Cabby Cabby either he admits it or doesn't do these videos. I think Dan of TPS put it the best when he said "I'm sure there's a negligible difference between digital and valve now, but I'm inspired by the romanticism of valves and not inspired by digital." It's all about what makes you want to play.
why? we are vision dominated creatures, why should anyone bother worrying about pointless stuff like this? People should get real about why they are worrying about what other people are playing and why they are playing it
@@zac_m I agree 100% , example, I used to have a Boss FZ-2 , a 90's original, I loved it , but stupidly sold it for some silly price 20 years ago, recently bought a Behringer clone of the same pedal, and its pretty much exactly the same sound, like 99.9% the same, .....but I still miss my FZ-2. The look of the piece of gear absolutely has a bearing on whether the player connects to it, and as you say its about what inspires you. We are not rational creatures, and we are vision dominated, so if someone wants to play something they think looks cool, more power too them, I hope the look helps inspire them as much as possible. And lets be truly real about why we all started playing in the first place.....Electric guitar sounds AND looks cool
Great video, but besides that... I've watched this channel from before Cap'n could play a chord without looking down. It's very heartwarming to see how well he plays now. Well done and keep melting faces.
I love this channel .... You guys keep it honest... Even at the risk of embarrassing yourself with some of your suppliers.... As musicians we work hard for our money , and it's nice to know that there's a retailer out there... who is willing to lay their rep on the line... for a potential customer...
Hey guys! I want to thank you. I've recently become disabled. I have a lot of down time now and I was going crazy. I needed a hobby that I could do sitting down, my knees not being good anymore. I've always wanted to play the guitar, but never seemed to have the time. Now I have the time, but I'm 60 years old. Watching your videos made me realize it's never to late. I have a limited budget, so I wanted the best bang for my buck I could find. I've watched scads of your comparison videos. After all was watched and figured out, I bought my first guitar. I live in an apartment, so I don't need a lot of amp. I bought a used Epiphone Sheraton II in natural. It was in like new condition. I thought the Epiphone would get me as close to that BB King or Wes Montgomery sound. I got a Fender Champion 20 for my amp. I hope it doesn't infect me with guitar acquisition syndrome. Thanks again for the inspiration and advise. Cheers.
#recognise Slightly similar situation here. I agree on these guys' videos here ... great to watch. Educational and entertaining too. Not to forget helpful. Also on limited budget, so I know that issue. I hope this new venture takes you to a wonderful new world of music. Chappers has some very helpful videos on when playing gets difficult to maintain. Meantime, enjoy!
Morale of the story: trust YOUR ears and experience, not your salesman's. I think Captain Lee is particularly brave and honest in not just putting himself in that situation, but also in posting these videos where the more affordable piece of gear trumps the more expensive ones. Kudos to Lee! Yes, the Blues Cube's clean sound was great. However, one doesn't buy these amps just because of their cleans sounds....plus the Mesa has a bunch of different clean sounds. I did love the Vox clean, and couldn't figure out how Lee didn't think it was a Vox-type amp. Also, kudos to Lee for his playing...he's sounding a heck of a lot better and the last few videos I've seen over the past few months.
An amp by itself sounds one way and another way when you mix it in a band. Sometimes the nitch you need to carve out in a song would not sound good on its own?
a Buddy of mine just scored an awesome deal on a 4X10 Stack Blues Cube Head, used for nearly half price... He's had 35 + years experience trying out almost every amp known to man. and said recently his Roland Blues Cube was the best amp he's ever owned...
Kudos to the Captain for be willing to embarrass himself in these tests. Pretty much every time they do a blind test, they prove the cork sniffers wrong.
I think one of the factors is that Roland don’t make a valve amp so they can max out the technology on their solid state stuff and they sound brilliant. Most other amp manufacturers produce solid state at the low end and their expensive ones are valve, so they would be, in effect, competing with themselves if they produced a cheaper amp that sounded as good as their valve stuff. I was at a demo evening with Alex Hutchings playing Katana and Blues Cube and they sounded absolutely awesome. If you really want the best sounding gear then listen to it blindfold, it’s the only objective way of assessing them.
People seem to be unable to accept that in some specific situations solid state CAN sound better. Not that it always does. Questioning their honesty setting up the test is one of two things: either you are judging their ability to listen to the differences, or you are overestimating your own ‘magic ear’ by thinking you wouldn’t have failed in the same conditions. And better is different for each listener. Just go for what you like to listen and feel under the fingers.
I've been watching all the amp myth buster videos with "The Captain" interviewing Blackstar engineers. Surprised he could not tell the difference. This has been my favorite video so far because when blindfolded tube bias goes out the window. Amp number 2 was my favorite also.
Definitely do a high gain version with Rob/Joss and maybe Rabea... if he finishes his vegetables and finally does his homework! ala Classic Van Halen with/without busting the bank
I would buy from a retailer any day of the week that are honest like you guys. To me these shoot outs and challenges are very informative and help me decide what to try before I buy. Also they are funny and entertaining. Keep up the awesome work guys!
