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I played a DV Mark Jazz 12 at GC the other day and I have to admit, I loved the sound.
I am leaning towards buying one, however I was listening to clips of some of their other amps, and now I am really intrigued by 3 models: The Jazz 12, the Micro50, and the Guitar Friend 12.
The Micro50 is a very interesting option because it seems to offer similar jazz tones to the Jazz 12, yet it also has an OD channel that I assume would give it an edge for versatility. I'm looking for smooth cleans and a nice crunchy OD tone. From the videos I've seen on youtube, the crunch tones are pretty good out of this head.
Finally the Guitar Friend. There is really not a lot of info out there on this on at all. The few videos on youtube that I did find sounded great. It almost seems like a Micro50 in a combo. I would like someone with experience to speak up tho.
The only amp that my local GC has in stock to play with was the Jazz 12. If I buy the Micro50, I have to hunt down a decent sounding cabinet to go with it.
I can get the Jazz 12 for $400 right now at Musicians Friend. The Guitar friend goes for $500. The Micro50 is on sale for 250 right now I believe. What do you guys think?
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12-23-2017 07:33 AM
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DV Mark I’ve been intrigued by but I’m not sure if the cleans are quite up to snuff.
If they made a micro head version of the Boss Katana I’d be in there like a shot. As it is I light get one anyway.
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Has anyone tried the dv Mark clean?
Another one is the vox mv50 which is decent. However the devil is a little bit in the detail as no reverb and it comes with an annoying power adapter which makes me not want to gig it. Also you’d need a drive pedal. Decently loud though.
If the DV Mark is decent, could be a good public transport solution
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micro 50 jazz head is interesting
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I have the DV Mark Little Jazz, and had the Micro50 for awhile. The cleans are very Polytonish, really excellent IMO. I sold the Micro50 because I have no use at all for the overdrive and too many amps on hand. I have both an AI Clarus and a GK MB200 at home, with a RE cabinet, and what I take out is the Little Jazz. It sounds almost as good as either of the heads at home, and outside with other players and noise, it's really impossible to tell the difference. It gets very loud if necessary. At loud blues jams I've never turned it up past halfway, and the guitar volume is usually down a good bit, and I can easily keep up with the bigger amps. I've never tried the Jazz 12, nobody stocks them here, but I would assume it sounds much like the Little Jazz with a bigger speaker. You won't get any breakup or overdrive. I can't make the Little Jazz break up at any level I can stand for a short time. You need an overdrive pedal for that, and it sounds good enough with one in the chain. I sometimes like having my Joyo American Sound on, set just before breakup. IMO DV Mark makes excellent jazz amps whose clean tone is their best asset. If you're using public transport, the Little Jazz would be an excellent amp - 15 lb, 10 inch cube, about as portable as it's possible to get, and really good sound. But you need a pedal if you have to have overdrive, it's clean up to 11.
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I've had my Little Jazz for 6 days now and taken it to two big band rehearsals. It kicks butt and the sound is just what I had hoped for. I have no need for a Jazz 12, but I'm thinking about one anyway.
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Guitar Friend IS a micro 50 built into a cab with 12" speaker. You can take it out using a screwdriver and have a micro50 head without feet and front plate.
Originally Posted by Jbeckforever
Try the dirt channel first, it's rather... er ... NO ... (Just MY 2C)The Micro50 is a very interesting option because it seems to offer similar jazz tones to the Jazz 12, yet it also has an OD channel that I assume would give it an edge for versatility. I'm looking for smooth cleans and a nice crunchy OD tone. From the videos I've seen on youtube, the crunch tones are pretty good out of this head.
PS. I own the micro50 and it's my main amp. Dirt channel: Never.
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I agree with DonEsteban. The only thing I don't like about the Micro50 is the crunch channel. I suppose it's ok if you're playing loud rock, but I don't. The reverb on the DV Mark amps is acceptable, not great, and I rarely use it. I prefer the HOF mini. All that is why I sold the Micro50 and kept the GK MB200. The GK has no crunch, no reverb, but it's very light and sounds great. I can use a pedal for OD or reverb if necessary. Not that the Micro50 is bad, just not quite ideal for me. But I do really like the Little Jazz.
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Attachment 48869
It has only clean chanell!!!
