• fully programmable digital amp head
• Frank Gambale’s signature presets
• fully-featured amp, cabinet and microphone modelling
• wide range of digital effects
• stereo power amp section (2 x 150 W @ 8 ohm; 2 x 250 W @ 4 ohm)
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Demo Track
• two clean rhythm guitars – Fender Telecaster (left channel) & Kasuga ES-335 copy (right channel)
• two auto-wah/filter rhythm guitars – Fender Stratocaster (left) & Gibson Melody Maker SG (right)
• lead guitar – Gibson Melody Maker SG
• all guitar tracks recorded direct using Frank Gambale presets (no added effects) via the Multiamp’s balanced XLR-output
Marco de Virgiliis’ company Markbass has made its mark spearheading the use of Class D power amps, which have made it possible to pack an amazing amount of output power into very small and lightweight bass amp heads. Markbass’ sister brand, DV Mark, concentrates on guitar amps, for the most part.
Markbass and DV Mark have recently changed their distributor in Finland. Their products are now distributed by Musamaailma, which celebrates its 30th year in business in 2015.
The combos in DV Mark’s Jazz series – the DV Little Jazz (current price in Finland:393 €) and the DV Jazz 12 (462 €) – are very lightweight guitar amps, meant for professional use, and designed to concentrate solely on one thing – a top grade clean tone.
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The DV Little Jazz is a surprisingly small combo in the shape of a cube (27 x 27 x 26 cm). Thanks to its diminutive size and small weight (just under seven kilos), you can easily take it on a bus or tram on the way to your next gig or rehearsal.
The cream white cabinet is home to an eight-inch speaker that was specially designed for this amp.
The corner protectors and the Little Jazz’ sturdy metal grille give this small combo a suitably chunky look.
The DV Jazz 12 is a good deal larger in size (43 x 42 x 30 cm), with a more traditional guitar combo look and a stylish cloth grille.
Thanks to its special-design, neodymium 12-inch speaker, the Jazz 12 weighs in at just under nine kilos.
Both combos have a partially open back, and they share an identical, fan-cooled amplifier module dishing out 45 watts of power.
The back panel offers a speaker output, a balanced DI output (XLR), as well as a headphones output and an on/off-switch for the internal speaker.
In addition to the Master volume, the control panel sports a three-band EQ section, a level control for the built-in digital reverb, as well as an auxiliary input for your phone, tablet or mp3-player.
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The sound of both DV Mark Jazz-combos is really clean, warm and beautiful, but never lifeless or one-dimensional. The inherent character of your chosen guitar is kept intact, and the same holds true for all the intricacies of your playing technique.
You can then fine-tune the tone to your liking by using the musical EQ section.
A fantastically realistic spring reverb simulation works as the basis for the reverb sound in these DV Mark combos. To add even more character and depth to the overall tone, DV Mark’s designers have chosen to add some pitch modulation to the reverb. Adding reverb in moderate amounts, the modulation adds a chorus-like breadth to proceedings. At full-on Surf-style settings, though, the pitch modulation could prove to be a tad distracting to some guitarists.
My only real criticism regarding the Little Jazz and Jazz 12 combos has to do with their continuous fan-cooling. On stage the – relatively quiet – whoosh of the PC-type fan won’t be a problem, but in intimate recording studio settings some fan noise may end up on ”tape”.
I would really like to stress that, despite looking like a small practice amp, the DV Mark Little Jazz really is meant for active onstage use – it’s not a toy! The combo’s 45 W will be enough in many situations, and if you need more power, you can simply stick a mic in front of it or use the excellent built-in DI-output.
For such a small amp the Little Jazz sounds surprisingly big and warm, even though there’s a small trace of boxiness to the tone, when compared directly with the Jazz 12. DV’s Little Jazz sounds like the grown up guitar combo it really is.
Here’s a short clip using a Fender Telecaster and recorded with a Shure SM57:
This is what a double humbucker Hamer sounds like through the Little Jazz:
Here’s a short clip of the built-in reverb:
The DV Jazz 12 could be called the Little Jazz’ deluxe edition, thanks to its bigger and slightly more open sound. The larger speaker combined with a larger cabinet gives the brilliant clean tone more space to breathe. The end result is one of the best clean sounds I’ve ever heard.