As an owner of that Blues Cube... it’s awesome. Light. Bullet proof. Sounds great. Value priced. Gigging machine. Gents... when you do these, yell out the settings. So we can replicate at home.
@@arseniy1329 i've had the original BC60 for over 20 years and toured it, lotsa pub gigs and recordings- no probs at all. Mixers always think it's a tube amp & ask about it. If you can get an original one you are laughing..
Idea Alert: “An evening with Captain Lee’s favorite songs and best friends” - The hottest live show of the year. Lee and all of his Andertons buddies put together a live show at a proper auditorium. They all play some songs, do some jamming, Pete does a solo jam with a looper, maybe Dorje plays a song or two or two maybe the pedal show guys drop by for a song or two or some cool on stage pedal demo. Who knows, maybe one of Lee’s celebrity friends drops by for a jam (Joe Bonamassa? Paul Reed Smith? Guthrie Govan?) Charge admission to the show and donate the proceeds to charity (probably some kind of charity that puts musical instruments into schools and lock down those future customers! Andertons is now the most charitable music store in the country!). Have the show filmed professionally and aired on the youtube channel. Do all kinds of fun things, sell raffle tickets for gear giveaways, call up members of the audience to jam with Rabea, finish the night off by having the whole gang on stage playing Freebird, it would be an amazing concert. Fast forward 20 years: “The Captains Weekend” has become the largest music festival on the continent!
Gigging regularly with the Blues Cube Artist is a joy. Light weight. More power than you'll ever need. Clean, crunch and dual tone. Sounds as good as many valve amps twice the price, takes pedals really well and...... it never breaks down. Sold a lovely (but temperamental) Mesa Boogie to buy it.
Lee, watch the video for yourself. You clearly seemed most "inspired" while on the bluescube. Started playing different licks and having fun with it in a way you didn't really do with any of the other amps.
And it never heats up as much as a tube amp. For someone who's not a big fan of heat (and has a tube amp), that would be a bonus. I'm seriously considering selling my Vox and getting the Artist.
Im sold on the Roland blues cube hot amp. Its lighter, tube free for minimal hassles and cheaper in price and it has a really great sound quality overall.
Loving this as a proud Blues Cube owner. it sounds so great clean and takes pedal so well as well. Been enjoying the hell out of it since I got it not long ago and seeing this just puts a smile on my face.
Me too! Dumped a hand-wired tube amp for the BC Artist, with no regrets. I recently tried the Boss Katana, but it’s not for me. I’m not into endless tweaking. Give me a simple amp with great tone any day.
MrMoneyHelper can’t speak for FilippaQ, but I did not add any tone capsules. Watched a few vids about them and couldn’t see the benefit, given that I only use (and love) the clean tone of the amp.
As someone who owns a Blues Cube(Hot), I can attest it is every bit as advertised. I traded an Egnater Tweeker tube(valve) amp in for it and have zero regrets!
The Captain shows great humility ('26 times of one year of experience') in this blind test. I am fighting the desire to get a Blues Cube, and now he's just added to my struggles!
Just ordered a Blues Cube Stage after playing a demo over the weekend. Literally probably the best amp for the price I have ever used. Great video guys ! 😎
What the captain says at 14:34 is exactly what I was thinking the whole time he was testing. He is seated directly in front of the Blues Cube, and the amp you're sitting in front of is almost always the best sounding one. That said, from where I'm sitting I sounded pretty damn good too!!
I was super excited he seemed to like the Boogie the best at first, but was very annoyed Lee made a face once he knew it was a Boogie. They are incredible and versatile amps!
Mike G I'm gonna generalise... Boogies are looked down upon by (some) guitarists who want one signature sound from a single channel amp (and possibly to be boosted by a drive pedal) just because Mesas are generally multi-channel amps which offer incredible flexibility (including, as demonstrated here, some world class clean sounds). Or maybe they're looked down upon because they became associated with new metal acts rather than blues players? But either way it's a totally unfair characterisation of some truly world class amps... no matter how you choose to use them (clean, dirty, distorted, pedals in the front end, etc etc). Not saying that many players won't have an amp they prefer (I personally prefer my Orange for crunch sounds) but if you're getting a bad sound out of a Mesa Boogie for your style of playing you've probably not taken the time to set it up right.
The Blues cube is one of the only solid state amps that I know of beside a Super mini beetle that truly captures the tube warmth and dynamics without using tubes. It sounds abssolutely incredible and of all the amps I thought sounded the best with the pedal going. Then again Roland has always had a certain edge with their circuitry producing tube tone without tubes so it isn't all that shocking really. There are modeling amplifiers out there that still aren't as close as Roland in this quest using digital recreation so hats off to Roland.
Spoiler!: It's funny because Lee is always so critical with non- valve amplifieres, and now he has to admit that it isn't that important of an attribute for an amp for him to like it.
