Roland Cube Street EX

[jpbataille]

Sorry to be late, but it's been a long time and I forgot my password and had to create a new account and be approved and all that...

But : I own a Street EX and used it a lot for busking. A very nice piece of gear, lots of inputs, usable amp models on the guitar input (you can pull a very honourable jazz tone out of the Clean model, i.e.), etc...
Autonomy is really great (you don't play more than 12-15 hours at full volume, don't you?). And nobody prevents you from bringing a fresh set of batteries -preferably rechargeable NiMH- if you plan to play more that 24 hours straight.
Not the most powerful, but much better than the previous -non EX- model, although very adequate for the task, and you don't need ear-crushing Marshall level anyway (if you busk at that level, you're NOT welcome)

But there is something missing : bass. Which is something I need for my fingerpicking style (and for the foot stomping).
And the culprits are the loudspeakers.
So I replace them, the first one with an automotive subwoofer, and the second one with a Jensen MOD-8, and the thing now sings to my liking.
I also added handles where needed. And velcroed almost any available surfaces for pedals and such.
(there is not a piece of gear that I don't mod to my liking, I can't help myself)

I don't use it these days because age is taking its toll and I don't do commando busking anymore, but among the whole bunch of busking amps I used along the years, it's probably the finest, all things considered.

JPB

[Dub]

Welcome back, Jean-Paul. It’s really nice to see you posting here.

Thank you so much for commenting on the CUBE Street EX. I’ll be very interested in your mods. For instance, what effect does the speaker change have on battery life? Did you miss the tweeters or did you leave the, in?

Mine got its first outing Thursday afternoon at a farmers market in Swisher, Iowa. I set it up but was prohibited from playing due to a cardiac procedure two days before. Fiddlerina (my fiddle playing spouse) played along with two good friends who were kind enough to help out.

I ran two mics through it, Fiddlerina’s Sure SM57 and our AT3035 LDC. The EX doesn’t have phantom power so I added a small battery powered phantom power unit.

It did a good job for the situation. It sounded well balanced and people could hear it well without being overcome by a wall of sound. We have other gigs in mind for this.

[jpbataille]

Dub :
I didn't notice any difference in autonomy after changing the speakers.
Actually I never run out of power (although I always had spare batteries just in case), and I did use it during years...
I kept the tweeters (not that they are really useful for my tone -which I like quite dark without much highs if any- but I didn't want to take risk with the impedance balance. BTW, the speakers are 4 ohms, not the usual 8 ohms)

Now, tone wise, my needs are pretty narrow : I don't sing, I don't use any pre-recorded stuff, only guitar and weissenborn, with custom made foot stomp thingy, and since I play some peculiar fingerstyle, I need a strong bass frequency response.
So I wouldn't recommend my speaker mod without reservation to any user.

But overall, I can attest that the Street EX is good gear. Reliable, practical, efficient, nice weight to power ratio, enough features to cover lot of situation.

Congrats for the busking. It's always rewarding. But my God ! Two days after cardiac procedure... Now this is dedication (I understand you didn't perform, but then...)

[millring]

Cool. One of my favorite YouTubers of all time. Welcome back.

[millring]

[Dub]

Jun 23, 2024 0:17:23 GMT -5 jpbataille said:

Dub :
I didn't notice any difference in autonomy after changing the speakers.
Actually I never run out of power (although I always had spare batteries just in case), and I did use it during years...
I kept the tweeters (not that they are really useful for my tone -which I like quite dark without much highs if any- but I didn't want to take risk with the impedance balance. BTW, the speakers are 4 ohms, not the usual 8 ohms)

Now, tone wise, my needs are pretty narrow : I don't sing, I don't use any pre-recorded stuff, only guitar and weissenborn, with custom made foot stomp thingy, and since I play some peculiar fingerstyle, I need a strong bass frequency response.
So I wouldn't recommend my speaker mod without reservation to any user.

But overall, I can attest that the Street EX is good gear. Reliable, practical, efficient, nice weight to power ratio, enough features to cover lot of situation.

Congrats for the busking. It's always rewarding. But my God ! Two days after cardiac procedure... Now this is dedication (I understand you didn't perform, but then...)

My procedure was only a catheterization, no stents or anything so not much to recover from. The doc didn’t want me playing because they went in through my right wrist and he didn’t want me opening up the artery which necessitates an ambulance ride.

We never use backing tracks, recordings, loopers, or any of that stuff. When Fiddlerina and I perform together, I normally use my (née Marshall’s) ToneDexter or my Aphex Acoustic Xciter. I might not need those with the Street EX but I like having the boost pedal for leads. My guitar has a K&K Pure Western Mini and I use a NuX C-5RX wireless system instead of a cable.

We do both vocals and instrumentals so I’ll always need a mic. Fiddlerina may want to use her electric violin so I need to figure a way to support two electric instruments plus a mic.

[jpbataille]

Jun 23, 2024 10:00:38 GMT -5 Dub said:

We do both vocals and instrumentals so I’ll always need a mic. Fiddlerina may want to use her electric violin so I need to figure a way to support two electric instruments plus a mic.

You have two other inputs you can use ("keyboard" -mono or stereo- and the other one with a mini-jack -stereo only, but can accomodate a mono signal with adequate wiring-). They only have a volume pot, but if you create the tone up front with pedals and such, no problem at all.

[jpbataille]

Jun 23, 2024 6:38:56 GMT -5 millring said:

Woah! #228 and #438! I almost forgot those... I am at #2606 by now...
Although I don't compose in that swing style much these days.

But have you check the weissenborn repertoire yet ? I decided to learn myself lap steel in 2017, and I am quite happy with the outcome. A very personal style. Not groove driven, lots of rubato, more melancholic and ambient, but with prominent melodies as usual.

OK, I'll brag a bit : Ted Gioia put the "Cailloux" weiss albums into his 100 albums list in 2023. (they are on Bandcamp, with tabs). Don't know how he found me, though.

[Dub]

Yeah, I just have to figure how to work it in.

Normally, she plays fiddle through the mic.