The first clip has been played on a Telecaster:
Here’s a similar clip with my Hamer USA Studio Custom:
I’ve used an Epiphone Casino (equipped with Göldo pickups) for the demo track. The first pass is the Little Jazz, the second pass has been recorded with the Jazz 12:
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The DV Mark Little Jazz and Jazz 12 are two great combos for the gigging guitarist. And I don’t just mean Jazzers.
These DV Mark combos are also fantastic choices for players who like to get their sounds from pedals or multi-effect boards. By combining a pair of Little Jazzes or Jazz 12s you’ll end up with a great-sounding stereo rig, which will still be easy to transport.
Marco de Virgiliisin perustama Markbass on tunnettu edelläkävijänä D-luokan päätevahvistimien käytössä, mikä on mahdollistanut tehokkaiden bassovahvistimien tarjoamista erittäin kompaktissa ja kevyessä muodossa. Markbassin sisarbrändi DV Mark taas keskittyy kitaravahvistimiin.
Markbassin ja DV Markin edustus Suomessa on muuttunut hiljattain – uusi maahantuoja on Musamaailma.
DV Markin Jazz-sarjan kombot – DV Little Jazz (393 €) ja DV Jazz 12 (462 €) – ovat ammattikäyttöön tarkoitettuja, hyvin kevyitä kitaravahvistimia, jotka keskittyvät täysin yhteen asiaan – erittäin laadukkaaseen puhtaaseen soundiin.
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DV Little Jazz on todella pienikokoinen, kuutiomainen (27 x 27 x 26 cm) kitarakombo, joka kulkee erittäin helposti soittajan mukana. Paino pysyy jopa seitsemän kilon alapuolella.
Kermanvaalean kotelonsa uumeniin on asennettu 8-tuumainen, juuri tätä vahvistinta varten suunniteltu kaiutin.
Kestävä metallinen eturitilä antaa kombolle sopivasti tukevan ulkonäön.
Selvästi isomman (43 x 42 x 30 cm) DV Jazz 12 -kitarakombon ulkonäkö on perinteisempi, ja sen tumma etukangas kenties myös tyylikkäämpi.
Erikoisvalmisteisen, 12 -tuumaisen neodyymikaiuttimensa ansiosta Jazz 12:n paino pysyy jopa alle 9 kiloa.
Molemmissa komboissa on identtinen, tuulettimella jäähdytetty 45-wattinen vahvistinmoduuli, sekä puoliavoin takaseinä.
Takapaneelista löytyy lähtö lisäkaiuttimelle, balansoitu DI-lähtö, päälle/pois-kytkin sisäiselle kaiuttimelle, sekä kuulokelähtö hiljaista harjoittelua varten.
Etupaneeli taas tarjoaa master-volumen lisäksi kolmikaistaisen EQ-osaston, digitaalisen kaiun, sekä aux-tulon mp3-soittimelle.
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DV Markin Jazz-sarjan kombojen soundi on todella puhdas, lämmin ja kaunis, muttei koskaan tylsä tai yksiulotteinen. Käytetyn soittimen luonne säilyy täysin ehjänä, ja myös kitaristin soittotekniikan jokaista yksityiskohtaa vahvistetaan uskollisesti.
Erittäin tervettä perussoundia voi sitten maustella itselleen sopivaksi kombon oivilla Bass-, Mid- ja Treble-säätimillä.
Kaiun perustana toimii DV Mark -kaksikossa erittäin luonnollisen kuuloinen jousikaiun mallinnus. Kaikuun on kuitenkin lisätty pikkuannos sävelkorkeuden huojuntaa, joka syventää kaiun maltillisilla asetuksilla (chorus-efektin lailla) sopivasti vahvistimen soundia. Surf-tyylisillä asetuksilla (= kaiku täysille) kaiun modulaatio voi kuitenkin mahdollisesti häiritä huojunnalle herkkää kultakorvaa.