I've just watched this with headphones on, and was blown away by how good the Blues Cube sounds. It would be interesting to compare it to something like a Session Blues Baby 45.
I have a 65 Princeton Reverb Reissue FSR with 12 inch speaker and a blues cube artist. I love them both equally. I play with a Gibson LP and a Std strat.
The Blues Cube sounds great. The problem with this sort of test is that all the tube amps won't sound their best until they're up at working (gig) levels. The Blues Cube with it's clever modeling technology will be designed to sound good at any volume because it doesn't require the tubes to be at their optimum range. Great video though, lots of fun as always :-)
Lensman there's loud in a room and there's loud in a venue. These amps were designed to be used at a gig! Most 15 watt amps are loud enough for virtually any gig that you or l would play AND still be WAYYYY to loud to talk over/or the Anderton's demo room. I don't know much but I know valve guitar amps. I've been playing them since I was 18 and I turn 40 this year 😊
Orange amps that are solid state can be driven hard and then kept attenuated at low vol with the master volume down. Not to take anything away from the tube amps, they kick ass.
Always used valve amps (40 years!) then changed to a roland BC as my old back started to complain, also my Vox blew up on a New years eve gig. I agree that a valve amp needs to warm up and be driven to get the best out of it. The thing is I had a listen to one of these and like Lee thought it was a decent amp when you started to dig into the strings. Mine is a "Stage" amp that goes up to 60 watt. I've never had it on that setting as I've found mine to be very loud (although I'm probably just too old). Another great video. As always buy with your ears. If it sounds good to you; well that's all that matters. Weirdly though I still love the old valve amps. Signed Mixed up old hippy : )
Lovely, what a great idea. These are the most honest and truthful feedbacks to our beloved gear possible. Truthful in the sense as "for the one doing the test himself". Cheers!
I love these blindfold shoot outs! They really prove how much our egos effect our opinions. Maybe every new product should be blindfold tested against other similar products??? 🎵🎸
However: knowing what amp you are playing makes still and will ever make a big difference. There are always situations on stage where you are not satisfied with your sound. In those situations it's priceless to have exactly your favorite amp behind you. Otherwise you'd always struggle with your choice and never know wether the amp was faulty or just the circumstances or even your own ears are tired after hours of getting hammered.
The honesty of the blindfold challenges is fantastic. It just goes to show how prior knowledge of any gear your playing can colour your judgement about how it really feels and sounds. "A Gibson has to be better than an Epiphone." "A valve amp has to be better than solid state." Take that bias away and you'll find out how you really feel about something.
I have the exact same issue. Listening, playing even without a blindfold I hear a blues cube sounds best to me... upkeep i easier, less to break down... Yet when Rob said 800, my first reaction was / 800 for a digi amp!!! But if someone was selling a used Mesa for that Ićd be on it like nobody's business. (I am very happy with my V40 though)
+Jake Jarc I believe you misunderstood. I think he meant "800 pound" as in "The 800 pound gorilla in the room" meaning the thing nobody wants to acknowledge but everyone knows is there. Blues Cubes aren't 800 pounds sterling. They are just great sounding, low priced amps that aren't valve, so nobody wants to admit they like them. I would have picked it too, tube snobbery notwithstanding, at the volume level they used. Crank up those valvers, might be a different story.
My Blues Cube Artist is a great amp - gigged it for a couple of years in a blues rock band. It has one of best clean sounds I’ve heard and loves pedals!
I has a blues cube stage. I couldn't get on with it no matter what tone capsule Input in it. The overdrive never sounded good. Use a valve amp at home but gig with a Katana 100 212. Very versatile, great sound and no mess of pedals all over the floor.
I love it when these two guys do blindfolded tests. Rob is always so cheerful. We can feel how he loves everything about music, either new and improved stuff or traditional, doesn't matter as he just loves the music, the sound and the feel he gets out of them. And Lee, as a purist, as a traditionalist, how he still cannot bear Kemper being a better valve amp than traditional valve amps. It's always delicious to watch him struggle and flinch when Kemper comes out on top as his favorite amp of the lot ahahah Just the idea of having a Kemper in the lot of amps frightened him until the end
Id say a limited small run made in UK AC15 is more boutique then a Mesa considering their main amps are made in china where as MESA has a their factory in the USA. The roland isnt though either is the Fender.
Was talking about the Vox, Fender was ok. Didn't mean to hold any one up on their word here. Personally I like the Boogie and Milkman the most (would probably choose the boogie for overall versatility)
It's a good amp. But since you can get e. g. an Hot Rod Deluxe for the same price you have to have strong arguments for the Blues Cube in comparison. Maybe the weight - but what else?
