dean markley valve head 120 watt

[mondogenerator]

recently ive inherited a deam markley 'signature series 120' valve head, its a 19" rack mount guitar head(i think)...i use it for my guitar at least.....

basically i like the sound of it, but its a bit lame as its single channel so fuzz is preamp gain controlled and not switchable via footswitch( unlike marshalls, which im sorry but i dont like them at all!!)

atm i have it paired with a hartke 4x10" bass cab and its easily bright enough for me, which surprised me alot!

anyone used this amp? any opinions to offer?

[mondogenerator]

anyone?....surely someone must have this head ?

[Geek]

Never used one, but I know they don't make it themselves....

Any indicators of who makes the thing?

Cheers!

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by Geek

Never used one, but I know they don't make it themselves....

Any indicators of who makes the thing?

Cheers!

haha ok, well thats some extra info i didnt have....

[Jarno]

I have a solid state Dean Markley combo, which does not have any markings other then Dean Markley anywhere.
Sounds nice but it had poor regulation for the preamp section (which I changed), the transformer sitting right against the PCB (VERY close to the reverb section ) so I changed that as well (sits in the bottom of the cabinet now). Put in OPA2134's for the TL72's, and added a Jensen Alnico for the Ceramic Eminence 12, oh yeah, changed clipping on the distortion channel (switchable antiparallel LEDs or Silicon diodes). It does sound different from stock now

[Geek]

The SS ones are made by Crate, IIRC.

mondogenerator - if you have a schematic handy, there may be configurations and part values in there that'll tell us what it is.

Cheers!

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by Geek

The SS ones are made by Crate, IIRC.

mondogenerator - if you have a schematic handy, there may be configurations and part values in there that'll tell us what it is.

Cheers!

haha i wish i did


only think i have is whats written on the front:

'signature series I20' or '120'

[mondogenerator]

tried looking on the dean markley site to no avail, ive found accounts of the signature 60 head, but i cant find anything on the 120 watt version, except for the 120 designation it sounds identical in appearance and features to the 60watter, although as i have no info to go on i have no idea if the output valves are the same type...only that there is 4 of them!!! or at least 4 working output valves

also how do i discover if it is worth replacing the valves?

[Nigel Goodwin]

It's likely the valves are the same type - two give 60W, and four give 120W - with corresponding larger transformers and PSU components. It's a standard design with valve amps - and also with transistor amps (I have a 60W Fender keyboard amp, it uses two output transistors to provide 60W to 8 ohms, but has space on the PCB for two more transistors, to provide 120W to 4 ohms).

[Enzo]

Mondo, CONTACT Dean Markley and ask for schematics. Don't rely on a web site search. Most companies do not put their entire library of documentation on a web site.

And I agree with Nigel, when a company makes 60 watt and 120 watt versions of some model, they are usually the same amp, the higher power one having twice as many power tubes and larger transformers.