Ainoa kritiikkikohta koskee Little Jazzin ja Jazz 12:n tuuletinta – lavalla tuulettimen (sinänsä hiljainen) käyntiääni ei varmasti koidu ongelmaksi, mutta erittäin intiimeissä studiotilanteissa pieni annos aktiivituuletuksen suhinaa voi joskus päätyä ”nauhaan”.
Haluaisin korostaa sitä, että vaikkapa DV Little Jazz näyttääkin pieneltä harjoituskombolta, se on todellakin live-käyttöön tarkoitettu kitaravahvistin, eikä lelu! Kombon 45 wattia riittävät mainiosti moniin tilanteisiin, ja lisätehoa saa helposti joko mikittämällä tai mainion sisäänrakennetun DI-lähdön kautta.
Soundiltaan Little Jazz on yllättävän iso ja lämmin, vaikka suorassa vertailussa Jazz 12:een pikkuinen annos soinnillista ahtautta on toki havaittavissa. DV Little Jazz kuulostaa kuitenkin aikuiselta kitarakombolta.
Tässä Telecasterilla soitettu esimerkki:
Ja tältä humbuckereilla varustettu Hamer kuulostaa:
Tässä yksi lyhyt näyte kaikusoundista:
DV Jazz 12 -komboa voi mielestäni kutsua Little Jazzin deluxe-versioksi, sen isomman ja hieman avoimemman soundinsa ansiosta. Jazz-sarjan loistava perussoundi saa suuremman kaiuttimen ja isomman kotelon kautta yksinkertaisesti enemmän tilaa hengittää. Lopputulos on vaikuttavaa.
Ensimmäinen esimerkkipätkä on soitettu Fender Telecasterilla:
Toisessa soi Hamerin Studio Custom -kitara:
Demobiisissä käytin (Göldo-mikrofoneilla varustettua) Epiphone Casinoa. Ensimmäinen läpimeno on äänitetty Little Jazzilla, kun toisessa puoliskossa kuullaan Jazz 12 -komboa:
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Kauniilla clean-soundilla varustetut Little Jazz- ja Jazz 12 -kombot ovat mielestäni loistava valinta monille kitaristeille, ei ainoastaan Jazz-musiikin ystäville.
DV Mark -kombot tekevät nimittäin myös erinomaista yhteistyötä pedaalilaudan (tai multiefektin) kanssa. Kahdella kombolla voi rakentaa itselleen tehokkaan ja hyväkuuloisen stereojärjestelmän, joka on silti vielä todella helppoa roudata.
One of the hottest new products at this year’s Musikmesse was the Multiamp from Italian makers DV Mark.
The DV Mark Multiamp head niftily combines pro-quality amp and cab models with top-drawer effects and a very powerful – yet unbelievably lightweight – 500 Watt Class-D power amplifier.
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The DV Mark Multiamp (current price in Finland:1.380 €) is build to withstand serious use, yet is still manages to look elegant. The whole chassis is made from sturdy folded metal, with the front panel finished in a fetching cream white.
You can put the Multiamp on your speaker cabinet (or on your table), or install it in a 19-inch rack. DV Mark have supplied the necessary mounting brackets and screws with the amp.
A very quiet, brushless fan keeps the unit cool.
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DV Mark’s Multiamp has been designed with user-friendliness as one of the main focus points.
Thanks to the front panel’s very logical layout, as well as the easy-to-use user interface, the Multiamp presents you with a surprisingly shallow learning curve. It’s a digital amp head, but you won’t need a degree in physics to get to grips with it!
The left half of the front panel is reserved for the traditional set of amp controls.
The LEDs around the digital control knobs will keep you in the picture about your current settings, even on a darkened stage. The only ”traditional” knob is the Master-knob, which adjusts both the power amp’s volume, as well as the headphones level.
The three Channel-buttons on the Multiamp might lead you to the wrong conclusion that patches consist of a set of three different preamp channels. In reality each preset only consists of a single amp-plus-effects chain.
The basic idea behind the Channel-buttons is to give the guitarist a good idea of what type of sound he is currently running by a simple look at the status LEDs.
Channel 1 gathers together all of the Multiamp’s clean virtual amp models.
