Jule Amps Monique Part 2.

[Bmorefoozler]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

I just finished my band room in my basement and had the chance to A/B my Monique and Mesa D-180 side by side.

The Monique sounds better but the Mesa still kicks serious @$$. I was going to sell the Mesa this week, but I am definately keeping it for now.

why nbot use both and run Monique into the Mesa's power section, then you have no reason to get rid of either... Full tube goodness.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Fat240

I have two Mesa's and you are right they do kick a$$. I am keeping one for a backup. Only thing I have to really add to the Monique is my Sansamp BDDI deluxe for the extra eq.

Why would you want to do that? imho the Sansamp colors the tone and will really flatten things relative to what the tubes do.

What more eq options do you need? The sensitivity changes that character a fair amount depending on right hand technique.

[nostatic]

I spent a few hours playing and listening last night, going back and forth between the Monique and Puma front end (using the Puma power section). Different feels and flavors. I could get the Puma in the same ballpark as Monique but when I tried to get the warmth it also got wolly and lost articulation. It's funny because I have liked the Puma as a great "middle ground" amp that is a little hi fi but can also get a little old school. But in comparison to the tubes it sounds a bit thin and if I try to thicken it up, it loses articulation. This isn't a knock on the Tecamp - just the difference between a great solid state preamp and a sublime tube preamp.

Now about that Demeter Minnie...

[Fat240]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Why would you want to do that? imho the Sansamp colors the tone and will really flatten things relative to what the tubes do.

What more eq options do you need? The sensitivity changes that character a fair amount depending on right hand technique.

Maybe bottom end

[nostatic]

Are you running active or passive bass? And into what cabs? With my basses I often end up adding just a bit of bass (on the instrument) depending on which pup I'm using. With passive of course you don't have that option.

[Fat240]

The sansamp is between the bass and monique. so it doesn't really take away from the tubes but makes the sansamp sound that much better. I can pull massive lows out of the Sansamp and Monique keeps it clean as a whistle. Maybe the power amp is robbing it. I just don't have the bottom end that I'm used to.

[Fat240]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Are you running active or passive bass? And into what cabs? With my basses I often end up adding just a bit of bass (on the instrument) depending on which pup I'm using. With passive of course you don't have that option.

Active, spector 9v and bqc 18v. P/j and dc's. Mesa 215 4ohm cab with Faital pros.

[juledude]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Operational question- leave Monique powered up between sets? How about over the course of the evening in the studio? Often I'll be playing for a half hour, then doing other things for an hour or two, then back to playing. Typically I tend to avoid power cycling tube circuits.

She is prepared to stay on between sets. No standby needed. The "blue glow" looks good on stage.

I have Monique customers (studio folk) who will only record after she has been on for three hours or more. For them it is about being able to get the same sound for every session, so I get it. Still, I must admit I can't really hear a significant difference before/after a long on-time.

As to tube life, I can't see that it will seriously impact longevity.

One other note on the "blue glow." Got a report from a studio customer who couldn't handle the brightness of the blue incandescent bulb on the front of Monique. Solution: Unscrew the lens and place a 3/8" metal washer over the bulb and screw back on the lens. Voila. Lower light level.

I know engineers who keep records of the proper light levels in the studio for each of their clients. Some like more. Some like less.

It is about love.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Fat240

Active, spector 9v and bqc 18v. P/j and dc's. Mesa 215 4ohm cab with Faital pros.

I would just add a bit of bass on the Spector and forget another eq pedal in the chain but depends on what sound you're going for. With my Fodera PJ, I run it flat on the bass when on the P pup, dial in some bass with I roll to the J.

I used to run a Paradriver and while I like the Sansamp stuff for what it is, I think that eq would just get in the way of the tube goodness of Monique.

[juledude]

Originally Posted by chadds

Exactly.

Thought y'all might appreciate this. This guitar amp (for a customer/friend in Italy) was also made in a 100 watt Bass configuration.

[coyoteboy]

!!!

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by Bmorefoozler

why nbot use both and run Monique into the Mesa's power section, then you have no reason to get rid of either... Full tube goodness.

The Mesa is super heavy at almost 50lbs in a rack. The Crest is approx 10lbs.

[nostatic]

So another gig with Monique last night, this time I took her to the yacht club (upscale, baby). I also was rotating in a Lull JJ bass as well - another experiment. The three operative words from the night were: smooth, edgy, cool.

Cool is the visual aspect. While sound is king, aesthetics is queen, or at least a princess. I love the art deco vibe of the birdcage and it is a conversation starter.

Smooth was the drummer's description of the tone. There is a warm pillow aspect live that doesn't really come through on the recordings.

Edgy is my term. Combined with the Baer cab it is easy to make Monique snarl. That warm tubey goodness is easily coaxed into, "listen to me, dammit!"

