Gear Review : Roland Cube 20XL Guitar Combo Amplifier

FEATURES : 5/10

This compartment is surely a let down. There are few functions, compared to its competitors. You have nice distortions to choose from and a good acoustic channel, but the effects corner is really a small one. One kind of delay and reverb (that too with the same knob, so you can’t have them both). Other modulations are chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo and heavy octave, which are decent. It also has a tuner, power squeezer and three band equalizer. With phones, auxiliary and footswitch options available.

EASE OF USE : 10/10

This is one of the most humble and friendly amps ever. You have a button to go straight from clean to distortion which is very convenient. In most of the amps where you have trillions of features, they forget you to give a bypass or a normal clean channel. Otherwise everything is very user-friendly.

SOUND : 8/10

Very nice sound of the amp models from clean to distortion. The acoustic model makes this heavy piece of wood sound virtually like a hollow guitar. The distortion range is also satisfactory.

RELIABILITY / DURABILITY : 8/10

The amp is very sturdy. You can buttress it with a cushion and sit on it. The knobs are also robust and don’t seem to wear off. It is not that heavy and easy to carry as well.

VALUE FOR MONEY : 6/10

Recent price hike has actually jeopardized its rank of being one of the most reasonable amps in its league.It is still worth the money

BUY IT : If you have a Processor and use it as a clean channel mostly.
DON’T SPEND THE MONEY : If you want it to be the sole partner of your guitar.

OVERALL : 7.5/10

ALTERNATIVES : Orange Crush 20LDX ; Vox Valvetronix 20+ ; Fender Mustand II ; Line 6 SpiderIV 15W or 30W.