Just got the Blues Cube Artist, only because every reviewer on TH-cam genuinely freaks out about how good it sounds clean. I got it for the clean tone, and in the Artist price range, it is the only one with digital out. I don't gig, so I don't have the Boss foot controller, but given the high quality effects in this combo amp like tremelo, reverb, boost, tone, dual, presence, and then there is a loop, and if you're still not satisfied, the tone capsules provide high dollar artist tuning. The Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi pickups just love this amp, in that with good headphones you will hear the Fluence's generate the tonal complexity of a 100K grand piano. It's not subtle, and well worth a listen.
in the room the height of the amps probably made quite a big difference, the amps that are higher up and closer to Lee's ears will sound much more present..
Yeh, to be honest I liked the boogie and the bluescube best from the mic'd audio but i still think it will have made a big difference to how they sounded.
No, I agreed based on the mic'd audio that the blues cube sounded best which has nothing to do with where the amps are. Just saying from Lees point of view it will have been a fair bit harder.
I am a drummer of 20 years experience and to give my ears/neighbours a break pick up a leftie Epiphone Special I bought from a bandmate for 50 quid and play some piss easy Ramones songs through a Peavy rage 15 and its almost as much fun as watching these videos. The drumshop videos are not much fun apart from Bonzoleum , he is great craic as we often say in Ireland. Keep up the good work guys.
Roland marketing team just opened the champagne
Boss Katana Mini pulls some decent metal tones - it's basically a Roland.
😀😀🍸🍸🍸
They've already phoned & asked if I want to do my own Tone Capsule!!
Too cool! I want to sound like the Captain as well.
CaptAnderton best idea, do that! ... Hang on, will it sound like a Kemper?
Big of Lee to admit he normally hears with his eyes. More people need to get real about this.
Cabby Cabby either he admits it or doesn't do these videos. I think Dan of TPS put it the best when he said "I'm sure there's a negligible difference between digital and valve now, but I'm inspired by the romanticism of valves and not inspired by digital."
It's all about what makes you want to play.
why? we are vision dominated creatures, why should anyone bother worrying about pointless stuff like this? People should get real about why they are worrying about what other people are playing and why they are playing it
@@zac_m I agree 100% , example, I used to have a Boss FZ-2 , a 90's original, I loved it , but stupidly sold it for some silly price 20 years ago, recently bought a Behringer clone of the same pedal, and its pretty much exactly the same sound, like 99.9% the same, .....but I still miss my FZ-2. The look of the piece of gear absolutely has a bearing on whether the player connects to it, and as you say its about what inspires you.
We are not rational creatures, and we are vision dominated, so if someone wants to play something they think looks cool, more power too them, I hope the look helps inspire them as much as possible. And lets be truly real about why we all started playing in the first place.....Electric guitar sounds AND looks cool
"So, Lee, what's your band called?"
"The Four Non Valves."
"Solid, mate, solid."
lol
well put
I audibly laughed at this
Underrated comment
And they jam with that girl singer from the 4 Non Blondes.
BEST.... ENDING..... EVER.....
Please do this with Rob but with the Katana and other high end Metal/Rock amps
Sarthak Ray Great idea :-)
Andertons Music Co thank you :) love this channel by the wah :)
Yes!
I second that
And the DV Mark from the "rig you'd hate" challenge.
Do the “Lee’s picks” amp challenge but just do all kemper profiles and tell him at the end
ALL THE KEMPER PROFILES!
calm down satan
I'll put my Kemper up against any amp in a recorded sound shootout. Kemper is sweet.
I am so down with this. :)
😂😂😂
Great video, but besides that... I've watched this channel from before Cap'n could play a chord without looking down. It's very heartwarming to see how well he plays now. Well done and keep melting faces.
I love this channel .... You guys keep it honest... Even at the risk of embarrassing yourself with some of your suppliers.... As musicians we work hard for our money , and it's nice to know that there's a retailer out there... who is willing to lay their rep on the line... for a potential customer...
Editing always top notch! That knee joke hahaha 😂 (@ 15:40)
my type of humour!
From the man who insists that valve amps just have that 5% extra "magic." The solid state beats the BOUTIQUE tube amps! Loved it.
Hey guys! I want to thank you. I've recently become disabled. I have a lot of down time now and I was going crazy. I needed a hobby that I could do sitting down, my knees not being good anymore. I've always wanted to play the guitar, but never seemed to have the time. Now I have the time, but I'm 60 years old. Watching your videos made me realize it's never to late. I have a limited budget, so I wanted the best bang for my buck I could find. I've watched scads of your comparison videos.
After all was watched and figured out, I bought my first guitar. I live in an apartment, so I don't need a lot of amp. I bought a used Epiphone Sheraton II in natural. It was in like new condition. I thought the Epiphone would get me as close to that BB King or Wes Montgomery sound. I got a Fender Champion 20 for my amp. I hope it doesn't infect me with guitar acquisition syndrome. Thanks again for the inspiration and advise. Cheers.
#recognise
Slightly similar situation here. I agree on these guys' videos here ... great to watch. Educational and entertaining too. Not to forget helpful.
Also on limited budget, so I know that issue.
