Hoping for a DV Mark Little Jazz MkII

[wengr]

I think the Little Jazz is a good amp.
For the price point, I think it's a really good amp.
However there are some things I would change;

1 Reverb quality, or lack thereof.

2 Move the power switch to the top. It can be hard to access with the amp on the floor, and I prefer the tone on the floor.

3 Change the orientation of the controls. Having them facing to the side is goofy, and in a performance situation here I want the amp to the left hand side so as to keep my body between the amp and guitar for feedback reasons, the controls are upside down.

4 Beef up the AC socket. Mine seems cheap and as it's likely to break from constant plugging and unplugging. I actually keep the cord plugged in it in order to avoid this. But then I cant use a carry bag.

5 Direct out AND effects loop.

6 And if there is to be a 112, it needs it's own electronics with more power.

And in case they are listening, I hope they would keep the white with blue lamp color scheme (yes I'm shallow and think about stuff like that).

[rpjazzguitar]

I think the Little Jazz is a good amp.
For the price point, I think it's a really good amp.
However there are some things I would change;

1 Reverb quality, or lack thereof.

2 Move the power switch to the top. It can be hard to access with the amp on the floor, and I prefer the tone on the floor.

3 Change the orientation of the controls. Having them facing to the side is goofy, and in a performance situation here I want the amp to the left hand side so as to keep my body between the amp and guitar for feedback reasons, the controls are upside down.

4 Beef up the AC socket. Mine seems cheap and as it's likely to break from constant plugging and unplugging. I actually keep the cord plugged in it in order to avoid this. But then I cant use a carry bag.

5 Direct out AND effects loop.

6 And if there is to be a 112, it needs it's own electronics with more power.

And in case they are listening, I hope they would keep the white with blue lamp color scheme (yes I'm shallow and think about stuff like that).

Good topic.

I'm using the LJ for almost all my playing. I'm very happy with the amp -- sound, weight, quality.

But, if I could suggest some tweaks, they would be as follows.

1. I sometimes wish the bass control would go below zero. That is, even more reduction of the bass frequencies.

2. The reverb, as is, sounds okay the way I use it -- which is at 9 o'clock on the dial with pedalboard adding reverb in front of the amp. But, the higher settings don't sound useful for the type of traditional jazz tone the amp seems to be designed for. I think that could be improved.

3. I wish they made a carrying bag for it.

I don't have any problem with the build quality. I hadn't noticed any flimsiness in the power jack. I agree that the controls are a little awkward, but, to me, it's because there are five knobs on a very small control panel. The location of the power switch is awkward, but, since I don't have to use it very often, it doesn't bother me.

[Alder Statesman]

I am very happy with my LJ.

The only thing I would change is the headphone jack. I do not use it often, but there is too much hiss.

[Mecena]

I've heard few people complain about loud fan in that amp .....

[sgosnell]

Only in the first version. The current version has no fan noise that I can hear.

[Fusionshred]

Only in the first version. The current version has no fan noise that I can hear.

yes the one I had had no sign of fan noise. I will say that the Reverb is problematic. It works, mind you, but, like many digital reverb‘s, there is a modulation to the reverberation that adds an overall chorus sound especially when you are playing slow sustain lush chords

[rpjazzguitar]

I've heard few people complain about loud fan in that amp .....

They moved the fan in the current unit. There's a thread from last year which has photos of each model. The older one has an obvious fan port on the back. The newer one just has some slots. Easy to tell them apart.

I've never heard the fan in mine, which I got about a year ago. I mean, no fan sound whatsoever. I'd have thought there wasn't a fan in it at all, except for what I've read about it.

[Longways to Go]

I have an early model Little Jazz that I installed a kill switch for the fan.
The fan was obnoxious, but other than that issue, I think it's a great amp.
I like the tone controls & I don't hate the reverb. I'm glad they got the fan issue sorted out,
but really it is no big deal on mine either. Cool product.

I suppose next gen will want Bluetooth + choice of coverings

[guavajelly]

3. I wish they made a carrying bag for it.

I read somewhere it fits into a Meinl cuica bag. You can also look for record bags, the kind DJs use.

[mnorris777]

I read somewhere it fits into a Meinl cuica bag. You can also look for record bags, the kind DJs use.

Yes, I've got this and the LJ fits perfectly:

Meinl MQW-10 Cuica Bag – Thomann UK

Seems much more robust and waterproof than the DV Mark cover. And the pocket is a decent size for power and instrument cables plus a couple of other odds and ends like spare strings, tuner etc etc.

I've been lugging mine back and forth across central Scotland in that over the last year with no issues.

