Last week’s Musikmesse trade show in Frankfurt, Germany was hugely successful for Markbass—largely due to the launch of the new guitar amp brand, DV Mark.

Markbass proudly displayed all its new products for 2010, which all debuted at the NAMM show in January. These included the new Club Series of ultra-light cabinets, the four MoMark Ready-to-Play heads, the MoMark Super Bag and the Bass Bag 24.

The newest Markaudio PA gear, and the current line of Markacoustic combos were also on display.

But the real attraction—and the “buzz” of the whole show according to many visitors, was the new guitar amp brand, DV Mark.

At a launch event on Friday, March 26, Marco De Virgiliis and Marketing and Promotion manager Peter Murray announced a new brand that will honour the great history and traditions of classic guitar amps, but make them more practical, versatile, reliable and light.

The DV Mark line includes three all-tube heads (15W one-channel, 40W one-channel and 180W three-channel), the stereo solid-state Hiram Bullock head, two all-tube 40W power amps, and a 1000W stereo digital power amp.

There are three 1x12 combos (one 40W two-channel all-tube, a 40W one-channel all-tube, and one solid-state jazz combo) and two 2x12 combos (one channel and two channel).
Cabinets include two 2x12s (horizontal and vertical), two 1x12s (one small and one standard), and two 4x12 cabinets (standard and vintage).

In addition, the brand’s effect pedals include a tube compressor and a class A1 chorus/reverb.

Guests were immediately impressed with the DV Mark look, which is classic with a modern flair and some distinctive Italian touches like custom leather corners and handles. There are even options that allow users to choose the finish that suits them.

Then guests were amazed at the wide variety of sounds from the amps, partly due to the patent pending Continuous Power Control feature which allows the user to control the actual power of the amp, from full power (40W) right down to 1W (in pentode mode) or 0.5W to 15W in triode mode. This allows users to get the tone they want at the right volume for any musical situation!

After hearing the great sounds, guests were floored at the light weight of the products. Finally guitarists can enjoy the benefits of lightweight technology and no longer need to be jealous of their bassist bandmates!

Thanks to a strong international reputation for top made-in-Italy quality and incredible reliability as built up by almost 10 years of track record with Markbass, the DV Mark brand enjoys a high level of trust right out of the gate.

The DV Mark launch has already been lauded by Premier Guitar (US) and Musikkpraksis (Norway) magazines as one of the highlights of the 2010 Musikmesse. More kudos are sure to follow!

The icing on the cake was the introduction of feature endorser Frank Gambale, who spoke to the crowd of his enthusiasm about collaborating with Marco on a Signature product to be released later this year. Gambale later performed with Markbass artist Alain Caron and drummer Damien Schmitt at the Markbass stage to a large and excited audience.

Other performances included DV Mark artists Femi Temowo, Rocco Zifarelli, Paolo Giordano and Petteri Sariola, and Markbass artists Hadrien Feraud, Linley Marthe, Pippo Matino and Lorenzo Feliciati.

All-in-all, it was a spectacular show for Markbass and an auspicious debut for DV Mark, which will undergo final polishing over the next two months before going into production in June.

Stay tuned for more news and updates!