Dean Markley K-20

This is a small, solid-state practice amp. It's only special feature is a gain switch for more distortion.

Glassy cleans with the gain switch off. Surpisingly good distortion in with the gain switch on. You can even do metal with it, although a booster pedal would certainly help.

Had it for 15 years, and it still works fine.

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Sounds better than you would expect from a little solid-state amp. I've had to use it a couple of times for last-minute recording sessions when no other amp was handy. I didn't think it would work, but I got usable results. To beef up the recording, I recommend using a Sennheiser 421 microphone (commonly used for tom-toms).

All i know is my dad bought this thing over 26 years ago and he gave it to me and i have no problems with it at all. the sound isent that clear but well what do u expect from a 26+ year old amp. it has a nice distortion channel but doesnt even come close to a distortion pedal. its pretty damn loud for a 15 watt amp.

the sound is ok it does the job but im not gonna say it actually sound that good. there isent ne extra static noises or anything.

Well all i can say is it lasted over 26 years going through torture espeicaly from me. im always turning the volume up pretty high. this thing will last.

dont know never needed their help

Overall this amp is really good for a begginer and itll last a lifetime without anyproblems i still dont see any signs of it dieing on me.

I bought this little guy in 1988 new for around $90. It is a great ruggedly built amp with corner guards, very sharp looks. Front controls, gold script Dean Markley (plastic but still sharp), nice black material grill just like the "big" guys. Mine is blonde so I really did that for the money. It has 2 channels and if you play with maxing the first control, and using the second for volume- it has a killer distortion, so really 3 possibly sounds. It has headphone and line out jack. I mainly jam by myself as a novice classic rocker. It has more than enough power for a home room and has a RUGGED built 8 inch speaker that can easily stand full tilt on all knobs for a while, if you have pickups that can handle that w/o feedback (which mine can't b/c they are stock Stratocaster single coils) or just don't stop playing and you won't have that problem.
The only feature I REALLY wished that it had is REVERB, possibly CHORUS, I really like a nice clean tone and it's clean tone is limited in its sustain without the ring that reverb gives.
It is solid state, single speaker.

I like classic rock and really like the twangy sound my Strat makes with the selector all the way on the back pickup. It has NO hum which is so good that when I went to buy a bigger amp, A Crate Tube Drive 70 (TD 70), I thought something was wrong with the Crate but it was my substandard pickups. SO, the little Markley is more forgiving to inferior pickups/electronics than a bigger/tube amp.
As I said earlier, it's possible to get 3 different sounds, a clean, a mild distortion and then a really nice and sustained nasty 70's sound distortion with experimenting with the first two knobs, Volume and Gain(?) possibly. If this little guy had reverb, I'd give a freaking 11 out of 10!

10 all the way! I've owned it since 1988, never covered it, and have never had static caused by dust/corosion in control switches. I'm impressed! This thing is solidly put together. HUGE magnet 8 inch speaker probably capable of taking twice the wattage.

Never had to deal with them because this amp is rugged as they come.

I've been playing since mid 1980's and bought my first electric set up in 1987 (this being it, along with a Squier Fender Stratocaster).
Overall, I'd give this little guy a 9 because it satisfies all areas EXCEPT variety of clean sounds but HEY, this is the base model Markley so really for 90.00 you are getting a small monster anyway. If it were stolen, I'd probably buy the next bigger one with reverb or I might buy it again because with a Zoom 505 pedal, I add as much reverb, chorus, tremelo, flanger effect, and numerous distortions. If I caught the thief in the act, I'd merciless beat him about the head with this amp and surely only have to wipe it off and plug it back in and PLAY!!

This amp was built in the mid-eighties. I play blues to punk/metal and this amp is quite good for a practice amp. I took it on tour and used it as a side fill when the monitors were nonexistent. It is quite loud as I think I've implied. It can seem very harsh at higher volumes but a low/apartment volumes it has a rich-rubbery transistory sound.

The clean sound is nice at low levels I use a Carvin & a G&L both with humbuckers. The distortion circuit is quite dense, clear & metallic sounding - although not very satisfying to my ears. The clean sound is what draws me in. I use a Pro Co Rat for distortion and the two sound good for what it is.

I've used it for many years. It's survived tours and numerous moves. The volume pot is toast. Very solid feel to this little room shaker.

Never dealt with DM.

Can't expect too much from a solid state 15 watt amp. This amp holds it own pretty well though. I've used it for jams. I don't love this product.

Duno when it was made. Dont care haha. It is pretty versitile id say. I play 80s metal and some modern stuff. 2 channels blah blah read the other reviews for features. I use this amp in my room for practicing and it sure fits the bill. For 15watts, ive cranked it with my drummer before and i can barely, but can be heard.

I'm using an Epiphone Special II w/o stock pickups (not sure what they are) It has alot of gain but when i palm mute its a little too bassy and no crunchy enough for me. If u mess with the settings u can get lots of sounds, i can get Godsmack, Black Sabbath,everything inbetween and the clean gives a great sound with the neck pu. The clean channel stays very clean at high settings. A little bassy but thats probably cause of the pu. The distortion is pretty damn brutal. If ur going for that death metal sound..get a pedal. I use a Boss SD-1 to boost it and it crunches great for me now. If your looking for a small amp that u can jam with the band and in ur house, dont get this, just not enough volume.

I havent really abused this amp at all. Ive had it for atleast a year now and its been cranked at full many times. I wouldn't use a 15watt practice amp at a gig so thats irrelavant.

