Markbass Little Mark II Head

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.

this has been said enough.

Right now, i play a Schecter c-4 with EMG pickups through my setup. I use my LMII, and a BBE 362 sonic maximizer through a G-K Goldline 4x10 at 8 ohms. This is as everyone says, this amp is clear as glass. I don't get any distortion from the amp at all, really. Sometimes i get some clipping since i've added the BBE, but with a gain tweak it's not a problem at all. this thing sounds monstrous now, i can't wait to get it at 4 ohms.

I bought this amp right before i started playing with the band i'm in right now. It can make it through 3 1/2 - 4 hour practices at 2 oclock gain, and 3 oclock volume without even flinching. The clip light will come on if i have my onboard EQ turned up a little and i get on the strings, but there's no audible background noise. I've gigged with it 4 times so far, and it's given me no problems, and i haven't had to mic it...although one time they did, and it was just ridiculous.

Haven't had any problems yet. It's difficult to find rack mount plates though!

I love this amp to no end. I almost got a G-K 700RB head because of their woofer/tweeter adjustments...but the amp was out of stock. My friend who was working suggested this amp to me, and i'm glad things worked out this way.

ok.Front=one balenced XLR input,One input jack,Gain knob,clip light,low knob,mid low knob,high knob,VLE filter knob,VPF filter knob,Master Volume knob,On switch,Blue On indicator light.
Back=Power jack w/fuse,Fan,2 speaker output's(over under)Can accept 1 Speakon 1 1/4" or 2 1/4" jacks,Line out(Balanced XLR),Ground Lift,Tuner out,and Effects loop to finish it off.built 05-2007

This is the most transparent soundingBass amp I've ever heard.It was desighned that way so you hear the sound of your Bass and Not the amp.I've never had it distort,hum,hiss or any otherthing I didn't want.I set it up with everything at 12 O'Clock except the VLE is at one VPFis at 3/4. Vol is at 1/4 or so.I use a Fender Precision w/Ash Body and a Warwick Streamer Pro M and a Pedulla Buzz Bass.GK cab's

Not one thing wrong with it.Good thing to Since it was made in Italy.The one thing you will notice is how light this amp is.I actually disconected it from my rig and carried it across my house to my PC to write this review.At only 6lbs. it's a feather weight.The cab's are the same way.But boy do they sound good!there stuff is lite but ungodly strong.As Good As IT Get's.Sound & Construction.

never need.(Yet)

I used to play Ampeg and only Ampeg.This little fella has ruined me.It's that good.I don't even own anymore Ampeg equipment.I have no complaints for this amp.BUT do know this.The cab's for this amp are Super expensive.try $1300 to $1600(USD) for the 6x10. or $929.00(USD) for a 4x10.Heck a 2x10 is $599.00(USD)Otherwise. The amp itself is $599.99(USD) But worth every penny.Markbass equipment is just super stuff.But You get what you pay for.

I've been using this head since August 2006.
All the features have been listed in other reviews, so why repeat them.

Without going into a gear list, I mostly use an Alembic Excel, Rick 4001, and a Jazz Bass thru this head.
As others have stated, the sound is transparent. I run this thru a Schroeder 1210 or a Mesa Powerhouse 1000 cabinet. The amp has more than enough power to push either cabinet. The Alembic into this head into the Mesa cab is amazing.
My standard procedure is to set the amp flat, adjust the gain, adjust the instrument, then cut frequencies. Then I tweak the VLE and VPF controls. The VLE is a filter that rolls off high end, gives you more of a vintage sound, like back when cabinets didnt have horns. The VPF is simply a mid-scoop filter, cuts mids while boosting lows and highs.
The head by itself is clean, I've yet to hear any distortion or noise from it. It's also very easy to dial in sounds. Although it would be nice to have the VLE and VPF foot switchable.

I've had no problems in the year and a half I've owned it.

I've sent several inquiries to the mfr about obtaining a rack mount kit,recieved no reply. The Guitar Center people seemed completely clueless about the kit or ordering it.
Ended up making my own.

Having played since the mid 60's I've been thru alot of equipment, Fender,Vox,Sunn,Mesa,etc. After picking up this head I sold just about everything off, except my 400+ and a vintage Vox AC100. At 5 or 6 lbs and 500 watts its perfect to lug around. The combo of the LMKII and Schroeder make a perfect lightweight package. Although the Powerhouse cabinet sounds like thunder.
If my LMKII grew legs one night on a job I'd immediately replace it.
The combination of light weight, power, and ease of use makes this one of my all time favorite amps.

This amp was made is 2/12/07 and the features are as basic as an Alembic F1X which i own two of but, the mark bass II head is much lighter and i carry it around in a shoulder bag with other guitar equipment including a cordless system.

When I tried it out at Guitar Central in Seven Corners, Va. and playing a Music Man through it i fell in love right there because i have been looking for an amp with that type of brightness for the funk,type gospel sound. Prior to that I ended up buying a Mesa Boogie M-2000 (which I'm still trying to sell), 2 Alembic F1X's for both racks, Peavey DPC-1000, QSC-2402, bbe sonic maximizers tc-electronic g-force korg a-3's trying to look for my sound, i did find it but, now i'm getting too old to be carrying all of this equipment to gig after gig so it justs stay at home and i now use only the Markbass, PERIOD along with my Stambaugh Design 5 string and 9 string basses and sometimes my Smith CR-6 or 4 string basses. The sound is much better coming through the church's 8X10 SWR as oppose to using the SWR-350 head which sounds like crap, and it also sounds great coming through my personal cabinet which is a modified ampeg porta cabinet (using Hartke Speakers and no horn).