In addition to a virtualised version of DV Mark’s own Triple 6, the head offers five clean models, based on famous amps.
Slight breakup to full-on crunch is the name of the game in Channel two…
…while Channel 3 is home to all things high-gain.
Next to the amp section sits the Multiamp’s clear, backlit display.
The home screen displays the currently selected preset, with the whole signal chain displayed as blocks, or: Slots in Multiamp-speak.
The signal flow is in reading direction, starting from the top left and ending at the bottom right slot. A crossed out effect slot means that the respective effect is currently bypassed.
Everything that has to do with parameter changes and patch editing, storing and recalling is controlled by these buttons and the red Value-control.
You can also import and export DV Mark Multiamp-patches using an SD-card. DV Mark are already offering free artist patches for download on their Multiamp Ambassador page, as well as their main website.
You can use the DV Mark Multiamp in stereo or mono: In bridged mono the power amp puts out a whopping 500 Watts (8 Ω), while stereo use will give you a maximum of 250 Watts per side (4 Ω).
In addition to DI- and line outputs, the back panel also offers you an external effects loop, MIDI-connectors, and a USB-port.
The Multiamp can’t be used to stream USB-audio, but I have heard rumours of an upcoming editor software, which would utilise the USB-port.
MIDI is very important, because you have to use a MIDI-controller for on-the-fly preset switching.
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In addition to its virtual amps and cabs DV Mark’s Multiamp offers you 19 different effects at the moment. They include all sorts of guitar effects from a compressor and a noise gate all the way to several different distortion pedals, vibrato or auto wah.
Some digital amp modellers may offer an even wider variety of effects, but the Multiamp clearly puts quality above quantity. Besides: Future firmware updates are likely to add to the current effects line-up – the latest update came with a parametric EQ, for example.
Programming he Multiamp is made easy by the fact that DV Mark have managed to fit each effect’s parameters onto a single page, so there’s no jumping around different menus.
What I would like to see, though, is a better, more detailed owner’s manual. At the moment, the manual contains a simple listing of the available effects, but tells you nothing about the function of each effect’s parameters. This means you have to try out all parameters in order to get an idea of what each one does.
I really like the virtual speaker (and microphone) section a lot! It is a fantastic tool, if you’re running a direct line into a mixer or sound-card.
In addition to a whole range of different cabinets, the Cab-slot also offers a number of virtual mics, as well as three different choices for virtual microphone placement (On Axis/Off Axis/Far).
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In light of this test I can only recommend the DV Mark Multiamp as an outstanding tool for the creative guitarist. This amp head offers you a wide variety of excellent amp and cabinet models, as well as pro-quality effects.
In my view it is rather futile to dissect the authenticity of the virtual amps, if you don’t have all of the original (physical) amps for comparison. Suffice it to say that the Multiamp’s amp models tick all the right boxes in terms of their tones and their dynamic behaviour.
This head reacts like the real deal, when it comes to guitar volume changes and a player’s dynamics, and it sounds great, regardless of whether it’s run straight into a mixing console or used to fire up a guitar speaker.
Here are two clean examples taken from the Multiamp’s CH1-models, and using a Fender Stratocaster:
I’ve chosen an Epiphone Casino for these two soundbites, using amp models from CH2:
…and here are two examples of what the CH3-models can do for you; played on a Hamer Studio Custom:
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For on-stage use, you will first have to find out how the Multiamp’s MIDI-section works, as the owner’s manual comes over as extremely tight-lipped on this front.
Luckily, the Multiamp has been designed to work with virtually all types of MIDI-equipment. Just plug in a floor controller of your choice, select the patch bank you want to access by pressing the Recall-button on the Multiamp – and off you go! Step on your controller, and the desired preset will be called up.
MIDI-switching is very fast and smooth, and doesn’t result in any audio clicks or other irritating artifacts.
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In my view the DV Mark Multiamp is a fabulous piece of equipment, which will win you over with its great sounds, its power, its lightness and its user-friendliness. Its a fantastic tool for both studio- and live-use.
The user’s manual certainly needs an overhaul – and some folks might miss an on-board tuner – but this isn’t enough to spoil the fun. And the Multiamp is a lot of fun!
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