Voxman's demo of Laney Cub 12R Part I with Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Laney Cub 12R is a lovely single channel all-valve Class A/B 1x12" amp that sounds very nice straight out of the box. However, the stock Celestion Rocket 50 speaker isn't getting the best out of the amp . Its also only 95dB it's not quite as loud as you might expect from a 15w tube amp. So, I replaced it with a Celestion Vintage 30 and the amps overall tone, response, highs, & bottom end have been significantly enhanced to really make the Cub shine. Also, because the V30 is 100dB, the increase in volume is staggering. This amp is now easily loud enough to rehearse or even play small clubs.

The amp is very competitively priced and you might think you don't get much with it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Cub12R comes with a decent sounding digital reverb, a series FX loop, 8/16 Ohm extn cab out, built in tilt stand, and an extra tone control (sort of like a 'presence' control) in addition to the onboard bass, mid, treble EQ, volume and gain control. Most cleverly it has 2 inputs. A 15w input and a less than 1w input. The latter lets you crank the amp and push those power tubes at more sensible home volumes - it's still pretty loud though!

I plugged this puppy into my Vox AD212 (2x12" Celestion Neodogs) and it was unbelievably loud - easily enough to gig with. I also tried it through a Mesa Boogie 4x12" cab in the testing booth at DV247....and it was so loud it physically shook the doors....unreal!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Voxman
• Laney
• Cub
• 12R
• Gibson
• Les
• Paul
• Custom
• Celestion
• Vintage
• V30

[colinmortimore]

Rich, what made you choose the V30 - did you consider a Greenback?

[Voxman5]

@colinmortimore Yes I did. The Greenback's are nice speakers too that are a little warmer but not quite the definition of the V30. I nearly went for one, but especially in a 1x12" format they can sometimes be just a little dark - however, in a 2x12 combo a V30 & a Greenback can be a brilliant mix. All subjective of course but the V30 at 100dB is louder & to my ears, gives a better crunch & is also more chimey for cleans. For the mix of stuff I play it's been a good fit.

[MrAnders1976]

nice playing voxman.. i hope the cubs will bring laney into the game.. even through a your recording the chime and richness is evident.. If close miked and mixed it would sound like a boutique amp whatever that is :-)

[Voxman5]

@MrAnders1976 Thanks Mr A - glad you liked the vid. I think that Laney's are very under-rated amps. I have a VC30-210 too which is another very nice amp, albeit a bit too loud for home use.

[mongoose979]

wow - long time no Voxman. Sounds great to me. I can tell you didn't take a break from playing - keep the vids coming every once in a while though . Thanks!

[Voxman5]

@mongoose979 I'll try & be a bit more 'regular'. Planning another one over the next few weeks on the VTX150 Pro Valvetronix with my VC12. Many thanks for looking in & happy new year!

[Voxman5]

@bignickm99 Thanks Nick - darn it, I should have remembered to demo that....but it cleans up beautifully. In fact it was one of the contributing reasons I took to the Cub! Actually, come to think of it the 'blues' bit with the LP's neck p/up had some volume roll off - I tend to do that instinctively to add warmth!

[Voxman5]

@bignickm99 Hi Nick, thanks for looking in & Happy New Year mate. It's probably fairer to say that the C5 & Cub are different amps each with their own character. I tried the Class 5 & it's a nice enough little amp but probably fairer to compare it to the Vox AC4 (I personally think the AC4 sounds better, as the C5 is too dark lacking 'chime'). The Cub is a 15w amp so its not a fair comparison. I will say that the V30 in the Cub is a HUGE improvement to the stock Rocket 50.

[bignickm99]

Blows the Marshall Class 5 out of the water, in my opinion!!!! before the haters start.

[bignickm99]

Awesome video!!!!! how well does it clean up by just rolling of the neck pick-up volume? in effect having a clean and driven tone without changing the amps settings...........