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I own a Micro 50. Having tried the little Jazz and the 12, my opinion was that the little jazz was a bit thin on tone, the 12 was better but still not enough depth and warmth for me. We all have different ideas on "the right jazz tone/sound". In the end I was so fed up with the weight of my Peavey Classic 30 I was about to convert it to a head only to give me better speaker options when I found myself in another shop trying the Micro 50 and yes I bought it and got a good deal on trading in the Peavey. The next bit is important as I spent a lot of time listening to speaker samples, talking to Eminence and others as whether I should have 10" 12" or even 15". I also sought advice on this point from the forum, the guys and their knowledge on this sight is great. All advice is based on personal preference though and not all replies state there preference, music style, guitars used etc. so you still have to make up your own mind. I decided after all of the advice that the 15" would be to boomy and apparently the distance where the sound materialises is greater than most rooms and really needs a hall to come into its own. Although I fancied the Eminence Hempdog (12 inch) it was not available in the UK so my second choice was the Rex however I was also keen following good replies from here to try the 10" Lil Buddy also from Eminence......yes I ended up with both. Two individual cabs were built using 3/4" ply (I can provide dimensions if required) with part closed backs and precise in-fill backs to make them closed if required. The Rex was first which gave a good result closed or open but I thought it to be a bit bassy. Next was the Lil Buddy which was better but still not quite right. Having read about Polytones being full of house insulation I purchased that acoustic egg box foam and lined both cab's. Wow the result is stunning. The Rex is now best, it has a wonderful chime and the bass is tamed, proper jazz, good depth and very warm, some may say proper old school. Even the Buddy was improved, both cab's now closed. For me the Rex is the best however as the Micro 50 has stereo outputs I plugged in both cab's one day and could not believe my ears, absolutely great, my guitar tutor says it is the best Jazz sound he has ever heard (he was playing). My Guitars are Epiphone ES175 Premium, a 15" 100% hollow archtop Vox 247 Tornado (my favourite) plus an almost identical Eko 100 (cheaper version), I like these 15" guitars both of which I have changed the pup's. The acoustic sound is not as good as the Premium but plugged in they are better and more comfortable, the Premium is being sold. T.I. Flatwounds and new pickups was the key with the guitars and the speakers/cab's was the key to amplification. The Micro 50 has plenty of power, good control and great clean, the reverb is a but suspect though if that is required for Blues et. Being so small also a bonus. No more gear searching for me, well if I win the lottery..................
Hope this helps but be aware it is only one opinion and we are all correct.
Good luck
Graham
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The original has two! Originally Posted by kris
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Just to clarify: Originally Posted by Mellow-G
DV micro50 is a series.
There are currently:
micro50 head (the original, blue front, 2 channels, no fx loop)
mirco50 m (black front, made for metal, yeahh....
)
micro50 jazz (front white, one channel, fx loop)
micro50 CMT (front gold, micro tube, better reverb, signature model for Ciro Manna, Italian Fusion guitarist)
Soon to be: micro50 Mark II , 2 channels, fx loop, better clean sound (more treble) better reverb from the CMT model
Combo: DVC Guitar Friend 12" which essentially is a micro50 head built in a cabinet with speaker, black front, no fx loop.
The fx-loop models do not have a balanced/ground lifted direct out, but fx send can be used as such (just not balanced)
I play the original micro50 with one or two cabs, each armed with a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. These are different sounding cabs which both can be individually closed or used half open adapting to room acoustics.
When I use both at the same time it's kind of a pseudo stereo as they sound really different.
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Obviously I haven't been keeping up to date. I had the original Micro50, never heard of the other models. The Mark II looks promising, but I really don't need another amp. However, I've said that before about gear.
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A couple questions ... How often do the fans come on in these amps (I'd especially like to hear about the DV 50 Jazz)? Are they quiet? I tried a couple of them fairly briefly and they seemed to make a lot of noise. I have no idea if it was the amps or bad power.
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Can you share where you got your info from? Based on my limited research, the Micro50 mark 2 is already out and the only difference is they added an FX loop and removed XLR direct out. Originally Posted by DonEsteban
Just to clarify:
DV micro50 is a series.
There are currently:
micro50 head (the original, blue front, 2 channels, no fx loop)
mirco50 m (black front, made for metal, yeahh.... )
micro50 jazz (front white, one channel, fx loop)
micro50 CMT (front gold, micro tube, better reverb, signature model for Ciro Manna, Italian Fusion guitarist)
Soon to be: micro50 Mark II , 2 channels, fx loop, better clean sound (more treble) better reverb from the CMT model
Combo: DVC Guitar Friend 12" which essentially is a micro50 head built in a cabinet with speaker, black front, no fx loop.
The fx-loop models do not have a balanced/ground lifted direct out, but fx send can be used as such (just not balanced)
I play the original micro50 with one or two cabs, each armed with a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. These are different sounding cabs which both can be individually closed or used half open adapting to room acoustics.
