Review of the Laney Cub-Super8 amplifier. Where to buy it?

I’ll tell you how this post is built. First I list the features of the Laney Cub-Super8 amplifier. Then you have a video or two, purchase links and useful comments from other users and then you have one of the most useful parts; comparison tables with similar amplifiers so you can compare.

  • Single-ended Class-A tube amplifier in vintage design
  • Specially designed for home use & recording
  • 1 Channel
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Equipment: 1x 8″ HH LG830 loudspeaker
  • Preamp tube: 12AX7
  • Power tube: 6v6GT
  • Controls: Volume, Tone
  • Instrument Hi & Lo inputs: 2 x 6.3 mm jack
  • Output for external loudspeaker 8 – 16 ohms: 6.3 mm jack
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 304 x 197 x 302 mm

review laney-cub-super8

This amplifier usually has a price around 133.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this amplifier Laney Cub-Super8 watch these related videos to learn more.

Laney Cub-Super Amplifiers - Affordable Valve Amps with Roaring British Tones!

Post you may be interested in

Some comments from people who come to the forum about this model:

Comment:

I bought this for use in an apartment.

Although I don’t own a Harley Benton TUBE5, the Cub’s obvious competition, a parallel can still be made:
– the Laney looks good enough to be accepted by the wife in *her* living room. The HB didn’t pass the test (from pictures and youtube).
– the Laney lacks a 1W mode. The low input is just a "clean channel" of sorts. My Tele Deluxe (with humbuckers) will get a mild distorion on the lo input at max volume, and some more distortion on hi. However, at maximum volume the amp is excessively loud on both channels, utterly unusable in an apartment.
– the HB is cheaper (125€ vs 155€).

I didn’t mind spending the extra 30€ on brand and looks, but I won’t be able to play with any tube saturation from this amp without buying a power soak (and figuring out a way to connect it). Bummer – I liked what I heard with the volume at maximum. I anticipated 5W to be too much, but hoped for at least some breakup in tone at usable sound levels, and it’s not happening.

Pros:
– excellent build quality, and aesthetically pleasing.
– sound is nice, on both channels.
– no mains hum or buzzing.
– low price.

Cons:
– the omission of a 1W-or-less low power mode, or at least a Master Volume knob – the Harley Benton TUBE5 has the former, and the (more expensive) Bugera V5 has both.

FYI:
– tone setting is rather subtle, but effective nonetheless.
– this amp is not featured on Laney’s website as of today, however the manual is available at manuals.laney.co.uk as CUB-8_Manual_(2020)_ML.pdf

Too loud for the living room, too quiet for a band, at least the kind of bands I’ve been in. For that I withhold a star from features. Otherwise, the amp is better quality than the price would suggest, and with a good clean sound.

Comment:

Bought this little beast as soon as it was in stock. I was looking for a living room friendly alternative to my 70s and 80s Marshall tube amps. This tiny combo delivers big time. All tube, no transistors here. Only a volume and a tone control, but as a pedal platform it’s all you need (I use an overdrive pedal with treble and bass controls).

Beautiful cleans. Surprisingly loud. Tried using it with an external 2x12 and that was great as well – loud enough for band practice and gigs, if you don’t play with a heavy handed drummer. I’ve been playing through this 90% of the time since I got it.

Great sounding and looking little combo. For the price, it’s a no brainer.

Laney Cub-Super8 vs Harley Benton HB-20R

The amplifier Laney Cub-Super8 is usually 75 € more expensive than Harley Benton HB-20R.

Laney Cub-Super8

Harley Benton HB-20R
  • Single-ended Class-A tube amplifier in vintage design
  • Specially designed for home use & recording
  • 1 Channel
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Equipment: 1x 8″ HH LG830 loudspeaker
  • Preamp tube: 12AX7
  • Power tube: 6v6GT
  • Controls: Volume, Tone
  • Instrument Hi & Lo inputs: 2 x 6.3 mm jack
  • Output for external loudspeaker 8 – 16 ohms: 6.3 mm jack
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 304 x 197 x 302 mm

The Harley Benton HB-20R is a small 20 Watt combo that offers everything required for a successful start in practising at home or for rehearsal sessions. A 3-Band tone control and a switchable overdrive are included in case you really want to make some noise, while the headphone output enables you to play in the smallest of rooms without disturbing the neighbours.

  • Compact electric guitar combo
  • Power: 20 Watt
  • Equipped with: 8″ Custom voiced speaker
  • TEC tube emulating circuit
  • Switch for channel selection (overdrive / boost channel)
  • Gain control
  • Volume controls for overdrive and clean channel
  • 3-Band EQ with controls for bass, mids and treble
  • Reverb control (spring type)
  • Headphone output
  • AUX input
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 340 x 380 x 175 mm
  • Weight: 7 kg

And then a video of the amplifier Harley Benton HB-20R

Harley Benton | HB-20R | Amp Demo

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton HB-20R review

Laney Cub-Super8 vs Harley Benton HB-10G

The amplifier Laney Cub-Super8 is usually 92 € more expensive than Harley Benton HB-10G.

