Solid State Guitar Amp Forum | DIY Guitar Amplifiers

Solid State Amplifiers => Amplifier Discussion => Topic started by: Bill Moore on August 01, 2013, 05:46:53 PM

Title: Great little amp!
Post by: Bill Moore on August 01, 2013, 05:46:53 PM
Some of my customers have a shop that buys estates, and I tell them to find old amps for me to tinker with. A few weeks ago, one of the fellows came in with an "old" amp, and gave it to me. I guess it's probably 80's, Dean Markley, K20. It's really clean, (brown tolex), but would cut in and out while playing. I pulled the chassis, and cleaned the pots, now as good as new! Surprisingly good sound, with a little 8" speaker, and has decent built in OD. Now if I can get my grandkids more interested in guitar, I have an amp for one of them!
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: J M Fahey on August 01, 2013, 09:02:04 PM
DM K20? Killer little amp.
Just ask joecool  ;)
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on August 20, 2013, 08:37:25 AM
Quote from: J M Fahey on August 01, 2013, 09:02:04 PM
DM K20? Killer little amp.
Just ask joecool  ;)

Mine is a K20-X, but honestly there isn't a large difference between the regular K20 and the K20-X with the exception of the X using black tolex and omitting the line out.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: Bill Moore on August 21, 2013, 11:34:30 AM
I may have lost mine! My sister in law was by over the weekend, and I showed it to her, she thought it was so "cute". I told her to take it home, and play with it for a while. My wife talked to her on sunday, and she couldn't say enough about the thing, maybe wondering if it was for sale.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on August 21, 2013, 12:07:52 PM
Quote from: Bill Moore on August 21, 2013, 11:34:30 AM
I may have lost mine! My sister in law was by over the weekend, and I showed it to her, she thought it was so "cute". I told her to take it home, and play with it for a while. My wife talked to her on sunday, and she couldn't say enough about the thing, maybe wondering if it was for sale.

Yeah, you'll probably never get it back.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: Bill Moore on December 29, 2016, 05:35:47 PM
Well it's been 3 years, but I got my little Dean Markley amp back!
I think I will try one of the Eminence 8" speakers, and see if it does fatten up the bottom end a little.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on December 29, 2016, 06:44:57 PM
Let me know how you like it, I've looked at that same speaker but haven't been able to pull the trigger on a $65 purchase for that right now.

Sent from my XT1055 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: galaxiex on December 29, 2016, 07:54:34 PM
May I suggest one of the Jensen MOD speakers?  :)

I admit to being totally enamored with these speakers. Just love em!  8)

I have a MOD 10-50 in a cabinet and have plugged no less than a half dozen different SS amps into it, and they all sound great!

When I get the cash I think I will pull the Jensen Vintage Reissue C12Q out of my Silverface Fender Deluxe Reverb and replace it with a MOD.   :)
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on December 29, 2016, 08:47:28 PM
For an 8 inch speaker will the Jensen mod speakers bring in much mid and lows over a stock speaker?  That's where my Dean Markley lacks. Of course, being an 8" it will only be so strong...

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Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: galaxiex on December 29, 2016, 09:20:26 PM
Well it looks like they only have one 8" MOD model.

Described as;

"Lows Loose/Fat, Mids Firm, Highs Smooth, Overdrive Smooth".

"Guitarist Description:
Straightforward tone with smooth highs and more predominant lows. Responds to overdrive distortion with a mellow fuzz overdrive."

More here....

https://www.jensentone.com/mod_series/mod_8_20 (https://www.jensentone.com/mod_series/mod_8_20)

Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: J M Fahey on January 08, 2017, 06:16:36 PM
I suggest you leave your little DM as is but add an external speaker jack which cuts the internal speaker off.
Then you build a separate 2 x 10" or 2 x 12" cabinet, which will be 4 ohms, what the DM needs, and use it as a head.
It will surprise you, both with increased volume and body.
You can still carry the little one anywhere you go if gig does not merit hauling extra weight/bulk.
Best of both worlds.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on January 08, 2017, 06:57:45 PM
Quote from: J M Fahey on January 08, 2017, 06:16:36 PM
I suggest you leave your little DM as is but add an external speaker jack which cuts the internal speaker off.
Then you build a separate 2 x 10" or 2 x 12" cabinet, which will be 4 ohms, what the DM needs, and use it as a head.
It will surprise you, both with increased volume and body.
You can still carry the little one anywhere you go if gig does not merit hauling extra weight/bulk.
Best of both worlds.
This is true. I've used mine to drive other speakers and even running a 10" cab it sounded quite impressive.