[Bill Eisele]

Is this an updated version of the Little Jazz for sale at Musicians Friend: DV Mark Little Jazz 60W 1x8 Guitar Combo Amp Black | Musician's Friend. At first I thought it was just the same amp in a black cabinet but the specs claim 50 watts into 8 ohms versus 45 watts for the white cabinet version according to the MF website. Is a five watt difference significant with regard to volume? By the way, the 60 watt specification in the MF title refers to the output into 4 ohms even though the internal speaker is rated at 8 watts.

Strangely enough, the DV Mark website shows the white cabinet version with 50 watts into 8 ohms: DV MARK | Products | DV LITTLE JAZZ. I’m confused.

[rpjazzguitar]

Is this an updated version of the Little Jazz for sale at Musicians Friend: DV Mark Little Jazz 60W 1x8 Guitar Combo Amp Black | Musician's Friend. At first I thought it was just the same amp in a black cabinet but the specs claim 50 watts into 8 ohms versus 45 watts for the white cabinet version according to the MF website. Is a five watt difference significant with regard to volume? By the way, the 60 watt specification in the MF title refers to the output into 4 ohms even though the internal speaker is rated at 8 watts.

Strangely enough, the DV Mark website shows the white cabinet version with 50 watts into 8 ohms: DV MARK | Products | DV LITTLE JAZZ. I’m confused.

The manufacturer's website does not show two different versions. It shows 50w into 8 ohms and 60 watts into 4 ohms.

MF, perhaps understandably, chose to use the higher figure.

The GC website shows a 45 watt version.

All these versions have exactly the same weight.

My guess is that they're all the same amp (including the electronics of the 12 inch speaker version) with different power output numbers reported. It's possible, but I have no evidence for it, that the manufacturer somehow raised the power from 45 to 50 watts without changing the weight.

[Seven]

Hello together,
I’m also searching for a good small Jazz amp that deliver me the classical Sound. I like the Polytones of course... but I want to have a small, affordable, light weight amp, reduced to the minimum, and with a AUX jack. I love to plug my phone in and jam along to some simple backing tracks that I’ve recorded by my self.

I’ve watched some YouTube reviews and for now my favorite amp seams to be one of the DV Mark Jazz amps.

If I decide by my feeling, I think I would buy the bigger one with the 12” speaker. Is it worth if I don’t need it to be loud at all?

What about the smaller one, the little Jazz with 8” speaker? Is this guy sounding warm enough? Is it also sounding good as the 12”?

I’s just for home using. No gigs / no clubs / nothing... does anyone has experience with both of them? Has the 8” version a good sound like the 12”? At the End... it just should be able to deliver me the classical warm jazz sound, with the possibility to play along to my own backing tracks. That’s it

[Greco]

Hello together,
I’m also searching for a good small Jazz amp that deliver me the classical Sound. I like the Polytones of course... but I want to have a small, affordable, light weight amp, reduced to the minimum, and with a AUX jack. I love to plug my phone in and jam along to some simple backing tracks that I’ve recorded by my self.

I’ve watched some YouTube reviews and for now my favorite amp seams to be one of the DV Mark Jazz amps.

If I decide by my feeling, I think I would buy the bigger one with the 12” speaker. Is it worth if I don’t need it to be loud at all?

What about the smaller one, the little Jazz with 8” speaker? Is this guy sounding warm enough? Is it also sounding good as the 12”?

I’s just for home using. No gigs / no clubs / nothing... does anyone has experience with both of them? Has the 8” version a good sound like the 12”? At the End... it just should be able to deliver me the classical warm jazz sound, with the possibility to play along to my own backing tracks. That’s it

This might interest you.

[grahambop]

I’d have thought for home use the Little Jazz (8”) is perfectly adequate. I have one and when placed on the floor, it has loads of bass response, and warm sound.

The line out sound is good too, I used it for this recording:

Caveat, I haven’t tried the one with the 12” speaker.

[rpjazzguitar]

This might interest you.

Thanks for posting that. I think his conclusions about sound were right.

He wasn't right about the weight though. It's 15.2 lbs vs 22.5 lbs. That difference may or not matter to the user. But, it seems to me that, if it does matter, there are many fewer choices around 15 lbs than there are around 22.5 lbs.

A couple of points .. for what I do, I often turn the bass on the Little Jazz 8" all the way to zero and sometimes I wish I could go lower. Also, I've used the 8" with a 19 piece big band and nobody complained. I might have needed more power if it was an 18 piece big band (meaning, no piano), but as it was, all I needed to do was play at about the level of the piano (for the passages in which the piano was tacet) and I was able to do that. Nobody was mic'ed. Electric piano and amplified bass.