Laney Cub-Super8

Harley Benton HB-10G
  • Single-ended Class-A tube amplifier in vintage design
  • Specially designed for home use & recording
  • 1 Channel
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Equipment: 1x 8″ HH LG830 loudspeaker
  • Preamp tube: 12AX7
  • Power tube: 6v6GT
  • Controls: Volume, Tone
  • Instrument Hi & Lo inputs: 2 x 6.3 mm jack
  • Output for external loudspeaker 8 – 16 ohms: 6.3 mm jack
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 304 x 197 x 302 mm

The Harley Benton HB-10G is a small 10 Watt combo that offers everything required for practising at home or in the rehearsal room in a smaller frame, and at a fantastic price. The switchable overdrive lets you really make some noise. The integrated headphone output enables undisturbed practice sessions late at night.

  • Compact electric guitar combo
  • 10 Watt
  • 6″ Custom voiced speaker
  • TEC tube-emulating circuit
  • Switch for channel selection (overdrive / boost channel)
  • Gain control
  • 3-Band EQ with controls for bass, mids and treble
  • Headphone output
  • AUX input
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 314 x 289 x 176 mm
  • Weight: 4.2 kg

And then a video of the amplifier Harley Benton HB-10G

Harley Benton HB-20R demo — 59€ guitar amp!

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton HB-10G review

Laney Cub-Super8 vs Harley Benton HB-40R

The amplifier Laney Cub-Super8 is usually 48 € more expensive than Harley Benton HB-40R, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Laney Cub-Super8

Harley Benton HB-40R
  • Single-ended Class-A tube amplifier in vintage design
  • Specially designed for home use & recording
  • 1 Channel
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Equipment: 1x 8″ HH LG830 loudspeaker
  • Preamp tube: 12AX7
  • Power tube: 6v6GT
  • Controls: Volume, Tone
  • Instrument Hi & Lo inputs: 2 x 6.3 mm jack
  • Output for external loudspeaker 8 – 16 ohms: 6.3 mm jack
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 304 x 197 x 302 mm

The Harley Benton HB-40R is a 40W combo that offers everything required for practising at home or in the rehearsal room, and at a fantastic price. The built-in 10″ speaker sounds highly crisp, and if a bit more wumm is needed, a larger external speaker can be connected. At 4 ohms, the amp delivers 40W, which for many situations is completely sufficient. A 3-band tone control and a second channel are included in case you really want to make some noise. A spring reverb unit gives the sound some additional room and shine, and the headphone output enables you to play in the smallest of rooms without disturbing the neighbours.

  • Power: 40W
  • Equipped with: 10″ Custom voiced speaker
  • TEC Tube-emulating circuit
  • Channel select (activate overdrive / boost channel)
  • Gain control
  • Volume controls for overdrive and clean channel
  • 3-Band EQ with controls for bass, mids and treble
  • Reverb control (spring type)
  • Headphone connector
  • AUX input
  • Line output
  • Foot pedal connector for channel switch and reverb (foot switch not included; compatible foot switch: Article Nr 198735)
  • Output for external speaker
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 420 x 425 x 220 mm
  • Weight: 10 kg

And then a video of the amplifier Harley Benton HB-40R

Harley Benton HB-20R Amp Demo How to Use an Amp to Find Your Sound

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton HB-40R review

Laney Cub-Super8 vs Boss Katana 50 MKII

The amplifier Laney Cub-Super8 is usually 76 € cheaper than Boss Katana 50 MKII.

Laney Cub-Super8

Boss Katana 50 MKII
  • Single-ended Class-A tube amplifier in vintage design
  • Specially designed for home use & recording
  • 1 Channel
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Equipment: 1x 8″ HH LG830 loudspeaker
  • Preamp tube: 12AX7
  • Power tube: 6v6GT
  • Controls: Volume, Tone
  • Instrument Hi & Lo inputs: 2 x 6.3 mm jack
  • Output for external loudspeaker 8 – 16 ohms: 6.3 mm jack
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 304 x 197 x 302 mm
  • Power: 50 W.
  • Equipped with: 12″ Custom speakers
  • 5 Amplifier types: Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown & Acoustic
  • 5 Independent effects: Booster, Mod, FX, Delay and Reverb – 3 of them can be used simultaneously
  • 2 Memory locations for amplifiers and effects settings plus panel setting
  • Power amp input for the use of multi-effects devices
  • Power Control (0.5 / 25/50 watts) for full amp sound at any volume
  • Controls: Amp Type, Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Booster / Mod, Delay / FX, Reverb, Master & Power Control, Sounds
  • Updated Boss Tone Studio sound customization software with over 60 different Boss effects, channel and global EQs, customisable routing and more (free on Bosstonecentral.com)
  • Connection option for up to two foot switches
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 470 x 238 x 398 mm
  • Weight: 11.6 kg
  • Matching footswitch FS-6: Art.173531 (not included)
  • Matching expression pedal: Art.102890 (not included)

And then a video of the amplifier Boss Katana 50 MKII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixOc9e140bk

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Boss Katana 50 MKII review

Where to buy this amplifier Laney Cub-Super8

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
  • Sometimes better price.
  • He’s got worse stock than Thomann.

Also look at these models with a similar price and features:

Jaime Echagüe

Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below