I hope this new venture takes you to a wonderful new world of music. Chappers has some very helpful videos on when playing gets difficult to maintain. Meantime, enjoy!
Morale of the story: trust YOUR ears and experience, not your salesman's. I think Captain Lee is particularly brave and honest in not just putting himself in that situation, but also in posting these videos where the more affordable piece of gear trumps the more expensive ones. Kudos to Lee! Yes, the Blues Cube's clean sound was great. However, one doesn't buy these amps just because of their cleans sounds....plus the Mesa has a bunch of different clean sounds. I did love the Vox clean, and couldn't figure out how Lee didn't think it was a Vox-type amp. Also, kudos to Lee for his playing...he's sounding a heck of a lot better and the last few videos I've seen over the past few months.
To my ears, the Blues Cube is the best sounding amp.
TJ Nugent I agree. But I reckon the vox sounds nicer in person
An amp by itself sounds one way and another way when you mix it in a band. Sometimes the nitch you need to carve out in a song would not sound good on its own?
The Messa Boogy got it for me. EDIT: Actually, listening again.... The Blues Cube took it
agree
Me too. In this recording made on that day in that room with that guitar and that player.
Props to Roland for making a great affordable amp!
MrMoneyHelper well if you put it that way then I guess nothing is affordable. I guess what I meant is compared to the other amps it's more affordable.
Knee Anderton, lol! Rory you're a international treasure.
This is why if I’m ever in the UK I will buy a guitar from Lee. He is an honest dude. Good one guys!
LOL "Blind Lemon Anderton!!"
Should have been Blind Leemon.
a Buddy of mine just scored an awesome deal on a 4X10 Stack Blues Cube Head, used for nearly half price... He's had 35 + years experience trying out almost every amp known to man. and said recently his Roland Blues Cube was the best amp he's ever owned...
Kudos to the Captain for be willing to embarrass himself in these tests. Pretty much every time they do a blind test, they prove the cork sniffers wrong.
Yep, the captain just came out of the solid state closet.
F*CKIN' LOL!!
I've had my Blues Cube Artist for awhile now and I can testify that it is a very nice amp indeed. I love it!
The Blues Cube killed it ! The 57 Deluxe sounded great as well.
You'll have to do a blindfold test with 5 Kempers one of these days
I think one of the factors is that Roland don’t make a valve amp so they can max out the technology on their solid state stuff and they sound brilliant. Most other amp manufacturers produce solid state at the low end and their expensive ones are valve, so they would be, in effect, competing with themselves if they produced a cheaper amp that sounded as good as their valve stuff. I was at a demo evening with Alex Hutchings playing Katana and Blues Cube and they sounded absolutely awesome. If you really want the best sounding gear then listen to it blindfold, it’s the only objective way of assessing them.
So you’re suggesting it wasn’t a truly blind test? That it was rigged to sell the Roland product at the expense of the others, which they also sell?
People seem to be unable to accept that in some specific situations solid state CAN sound better. Not that it always does. Questioning their honesty setting up the test is one of two things: either you are judging their ability to listen to the differences, or you are overestimating your own ‘magic ear’ by thinking you wouldn’t have failed in the same conditions.
And better is different for each listener. Just go for what you like to listen and feel under the fingers.
Allan Holdsworth, was playing with solid state amps and sounded great, Frank Zappa with a Pignose and sounding great.
I've been watching all the amp myth buster videos with "The Captain" interviewing Blackstar engineers. Surprised he could not tell the difference. This has been my favorite video so far because when blindfolded tube bias goes out the window. Amp number 2 was my favorite also.
Definitely do a high gain version with Rob/Joss and maybe Rabea... if he finishes his vegetables and finally does his homework! ala Classic Van Halen with/without busting the bank
I would buy from a retailer any day of the week that are honest like you guys. To me these shoot outs and challenges are very informative and help me decide what to try before I buy. Also they are funny and entertaining. Keep up the awesome work guys!
The Blues Cube sounded amazing......amazing. Wow.
Feelin' real good about the Blues Cube Artist I just picked up....
Got the Blues Cube Stage about a year ago, what a great amp for practise and gigs. Feels and sounds like an full valve amp.
As an owner of that Blues Cube... it’s awesome. Light. Bullet proof. Sounds great. Value priced. Gigging machine.
Gents... when you do these, yell out the settings. So we can replicate at home.
Gain Bear umm mate how do you know it’s bulletproof. That’s some shady stuff.
@@arseniy1329 i've had the original BC60 for over 20 years and toured it, lotsa pub gigs and recordings- no probs at all. Mixers always think it's a tube amp & ask about it. If you can get an original one you are laughing..
