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Received this amp, and was not convinced at first, as I thought it sounded a little to zingy/sharp. However, after at little tweaking with the amps knobs, and the guitars tone control, I found that you can really squeeze pretty much any tone you like out of this amp. I am a big fan of John Mayer, and you can go all the way from "Heart of life"-soft, to easily replicate his sweet solo tones both sound and attack-wise, just with the dual tone function! I was really blown away when realizing that. I have owned a Fender Twin, Fender Superchamp XD, Epiphone Blues Junior, Yamaha THR-10C and a Hughes&Kettner Puretone, and can easily say this is the most versatile amp of them all. While the SCXD is a modelling amp, it does not have the response like the Blues Cube. The THR is a really nice amp, and I would recommend it as an alternative traveling amp to the Blues Cube, but on driven tones, the THR doesn´t stand a chance compared to this one. I was looking at the internet for comments before purchasing this amp, and there are lots of comment on the price, that you can buy a full blown tube amp for the same price. True, and while I would have expected a lower price, these people have misunderstood rolands intention with this amp. This amp can do it all. It sounds like a tube amp, it has got an attenuator so you can play it both home and on stage, it is packed with features, it is light and reliable, and even got an USB out for recording and firmware updates. The spring reverb is also great, it blends in without sounding muddy. It gets my thumbs up, I will sell my SCXD and Puretone now, and only keep the THR for traveling.

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After a long wait, I was finally able to buy a Blues Cube Artist, and I was not disappointed. This product is supposed to sound and feel like tubes, without all the hassles of tubes, and it does. The cleans are warm, with a small amount of bite at the upper gain levels. The dirty tones are complex and change as you play. The amp is very touch sensitive. I really like the way it sounds. The reverb and tremolo are quiet and subtle. I leave them on and don't notice them-- that's good. Build quality also seems excellent, all the knobs are tight and smooth, and nothing crackles when I turn them. Is it indistinguishable from a real 60's Bassman... probably not, the real thing is noisy, hot, and has a reverb that goes "twang" when you bump it. $800 seems like a lot for a solid state amp, but it's cheap compared to the tube equivalent... and the cheap tubes are not as good IMO. So, if you want a solid amp with a great tone for gigs, you can't do much better.

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