Extension cab for Roland Cube

MatthewShreddery

Hi everyone, I'm thinking about getting a custom extension cab for my cube. I have a Cube 80xl which has the speaker out on the back (not sure of the impedance). I also have the 40xl which I actually prefer the sound of.

I find that the 40xl has a sweeter tone, but it's not loud enough for my band. The 80xl is plenty loud enough, but has a harsher tone.

The 40xl only has a recording out but not an extension out, so I don't think there's a simple way of hooking it up to a cab without using a power amp. 

The 40xl has a 10inch speaker, the 80xl has a 12, and I think it is the 10 inch speaker that is responsible for the sweeter tone. With that in mind I reckon a 2x10 cab would be ideal with the 80xl. Basically I want the tone that I get from the 40xl, but louder and bigger. 

I play all styles with my cubes, from straight ahead jazz, to thrash metal. 

Do do any of you have any recommendations for speakers or any other advice? 

Thanks 

Funkfingers

My advice is, establish the minimum impedance rating for the Cube's extension loudspeaker socket.

MatthewShreddery

It's 8ohm (max 80watt)

MatthewShreddery

Thinking of trying to get hold of a couple of the 10inch speakers they use in the 40xl and having them put in a cab for me. I reckon all the amp models and COSM stuff is finely tuned for those specific speakers so that'd probably be the best approach 

ICBM

8-ohm. It's hard to know what speakers will give a similar tone to the one in the 40XL though.

Have you tried linking the two of them up, using the 40XL for the majority of the sound, and the 80 to add a bit more volume and dispersion without obviously dominating the tone? It may be more effective, and much cheaper if you have both of them already. Any pedal with two outputs (eg a stereo chorus pedal) would work.

MatthewShreddery

I tried the 40xl line out into my Matrix GT1000FX into a matrix 2x12 FRFR Cab and it sounded really bright, fizzy and harsh. It was bloody loud though!

MatthewShreddery

@ICBM I've though of that before. The trouble is the switching between patches. 
I have a bright onion pedal for my cubes, but I'm not sure how to switch both amps at the same time. Would need some kind of double TRS Cable...

if I could solve the switching thing then I'd just buy another 40xl and use them together in stereo. 

ecc83

Clever bit of kit that 80XL! Delivers 80 watts but draws just 75W from the supply! No matter, not an uncommon specification upcock.

Oddly the manual also says of the extension speaker " Impedance 8 Ohms or LOWER"? I guess they are banking on such a speaker being 4 Ohms minimum?

I cannot find a the Z of the internal speaker. Does the jack disconnect it? If so (I bet it does) I would measure the one in the box and go for the same Z to get the same sound level. Mind you, say it is a 4R unit and you get an 8? The 8 will only get a bit more than 1/2 the power but MIGHT be a few dB more sensitive and be AS loud or even louder.

Not a big choice of guitar speakers at 12inches and 4 Ohms but most models are available at 8.

ICBM will have ALL the dope at his fingertips.

Dave.

ICBM

Ah - I see. Didn't expect you to be switching on the Cubes, most people just use them for a single sound. The 40XL appears to have no line output jack either, so you can't run it into the 80 like that. Frustrating…

You could try connecting the headphone jack on the 40 to the Aux In of the 80 with a 3.5mm stereo cable and a 1/4" adaptor, but I don't know if that would sound good - the headphone output should be speaker-emulated. May be worth a try though.

MatthewShreddery

I reckon that'd sound dreadful! Plus, I like the sound of the cube 40 so kind of want to take the 80 out of the equation if possible. 

ICBM

MatthewShreddery said:

I reckon that'd sound dreadful! Plus, I like the sound of the cube 40 so kind of want to take the 80 out of the equation if possible. 

The problem is that short of finding exactly what speakers the 40 has, buying two and fitting them into a cabinet of the same dimensions and construction as two 40XLs, you're unlikely to get the same sound anyway - even assuming there isn't an intentional difference in voicing between the 40 and the 80.

You're actually quite likely to get decent results simply by changing the speaker in the 80 and not worrying about the extension cab. What to, I have no idea since I don't know what the stock one is - but speakers can sound *very* different from each other.

If you do literally want the exact sound of the 40 but louder, you're going to need two 40s and a dual footswitch.

MatthewShreddery

Cheers mate. I'm looking into two 40xl's with a clever foot switch