The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm just learning to play steel and have a bit of a physical disability, and thus don't get around the best. That being said, the old Peavey Session 400 Ltd I bought to learn on clearly wasn't a good choice for an amp... Too dang heavy!

Anyhow, I just ordered an ST6 Hudson 2x2 that only weighs between 14-15 lbs, so now I got a weight appropriate guitar. And I've read about the praise given by some for the Roland 80XL as a steel amp. My question is, does the currently made Roland 80GX work equally well for pedal steel?

Thank you in for advance for your help/advice!

-Nathan

Nathan,

I have the Cube 80XL and like it a lot. Very gig friendly and very light weight. More power than I thought you could get out of an 80 watt amp.
I took a look at pictures of the newer GX model and it appears to be a very similar amp. It has reverb and delay, and the JC clean setting which
I use all the time for pedal steel.
Hopefully somebody who owns one will comment and
give you all the information you need.

Larry J.

The xl has a speaker extension out and the gx don't , I think.
Anyway they are great for steel

Is Roland still producing the 80XL? If not what replaced it.

The GX

Thanks for your input, guys!

Has anyone else out there on TSGF had good luck using an 80GX for steel?

I had an 80 XL for a couple of days... it sounded nice, but had a hard wired noise gate that drove me crazy with the ragged fade out it produced. Would not be noticeable on the bandstand. but recording or quiet rehearsal by myself.... Argh!
I wish that they had made it switchable. I don't know if the GX has the same issue. The GX also eliminated the speaker out jack.... which was a great feature.

I have one and have used it twice to gig with.This past Friday at an outdoor gig, with bass and drums. It more than kept up with the stage volume, though the whole band was also going thru a sound system. They are good practice amps, sound decent with my Telecaster when set on the tweed setting, and sound nice and clean with the Jc setting for steel. For a beginner, I think it will more than meet your needs. And yes they did remove the ext. speaker jack, which I didn't realize until after I bought it. The on board effects are more than adequate, and make setup pretty quick. All in all I am quite happy with the purchase. It's not a vintage tube amp, it's a $419 reliable multi- effect amp with some decent capabilities. Sounds nice with my Alumatone pickup, they seem to bond well.

I've had a GX40 for a few weeks and it's been serving me well. Funny thing is I bought an 80XL last year and sold it. But recently I used a 40GX at our rehearsal space and it worked really well for me. I took the 40 because I play small venues, and for big venues we use in-ear monitoring, so amp volume is irrelevant. The GX40 is the best weight/power ratio (the GX80 is over 10 pounds heavier). This amp for me is for rehearsing and small time gigs. I still have a NV400 if I need the power.

The other difference with the XL series is they got rid of the whole looping feature, and so the effects section is better suited to a steeler's needs. Two types of reverb and two types of delay that work independently for each other (and other effects). Works really well, so it's an all-inclusive solution, if you consider the lead section can be used for country rock or lap steel type of playing; for example,w e play Travis Tritt's Trouble and Gretchen Wilson's All Jacked Up, and I use the Tweed setting with the gain all the way up for that stuff.

Another feature I enjoy is the i-cube link, which allows you to plug the Cube in an iPad or Iphone and use it with Garage band. You can record yourself, play along with tracks, etc. I use it for practice with headphones and it's a really cool setup.

There are better sounding options out there, but this can be very useful in the right circumstances. I paid less for it than what I paid for my volume pedal...

Alex summed it up quite well!

That's some great info and really helps me in making a decision. Mike and Alex, thank you both!

Nathan

Nathan...I use 2 Cube 80XL's not that 2 is needed. They are real little gems. I always use the "Black face" setting. Really mimics the heavy twins I had in the earlier days, with and without J.B.L's. I'm not going to haul the heavy boys anymore, and have a host of stomp boxes. The Cubes have it all.


Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.

Steel guitarist in the Home Counties! Sweet!!! lol

Thanks, Micky!

Nathan

I have a Cube 80XL and a Cube 80X one will be for sale soon the Cube 80X, both are great for steel or guitar, I don`t need to take both of them to gigs because using my 12 Black Widow extension speaker cab is all I need, but I always take a spare peavey amp top as a backup.




Jimmy.

