We all know that the Cub comes with 3 channels––Tweed, Blonde, and Black, all named for the iconic Fender tube amps the Cub endeavors to emulate via solid state technology––but did you know that you can get three more tones out of the Cub? This is done by using a standard Y-adapter (such as the Hosa YPP-106) to capture the 3 combination tones: Tweed+Blonde, Tweed+Black, and Blonde+Black. Since the three primary tones have different EQ curves, the hope is that by combining two channels into one, you might smooth out the EQ away from the default mid/high bias that exists with the Cub. If you experiment with all six tones you will hear a difference, but bear in mind that the differences will be less than you might think after you have tweaked the EQ knobs to arrive at your target tone. We all have a desired or preferred tonal output in our head, and in my case my endpoint was to try and EQ the various tones to emulate my Princeton Reverb amp.
For each of the 6 tones, I have adjusted the amp's EQ to try and reach as pleasing and close to a Princeton tone as I could. Note the small EQ setting changes in the video between most of the 6 tones.
My method was to create a loop and pass it through each of the six tones. I recorded direct-out to garageband. I have a little delay and reverb in place and am using a guitar with Hum-canceling P-90s. To my ears, there are only small difference between the 6 tones. Was the $10 adapter worth it? For me the answer is yes, not because it gave me 3 additional and significantly different tones, but because the combo tones seem to create a more pleasing EQ curve, which gets me a little closer to my beloved Princeton tube tone.