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If it was stolen or lost, i wouldnt buy it again only because i need more wattage. If it was 30 or 40watts then id probably buy it again. I get great sounds out of this little combo. The distortion is really nice, theres not much i dont like about it. Compared to my buddys 20watt crate, its alot less middy(good or bad, depends on what u like) but it doesnt go over the top with treble. Overall its a great little practice amp for ur room or ur house.

Not sure how old this thing is but it still looks nice. Very clean sound. I never really cranked it up till this weekend playing with some friends. I've owned a few practice amps in my time and this one really does a fantastic job for the bucks you'll probably pay. The only thing I'd want is a few on-board effects -- reverb is always nice. Still, that's what stomp boxes are four. I also own a Parker practice amp (10 watts I think) and the DM puts it to shame at higher volumes.

If you see if for less than $50 you could do a whole lot worse. I paid $10 for mine at a yard sale.

the "dirty" channel was awesome using my guitar with humbuckers and not too bad with my Peavey St*t clone. No noise to speak of even tho it spends most of its time in my garage.

Never broke. Probably sounds as good today as when it was built.

Bought used.

For the price you'll pay. Can't go wrong.

This amp was made in the late 80's. All solid state. It puts out 15 watts but it's not a toy amp it's good and loud for only 15 watts. It has a built in distortion that does'nt sound great but it's ok. Looks like the heavy duty speaker gives it a good loud clean tone if you want.

The amp is quiet no hum. This amp does not seem that versatle because of it's small size and limited features, it's just for practice and it fits that bill.

I bought this amp in the late 80's high quality never broke once.

don't know

This is my 3rd amp my first was a big Fender 60 watt amp with reverb but it was just to damn loud for practice this is much better for practice and won't make you go deaf. I have played for 15 years. I am more interested in a new amp that has tubes so I would stay away from solid stae if I bought again. Theres nothing wrong with this amp but it's very limited because of it's cheap price and spartan features but I can find nothing really wrong with it for its intended purpose as an inexpensive practice amp.

Pretty standard stuff, eq really does not work that well for shaping sound. Clean and gain channels, but sound dirty, but good.

Sounds great with humbuckers! A little too twangy with single coil.

Great! This is one hell of an old amp and well, it still works, nuff said!

Never delt with em.

I love the "clean" channel very good Ac/Dc sound!

It has the basic features that you would expect from an inexpensive practice amp.

Sound is good. The clean channel seems a little "twangy" for my tastes, but I am usually playing it with a Squier Stratocaster that has single coil pickups. I do not think I have seen many combo amps that will put out this much sound with such a small speaker. The distorted channel sounds great to me, and I noticed that when I took the speaker out it is a pretty heavy duty 8" speaker which might be why it is so capable of getting loud without sounding bad. The speaker has a heavy magnet and relatively stiff cone which helps out a lot.

This was my first electric guitar amp. I bought it about 8 or 9 years ago. It was used when I bought it so I think that it is probably well over 10 years old. It still works great with no "glitches" or anything like that. I have used it as a mic and guitar amp for hours at a time with it turned almost all the way up. I think this little amp must have been built tough because I am sure other amps would have given up a long time ago.

This amp has a single input jack with a clean/dirty switch with pre-amp and volume controls. It has bass, mid and treble controls. The amp has a line out and a headphone jack. There is a front panel mounted power switch and an indicator light. I wonder if onboard reverb would be useful.

This is a practice amp, and to this point, that's all I've used it for. I use a Carvin Electric and Yamaha acoustics. The acoustics are run with a Dean Markley Pro-Mag pickup. I haven't run the acoustics through this amp with mics yet but I will. I play Americana Music, some pretty straight Country and Blues. First off, the amp is very quiet. There is no buzz or hum when on clean. There is a bit of hum on dirty, but every amp I've ever seen or heard is a bit hummy on the dirty channel. It was only at upper levels of pre-amp that it showed up. I was very much surprised at the loudness of this amp. 15 watts??? It sounds like a lot more. For a small package, this thing has a large sound. If I have it in the garage with the door closed, depending on the distortion I want, I can run the volume to about 1/3. With the door open I can go higher but there is no need. In the living room, a large area, I run the volume no more than about 1/3. The next opinion has to do only with acoustic use with the pick-up. In the clean channel this amp is a bit bright for my taste. I'm thinking it's strictly due to the 8" speaker. I will be using the headphone jack through my loudspeakers at a later date. That should rectify that brightness. In the dirty setting, I get a very nice crunch depending what I want, from just a little edge to real raspy & nasty. At upper volumes, this can get obnoxious. Probably be great for metal & punk or some alternative rock. At reasonable levels this thing sounds great. Most scenarios are the same with the Carvin. The amp is just a bit too bright for my taste. The amp seems to be solid enough in sound that I'm going to mic it into my PA system on some of the gigs I play. I think I'll get some pretty nice sound from it in a realtime environment

I haven't had it long enough to really know about reliability but I'll be taking it on some gigs, mic'd of course. The Dean Markley Pro-Mag I use is about 15 years old. I've never had a lick of problem with it so I'm figuring the amp will be fine. Heck, I bought it used.

Never used them.

I've been playing since the 70's. I play live solo gigs and also play in the band "Dakota Night" My PA system is Carvin. I use Carvin, Realistic and Electrovoice mics. Recorders are Sony, Akai and Technics. I also use a Hohner amp. In the band the gear used is also Shure mics & Crate and Fender amps