We'll see ;]

When i took it home and played it through my Eden 410 it blew the tweeter fuse but, it blew it so fast that i didn't know it had been blown because there was no light that lets you know if your tweeter is getting ready to be blown and i had thought it was the unit it self so i took it back to the store and got another one that did the same thing so i called the company and they told me that i had to talk to the people at the store i got it from and that they will get a repair person to fix it. They said it with an attitude similar to a person saying "they have something else to do I don't have time to talk to you right now" But, the case was resolved after that.

Otherwise this is a very good amp for $599.00 plus tax it better be good. They get an 8 because of the "no haggle" deal you get, no discount, no nothing, flat price, like Carvin Guitars.

Everybody knows the features. 4 band EQ, VLE, VPF, all the goodies. It's a very good clean amp. I wanted something simliar to Thunderfunk, and after trying out some solid state amps, I decided on the LMII. It is a versatile amp in a way you can tweak your sound to a crazy degree. However! It does not do dirty. It does not do the GK growl, does not have over drive, or anything like that. It's just 500w of pure clean power.

I do wish it had a slave out. I'm using effects send to send the signal to another tube amp, but I don't know... I guess it works tat way.

It does clean VERY well. I play mostly finger pick, and this amp has plenty of headroom to get expressive on. I have two Agggie GS112s hooked up, and they give me very good bass response. It's quiet, and cool. I don't really mess with the VLE and the VPF, but I can see how it would be useful. It can sound a lot like the Thunderfunk for about half the cost. Ok, maybe not half.

You could run the amp at 4ohms for hours, and it won't get hot. If you open up the amp, about half of what's inside is a heat sink. That makes me feel all warm and gooey. :) Love the fact that the fan is on the back, unlike certain crazy amps... Mine was built in june of 2007, so I've only had it for 3 months? Who knows, but it's been solid for me. I get to gig with it on the 28th. We'll see how it goes.

I bought the Markbass warranty through Guitar Center. Supposedly, GC will ship the amp out to Markbass, and they'll take care of you. Sounds promising, but we'll see how it goes.

Honestly, I haven't been playing too long. I'm new to the bass game. When I was buying gear, I wanted something that I won't have to keep upgrading every year. I felt the LMII gave me the best clean sound possible in my price range, and I read great reviews on forums. They were all right, and now I'm a believer, too. Who would have thought this tiny black and yellow box could bellow out 500w! ANyways, I'm glad I made my chocie with Markbass, and Id do it again if I have to.

simple. not 10 because no mute switch.

broad range of clean tone. transparent: each bass different. play flat with all the range you need. has a 'mid' scoop with is the only knob i turn!

don't go past 3 oclock on master with gain @ 1 oclock into 4 ohms... will cut. ...comes back after a minute. only time it happened. it was right out of the box and my first gig with it. all good noow with plenty of punch.

none needed.

i'd buy another if lost. little, simple, punchy, almost perfect. it replaced my Acoustic Image Focus 1. very happy. i used to use Peavey BAM 210 + 210. this rig fits in a briefcase @ 5% the weight!

This amp was built in Feb 2007 and I got it new in June 2007. This is a very versatile amp, due to 2 major features called VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator) and VPF (Variable Preshape Filter). The VLE rolls off the highs to sound like, say, an old Sunn Concert Bass or so. The VPF cuts some mids and boosts the lows and highs, to achieve that modern slap tone.

It has almost all the features I need. I'd just like to have a pre/post-EQ selection for the XLR output. And the fact that the rack ears are optional is a bit disappointing. But overall, this amp comes with enough features, which are pretty useful.

This amp has no sound. I mean, it is very neutral and transparent. You hear the sound of your bass. My bass is a MusicMan StingRay 5 and I actually don't tweak anything on the amp head, except a slight touch of VLE.

There are tons of power here. I use it with 2 Markbass cabs (a Traveler 102P and a Traveler 151P). The tone and volume are very impressive.

If you don't need the tube amp vibe, this is an amazing amp. Anyway, nothing does the tube vibe... except tube amps. I knew that when buying, and never expected the LMII would mimic an SVT.

No issue at all. I gig much and take it to all venues without having it in a rack. In my car, I just protect it with a cover, in case of a shock or a brutal braking. I won't rate it on reliability, since I've had it for only 45 days, and really can't know whether this amp is dependable or not.

Can't say anything.

This amp has a replaced an Ashdown ABM500RC EVO II in my arsenal. It is louder than the Ashdown. Definitely not the same sound, but I guess I prefer the clarity of the Markbass. This amp is very light (less than 6.5 lbs), thus very easy to carry, but it sounds awesome and is very loud. Looks like a good choice. And in its category, and at this price, I guess it is impossible to beat. I could tell of amps that cost twice that price and don't sound as good to me.