I'm a bedroom only player (not likely to change any time soon) but I have a fancy for something more akin to a traditional amp than my THR10. I know it's not a proper valve amp but at least it looks like one!!
I was looking at the Blues Cube Hot as it seems that with the ability to switch down to 5W and 0.5W it might be a bit more suited to someone who plays in a small volume and can't crank up to 11 very often, if at all....
My worry is that given its not exactly cheap - whether it's always going to be lacking something at bedroom volumes? Would it be a significant step up from the Yamaha?
Anyone that's used one as a home/practice amp able to weigh in?
Comments
They'll definitely sound bigger and more full than a THR10 because it's a12" speaker. The 0.5 watt will definitely outshout a THR10 and the 5 watt is great too.
They can sound a little sterile without the reverb and as there's no valves it's not going to "warm up" and sound a little sweeter and It can sound a little boxy tbh.
If I had my time again I would probably go for the next one up which is the stage, I owned the stage up until I got my Carr Mercury and that was the only thing that made me get rid which even 2nd hand was twice the price of the BC Stage.
I would honestly go and try one or buy from Amazon where they have a really good returns policy so you can have a really good go and see if it's the tone for you. I'm sure they would make a great pedal platform.
I love me some reverb so I'd pretty much always be using it to be honest! I've read lots of reviews etc, to be honest I just want to feel like I'm plugging into a real amp, do you know what I mean? As much of a psychological thing as anything else.
The THR seems to hold its value well used so it's not too pricey to trade up. Might pop down to PMT on the weekend and play one. My main worry was that I'd have to dial it down so much to be able to use it in a bedroom that it wasn't worth bothering with, but from a video I found on YT it says that the tone will stay exactly the same whether you have it at 30W, 15W, 5W and 0.5W so you can adjust the output to suit the environment without losing that tone.
I play mostly clean too so I imagine I won't have issues with how low I'd need to have the volume at times.
I had a blues cube hot first off when they first came out and ended up getting a stage, both moved on because I'm always moving things on and then I bought a hot again recently but ended up sending it back.
I would try a hot against a stage if you can and see if there is a difference or maybe it's just my memory playing tricks on me! Don't get me wrong, it is a really big upgrade on the THR10 especially the clean tone. With regards to the price, it is more like a "grown up" amp because you could take your hot if you bought one to a gig or a jam and flick it over to 15/30 watts and it'd perform quite admirably.
Good luck
I also gig mine and will be doing twice this weekend.
It's got the best bedroom volume sounds from any amp I've owned.
Can't fault it - also, the ability to have the tone capsules is good. I have the ultimate blues module which mods it slightly from the tweed side of things, to the blackface side.
Just need to choose a colour now!!!
My feedback thread is here.
My feedback thread is here.
But £80 is quite a difference!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz9y8yCLYWQ