Roland Micro Cube RX Bass as a small portable PA?

[Bartimaeus]

I need a small amp/PA to be able to carry to practice, and for small performances. These would be alongside acoustic instruments mainly (and no drums), so a lot of volume isn't necessary. Rather, I need to be able to use synths (bass and leads) at a reasonable volume, and also to amplify the output of my computer(used for looping and other manipulation of guitar, vocals, synths, etc via Max).

Would the Micro Cube Bass be most suitable for this, or should I look at something else? Cheaper is preferable, but I definitely want something pretty decent.

Thank you in advance for the help!

[frigid midget]

In my experience a bass amp makes an okay synth/vocal/computer amp. I'm pretty sure there's better suited options out there, but a decent amp will probably cost you more. I'm personally not a fan of the roland cube series, they sound sterile and generic to me, and there's a zillion of affordable low wattage out there tube amps nowadays.

No idea how these sound or anything, but I happen to know of a couple of affordable and small 'all-purpose' keyboard amps...

Laney AH80
Hartke KM100
Alto Pro Kick 15

[Bartimaeus]

Thank you for the reply! Those keyboard amp looks ok, but they all seem a little bigger (or at least cumbersome with the extended backs) than I would like. I already have quite a good PA (EV ELX112P), so sounding great isn't so important as portability. I guess I should have been clearer about wanting something that I can carry and with noticeable bass. I worry that small PA's (like the Cube Mobile's) will not have much bass, while a purpose made bass amp will have at least some.

[neonblack]

I saw a band recently use a fender rumble combo amp for synth and drum machine, and it actually sounded pretty damn good. And I'm not a fan of the rumble amps so Im sure with a better one, it would sound even better.

[Bartimaeus]

Thanks for the response! Would you consider the Micro Cube Bass to be better than a Fender Rumble(I'd probably be looking at the Fender Rumble 15 since it's so cheap/small), or are both pretty uninteresting sounding?

I don't really want the amp to change my sounds much, so a generic sounding amp isn't necessarily a bad thing (depending on how it is generic).

[sonidero]

If you are going to be using it for different stuff and you wanna carry it I think 4x4 would sound better than 1x8...

If you don't wanna carry, there are some amps a lil bigger than those that would work too...

[doommeow]

I have no experience with the Micro Cube, bass or any version, but have trouble seeing 4x4 handling much low end at any sort of gig volume. Maybe the Seismic 4x8 paired with a small powered mixer or PA head? Or even an unpowered mixer and one of those little EHX power amps? Larger than the Micro, but similar price points and not entirely unwieldy for load out/in.

[Bartimaeus]

If you are going to be using it for different stuff and you wanna carry it I think 4x4 would sound better than 1x8...

If you don't wanna carry, there are some amps a lil bigger than those that would work too...

Glad to hear that the 4x4 would probably be better for this sort of thing than a more conventional bass practice amp. Carrying is sometimes my only option, so I want something for when that is the case.

I have no experience with the Micro Cube, bass or any version, but have trouble seeing 4x4 handling much low end at any sort of gig volume. Maybe the Seismic 4x8 paired with a small powered mixer or PA head? Or even an unpowered mixer and one of those little EHX power amps? Larger than the Micro, but similar price points and not entirely unwieldy for load out/in.

I figure that the 4x4 won't be particularly bass heavy, but I figure that it'll still beat out any tiny purpose build PA in that category. That Seismic 4x8 is definitely too big for what I'm looking for, though it is really cheap :O It's just that there isn't a car to load the cab into.