Markbass Little Mark II Head

I have seen twice as many features in amps costing half as much????
It does have the essentials, but the buck stops there.

I play with a 71 jazz bass with passives, this amp sounds empty PERIOD.
For what I payed I will not complain, but after reading so many reviews of the sound quality, I have to wonder what in the world? Did I get the only Markbass that lacks sound quality? All of the controls work and do just what everyone says they do, but after listening to the sound I was left thinking (so what).
I A/B tested against a Peavey T-Max head and the Peavey won (HANDS DOWN). The LMII was very difficult to get any high end out of, you could, but you have to turn the high eq up all the way and utilize the variable shaping controls to the max also. DID just that with both pickups up and tone on my jazz all the way to the trebly side. This was the only way to get some mid punch along with some highs. With the Peavey amp I utlized only the neck pu with a touch of the bridge and tone turned down. The sound was just as bright and clear.
This test was done through my avatar 1x12 and aguilar 2x10 running both cabs individually and then together. I tried both amps with a dbx comp and without.
I have to give the Markbass top honors only in the low end department. This thing will rattle windows if you care to.

no opinion

no opinion

Been playing for about 20 or so years, used Fender amps, Ampegs, GKs, Standals (anyone remember those?), SWR cabs, aggie cabs, avatar cabs, fender cabs, and a homemaid job with JBL. For the money this amp did not disappoint, but I did not pay that much for it (375.00).
Had I payed the full retail price I would be unhappy.
I will keep this as a back up as it is easy to carry around and my Peavy is past the 10 year mark so it may come in handy some night.

I play in a indie rock band and dont have the money to play a road crew so when im looking for gearing portability and weigh are a big deciding factor. It is great for everystyle of music i have tried playing on it even drop tuned stuff. i love the Variable Pre-shape Filter but i turn the VLE off it just makes my tone muddy.

i use a fender jaguar on the passive setting and it rips. im playing out of an avatar 210 cab is this thing is super loud i cant imagine what it would be like at 4 ohms. it stays super clean and lets the tone of your bass come through.

ive only had it for a week

havent had to use it yet i guess time will tell

its amazing im so happy i tried this little guy out my band was playing with these guys whos bass played had an svt classic and 810 cab your typical rock setup and the sound guy came to me and asked what i was playing out of and said how it destroyed the ampeg

I have the 2008 Markbass Little Mark II head. This amp has many useful features that I appreciate. One of these is the VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator). This knob basically rolls off the highs to give you a warmer, "vintage", sound. It also has the VPF (Variable Pre-shape Filter). This knob boosts the bass and treble to give you a rock or slap tone. One feature that I use a lot is the tuner out. You can use this to send a signal to a tuner without running your bass signal through it or you can use it to send an unbalanced signal to a DI box to go into the PA. The one feature that it does not have that I wish it had was a mute button. I play rock and some blues and this amp definitely covers those styles.

I use a 2006 Warwick Corvette Standard with jazz-style pickups, and I think it sounds amazing. I have found a setting that I like, and I don't change it at all, I just use the treble/bass knob and the pickup pan knob on my bass to change the tone. I have it hooked up to a Markbass 1x15 cab and the sound is really clear. It really lets the tone of your bass come through without coloring the sound. You can really hear the growl of the Warwick. I have also used an acoustic-electric bass through this head using the XLR input. It works well for acoustic as well.

I have never had any problems with this head in the five months that I have had it. I would easily use this on a gig without a backup.

I have not dealt with Markbass customer support.

I have been playing for about five years now and this is about the best I have heard for a head. I have played tube heads but I honestly prefer solid state for the most part. I use it with a Markbass cab and it has plenty of power for what I need. I also use a Sunn Concert Bass and I can't really compare the two, just because they both sound good, just different. I would replace this head if it were lost or stolen. The size and weight is really a plus, you can move it around very easily. Before I bought this head, I played Ampeg, SWR, Mesa, and GK, but when I walked into Guitar Center and played a Markbass, I was sold. Especially since this head costs about 1/3 of what a Mesa head costs. Overall, a great head with a lot of features at a great price.

