Roland Bass Cube 30 / Line 6 / Ashdown Perfect 10

[bear-foot-bass]

I am looking for a small bass combo for use in church hall with PA. Needs to be loud enough to complement drums and be a useful monitor but not too load. (I have a Peavey head and 1x15 that i use in a rock covers band but it is too heavy for short light sesions)
Thought I'd get something straight like a small peavey combo or Ashdown Perfect 10. But when I tried the Roland Bass Cube 30 i was blown away by the tone and sound in the shop. Has anyone used one in anger and have any comments?
Also there doesn't seem to be a line out or DI so can't put the excellent effects thro PA, which seems like a major oversight?

Line 6 has a DI out but I didn't like the tone as much.

Any comments please?

[Dood]

The Roland would be my vote out of the three for excellent tone... but none of the three,in my view would have the b@lls to compete with a drummer, unless said percussionist tickles the skins with johnson's ear cleaning accessories instead of sticks.

[The Burpster]

I have a cube 30 sat here, going for a sensible offer.....

If you have an active bass you can just get away with it in a small venue, but if your drummer has attitude & you are using a passive, I would recommed the cube 100 as you will probably get drowned out.

That being said, if the drummer is not on a mission, I have practised in a village hall with it, and it was ok.

There is a 1/4" line out jack, its not DI but you can still put it thru another set up....

[Krysbass]

I have the Line 6 studio 110 and am using it in our weekly rehearsals where it initially got a few envious comments from our guitarists since it's smaller and more portable than their combos!

I need to hear myself clearly (or my playing goes to pieces) and to do this I perch the Line 6 on top of a bar stool angled upwards. However, I also found that in "Clean" mode (my preferred sound) I had to roll off quite a bit of bass to stop the speaker "pharting" itself into oblivion at the required volume (over 2 guitarists an electronic drum kit and a vocalist). To get the low end back again, I hooked it up to the pa.

Have to add that I'm currently looking to buy a more powerful amp for gigs, but the Line 6 will continue to be used for rehearsals. It depends how important it is that you hear what you're playing, but I'd guess that anything rated at 30 watts or less is going to struggle, unless the rest of the band can turn down.

[SJA]

the Cube 100 has a DI out.

I'm planning to get one soon.

[bear-foot-bass]

Thanks for your help guys

I've done some more research and found details of the Roland 100 Bass Cube which should be perfect for quick light sessions with PA set up. Its still pretty small and light. I never use the full power of my Peavey so I might even use it for larger gigs with my 15" cab as an extension speaker where needed.

I don't really need the effects of the Cube but they sound great and its always fun to have new toys.........

Any other thoughts?

[Mr. Foxen]

I very nearly bought a Cube100 but there was an offer on Ashdown 180-15 so I scored the more watts and used the change for a multi fx. Not convinced I went the right way whenever I need to lug the thing.

[largo]

I've been looking at the Phil Jones Bass Flightcase for just this, pricey though !

[Krysbass]

[quote name='largo' post='100864' date='Dec 7 2007, 02:18 PM']I've been looking at the Phil Jones Bass Flightcase for just this, pricey though ![/quote]

The PJB Flightcase actually isn't much bigger than the Line 6 110 I'm currently using and I've been considering it myself as a possible replacement for this, for use in both rehearsals and gigs as it has more power and can still be hooked up to the pa.

The fact that 2 of the 4 speakers are angled upwards would certainly get round having to put my Line 6 on top of a bar stool so I can hear myself over the rest of the band! My only concern is that its 4 x 5" speakers in the PJB Flightcase only have about the same combined surface area as the 1x10" speaker in the Line 6, so I'm wondering how much low-end it would actually deliver on its own before running out of steam?

[ped]

The trick with the PJB is to have it on the floor and near a wall, that way the lows are produced quite well and it sounds very good. Fancy one myself but no real need as yet!

[King Tut]

The Cube 30 is fantastic....but - if you use a DI, it cuts out the speaker - so you'd have to use a DI box in front of the amp. I tried some PJB stuff at Music Live, and the Roland knocked it into a cocked hat

[bassaussie]

I'll throw another option in, although like the PJB, it's not exactly a budget option. Try a Gallien Krueger MB150. Very high quality sound, in a really small package. You can also hook it up to an extension speaker for larger gigs. The internal speaker is 8 ohms, which'll allow 100 watts. You can take the load down to 4 ohms for 150 watts.

Edited December 8, 2007 by bassaussie

[largo]

Interesting what you say KingTut ....

Can you tell me more. I was hoping a PJB Flightcase would do me as a backup amp as well as practice combo at home as it delivers 150W from the combo (no external speaker needed to get full power) and apparently can handle down to a low B at decent volumes. DI out for PA and a headphone input which mutes the speaker so I can practice at home without waking up the bairns too.

You telling me I'd be better with a Cube 30 and if so, why ? Would rather save some cash.

[King Tut]

Well - I'm not sure of the models I tried - but one had two small (6 or eight inch speakers) and one had four. Both stall holders apologised that I wouldn't be able to hear them properly due to the loud environment - but that was exactly what i wanted. As soon as I got anything like the volumes needed to add any kind of punch - even from close by, they seemed to fart a bit.

Regarding the roland - to be honest - you'd be far better off with the 100 - I'm lucky enough to have both. The 100 is significantly louder than the 30, and it has a proper DI out - switchable pre or post. The 30 just has a recording/phones out - which is obviously a jack - and cuts out the speaker. However - if you're happy with a pre eq out - you could use a cheap passive di box in front of the amp.

Both are unfeasibly loud for their size. I've gigged the 100 in a trio with pa support several times with mixed results - sometimes I've found it lacked bottom, but in other rooms it's been fine. last wednesday I gigged at a local secure mental health unit with a trio in a medium room (6 times as big as a normal living room?) to about 30 people. Our drummer is 'Cozy Powell/John Bonham' loud.

I used a yamaha powered desk set to half power (approx 150 WPC). We had the kick and two vox through the desk. The guitarist just went through his amp, and the cube was easily loud enough to cope with this without going through the PA - OK in fairness - it'll never flap your trousers, but it did the job.

The 100 also has a speaker out - but be careful - I think it's wired in series. This means if you plug in an 8 ohm speaker you will LOSE volume. However - if you plug in two eight or one four ohm speaker, you will lose a little bit of power but gain volume due to increased speaker surface area - there's a few threads on this if you look around - the eden nemesis combos are the same.

I've never gigged the 30 - but I reckon it's as loud as the PJB's I tried - with far more useable features on it. The amp modelling is very good - it has compression, chorus/flange and echo/reverb as well. I'd say save your pennies for a cube 100 - but if you can't stretch to that give the 30 a listen

[ergon]

I've got a Cube 100 it's brilliant tone of the 30 with extra features and a bit more omph!

[OutToPlayJazz]

I've been using a Roland BassCube 30 with my TRB-6 for shows & it coped brilliantly with a grand piano, keyboard, drummer & six-piece wind/brass section. I was amazed, too! The stupifying thing is that the sound doesn't even get lost in a big theatre!