busking or a gig is such a pain in the a@@, that I err on the side of caution.
And it’s a pretty well built, rugged amp. The only issue I’ve had with it was the chorus/delay knob, which after a couple years wouldn’t turn off. The chorus effect always remained on (at its lowest setting), which I found to be intolerable. I had trouble finding someone to fix it, until the Roland website list of authorized dealers led me to High Tech Electronics at 270 Lawrence Street in Methuen, Massachusetts. Hector there determined that the pot had gone bad, replaced it, and solved the problem. After $80 and 2 days I had the amp back in fine working condition, and no problem since. Thank you Hector!
I always prefer to use any of my tube amps, but I do a lot of senior and busking gigs with the Roland Street Cube EX and I have to say, it’s a great amp for the purpose. Kind of to my surprise, but there you go.