Gain, Master, Low, Low mid, High mid, High, VPF & VLE controls. A mute would, as others have said, be useful. This is a loud amp which I rarely use with volume above 9 o'clock. I dont use the VLE, which effectively seems to boost the mids while removing the Lows & Highs. I do use the VPF at around 12 o'clock, which does the opposite, giving a mid scooped sound. As others have said, surely the DI output should be set at pre EQ rather than post. Apparently this can be done by a technician but why should we have to pay for it (I may have a go myself being fairly technically minded and it cant be difficult now can it)

Markbass rate this at 500 watts but I have read a review in which they actually measured the output to be approximately 425 watts, but wattage as we all know is approximate and some amps with low rated outputs are loud and vica versa. Whatever its actual output, this amp rocks and has plenty of headroom for me (and I play in a pretty loud band)I use a Warmoth Jazz style bass with a single Duncan Quarter Pounder P style p/up. 2 x Aguilar 1x12 cabs and this for me is the ultimate lightweight 'mini rig'. Loud, punchy with a deep bass and cuts through the mix with clarity and defenition. My styles are mainly Country & Blues Rock.

Owned for over a year now and no problems so far. Would totally rely on this amp.

No idea as never needed but i hear thay are good.

Playing for over 15 years, tried lots of gear, this head sounds superb even before you consider its size & weight. Big, deep, smooth bass tones and lods of headroom. What more could you want (apart from a couple of additional features as mentioned above)

I was weary of a 3-band EQ, but the VLE and VPF dials make up for it a hundred times over. The best thing about the EQ is it sounds amazing running flat, with lows mids and highs all at 12 o'clock. The size and weight are obviously amazing

I have never used a head I like the sound of more than this. It lays out super thick, buttery tones, but still manages to have a punch. The response is lightning-quick. The sound allows so much head room for your own dynamics and attack. I play this in a blues/funk/rock cover band and a death metal band, and it sounds fantastic for both.

Never had a problem, and the fact that it's a solid state head means no major maintainence.

Haven't had to use it.

I don't think I could use another amp now.

The best features on this amp are the vle and vpf knobs. They are the things that make this amp pretty versatile. You must remember though, that this amp only weighs 6 pounds, which itself is, in a way a feature. The low, mid and high controlls work great to. Another cool thing with this amp is the gain. If you mess with the gain knob, you can also get some interesting sounds.

This amp sound great. Aside from its small lack in features, this amp makes up for it in its sound quality. The sound is indeed verry warm. I was not expecting this from this amp. It really brings out the sound in your bass to. Basicaly good bass=good sound. It is also verry loud. Almost as loud as my old carvin r1000 (which is 1000 watts). Over all, this is a great sounding amp.

only had it a few days :)

havent needed it yet :)

Its a great amp. I dont think that ill need to worry about getting another for a looooooong time.

All the features covered in earlier reviews. Really simple to use. The only thing that I would want more would be a mute switch.

This amp sounds amazing. Even if you don't consider the size. Has a huge amounts of clean headroom. The sound is actually pretty warm and not that sterile as one would thing.

I mostly play metal and stoner/doom stuff with this head, trough Ampeg SVT-18 cabinet and with Gibson Explorer bass. I keep the eq at 12 o'clock, except for the treble, which is at 15 o'clock. This is because of the cab's 18" element. I don't use the filters at all. Produces a very full and warm sound these settings, which is OK sound for the music I play, but not perfect. I need to also pair it with EBS ValveDrive. With this combination it just growls like a rapid grizzly bear.

The amp is also insanely loud. It is way louder than my Traynor YBA-200. We play very loud music and I keep the volume at about 8 to 9 o'clock, anything more would be just insane and would totally drown drums and guitars.

Not so much experience in here. Has lasted for 6 months now.

Never contacted them.

This amp is really good for it's price, size and weight. Really recommendable. My only complain would be that it doesn't produce enough distortion for heavier music without pedals or pre-amps.

I actually stopped playing with my Traynor YBA-200 when I got this. It's just so much better, especially when paired with EBS ValveDrive.

All the features have already been covered so Im just gonna move on..I will say it has all I'll ever need...

