Dean Markley DMC-80

Five Stars! This amp does it all for me, stage, studio, jamming with my friends. I'm a pretty off the wall kind of player, and this does me better than any Marshall I've ever had. The fact that I can go from bluesy to rock to folk and bounce anywhere in between really made the difference for me when I first bought mine. It's not the biggest amp I've ever owned, but easily does the best (and biggest) sounds imaginable. It's got some seriously heavy speakers in it, and it weighs about 65 pounds, more than any in a similar size. I can't say enough good things about this model, I've been a Dean Markley fan for quite sometime. Marshall amps are pretty much one trick ponies for me. I've never had a more versatile amp in such a compact but powerful package. I'd highly recommend this model to any professional musician. They seem to be harder to find these days, word has gotten around that they are pretty incredible amplifiers.

Sounds quality is in a word, incredible. and very versatilr.

100% dependable, no problems whatsoever. I leave my finicky tube amp at home now, since this Dean Markley gets mistaken for a vintage tube amp all the time.

Never needed to get it repaired, the only amp I've had tha tI can say that about actually.

I'd rate it a 9 out of ten, and a 10 out of 109 for it's size. People are always thinking it is a Mesa Boogie.

I bought this amp new in 1990. It has all the same features listed in the other reviews, mine has the tan cover. The 8 pin drive voicing switches on the back are great, but I only set them up once and haven't touched them since. I get the distortion I like naturally through the amp, I do not use a pedal for the effect. The chorus and reverb work great, I find I get more than enough reverb, unlike one of the other reviews.

I use a Les Paul knockoff with twin double hums, as well as a BC Rich with two singles and a double at the bridge. Both have unique sounds through the amp, so it suits my style perfectly. I rarely turn the volume past half way, and have not had noise issues. At higher volumes I cannot say.
The distortion can be adjusted by using the drive voicing switches. I am not aware of another amp that has this feature - but it creates over 240 possible combinations for distortion.
The clean channel is awesome and I mostly play clean for practice etc unless the piece being played dictates distortion is needed.

The only thing to go wrong with the amp is the midrange tuning pot is going, not gone, going. It cracks and complains when turned too low. Other than that, perfect.

Haven't even tried.

I have had it since new in 1990 - I only own a small portable practice amp and this one blows that away - no comparison really. If stolen, I would try to replace it with a comparable amp since this is no longer available new. I would have to spend twice what I paid for this to get a comparable amp in terms of power, features, etc. The tan cover of this amp gives it a classic look with modern features, it's very good looking, Dean Markley...

I don't know what year mine is - it's the older, tan cover and oxblood grill-cloth. The two channel switching is great for either poping a clean lead through the rest of the band, or adding a surly rasp to a chord pattern. Of course, you can overdrive the crap out of your sound, but I'm 55; been there - done that; now it;s all about TONE, baby! I run a Korg 1000 AGwhatever through the effects loop in the back, and Lo and Behold - TRUE STEREO EFFECTS come out - if you run two different pedals to each loop in/out, you get one effect in one speaker, and one in the other - or one effected speaker, and one clean signal...kinda trippy! Lest I forget ( see above '55' comment), is is soooo nice to be able to pick this baby up without cutting a doughnut offa my...well, you know what I mean!

I love this little thing! The pair of 10 inch speakers will punch a power chord through an anvil. I was initally attracted by the sound - while waiting for a lesson, I plugged my '70 Voxton (Les Paul rip-off) into this puppy, and was REALLY inpressed with the clean, but warm sound - something I don't equate with Solid State. My axe had never sounded so good ( and it ain't bad thru any Fender or Roland I've had access to...) so I tried a brand new Cort single-coil model; it sounded great, too! Then I tried a Danelectro, a Takamini and a Hamer (all new) and was marvelling at how good they all sounded; each had a unique voice - and then I realized I hadn't touched the amp to compensate for anything...so I took down a '68 Country Gentleman someone had in on consignment, and I almost wet myself when I heard it! Yeah - the axe was great; but the amp had a quality I'd been looking for for years. It makes a decent axe sound great, and great axes sound fanTAStic! As well as the Vatxon, I also have a Les Paul Recording axe that loves this DM ever so ever so much, and a J50 with a passive Fishman in it; rings like a bell, growls like a Doberman...with those three as my tools, I want not for great sound...and it's because of the amp!

Had one transient distortion happen in the middle of a Jazz ballad - embarassing, but hey! I'm a guitar player! Excrement Occurs! It was a bad footswitch cable - changed it, and have no complaints now.

I emailed customer Support, and explained I had bought the amp second-hand with no documentation, and 2 weeks later, had a photo copied manual AND a schematic! Great service ( but I'm such a great guy how could they not treat me well?)

