Dig it! All of my amps were tooo loud for my apartment, the attenuator helped a little but I found it changed the tone... all hope was lost until I found THIS

smurfco

smurfco

Meatus McPrepuce
My current main amp stable includes:

Savage Macht 12 tube amp
Winfield Cyclone (AC-15)
Deluxe Reverb 65RI

They all sound great in a live context but I've been unhappy with playing them at super quiet apartment volumes even with an attenuator. They just didn't sound good!

I also have a Positive Grid Spark and it sounds nice but has too many app-based controls / options to really be plug and play (plus it lives in the living room).

So I saw this used at the ol' Guitar Center (aka the Number One Place to See Sad Men)

IMG_5447.jpeg


It's a Roland Blues Cube Hot. It kind of is based off of a Fender Tweed (59 Bassman to be specific). It has a 12" speaker and a switch that changes the power from 0.5W up to 30W, but the tone doesn't change when you change the power like on my attenuator... I'm really happy with it, it is just what I was hoping for. Even though it is solid state it feels tube-y to me even at these super low volumes. And I think it looks nice and good too.

Anyone else try one of these? At $400 used in like-new condition it seems like a great option. Apparently they get loud enough to gig with but that's not why I got it, I think I'd still take one of my big tube amps for that, but for my purposes it really works just great.
 
Congrats! Happy Roland Day!

I used a Dr Z Airbrake attenuator for years. It was a helpful tool at home and in some live situations. But, it did change both sound and feel. The higher the attenuation, the more it changed the sound and feel.

Years later, I came across a killer deal on an open box Fryette Power Station PS2 for about $400, Guitar Center online. The new version now sells for $899. It’s a 50 watt amp and reactive load attenuator all in one. It attenuates and re-amps the signal. It can even be used to raise the output of a 5 watt amp to stage volume. Also, it can make an average amp sound better. In addition, I use it to amplify digital modeling with great results. Bottom line, it preserves the feel and sounds great at lower volumes.

Even after I got the Power Station, I continued to bring the Dr Z Airbrake out to gigs in case the place required us to turn down. Why? The Airbrake is smaller and lighter than the Power Station, so I left the PS2 at home.

I’ll bet that Blues Cube is lighter than your tube amps.
 
It is just under 30lbs so definitely lighter than the Savage and Deluxe Reverb. The Winfield Cyclone is surprisingly light, though, so I think it's in that same range.
 
I hauled around a 60 watt Fender Blues Deville 410 in my early years of playing. I can’t imagine doing it now. Even my 212 cab is more than I want to move.

Now, if I leave the house with gear, typically, it’s for a jam session. I grab an amp head in one hand, a 112 cab in the other. Then, I grab two guitars and my Nano board.

My VAC Hayseed 15 head and VHT D-Fifty head both have great master volume features. So, I don’t even have to worry about an attenuator.
 
Looking at those myself. How does it sound with say a tube scream type pedal? Also have tried any heavier through it for crunchiness?
 
DinoMikeSr said:
Looking at those myself. How does it sound with say a tube scream type pedal? Also have tried any heavier through it for crunchiness?
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I haven't really spent a ton of time with it on dirtier sounds yet (and I don't currently have anything Tubescreamer-esque on my board) but it seems to handle my Thorpy overdrive and fuzz pedals fine (though I did have to adjust the EQ on the pedals since this amp is a little bit brighter than the attenuated tube amp I was using before). It has a little on-board "boost" button (that you can also control with a footswitch) that adds grit in addition to a volume boost, but other than just making sure it worked for a second I haven't messed with it much.

It's definitely a blues-based amp though, I think the main amp they based it on is a tweed '59 Bassman. I read that it can get Marshall-y with that boost control engaged but I still wouldn't call it a hard rock or metal amp...
 
smurfco said:
I haven't really spent a ton of time with it on dirtier sounds yet (and I don't currently have anything Tubescreamer-esque on my board) but it seems to handle my Thorpy overdrive and fuzz pedals fine (though I did have to adjust the EQ on the pedals since this amp is a little bit brighter than the attenuated tube amp I was using before). It has a little on-board "boost" button (that you can also control with a footswitch) that adds grit in addition to a volume boost, but other than just making sure it worked for a second I haven't messed with it much.

It's definitely a blues-based amp though, I think the main amp they based it on is a tweed '59 Bassman. I read that it can get Marshall-y with that boost control engaged but I still wouldn't call it a hard rock or metal amp...
Click to expand...
Thank you.
 
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