As per request of the majority, I've changed the thread title. 
IntroOriginally, I had my eyes set on a Vox Pathfinder 15R. I’ve tried one already, so I was convinced that it was my best choice. People I knew recommended it as well. Then the night before I was going to get the Vox, my friend Peewee told me about Laney’s Cub8 & Cub10 – and how affordable they were. At 8890 (for the Cub10), it was a bargain, considering that it’s all-tube. (2 6v6GT’s in the output section; 2 ECC83’s in the preamp.. plus a 10-inch Celestion speaker)
First impressions.. It’s a pretty good looking amp. I’m not sure if it’s reminiscent of any ‘classic’ look in an amp; I don’t know that much about amps, or even tube amps for that matter. The cab is covered in plain black tolex, and a brown grille cloth in the front. There are excess pieces of tolex sticking out, and I wonder how hard it is to actually fix that inside the factory.There’s also a classy-looking Laney logo in the upper right side of the front of the amp. The (panel?), which features the on/off switch, a LED indicator (big, bright, & RED!), hi & lo inputs, tone, volume, & gain knobs seems to be well made. The chickenhead knobs are a bit disappointing; they look & feel cheap. Then again, at this price point, it’s a minor issue. I think I can replace it with chickenhead knobs from Epektos.com if it bothers me later on. There’s a sturdy looking rubber carrying handle on the top of the amp, but I worry about how it’ll hold up after several years of use. The strip of Velcro at the back of the amp is a nice touch too – it’ll keep the AC cord in place when the amp isn’t in use. This amp is neither closed-back nor opened-back. There’s a metal grille that covers the rear of the amp & protects the tubes.
Sounds Sound.. well, I’m not an expert at determining an amp’s character. The only amp voicings I know are that of Fender & Marshalls. So I’ll say that the Cub10 sounds somewhat like a Marshall, or a British-amp. Again, it’s a Laney. Laney = British, right? With all knobs at noon, I found the amp to be fairly balanced; just enough low-end, and the treble is pleasing to the ear. Does it sound boxy? I don’t think so.
At first, I was sceptical with this amp because it only had a tone control instead of the usual 3-band EQ. When testing this amp, either you have to like its voice/character or you don’t. The EQ, for me, serves as more of a presence control. The amp sounds good with just a tone control, but it may limit the range of tones that you can get from it.
The volume & gain controls are interactive. There’s not much more that I can say about them.
When cranked, the amp doesn’t fart out or feel like it’s going to fall apart. It almost seems to want to be cranked or overdriven, because it sounds better & better at high volumes. MJ of JB Music Trinoma was kind enough to encourage me to dime the volume & gain controls, so I did. Laney’s claims are true: there really is that “Heartbreaker” thing going on at those settings. Of course, any cranked British-amp test isn’t complete without the AC-DC test. Yes, it does the AC-DC thing very well too. Thankfully my ears are still intact.. the drumheads in the store were vibrating a lot while the Cub10 was cranked.
I also tried the Cub10 with a distortion pedal (Markv’s Shredhead), and I liked what I heard. Paired with a nice modulated delay, you can get some Eric Johnson-like tones. With what I heard, I’ll assume that it takes dirt pedals well.
Verdict The Cub8 goes for a little less than 7,000; while the Cub10 is roughly 9,000. Those are the sale prices, by the way. I really recommend the Cub10, but I there are some features that I wish Laney added to the whole package.
- Reverb (just to make it sound a bit more airy or bigger)
- Headphone out or Line out
- 3-band EQ
If you have a reverb/delay pedal, I think you’ll get along with this amp very well. Just like me.
Now it's time for a shameless plug, este clips of the amp pala.
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http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=967559&songID=8262690 (used the Shredhead for OD)
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=967559&songID=8262955
