Rogue CG 30R Reviews 4

I needed a small, modern amp for my teaching studio. This little amp was purchased from Musician's Friend for $89 plus $15 to ship it to Texas. They are the only place to buy Rogue unless you're lucky enough to find a nice used one.

Value for the dollar is unbeatable. Just the right size for many applications...30 watts of power thru a 10 inch speaker. Looks great...gold and black like a Marshall. Even the metal corners are gold. The sound is basically good and versatile. Plenty of EQ options from the hi, mid, low & presence controls plus reverb. The clean channel is exactly that, and the overdrive channel sounds surprisingly smooth for a solid state amp. Line out and headphone jacks are offered in the front panel along with send, return, and reverb switch jacks in the back.

It is hard for me to criticize this amp because it cost so little. But if I were to make comparisons to other 30W 1-10 amplifiers (some of them costing double) it would fall a little short in the reverb department. It sounds muddier than say, a Fender or Yamaha. And for the amp's tone in general...when played clean, the fidelity of the signal is not quite as pure as other well known amps. The gain controls seem to function simultaneously as low midrange controls. Which means that if you change the gain setting more than just a little you will have to reset the EQ as well. Furthermore, I wish the Plastic "Rogue" emblem on the grill cloth was smaller. I took it off. Looks even better without it. And finally, Rogue should have included a channel switching jack so we don't always have to bend down to punch in the little button.

Construction seems very sturdy. Nicely done black vinyl, and a comfortable handle. Panel labeling is clear.

This is the perfect student amp...low investment but all the power and features you need to get going. And it looks cool. Suitable also to a professional as a practice amp. Beware of those crappy amps that come in the "starter package" deals. Most have no reverb and are under powered with speakers so small that the resulting guitar sound is almost toy-like. The Rogue CG 30 is a much better choice...advice from someone who has played guitar since 1966.

Ronnie Corb rated this unit 4 on 2002-02-01.

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