When I use both at the same time it's kind of a pseudo stereo as they sound really different.
Also seems like the Guitar Friend is already out too, right? Link: Access Denied
Thanks for the reply!
Also Jim, as I understand it the early models suffered from fan noise, but the later models use silent fans and they only come on when needed.
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Thanks. The Micro 50 Jazz head with the Neoclassic 1x12 Small cab look like they could make a nice setup. Originally Posted by Jbeckforever
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If you mean the micro50 I use, the fan has yet to come on the first time and I play sometimes really loud and here in Spain we got that big H->He reactor working in the sky in the summer... Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
The DV Mark Combo Jazz 12 had a reputation for an annoying fan in it's first iteration. They did a facelift of some sort where they changed that (among other things), the new models are as silent as the head I've been told...
So if you go for the combo go for a new model, Google is your friend finding out how to recognize the difference, sorry, I forgot how to.
Edit:
Regarding noise: There is no noise! (Seriously, this thing is dead silent, no hiss, no noise, nothing.) Maybe the shop floor model was broken?
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I have the DV Mark Micro 50 Mark II. As you noted, you give up the XLR output. In my experience, the FX loop out is not as good because it is not impedence matched to recording boards and PA systems the way a balanced XLR output is. My subjective impression in recording is that the FX out doesn't produce as nice a recording as the balanced output. Originally Posted by DonEsteban
Just to clarify:
DV micro50 is a series.
There are currently:
micro50 head (the original, blue front, 2 channels, no fx loop)
mirco50 m (black front, made for metal, yeahh.... )
micro50 jazz (front white, one channel, fx loop)
micro50 CMT (front gold, micro tube, better reverb, signature model for Ciro Manna, Italian Fusion guitarist)
Soon to be: micro50 Mark II , 2 channels, fx loop, better clean sound (more treble) better reverb from the CMT model
Combo: DVC Guitar Friend 12" which essentially is a micro50 head built in a cabinet with speaker, black front, no fx loop.
The fx-loop models do not have a balanced/ground lifted direct out, but fx send can be used as such (just not balanced)
I play the original micro50 with one or two cabs, each armed with a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. These are different sounding cabs which both can be individually closed or used half open adapting to room acoustics.
When I use both at the same time it's kind of a pseudo stereo as they sound really different.
ANother difference I've read, but sadly can't find the source for, is that the hardware is somewhat more sturdy. My DV Micro50 aux input and headphone jacks were a little gimpy after some use-loose, a little wiggly. I've heard they upgraded the construction, but I can't say where I got that.
One appeal now for getting the DV Jazz 12 combo is the XLR out option.
I still love my Mark II, but I'm keeping it's daddy around for a while.
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It should be noted that on the DV Mark site, they do not seem to acknowledge the 2 generations of the basic DV Micro50 head. Their info on the Micro50 is for the older one, but I definitely have the new one, as you can see from the page of the manual I post here:
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Cool - so am I right in thinking all the DV marks are more polytone like than fender like?
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I'm not sure. I have compared mine to my Fender SuperChamp x2 head on its basic channel, which they say is more of a "blackface" sound, and the "voicing" that is identified in the manual as the twin reverb sound. My basic DV Mark clean sound is more like the former than the latter, and I think it's more like that first Fender sound than it is the Polytone. But if someone likes the Polytone sound, I think they'd like the DV Mark Micro 50 through a 10" or 12" speaker. Originally Posted by christianm77
I should do a more precise A/B to be sure.
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I think I’d need to try one, which is a little tricky these days. I’d like a lightweight rig that is a bit more electric oriented than my aer....
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Have you tried a Mambo amp? Originally Posted by christianm77
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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I haven’t tried one.
I have heard people play through them and found them to sound like amps with a small speaker. I know they are highly rated.
A lot more expensive obviously. I wouldn’t be able to afford one anyway.
I already have a lightweight 10” speaker cab, so if the Dv Mark is halfway decent it would be quite neat to use it. I like 10” speakers.
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The DV Mark is more like the Polytone than the Fender in at least one way. The tone controls are Baxandall, flat when centered. I'm far from a Fender expert, but the DV Mark amps are very far from my Vibrolux Reverb. I've never owned a Polytone, but the DV Mark sounds very much like the Polytones I hear in videos or audio recordings. I'm not at all a Fender fan, and I think the Little Jazz and the Micro50 sound much better than Fenders. YMMV. But on a different note, I really like the GK MB200 head. It's sold as a bass head, but it's great for guitar as well. No reverb, no crunch, and the contour and 10db pad switches are useless, but it really sounds good to me, and I prefer it to the original Micro50. But the difference is minimal.
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