In the video, the amps aren't far from the wall. The LJ is ported in the back and the distance to the wall matters more than I'd have guessed. So does the angle and coupling to the floor. He had the 12" on the floor and the 8" on top of something. That might make a difference too. OTOH, that might be the way people tend to use them, in which case, doing it that way may make sense.

[Bill Eisele]

The manufacturer's website does not show two different versions. It shows 50w into 8 ohms and 60 watts into 4 ohms.

MF, perhaps understandably, chose to use the higher figure.

The GC website shows a 45 watt version.

All these versions have exactly the same weight.

My guess is that they're all the same amp (including the electronics of the 12 inch speaker version) with different power output numbers reported. It's possible, but I have no evidence for it, that the manufacturer somehow raised the power from 45 to 50 watts without changing the weight.

Yes, I believe you are correct about MF quoting the higher figure in the title. And, it would seem that the black cabinet version is the same amp as the white cabinet version. No real changes.

[jads57]

What about the more powerful heads they make like the Eric Gales head?

[Seven]

I’d have thought for home use the Little Jazz (8”) is perfectly adequate. I have one and when placed on the floor, it has loads of bass response, and warm sound.

The line out sound is good too, I used it for this recording:

Caveat, I haven’t tried the one with the 12” speaker.

woao! nice sound! Thank you very much. That sound good to me with the small amp.
But what we hear is not the speaker sound right? It’s the line our signal mixed with the backing track, am I right?

In the other video i would prefer the 12” version. It sound a bit more natural and warm to me. It would be great to test both in real life ... I just don’t know where. So, let’s see... I think I will start with the 12”.

[grahambop]

Yes that was the line out only. But the speaker sound is very good for an 8” speaker.

Note that in the demo video he didn’t put the Little Jazz on the floor, so the bass was probably reduced, it does make quite a difference with this amp for some reason.

[sgosnell]

Placement matters a lot for the Little Jazz. You can move it 6 inches away from, or nearer to, a wall or other large object and get a different sound. Tilting or elevating it makes an even bigger difference. Elevating it reduces the bass a lot. Even elevating it a couple of inches, while still flat, reduces the bass. So if you don't like the tone, move the amp. It doesn't necessarily need to be moved a long distance, often just a few inches can change the tone enough, or even just change the direction it's pointing, if the back is near a wall, so that the back port is firing at the wall at an angle instead of being perpendicular to it.

[grahambop]

Here’s a nice example where someone has miked the amp:

[Seven]

Here’s a nice example where someone has miked the amp:

OMG that sounds incredible!
-> but I’m sure... like with every good review... it will anyway not sound like that in my living room

[sgosnell]

A close mike will not give the same sound as heard elsewhere in the room. To give the sound in the center of the room, the mike has to be in the center of the room. Placed close to the speaker, the sound from the rear ports isn't picked up, nor are the reflections heard elsewhere. No one listens to a guitar amp with their ears 3 inches from the front of the amp. But that tone seems to be what many want, even though it's impossible to get from anywhere else.

[rpjazzguitar]

A close mike will not give the same sound as heard elsewhere in the room. To give the sound in the center of the room, the mike has to be in the center of the room. Placed close to the speaker, the sound from the rear ports isn't picked up, nor are the reflections heard elsewhere. No one listens to a guitar amp with their ears 3 inches from the front of the amp. But that tone seems to be what many want, even though it's impossible to get from anywhere else.

Hijacking the thread a bit ... this is such an important point. Where, in the room, do you judge the sound of an amp? And, in what context, in terms of the other instruments, the volume, the style of music and the reflectivity of the room itself?

The closest think I can think of to a real experiment is to have your band vamp, use a looper to record your part, and then go out and walk around the room. That way, you can hear your sound in context. Of course, that's probably during a sound check. When the audience comes in, it will change.

My impression is that experienced pros have a pretty good idea of what they sound like in the room, but amateurs, not so much. Not unusual for an amateur to sound muddy, but I don't usually hear pros sounding that way.

Given all these variables, how do you evaluate an amp? I think the best you can do is a 45 day return privilege and then use the amp in all the situations you need it for and see how it feels and what others say.

Back to the LJ. Sounds great in my rehearsal room. I stopped using my vintage, beloved, Ampeg Reverberocket. The LJ sounds a little better. It has sounded great on gigs with octet, big band and quartet. Then, playing quiet jazz in a big room, horn bass guitar, no drums, it sounded bassy and muddy and I couldn't figure out how to improve it. Does that mean I'd have been better off with a different amp? I doubt it. Just a different set of plusses and minuses, probably.