Loved the blues cube for a long time. This proves just how good it is
Idea Alert: “An evening with Captain Lee’s favorite songs and best friends” - The hottest live show of the year. Lee and all of his Andertons buddies put together a live show at a proper auditorium. They all play some songs, do some jamming, Pete does a solo jam with a looper, maybe Dorje plays a song or two or two maybe the pedal show guys drop by for a song or two or some cool on stage pedal demo. Who knows, maybe one of Lee’s celebrity friends drops by for a jam (Joe Bonamassa? Paul Reed Smith? Guthrie Govan?)
Charge admission to the show and donate the proceeds to charity (probably some kind of charity that puts musical instruments into schools and lock down those future customers! Andertons is now the most charitable music store in the country!). Have the show filmed professionally and aired on the youtube channel. Do all kinds of fun things, sell raffle tickets for gear giveaways, call up members of the audience to jam with Rabea, finish the night off by having the whole gang on stage playing Freebird, it would be an amazing concert.
Fast forward 20 years: “The Captains Weekend” has become the largest music festival on the continent!
Tim O'Connor this right here!!!
Throw in a hedonistic world tour, and a $20 concert shirt and I’m ya boy.
It's a truly brilliant idea for all sorts of sound marketing reasons.
And the longest rig rundown video ever lol
Please!! NO Dorje!!!
Gigging regularly with the Blues Cube Artist is a joy. Light weight. More power than you'll ever need. Clean, crunch and dual tone. Sounds as good as many valve amps twice the price, takes pedals really well and...... it never breaks down. Sold a lovely (but temperamental) Mesa Boogie to buy it.
Lee, watch the video for yourself. You clearly seemed most "inspired" while on the bluescube. Started playing different licks and having fun with it in a way you didn't really do with any of the other amps.
Roland Jazz Chorus has always had one of the best sounding clean channels IMO. Not surprised how good that blues cube sounds
I have that Blues cube artist and I love it. Added bonus, I can carry it without getting a hernia!
And it never heats up as much as a tube amp. For someone who's not a big fan of heat (and has a tube amp), that would be a bonus. I'm seriously considering selling my Vox and getting the Artist.
“1 year of experience, 26 times,” haha, that was great, I can relate
Im sold on the Roland blues cube hot amp. Its lighter, tube free for minimal hassles and cheaper in price and it has a really great sound quality overall.
Loved this! So cool to see the blues cube, the non valve amp, being his favorite. Great video!
Solid state amps have come a long way..I liked the Boogie myself..it sounded warmer, not so bitey.
Boogie all day
Loving this as a proud Blues Cube owner. it sounds so great clean and takes pedal so well as well. Been enjoying the hell out of it since I got it not long ago and seeing this just puts a smile on my face.
💜 Love my Roland Blues Cube Artist 💜
That's a good amp, had one.
Me too!
FilippaQ good stuff on your channel.
Me too! Dumped a hand-wired tube amp for the BC Artist, with no regrets. I recently tried the Boss Katana, but it’s not for me. I’m not into endless tweaking. Give me a simple amp with great tone any day.
MrMoneyHelper can’t speak for FilippaQ, but I did not add any tone capsules. Watched a few vids about them and couldn’t see the benefit, given that I only use (and love) the clean tone of the amp.
As someone who owns a Blues Cube(Hot), I can attest it is every bit as advertised. I traded an Egnater Tweeker tube(valve) amp in for it and have zero regrets!
YES!! I love my Blues Cube, straight in, no pedals.
The Captain shows great humility ('26 times of one year of experience') in this blind test. I am fighting the desire to get a Blues Cube, and now he's just added to my struggles!
I'm even more convinced that I need a Blues Cube....
Just ordered a Blues Cube Stage after playing a demo over the weekend. Literally probably the best amp for the price I have ever used. Great video guys ! 😎
Laughed so hard when Lee said the blues jr wasn't his kind of amp 😂 I had no idea the blues cube sounded that good in comparison.
What the captain says at 14:34 is exactly what I was thinking the whole time he was testing. He is seated directly in front of the Blues Cube, and the amp you're sitting in front of is almost always the best sounding one. That said, from where I'm sitting I sounded pretty damn good too!!
I was super excited he seemed to like the Boogie the best at first, but was very annoyed Lee made a face once he knew it was a Boogie. They are incredible and versatile amps!
So says a man who's spent far too much on an amp he regrets buying, and is trying desperately to justify his purchase.
not gonna lie i wanna hate mesa boogie amps too but i have to admit theyre great lol
Nope, Boogies are feckin marvellous.
Mike G I'm gonna generalise... Boogies are looked down upon by (some) guitarists who want one signature sound from a single channel amp (and possibly to be boosted by a drive pedal) just because Mesas are generally multi-channel amps which offer incredible flexibility (including, as demonstrated here, some world class clean sounds).
Or maybe they're looked down upon because they became associated with new metal acts rather than blues players?
But either way it's a totally unfair characterisation of some truly world class amps... no matter how you choose to use them (clean, dirty, distorted, pedals in the front end, etc etc). Not saying that many players won't have an amp they prefer (I personally prefer my Orange for crunch sounds) but if you're getting a bad sound out of a Mesa Boogie for your style of playing you've probably not taken the time to set it up right.
