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Roland has sold more than a million Cube amps since the series first made its debut in the late Seventies. These compact and reliable amps have remained the cornerstone of many practice and recording sessions and have even appeared on concert stages from small clubs to large arenas (Joe Walsh has often used Roland Cube amps in his stage rig with the Eagles).
The Cube 40GX is the newest model, and in addition to offering big sound in a small package like its predecessors, it provides the versatility of Roland’s COSM modeling technology, digital effects and the company’s new iCube Link feature.
Features
The Cube 40GX is a 40-watt combo with a single 10-inch speaker housed in a compact cabinet that weighs about 20 pounds and measures roughly 15 inches square in the front and nine inches deep. Its two-channel design offers a classic JC (Jazz Chorus) Clean channel and a Lead channel with 10 COSM amp models to choose from: Acoustic Sim, Black Panel, Dlx Combo, Brit Combo, Tweed, Classic Stack, Metal, R-Fier, Extreme and Dyna Amp. Both channels share a three-band EQ section (bass, middle, treble); an EFX control for selecting chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo or heavy octave effects; a delay control with warm and clear settings and a tap tempo switch; reverb control with spring and plate settings; and a master volume control. The JC Clean channel also has a separate volume control, while the Lead channel has its own gain and volume controls.
The Cube 40GX also features a built-in tuner and a solo memory switch that stores any amp setting and recalls it instantly, no matter how the knobs are set. A 1/8-inch jack functions either as a stereo auxiliary input or as an i-Cube Link input that allows users to connect an iOS device with Roland’s free Cube Jam app to the amp for jamming, practice, recording and playback purposes. The rear panel features two footswitch jacks for selecting channels and effects plus a recording output that also functions as a headphone jack.
Performance
Offering a wide variety of outstanding guitar tones ideal for any conceivable style of music as well as a useful selection of popular effects, the Cube 40GX is equally at home, onstage or in the studio. Despite its small size, it packs a hefty punch and can hold its own with much larger combos. The Cube 40GX’s versatility is as impressive as the incredible value it offers.
Cheat Sheet
List Price $???
Manufacturer Roland Corporation, roland.com
The Lead channel offers 10 outstanding COSM models that include an acoustic guitar simulator, various distorted amps and Roland’s new Extreme and Dyna Amp models.
The iCube Link allows users to connect an iOS device with Roland’s free Cube Jam app to the amp for practice, recording, and playback purposes.
The Bottom Line
The Roland Cube 40GX is a versatile powerhouse that delivers a multitude of awesome tones and impressive volume output in a deceptively compact package.
Chris is the co-author of Eruption - Conversations with Eddie Van Halen. He is a 40-year music industry veteran who started at Boardwalk Entertainment (Joan Jett, Night Ranger) and Roland US before becoming a guitar journalist in 1991. He has interviewed more than 600 artists, written more than 1,400 product reviews and contributed to Jeff Beck’s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll and Eric Clapton’s Six String Stories.