Trio hit tomorrow where I get to stretch out a bit. I'm going to explore Monique's sensitivity a bit. Well, I'll have 3 or 4 hours with her tonight as well after I drop my wife off at the airport.

Wait, that didn't come out right...

[Bmorefoozler]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

The Mesa is super heavy at almost 50lbs in a rack. The Crest is approx 10lbs.

ok, fair enough. It looked like you were looking for a reason to keep the Mesa, so I tried to give you one.

[R Baer]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Edgy is my term. Combined with the Baer cab it is easy to make Monique snarl. That warm tubey goodness is easily coaxed into, "listen to me, dammit!"img]http://nostatic.com/photos/14dec12-1.jpg[/img]

Very cool, wheel in >plug in >play >wheel out, set up you got going there. Doesn't get much easier than that. Nice to see the ML112's hanging out with the high society crowd!

[husky123]

Well I finally got a chance to fire her up today. Man, great preamp for sure. So glad I took the dive. I've been in the GK/Mesa camp for awhile now so initially the tone was way fatter than I'm used to....not that it's a bad thing.

I'm sure I can't add any adjectives that have not been said but for me deep, articulate and rich come to mind.

Right now I'm pairing my rackmount Monique with the power section of my ultra quick GK MB800 and a Dually 215. The pre and amp play well together and for such a sledgehammer noise is VERY low. I can tell right away I'm going to be a "sensitivity knob out" type of guy. I really like the harmonics it brings to the game at the higher settings. I'd be curious to know with the knob clicked out does the full CCW setting start where the full CW (in) setting ends or is there overlap?

I really like a mid forward sound and sometimes with my other amps this can lead to a tinny and thinner tone. The Monique seemed to let me really push the mids, hear the growl of my USA Spectors all the while bringing the thud stick with the low end. It's like nothing suffered.

Highs seem very smooth and don't bring along those ganky high mids when you roll them up.

I'm running my Kappalite equipped Dually 215 with the Monique now. The Dually can handle a prodigious amount of low end and I never got any boom with the lows.

Settings: for a more rounder, warm tone I'm running highs at 12 (o'clock), mids at 1, lows at 11, sensitivity knob out at 12.

For a ball breaking rock tone I'm running the highs at 2, mids at 3, lows at 10 and the fun knob at 3 o'clock (out). Pretty extreme EQ (for me) but somehow the Monique manages to stay buttery and not clanky at those settings. To get that tone with my other amps I usually have to suffer through a good amount of clank and hiss. In a band situation, not so bad but playing by yourself can be a tad much.

So the honeymoon is on my friends. The first true test comes tomorrow for band practice. It will my loud, 2 guitar cover band. I need to Monique to cut when it needs to and lay back when necessary. Being it's so responsive I don't think this will be a problem but I'm curious to see how she'll sit in the mix with the guitars. More to come....

Thanks for everyone this past week for putting up with all my questions / PM's / posts and obviously thanks to Jule for building this excellent piece of gear. You guys really helped me out.

[Joelc73]

I'm curious about the Monique stacks up against the Kern. As anyone out there A/B'd them? The way I hear the Monique described reminds me a lot of the IP777.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by Joelc73

I'm curious about the Monique stacks up against the Kern. As anyone out there A/B'd them? The way I hear the Monique described reminds me a lot of the IP777.

Some of us sent our Kerns packing when the Monique showed up. The Kern is one of the all time greats out there. The Monique is a three dimensional, bigger, wider sounding pre. I've been up to the Kern's limits and the Monique isn't breathing hard. Monique also wins the derby with it's touch sensitivity.

Of course all of our mileage varies.

[Kreken]

Originally Posted by husky123

I'd be curious to know with the knob clicked out does the full CCW setting start where the full CW (in) setting ends or is there overlap?

This is a very interesting question that I would also like to know the answer to.

Thank you for a great first impressions-review, and looking forward to hearing more. I'm in the middle of a tour right now, so I get to play through Monique in different rooms every night. It's such a treat!! Mon truly sounds amazing! Our sound guy thinks so too!

[SCT1422]

Originally Posted by Joelc73

I'm curious about the Monique stacks up against the Kern. As anyone out there A/B'd them? The way I hear the Monique described reminds me a lot of the IP777.

I currently have both preamps.. I have the Kern up for sale, but recently just tried both preamps with my Bergantino IP-112ER rig on the clean/flat setting and prefer the Kern ... With the DSP engaged, the Monique works alittle better.. The Kern has a more thicker/meatier tone and works great with my Sadowskys, but with the DSP engaged, the lowend can get alittle wooly... I have to try both on another gig side by side.. The one big advantage of the Kern is it has a effects loop...