I've been using the Cube 80XL for about a year and a half and love it. Plenty of power and very clean. I have a light weight external speaker too when I need a little more.

Another vote for the 80XL. I have three and swear by them. My current gig (3000-seat outdoor venue) is no problem as they're mic'ing just one Roland straight to the board. I'm not over-fond of in-ear monitors (tone-suckers!!!) but I'm assured that it sounds great out in the 'house'.

I'm done carrying big amps.

I have a 40GX and like it very much. If the speaker output thing is a big deal for you on the 80, any half decent electronics tech could add that for a few bucks. All it would take is a 1/4 inch female switching socket and a little wire.

I recently purchased a Roland Cube 80 x....& I just LOVE IT!!!

Coolest amp I've ever owned!! Sounds great, power is very good...& it's just packed with built in features. Effects...like Delay, Chorus, Phase Shifter, Flanger, etc. And I'm a big fan of Boss pedals..which is what these are...but built in.

I like that Black Panel Setting too! Twin reverbs are great...but I'm not in the shape to tote one around. This only weighs 35 pounds! Light, like my ZumSteel Encore! Which is 43 pounds in the case. You would think it would shift around, & not be that solid/steady...but I haven't noticed that at all, I'm happy to say!

Anyway, I want to try the Classic Amp settings...that give you some hard rock distortion, like classic stack, metal, etc.

I'm really happy they put this great amp together with so much thought into it!! Has headphone jacks, external speaker jack, & an input for an MP3 player, iPhone, etc...so I can play along to songs, with the headphones on...at anytime of the day or night.

Does anyone know how the foot switch jacks work with the roland pedals. Are they expensive?

All in all....I love my Cube 80 x amp!!

I have the GA-FC Foot Controller for my Cube 80 GX and I paid $118 with tax from my local dealer. I can highly recommend this item since it controls a number of switching functions that you would otherwise have to adjust on the amp itself. I put the controller on the floor under my D-8 non-pedal steel by my left foot and I can instantly turn delay, reverb on/off and switch between the JC clean channel and what ever second channel selections I want. It also has a button to switch the effects (flanger, chorus, tremelo, etc.) on and off. Additionally it can instantly select between the "solo" sound setting you have created at the amp and the regular setting you already have dialed in.

With the pedal steel it might be harder to place the controller in a convenient location due to all the footwork going on, which takes up space under the guitar. When I use it with the pedal steel, I place it on the floor alongside the right side of the steel.

Frank,

Thanks very much for the info! I definitely want to buy a foot controller for my amp!

You may have said, but how many pedals are on the controller?

Also, what model would I get, that matches my Roland Cube 80X Amp?

Thanks again!

If anyone out there, is selling the foot controller I need...please contact me. Thank you!

The GX is great....easy to grab and go....there is a time and place to break out big amp, but the Cube 80 can cover most.....

Like Roger Rettig, I've had all the big names and the weights to go with them ...I've Had all the Twins, Peavey's, Evans etc. Age and health issues stop me gigging any more, but I still do an occasional gig if it's not too far. The Roland 80XL does me fine....shame they removed the speaker out on the GX .. because I like many others go into a seperate lightweight Neo speaker...mine's a Nashville 400 cab with a Neo 15" ....GO ROLAND

Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.

David Rupert wrote:Frank,

Thanks very much for the info! I definitely want to buy a foot controller for my amp!

You may have said, but how many pedals are on the controller?

Also, what model would I get, that matches my Roland Cube 80X Amp?

Thanks again!

If anyone out there, is selling the foot controller I need...please contact me. Thank you!

David,

Roland's website says that this foot controller is compatable with the Cube 80GX. It has six buttons in a row for foot operation, not pedals. It's under "accessories/foot controllers" on the Roland website.

FYI,

the cube 60 is pretty darn similar, and you can usually find one for about $100 less than the 80. Doesn't have separate reverb/delay: it's either-or. I've had one for a couple of years and love it. I don't think they continued the 60 in the GX series, though. Unless you're really cranking the 80, consider the 60 if you're on a budget.

Dan

Hi Dan, a pal of mine has had the Cube 60 from the time they first came out...He has 2 on a gig, one on either side of him. He gets an amazing sound. He too has had all the "Big Boys" in the past. Roland has done it for him for some time now.


Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.