I don't do a lot of busking or outdoor gigs where I need this amplifier, but when I do, I need something good. I heard lots of rave reviews about the Roland CUBE Two-Channel Street Amplifier all over the net. So I did some research to try and decide if I should get that or the Roland CUBE Street EX Amplifier. The definitive answer came from my good friend Andrew McKee. He suggested the Street Ex.

The amplifier arrived yesterday and I recorded this video review of the Roland CUBE Street Ex.

I'll be honest, I don't know know much about electronic specs. One of the reasons I asked Andrew is that he is AWESOME and research and he knows about electronics. The CUBE Street Amp has received raving reviews for a few years now. Go check out YouTube and you'll see. Street musicians and buskers LOVE it.

My concern though was the sound. I play the autoharp and typically when I think of portable, battery-powered amplifiers, I think of them having a very tinny sound. I expect even worse for an autoharp which most electronic gear is not made for.

Happily, that wasn't the case. As you'll see in the video, with a few adjustments to the EQ, the amplifier sounds as good as an speaker when it's on the NORMAL setting. Sure, it sounds kinda weak on the ECO setting, but that's to be expected. It still didn't sound tinny to me though.

The worst part about the CUBE Street EX over the CUBE Street is the price. The Street EX costs $200 more than the later. So what do you get with your extra $200?

Well for one, you can put it on a speaker stand. It has 3-band EQ instead of the 2-band of the Two-Channel Street amplifier. I don't know if it has more effects, but I believe it has more power at the very least. The Street amp has two 2.5 Watt Speakers. The Street Ex has two 25 Watt speakers.

That, of course, means very little to me. From what I understand though, the amount of wattage means very little period. However, a bigger speaker should provide more low-end body at the very least.

I can only imagine what the Street amp sounds like. But the Roland CUBE Street EX amplifier sounded great. In fact, it sounded as good as any PA and Speaker setup that I've used with a lot less fuss since the amplifier is only 16 pounds and thus easily portable.

All in all, I'm super excited to mess with the amplifier some more in the months to come, especially at shows like GenCon and my farmer's market gigs.

If you'd like to find out more about the Roland CUBE Street Ex, follow this link.

If you'd like to find out more about the Roland CUBE Two-Channel Street Amplifier, click here.