It can whisper, it can yell; it walks, it talks, it crawls on its belly like a reptile. This is the amp I've beeen waitng for since I wanted to be Duane Eddy. ( Of course, now I want to be Jeff Beck, or Clapton, or...)

im not sure of the year of my dmc80 but it was purchased new about 4 years ago from a music store that was going belly up.i have used this amp on lots of gigs from country,blues,southern and classic rock.the amp however has been in the shop a couple of times but it was played hard at many loud gigs.i personaly like the sound of the amp and find it very easy to eq.for a solid state amp it has a full dynamic sound.the chorus sounds very good but i very seldom use it because the only effects i use is the reverb turned up to 1 or 2.the drive is always wide open and i sometimes use a overdrive pedal for a little extra edge.my guitars are a old early 80s fender mexican strat and a newer delux fender power telecaster.my other amps are an old early 70s bassman 100 head run tthrough a set of ada split stacks.i also have a peavey transtube supreme head which i feel is very overrated by most musicians.i give the dean markley the thumbs up for ease of operation but the bassman 100 is every strat players dream.the only thing i have to say bad about the dmc 80 is i had to get it repaired.the fender is all tube and tubes cannot be 100 percent duplicated but my dmc80 i rate at around 8 for coming close

Date on rear: Jan, 1993. 2x10 inch speakers. Good clean sound, reverb decay could be longer. Reverb tank measures 9.25 inches (don't know # of springs). Stereo effects loops (L-R) on rear. Two input jacks (normal and -10dB, I think). Channel and chorus footswitch jack (TRS stereo) on rear. Mono reverb footswitch jack on front. Headphone jack on front (disables speakers). Mono effects loop on front. Three-knob EQ section (Bass, Midrange, Treble), controls both channels. Rocker switch on front panel for channel switching

I am using a Carvin Bolt (strat copy) with 2 single-coil p/u's and 1 humbucker (bridge). The amp has an ok reverb (too short) and a decent chorus. The distortion channel is typical solid state, harsh and brittle. The breakup is too sudden and uncontrolable. The clean channel is fine for playing clean lead and rhythm styles. Using any effects between the guitar and the amp results in too much noise (for a solid state amp). For better, more tube-sounding distortion, I plug into an Ibanez Tube King (TK-999), which has a 12AX7, and then plug that into the (mono) power amp in jack on the front panel, using the Tube King as the preamp. I suspect that the distortion channel would be good for industrial or punk style music, but that is not my preference.

Some times, for no reason, the amp cuts out and when either volume (clean, distortion) is turned all the way up, the only sound is the reverb return, with no original signal.

I got it in a grey-market deal (being thrown out by a music store, written off as damaged), so I don't think I'd be able to get any customer service. As far as I know, the amp has never been out of the store, and probably can be considered new (or possibly NOS). It did not come with any documentation, and Dean Markley's web site is still under construction.
Its picture is on this web page:
http://www.deanmarkley.com/htmlDocs/AmpMstr.html

I have been playing almost 10 years. My only electric is the Carvin strat-copy. I work for a sound company (PA equipment), so I have access to all sorts of stuff. Currently I am using an Ibanez Tube King (TK-999), the original Japanese-made model with the noise reduction circuit. Sometimes I also use an original Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer. My other amp is a mid-50s (I think) Supro Bantam (1 12AX7, 1 50L6, about 2-4 watts through a 6-inch speaker). My musical interests include: classic rock, 80's retro and (don't laugh) bluegrass. The amp has a good clean sound, but compared to a solid state Fender (Ultimate Chorus???), the distortion channel is nowhere close. It has plenty of power to gig with, but I have yet to do so. The reverb switching problem makes me wary of playing out with it, but for the price I paid, I can't complain. I don't believe the amp is still being made, but for the $400 list price, I would rather have a Fender Princeton or another older Fender tube amp.

This Dean Markley DMC-80 amp is a 1991 100w solid state powerhouse. It has a stereo chorus section that works with both the dist. channel or the clean channel. The reverb is a luscious, full hall reverb that sounds great without having too much echo. 1 stereo effects loop, 1 footswitch jack for dist. & chorus, and another for reverb. I have never had the volume past 2 in my bedroom, (except in the music store where I tried it out) but it has enough power to gig with. I have gigged with it before. It is really versitile. It can do from ska to heavy metal and everything in between. Believe me, I play every style of music with this amp, so I know.

Right now I have a Fender strat ( 3 single coils ) and a harmony stratotone ( 1 soapbar ). I primarily use the strat. The amp can go from bitey to mellow without changing any settings on the guitar. It can get a bit noisy though at high volumes (clean and dist. channels) but what do you expect? The clean channel distorts only at max volume and that is with the bass at 8 and 1/2. I am using a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face and a Dunlop Crybaby Wah with as it stands now, and they make an awesome combo the wah makes truly ear piercing trebles with the wah at all the way down and Dave Navvaro-esque solo tones with the wah at halfway. The amp's distortion is a decent tube style overdrive. I wish it had a bit more wicked distortion, but I solved that problem by using the fuzz face pedal.

It has never broken down in the 6 months that I have had it and I would gig with it without a backup, (I dont have a backup, anyway, so the amp has to be reliable) and I have done this before.

I'vw never needed the customer support

I've been playing for about 3 years now and I own a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Jim Dunlop Crybaby wah, an Ibanez flanger that I absolutey hate, and never use as well as a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal that I also never use. If I lost it, I probably would buy another, (even though the one I have now is tan and the ones they make today are only black and they look cheap, as the tan does not), and even though the list is $700 (Im not joking, the guy who sold it to me for $150 must be mentally challenged) I know that is is worth the $700. One of the only bad things is that it weighs 55 pounds.