Roland goes into this year’s NAMM with its usual plethora of product announcements, which includes the new Blue Cube Hot guitar amp, a new compact digital piano and a sideways move into wireless home audio, with a Jazz Chorus inspired speaker.
The Blues Cube Hot is a 30W amp with a custom 12” speaker, featuring Roland’s Tube Logic modelling technology, which is designed to provide authentic tube tone and touch response with all the advantages of solid state technology.
It produces the output distortion characteristics of a tube amp when the volume is turned up, while variable Power Control provides settings of 0.5W, 5 W, 15W, and Max, allowing users to match the volume to any situation, from recording to rehearsals to nightclub gigs.
Footswitch jacks are provided for remote control of the Boost and Tone functions. The amp also features USB connectivity.
It is available in Vintage Blonde or Black.
Apeing moves by other amps companies such as Marshall, the firm has launched the JC-01 Bluetooth Audio Speaker, mimicking the look of its Jazz Chorus amps and designed to be used in conjunction with smartphones, tablets and other Bluetooth enabled devices.
Equipped with two custom speakers, the JC-01 has a three-band EQ and features including a I/O jack to connect other audio devices and a speakerphone function that allows smartphone users to talk hands-free.
Elsewhere in the new range, the A-01 is a portable MIDI controller and sound generator, offering control over MIDI and CV/Gate-equipped analogue gear, an on-board tone generator and step sequencer. It can be paired with the optional Roland K-25m keyboard.
It boasts multiple connectivity options including three types of MIDI applications. There is a standard MIDI IN/OUT and a USB MIDI jack for use with Mac/PC-based DAW software, while wireless MIDI (via Bluetooth LE) allows production work on a Mac, PC, tablet or smartphone. The A-01’s CV/GATE OUT also supports vintage analogue gear, including modular synths.
It also features an internal 8-bit CPU sound generator, along with a 16-step sequencer and can be docked into the Roland K-25m keyboard unit, with 25 velocity-sensitive keys providing real-time control over internal and outboard gear.
The new FP-30 Digital Piano is equipped with a stereo audio system and dual headphone outputs, enabling two people to listen at once. The 1/8” and ¼” jacks offer compatibility with all types of headphones and earbuds. The outputs can alternately be used to connect to an external speaker system if desired.
Additional sounds, such as strings, organs, voices, and electric are incorporated, plus on-board drum patterns, while dual and split functions allow two different sounds to be played at once. USB support is also included for playing along with favourite WAV/SMF tunes and sharing performances captured with the FP-30’s on-board SMF recorder.
Lastly, the firm also announced availability of the System-500 Complete Set – a fully analogue modular synthesizer inspired by the System-700 and System-100M. Made for Eurorack format, the SYSTEM-500 Compete Set is a comprehensive system with multiple oscillators, filters and effects in a custom case with high-quality patch cables.
It includes the 512 module with two voltage controlled oscillators featuring saw, sine and square waves; the 521 module with two voltage controlled filters featuring selectable high-pass filters; the 530 module with two voltage controlled amplifiers, each featuring multiple CV inputs; the 540 module with two ADSR envelopes and invertible LFO; and the 572 module with phase shifter, delay, gate delay and LFO.
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)