Sent from my XT1055 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: mexicanyella on January 10, 2017, 12:50:26 AM
The cabinet on my K-20 is falling apart, so I pulled the chassis out and discovered that it makes a pretty cool bass guitar preamp! I play a passive P-bass, and on the clean setting the K-20-as-preamp can give some big, deep, clear notes with a piano-like twanginess to them, and on the distortion setting (with gain low, maybe 2-3 max) you can EQ in some midrangey, slightly dirty P-bass fingerstyle tones, and clean them up by slightly backing off the instrument's volume knob. It's fun!

I think I am going to bolt it to an upside-down-installed rack shelf, so the open guts are covered and the lettering is still right-side up, and rack it along with my Peavey M-3000 power amp as a budget rat bass rig, and see how that works out.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: mexicanyella on February 17, 2017, 10:58:27 AM
Still haven't bought a rack shelf (or a rack to install it in), but here's photographic evidence of my non-UL-listed K-20 chassis, M-3000 combo driving a Peavey SP-5ti cabinet's "low" input (15" Scorpion speaker, horn bypassed). This contraption isn't really any louder than my Peavey TKO 115 combo--which uses the same 15" Scorpion speaker, in a different cabinet--but the K-20's distortion channel at a low gain setting gets a warm, slightly distorted midrangey tone that sounds great with a P-bass in a rock setting...even with this old PA speaker as a temporary cabinet.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: galaxiex on May 07, 2017, 01:09:15 AM
I got curious about these K20 amps so a quick google search and what do I find....

Some BRAND NEW old stock sitting in a warehouse for the last 23 years!

On ebay CHEAP!  8)

Go here >>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Unused-Dean-Markley-K-20-Electric-Guitar-Amplifier-Fully-Tested-Working/162478965904?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40130%26meid%3D14909219f47b43838191a002bac21ed9%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D122212292134

I bought one.  :)

Edit; Looks like they have some K20B amps too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Unused-Dean-Markley-K-20B-Electric-Guitar-Amplifier-Fully-Tested-Working-/162501943201?hash=item25d5dedfa1
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: J M Fahey on May 07, 2017, 02:18:38 AM
Killer little amps.
Sound **GOOOOODDDDD****
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: galaxiex on May 23, 2017, 08:00:35 PM
Quote from: J M Fahey on May 07, 2017, 02:18:38 AM
Killer little amps.
Sound **GOOOOODDDDD****

The K20 showed up today.

JM speaks the Truth.  (not that I ever doubted him)  :)

K20 sounds Awesome!!!
Considering its size, it actually sounds like a much bigger amp.
This thing blew me away!

It's smaller than I expected.
Most small "practice" amps in this size range sound pretty crappy.

You could gig with this mic'd up thru the PA.

Was slightly surprised to find the amp mutes when all treb,mid,bass are turned to "0".
Just like old Fender TMB tone stack. Neat!
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: J M Fahey on May 26, 2017, 10:50:40 AM
Not only me :)  , joecool is an early fan and always uses his  :dbtu:
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: joecool85 on May 26, 2017, 11:17:18 AM
Quote from: J M Fahey on May 26, 2017, 10:50:40 AM
Not only me :)  , joecool is an early fan and always uses his  :dbtu:

True, I've had mine since 2000 or 2001 (I'd have to check, I still have the receipt.)  I love mine.  Only complaints are lack of low end out of the 8" speaker.  This can be fixed by running it through an extension cab.  Mine sounded killer through a 10" Dean Markley PA cab I picked up a while ago.  I sold it when I moved, but I might get something similar again at some point.
Title: Re: Great little amp!
Post by: galaxiex on May 26, 2017, 08:10:39 PM
I haven't had a chance to yet,
but I plan on installing a speaker jack so I can try some different cabs.  :)

Maybe I'll take it to our practice tonight.  8|