Roland Cube 60 lifespan

[Dutchbopper]

I am about to pull the plug on a used Cube 60 amp for rehearsal purposes. They are no longer available new so the ones you buy are used, often over 5 years old. Seems unlikely that I will ever have one repaired once I get one for 100 bucks or even less, so with repairs probably exceeding value, it's going to be a disposable amp.

My question, are these amps sturdy enough to last over a decade? Most used ones are 5-10 years old anyway. I have my eyes on one that is 7 years old ...

Any experiences with Cubes' lifespan?

DB

[medblues]

I have a 16-year old Microcube still works well (not used daily).

[RobbieAG]

I bought one used maybe 10 years ago (it was in brand new condition and still had the sticker on it). I'm not sure exactly when I bought it, but it was shortly after the Cube 80 came out. I've been using it daily as a bedroom practice amp mainly with headphones and have had no problems with it. I think Roland/Boss products are high quality regardless of where they're manufactured. Unless it was abused, you should be fine with one that's seven years old.

[Gitterbug]

"Built like a tank" is what people used to say of these. Mine is from around 2005 and still going strong, after many years as shareware in a training space used by several jazz bands. If the speaker blows, though, its may be hard to find a replacement that's shallow enough.

[neatomic]

yes i agree...roland/boss built amps to last...you still see ancient jc-120's around

i had a little roland amp that i tweaked to run into a big fender 2- 15 cab...and ran it hard for years...no problems

cheers

[consumerduck]

I have an orange cube 60 from the 80s? Sounds awesome and I’ve never had any kind of issue with it- except cork sniffers not in the know don’t really give it it’s due, but I’m fine with that. Last time I saw The Cure live Robert Smith had 3-4 of the modern cubes miked up behind him. I thought that was pretty cool!

[rpjazzguitar]

I have seen Rolands with issues.

My JC55, which I bought used years ago, is still running.

BUT, I have had to reheat the solder joints on all the pots twice.

The symptom is crackling noises which are affected by wiggling the jack or the other pots.

I've never been able to figure out which solder joint is the culprit, but reheating all of them isn't much trouble once the board is exposed. Getting to that point is some trouble.

I probably should get a foot long cable with a right angle plug on one end and a female 1/4" on the other. Plug the right angle into the amp and never move it. Affix the other end to the amp, somehow, and always plug into that. This would reduce the mechanical stressors which break solder joints. But, I've never bothered.

[Litterick]

"The first Cube 40 in New Zealand” has just come up for sale; one careful owner for more than forty years.

[FredH]

I bought my 30 watt in 2008 and it's still kicking. My 80 watt is at least 7 years old. And I just bought my grandson a 30 watt that is 5 or 6 years old. With reasonable care, my sense is they will endure. I don't think you can go wrong if it's in decent shape. Best of luck.

[Gitfiddler]

Cube 60 (or most any of the series) are rock solid and tend to last longer than their humble price would justify.

Unless the one you are interested has been abused, it should be a safe bet. The Cube 60 I once owned is still in use by a friend, and my 80GX is my go-to rehearsal amp...whenever rehearsals or gigs start back up...it will be ready.

[Alter]

I have friends that have been gigging these for 20 years with no issues..

[blackcat]

Dick,

As I was saying in your last thread on this product range......................................

Roland Cube 60 issues with plastic input jack - Google Search

Otherwise, 'Built like a Tank' more or less covers it.

Bonne chance!

David

[Dutchbopper]

Dick,

As I was saying in your last thread on this product range......................................

Roland Cube 60 issues with plastic input jack - Google Search

Otherwise, 'Built like a Tank' more or less covers it.

Bonne chance!

David

Yes, I read that. Thanks for reminding me. I'll pick up a Cube 60 in the course of next week.

DB

[Cordalis]

I’ve been playing occasionally with Cube 60 Orange from the 80’s owned by a friend and it never had a single issue. At that time we gigged a lot with it in smoky jazz clubs, carrying him around on cab trunks.
Instant beautiful and warm jazz sound still today. I wish it was mine!

[sgcim]

My Japanese, orange Cube 60 lasted about 30 years of hard gigging. The only problem I had was the top part of it becoming separated from the bottom part, but that was because I was dragging it all over the place. My tech would simply have to glue it back on.

The speaker dried out and cracked after about 25 years, and I got a low weight Weber installed.

I can't speak for the gray ones, or any other Cubes.

[blackcat]

No comparison to or with the last generation with the plastic jacks.

David

[DRS]

I have a 2005 Cube 30. Works great. The input jack nut is stripped but holds. Only problem I see.

[wildschwein]

I have the Cube 30 wich I have owned for 6 or so years. I guess it was probably made around 2008ish -- still works great. Never had an issue.

[oldane]

I have an old Cube 40 which I bought in the beginning of the 1980s. Still going strong without problems though I haven't used it so much in the later years, where it resides in our summer house. Of course that doesn't say more than they were well made back then and theoretically it may have changed since then. But people seem to be happy also with the newer ones. At a point I replaced the stock speaker with an Eminence Lil' Buddy (hemp cone) which was a great improvement for that 1950s jazz tone (like the tone you go for). However, I still prefer my Mambo to the Cube.

[Dutchbopper]

Thanks all for answering my question. In the mean time I have picked up a used Cube 60 that was hardly played. Should last for a while.

DB

[sgcim]

Thanks all for answering my question. In the mean time I have picked up a used Cube 60 that was hardly played. Should last for a while.

DB

If you got an orange one, you got a great deal.

[Dutchbopper]

If you got an orange one, you got a great deal.

No, it's a more recent one. But I still like it.

DB

[Grigoris]

If you got an orange one, you got a great deal.

I have recently bought a Cube 40GX but I have received an interesting offer for an old orange Cube 40 from the 80s. Is the sound that much different?

[floatingpickup]

I have recently bought a Cube 40GX but I have received an interesting offer for an old orange Cube 40 from the 80s. Is the sound that much different?

I have a couple of Orange Cubes from the 1980’s. One is a 40 and the other is a 60. They are both really nice sounding amps, but the 40 doesn’t have quite enough bottom end for me. The 60 has a much bigger sound. They both have very nice spring reverbs, which I prefer over the digital reverb in the newer Cubes. The Orange Cube 60 is a great gigging amp, light with lots of power. I use my 40 mainly as a practice amp at home. I do take it out on gigs occasionally, but only in very low volume situations.
Keith

[Grigoris]

thanks for the reply,
So do you think that it's worth the buy, under 100 Euros? Or stick to the 40GX? I don't gig so it's obviously only for home use...
Or should I go for something different, like a small tube amp for bedroom use?