Roland Micro Cube

I've got a week in North Carolina with my family coming up. Renee suggested I bring my guitar for my own mental health. Last time we did this trip, I brought a Martin 12string and it didn't work out too well. So this year I'm taking my new strat and a Roland Micro Cube.

The Micro Cube has everything. It's about seven pounds and eight inches high with a 5" speaker. It's quiet enough for the bedroom and loud enough for the studio. It can even run on batteries so you can take it outside.

But what really makes it shine are the sounds. Thanks to expanding digital technology, this tiny amp can sound like ANYTHING. There are six settings; acoustic, JC 120, Fender Twin, VOX, Marshall and MESA/Boogie. Each are convincing and rich. Chorus, phaser, flanger, tremelo, reverb and digital delay are all on board. And with a headphone jack and an mp3 player input, you can sit right inside the song while shutting the world out.

I first saw one of these a few years ago in Guitar Center. I wanted to get one for the living room but Renee wouldn't let me. Now that I have a better reason (and $125), I picked one up.

When I was growing up there were two types of practice amps; plastic Marshall and Fenders, which sounded terrible and the Pignose which was too clean and too loud. Guitar technology has come a long way. Even though I'll never give up my 50 watt tube Marshall, the Micro Cube can get me close to that sound outside of my office. It might even keep me sane in North Carolina.