Markbass Little Mark 450 Head

I bought this amp recently and thought I was taking a bit of chance on a make that i had never heard before, but I am really glad I made the purchase. This amp is great, it really has a clean and natural sound to it.

The really cool thing is this "vintage" effect knob that you can use to add some "warmth" to your bass sound. With it off you get an excellent translation of your bass sound - it really does just amplify your bass without colouring the tone in the same way that i have found Ampeg and Trace Elliot ddo.

Other than the usual things like DI and 2 x speaker outputs and the Vintge effect thing, not a huge amount of features, which is actually one of the reasons I bought it - it is so INCREDIBLY simple to use and get a great sound. Just a 4-band EQ section that allows you to dial up your tone almost instantly. No messing around with 12 band EQ faders for me anymore...

Oh, and the other great thing about this amp is the size and portability - comes with a gig band too so you can throw it round your shoulders and you don't even need to remove it from the bag to use it at gig because of cool little cutaways in the gig bag design. Excellent.

Sound it excellent. I play in reggae / rock / ska bands and so i need a lot of versatility in my sound - I need to quickly go from dub-type bass sounds to punky rock, and this amp allows me to do so much quicker than my previous amp (a 300w Trace with 7band EQ).

The amp puts out about 280W with one cabinet and 450w with 2 attached, and needless to say this amp is very very loud.

The fan is a little noisy when it starts up, but no louder than other high power amps, and completely unnoticeable at gigs / rehearsals anyway.

I only use passive basses (with low "B"), and this amp gives the basses a really punchy, clean, pure sound.

Never given me any problems so far, and I don't expect it to since it seems to be very solidly built.

I have been playing bass for about 15 years now and have used a number of different amps over the years. I think Markbass are quite a new manufacturer (Italian I believe), and I think they will do well. The equipment seems quite reasonably priced, and as far as I am concerned, as a regular gigging musician, Markbass meet my requirements perfectly. The amp sounds superb, it is portable, reliable and very easy to use and set up quickly. Top marks. I'm sure I will upgrade as new Markbass amps are developed and released in years to come.

I bought this from new last year after stumbling onto their website. I wanted something light and yet powerful. This thing is the size and weight of a laptop and packs a real punch. Coz I colour and clean my sound with Boss pedals (Graphix, Chorus n Noise Gate) I've no need for an amp with on board fx (I tend to think that "on board" fx r usually crap anyway!). The Littlemark is just PURE bass amplification. Pre Gain, Low, low/mid, high/mid, high, post gain. It's simple, adaptable and... just brilliant!

I use a Fender Precision which I've customized with EMG active pickups, use Boss effect pedals and an Ashdown 4x10 cab. I play in a rock covers band but coz the Littlemark is just pure bass amplification you can do whatever you want with it. The amp came with a booklet giving a few presets which were great for immediately seeing the versatility of the thing. (It's fantastic for funk n slap bass for example).

I contained myself from sending in a review of this thing for a year or so and I can honestly say I love it as much now as the first time we set it up in the local music store. It's well built n feels really sturdy for such a little looking thing.

No need to call them. Good job seen as I don't speak Italian!!!!!

Yes, it's Italian, it's bright yellow, it's tiny and it's not a brand name anyone's heard of BUT after 20 odd years of playing bass let me say that this thing "rocks"!!! I tested it against Peavey, Carvin, Ashdown and Trace Elliot heads in the same price range. The Little Mark was a third of the size n weight of the others and yet for my money it blew them all away. For small to medium venues it's more than powerful enough and if you're like me, and gigging without your own roadie, its size and weight is a God send. If it was stolen I'd buy another Markbass without question.