 | I bought a used Roland KC-550 keyboard amp few months ago. What follows is my impression and experience with it. |
With Peter getting back to his old self after his car accident last year, CheapDate is rehearsing again. I was finding my little GK MB150E/112 wasn't handling the volume requirements for our rehearsals. Peter is the hardest hitting drummer I've played with and I needed more volume to keep up.
Enter Roland's KC-550.
In my search for a combo rig, I wanted something smallish, loud, and cheap. I have no plans to replace my Eden rig as my main gigging amp, so this was only for rehearsal. And only for rehearsal with CheapDate. All the other situations I'm in either have a bass amp already there or I just plug directly into the PA.
The KC-550 is more than I need for rehearsal. Its a four channel amp able to function as a mini-PA. The EQ on the amp is not great but the Bass/Mid/Treble works well enough to dial in a decent tone. However, I read some reviews of it and even a few comments from bass players stating its use as a bass amp was decent. Its also a full range app so it should bring the full tone of my bass pretty well.
I ran across a great deal on CraigsList and pulled the trigger. The guy I bought if from was a keyboard player and he had replaced the 15 inch speaker with a more powerful and heavier speaker. As a result, this thing is a beast - its very heavy. Roland's web site lists the amp at 75 pounds. With the new speaker, I'm guessing mine weighs over 80 pounds easy. It has four casters so it rolls easy enough but the weight does make it an issue if I were to use this as my main gigging amp. No way I want to lug it up and down stairs or over a dirt or bumpy field. However, to and from my car to Timmy's garage is not an issue.
I haven't used a 15 inch speaker since the late 1980s so it brought back memories of that sound. Full, fat, low, boomy, and loud. I do prefer the tone of my Eden D112XST but again, this was a specific use case and since CheapDate functions as a garage band (a very good garage band), its fitting I go old-school here.
The amp is loud and enables me to be very present in the room.
I wouldn't have purchased it new as it was over my budget but with the CraigsList deal, this was a great addition and I'm glad I bought it.
I recommend it as long as the person is aware of the weight.
I haven't tried vocals thru it nor any other instrument - so I can't attest to it in those settings. But as a simple plug and play bass amp, its great.
Enter Roland's KC-550.
In my search for a combo rig, I wanted something smallish, loud, and cheap. I have no plans to replace my Eden rig as my main gigging amp, so this was only for rehearsal. And only for rehearsal with CheapDate. All the other situations I'm in either have a bass amp already there or I just plug directly into the PA.
The KC-550 is more than I need for rehearsal. Its a four channel amp able to function as a mini-PA. The EQ on the amp is not great but the Bass/Mid/Treble works well enough to dial in a decent tone. However, I read some reviews of it and even a few comments from bass players stating its use as a bass amp was decent. Its also a full range app so it should bring the full tone of my bass pretty well.
I ran across a great deal on CraigsList and pulled the trigger. The guy I bought if from was a keyboard player and he had replaced the 15 inch speaker with a more powerful and heavier speaker. As a result, this thing is a beast - its very heavy. Roland's web site lists the amp at 75 pounds. With the new speaker, I'm guessing mine weighs over 80 pounds easy. It has four casters so it rolls easy enough but the weight does make it an issue if I were to use this as my main gigging amp. No way I want to lug it up and down stairs or over a dirt or bumpy field. However, to and from my car to Timmy's garage is not an issue.
I haven't used a 15 inch speaker since the late 1980s so it brought back memories of that sound. Full, fat, low, boomy, and loud. I do prefer the tone of my Eden D112XST but again, this was a specific use case and since CheapDate functions as a garage band (a very good garage band), its fitting I go old-school here.
The amp is loud and enables me to be very present in the room.
I wouldn't have purchased it new as it was over my budget but with the CraigsList deal, this was a great addition and I'm glad I bought it.
I recommend it as long as the person is aware of the weight.
I haven't tried vocals thru it nor any other instrument - so I can't attest to it in those settings. But as a simple plug and play bass amp, its great.