Been watching this channel long enough to not be surprised by this at all.
Blindfolded videos are the most fun videos ever! Thank you!
Would have been great if they had ALL been Kemper :)
^THIS needs to be done.
The Blues cube is one of the only solid state amps that I know of beside a Super mini beetle that truly captures the tube warmth and dynamics without using tubes. It sounds abssolutely incredible and of all the amps I thought sounded the best with the pedal going. Then again Roland has always had a certain edge with their circuitry producing tube tone without tubes so it isn't all that shocking really. There are modeling amplifiers out there that still aren't as close as Roland in this quest using digital recreation so hats off to Roland.
Spoiler!: It's funny because Lee is always so critical with non- valve amplifieres, and now he has to admit that it isn't that important of an attribute for an amp for him to like it.
Can't believe how much I liked the Blues Cube and Boogie. Definitely thinking of getting both now.
At last, we listen with our ears....
My Roland Blues Cube is a keeper. It's the culmination of a half century of owning an assortment of amps that never felt right.
I've just watched this with headphones on, and was blown away by how good the Blues Cube sounds. It would be interesting to compare it to something like a Session Blues Baby 45.
I have a 65 Princeton Reverb Reissue FSR with 12 inch speaker and a blues cube artist. I love them both equally. I play with a Gibson LP and a Std strat.
The Blues Cube sounds great. The problem with this sort of test is that all the tube amps won't sound their best until they're up at working (gig) levels. The Blues Cube with it's clever modeling technology will be designed to sound good at any volume because it doesn't require the tubes to be at their optimum range.
Great video though, lots of fun as always :-)
If you listened carefully when Rob was trying to talk to Lee you'd hear that the amps WERE very loud.
Lensman there's loud in a room and there's loud in a venue. These amps were designed to be used at a gig!
Most 15 watt amps are loud enough for virtually any gig that you or l would play AND still be WAYYYY to loud to talk over/or the Anderton's demo room.
I don't know much but I know valve guitar amps. I've been playing them since I was 18 and I turn 40 this year 😊
Orange amps that are solid state can be driven hard and then kept attenuated at low vol with the master volume down. Not to take anything away from the tube amps, they kick ass.
Always used valve amps (40 years!) then changed to a roland BC as my old back started to complain, also my Vox blew up on a New years eve gig. I agree that a valve amp needs to warm up and be driven to get the best out of it. The thing is I had a listen to one of these and like Lee thought it was a decent amp when you started to dig into the strings. Mine is a "Stage" amp that goes up to 60 watt. I've never had it on that setting as I've found mine to be very loud (although I'm probably just too old). Another great video. As always buy with your ears. If it sounds good to you; well that's all that matters. Weirdly though I still love the old valve amps.
Signed
Mixed up old hippy : )
Lovely, what a great idea. These are the most honest and truthful feedbacks to our beloved gear possible. Truthful in the sense as "for the one doing the test himself". Cheers!
I love these blindfold shoot outs! They really prove how much our egos effect our opinions. Maybe every new product should be blindfold tested against other similar products??? 🎵🎸
Enjoying this challenge and all of your videos. But these blindfold challenges are the best.... and that Bluescube rules!
What I learned: Don't ask your guitar store staff how different amps sound.
I love these videos. The blues cube sounded great. The honesty is refreshing!
However: knowing what amp you are playing makes still and will ever make a big difference. There are always situations on stage where you are not satisfied with your sound. In those situations it's priceless to have exactly your favorite amp behind you. Otherwise you'd always struggle with your choice and never know wether the amp was faulty or just the circumstances or even your own ears are tired after hours of getting hammered.
The honesty of the blindfold challenges is fantastic. It just goes to show how prior knowledge of any gear your playing can colour your judgement about how it really feels and sounds. "A Gibson has to be better than an Epiphone." "A valve amp has to be better than solid state." Take that bias away and you'll find out how you really feel about something.
I have the exact same issue. Listening, playing even without a blindfold I hear a blues cube sounds best to me... upkeep i easier, less to break down... Yet when Rob said 800, my first reaction was / 800 for a digi amp!!! But if someone was selling a used Mesa for that Ićd be on it like nobody's business. (I am very happy with my V40 though)
+Jake Jarc I believe you misunderstood. I think he meant "800 pound" as in "The 800 pound gorilla in the room" meaning the thing nobody wants to acknowledge but everyone knows is there. Blues Cubes aren't 800 pounds sterling. They are just great sounding, low priced amps that aren't valve, so nobody wants to admit they like them. I would have picked it too, tube snobbery notwithstanding, at the volume level they used. Crank up those valvers, might be a different story.
Nope, it’s actually around £800... current price on the website is £787.00 Inc. VAT
I love these kinds of videos! Blues Cube sounds GREAT!