I use this with an Allen Woody bass and through an Avatar 4X10 Neo cabinet...I play out about 2 times a month..We do alot of 60's soul and alittle bit of everything else thrown in...I have never used an easier or better sounding rig...It is clean, clean, clean...I left it on the last gig and after 3 hours it was only alittle warm...No noise whatsoever..Plenty of low end and when you need punch, its all there....

Had it for just over 2 months and have giged with it 4 times...No problems at all, and am not expecting any in the future...

Havent had to use them, so I have no opinion

Ive been playing bass since the 60's, took a long lay off from early 80's till 2 years ago...Now back with my singer and guitar player from high school years....Over the years Ive had a variety of amp..1. Gretsch, 2. Ampeg V4b 3. Ampeg SVT 4. Peavey TNT 130 and now the Markbass...I loved the SVT but now that Im 58, the idea of all that weight just didnt cut it...The Markbass is simply the best amp Ive ever played...And the Avatar 4X10 is the perfect cab for my use...I would definitly buy both again..

All the features have been covered already. There are three things missing that annoy me.

1. Adjustable DI. Why would you not put that?
2. No headphone jack. Again, why not?
3. No mute. ..and again, why??

The DI seems a bit weak, and is driven by the gain control. Those two things should not be tied together IMO. My Eden and GK amps have had that capability, and for me it's a major bummer not having it. The headphone jack I can live without, but on a 6 pound head, you'd think they would put one. The amp is so small you can carry it around with ease, but you can't use it w/o a cabinet. A mute switch would be excellent guys. Come on..

I agree with most others. Very clean tone. I was surprised at how warm this thing was. I heard over and over how transparent it was, so I took that as thin or sterile, but it's far from it. Excellent tone, and amazing volume for it's size. No distortion at all.

Hope not.. Shipping to Italy isn't cheap!

Never dealt with them. Hopefully I won't.

Man, this amp is close to being great, but the three things I mentioned above kill it for me. I think those three things would be very inexpensive to add, and shouldn't compromise the low weight.. Just makes no sense not to have them. I know some of the larger MB amps have adjustable DI's.. This one should too..

I have had this amp for about one month, bought new.

This is one of the most simple, yet versatile amps I have ever played through. Powerful tone shaping at the twist of very few knobs, much less complicated (thank goodness) than other amps I have used.

This is a great little powerhouse. Stage volume is quite adequate through either my swr workingpro 15 or my carvin 2x10. The direct out is nice, post eq - always like having this feature for gigs - yet does not have a seperate level control, which I miss from my carvin. Because of this, I believe stage volume tweakage is going to affect the house - only downfall in my opinion. Others seem concerned about not having a mute/standby switch, but is not an issue for me. No compression either, but I find I don't need it.

I play a Warwick Thumb neck-thru 99% of the time, with the standard MEC electronics. I also play a Warwick Corvette Standard, bolt on neck, MEC.

I find myself spontaneously exclaming about the truly awesome sound of this amp alone (or to my dogs) in my practice room, during the middle of rehearsals and to friends who have no idea about amps what so ever. I haven't touted such a piece of equipment since I purchased my Thumb a few years back. I play pretty much every style, but mostly focus on rock right now: slapping, finger picking, tapping...they all sound great and I crank the vpf feature all the way up for an incredible, in your face and gnarly but clear tone.

The simplicity of this unit is tantamount to it's sonic abilities, a major sell for me. My preference is always toward simplicity and ease of operation. I hardly use the eq at all and play my basses pretty much flat as well. Slight bumps in frequencies seem to be the key to getting a great sound and give me the best representation of the true timbre of my instruments.

Not sure yet of the reliability. I have only had it for a few weeks, but it has performed flawlessly so far (2 gigs and several rehearsals).

Not needed so far.

I have been playing for about 17 years and this is the best amp I have ever owned, or played through. I plan on using it for a long time to come. It's small with a huge sound and nicely fits in my accessory bag for transport to gigs and rehearsals.

Aside from the direct output level not being adjustable (this may be set to a fixed, post eq level, however, I have not experimented with it yet to find out), I am 100% satisfied.