KC-550 180W Keyboard Amp

No independent EQ's for channels. Very compact and portable, movable and gig friendly. But, You can only EQ the whole amp. If you get it in a place with ZERO standing waves it can handle a mic relatively well, but not balanced with instruments at the same time (see sounds section). There are better amps. I CANNOT JUSTIFY SPENDING UPWARDS OF $550 ON AN AMP THAT BREAKS AFTER A YEAR OF NORMAL USE. BELIEVE ME, I TRIED.

OK sound. Speaker breaks up easily with channel and master knobs at noon, instrument at 3/4.  When it works, it does what it's supposed to. Sound great tone for notes...independently. If you are doing complicated works with multiple simultaneously moving lines across the range of the piano or organ...big held gospel chords, anything like that that involves the low, mid, and high frequencies, It turns to COMPLETE CRAP...it cannot even begin to handle multiple frequencies. It cannot handle a saturated signal. It is NOT setup to sound PROFESSIONAL. It is meant for single melody lines, with old church ladies dinking out 5 not chords. It can compete with a drumset and rock a medium-small venue, but using it at that level will get you barely over a year of use.

TERRIBLE. IT WILL BREAK WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS. ROLAND RECENTLY CHANGED THEIR THREE-YEAR FULL WARRANTY ON THIS PRODUCT TO ONE YEAR PARTS 90 DAYS LABOR. THIS WILL LEAVE YOUR BROKEN AMP A COUPLE MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT IF YOU PLAN ON GIGGING REGULARLY. ONLY IF IT IS GOING TO SIT IN A CHURCH GETTING PLAYED ONCE A WEEK. BUT IF THAT CHURCH HAS A RESPECTABLE DRUMSET YOU HAVE TO COMPETE WITH, DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT.

Manual is minimalistic, common sense. Basic electrical warnings. Very easy to use, unless you don't know what a ground lift is...everything is pretty straightforward. The direct-out is INCREDIBLY HOT. Sounds guys have a nightmare toning down the signal, even when master and channel signals are adjusted to talking volume.

It is U.S. support for a Japanese product...they don't care they're roland. You will buy their stuff either way. They're basically trained to generate RMA numbers and nothing else.

Without the three year warranty. it will eat your $600 bucks in the first year. EVERYTHING inside of this amp breaks. Of course you have to ship it back, they replace it all, and the next year it busts again. One of my gigging acquaintences bought the same amp a year before me, I waited to drop the same amount of money but kept tabs on his. Everything was great for a year, a couple months after I bought mine, his blew. Then a year later mine had the same symptoms and broke also. He was lucky enough to catch the three year warranty. Sent it in and they said that nearly everything had blown. It was covered under three year warranty. BUT Roland last year switched this product to a one year warranty. I PROMISE it will break a couple months after that mark if you use it for regular gigging. He got rid of his after everything in it was replaced, I will be doing the same. THIS IS CONSUMER GRADE, IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN IT CANNOT HANDLE YOUR REQUIREMENTS. IT IS NOT COMMERCIAL, IT WILL BREAK AND YOUR WARRANTY WILL BE VOID WHEN IT DOES. The drivers are crap, the amp is crap, it's a syngery of crap. The construction is the only good thing about this product, props to the factory workers. When it breaks, the whole thing will break and you will be out around $550 bucks with no way out.

Like the balanced inputs; also the choice of 1/4" or XLR line outs

I run a Hammond XK3 through it when I don't feel like hauling my Leslie 3300 around (which isn't often because I do love the 3300 but that's for another review).  I am impressed with the rich, smooth low end.  Pedals sound great with the 550, much like a Leslie 122's low end.  I use it a lot for pickup jobs (country clubs, etc) and find it more than ample even when we're rockin.  It could stand to have a better-quality tweeter, though.  PA capability is also nice.

I would definitely use it without a backup.  Most musicians don't HAVE a backup.  I try to baby it.  Seems quite dependable for the short time I've had it.

No software.  Manual is easy to use.

Haven't had to deal with customer service yet.

I'd be hard-pressed to find something else that does what the 550 does for the price.  I would buy another.  I played guitar professionally for 20+ years and owned just about everything there is.  Took a break from music, decided to buy a B3/122 rig and learn to bang on that; ended up gigging for a while and rediscovered my love for music.  Sold the B3/122 rig and bought the XK3 and the 550 a couple of months ago.  Recently got the Leslie but played a dozen gigs with the 550 before the Leslie arrived.  I heartily endorse the 550 as a very versatile keyboard amp with plenty of punch for small to medium sized venues when used as a standalone amp.  Only gripes are lack on on-board effects (reverb would be nice) and a broader EQ.  But, for the most part, I leave it flat and it sounds great.  You won't go wrong buying this amp, IMHO.