Lee has been playing the same lick for 26 years
My Blues Cube Artist is a great amp - gigged it for a couple of years in a blues rock band. It has one of best clean sounds I’ve heard and loves pedals!
Do the test with Pete and see if he's still laughing it up!
Your guys' friendship is infectious. Makes us feel like we're all friends. Another fine vid, gents. Thanks.
Pete remembering his days with Tom Jones and all the granny pants getting thrown on the stage ;)
This series of blindfolded challenges is great! More of this!
Wasnt Rob doing a pointy guitar blindfold challenge soon?
I love watching Pete's expressions in the background.
Would love a new UK vs USA gear battle
I'd agree with Lee here, Blues Cube and the Mesa sounded fantastic
I has a blues cube stage. I couldn't get on with it no matter what tone capsule Input in it. The overdrive never sounded good. Use a valve amp at home but gig with a Katana 100 212. Very versatile, great sound and no mess of pedals all over the floor.
I love it when these two guys do blindfolded tests. Rob is always so cheerful. We can feel how he loves everything about music, either new and improved stuff or traditional, doesn't matter as he just loves the music, the sound and the feel he gets out of them. And Lee, as a purist, as a traditionalist, how he still cannot bear Kemper being a better valve amp than traditional valve amps. It's always delicious to watch him struggle and flinch when Kemper comes out on top as his favorite amp of the lot ahahah Just the idea of having a Kemper in the lot of amps frightened him until the end
Lookin good Cap'n!
Hold on a minute.. who's blindfolded in this video Cap or Rob!? Rob has his shirt inside out
No bullshitting, watching your videos cheers me up. Keep up the great work mates and keep on rocking in the free world!
Blues Cube FTW
Great vídeo guys, the Blues Cube amplifier is amazing! Great sound, no troubles with valve repair and it is very affordable.
The only boutique amp in there is the Milkman (and arguably the Boogie)
Joe Jenkins Actually the Vox is the Limited edition hand wired one. So that one is boutique as well
Chris Hepburn You're right. I didn't realize that
Id say a limited small run made in UK AC15 is more boutique then a Mesa considering their main amps are made in china where as MESA has a their factory in the USA. The roland isnt though either is the Fender.
''Limited Edition Hand wired'' Stills sounds boxy and plasticy..
Was talking about the Vox, Fender was ok. Didn't mean to hold any one up on their word here. Personally I like the Boogie and Milkman the most (would probably choose the boogie for overall versatility)
As soon as he did the first strum on that Blues Cube, made me want one.
It's a good amp. But since you can get e. g. an Hot Rod Deluxe for the same price you have to have strong arguments for the Blues Cube in comparison. Maybe the weight - but what else?
Why is Rob wearing his shirt inside out? 😂😂
It's called fashion.
Brilliant! Thanks to team Andertons for taking time to set this all up 👍. Great viewing that was!
roland blues cube artist are much better and sounds much better than a lot of tube amp 10/10 for blues artist
Thanx Cap'n for taking one for the team. It's great to see a new technology is sounding as good if not better than the old analog tube amp.
Wot no Chapman Amplifier ? :-)
Just got the Blues Cube Artist, only because every reviewer on TH-cam genuinely freaks out about how good it sounds clean. I got it for the clean tone, and in the Artist price range, it is the only one with digital out. I don't gig, so I don't have the Boss foot controller, but given the high quality effects in this combo amp like tremelo, reverb, boost, tone, dual, presence, and then there is a loop, and if you're still not satisfied, the tone capsules provide high dollar artist tuning. The Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi pickups just love this amp, in that with good headphones you will hear the Fluence's generate the tonal complexity of a 100K grand piano. It's not subtle, and well worth a listen.
in the room the height of the amps probably made quite a big difference, the amps that are higher up and closer to Lee's ears will sound much more present..
But the boogie was on the floor and he gave that the highest initial score.
Yeh, to be honest I liked the boogie and the bluescube best from the mic'd audio but i still think it will have made a big difference to how they sounded.
It's funny how you're trying to fool yourself. Just deal with it, man
No, I agreed based on the mic'd audio that the blues cube sounded best which has nothing to do with where the amps are. Just saying from Lees point of view it will have been a fair bit harder.
I am a drummer of 20 years experience and to give my ears/neighbours a break pick up a leftie Epiphone Special I bought from a bandmate for 50 quid and play some piss easy Ramones songs through a Peavy rage 15 and its almost as much fun as watching these videos. The drumshop videos are not much fun apart from Bonzoleum , he is great craic as we often say in Ireland. Keep up the good work guys.
I thought Lee's gonna play Reverend he suddenly liked last time =)
JOB WELL DONE ROLAND!!!!!!! I bought a Blues Cube Artist today!!........."FANTASTIC"!!
is there a reason why chappers has his shirt on inside out?
I think 'cause he's a tired parent, traveling, and made a mistake.
He says at the end of the video about why his shirt is inside out
laundry day must be tomorrow. it's a great time saver
He did a blind test too.