Jule Amps Monique Part 2.

[Mitchthebassplayer]

still awaiting my Demeter power section!! It feels like foreverrrrrrrrr

 

[nostatic]

What good is a honeymoon without photos? Been working her over this evening, and doing more A/B with the Tecamp front end. I can tell the Tecamp has moved to backup status (for preamp duties...clearly I need a Minnie soon). While the eq on the Tecamp "win" on paper (4 points vs 3, broader spread of the points as far as my ear can tell), I find the eq on Monique just works. It is on the subtle side, but frankly I never have been into radical eq. I love the sound of the dual coils on the Fodera through it - so much I may change back to that choice for ones I have on order. Actually all three of the fretted basses sound great through it. I haven't had a chance to play the RA yet as I've got a short that needs to get sorted out next week.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

Same here bro! I've never heard my fodera dual coils sound better! Cant wait for my Minnie to get here!

 

[f.c.geil]

What good is a honeymoon without photos? Been working her over this evening, and doing more A/B with the Tecamp front end. I can tell the Tecamp has moved to backup status (for preamp duties...clearly I need a Minnie soon). While the eq on the Tecamp "win" on paper (4 points vs 3, broader spread of the points as far as my ear can tell), I find the eq on Monique just works. It is on the subtle side, but frankly I never have been into radical eq. I love the sound of the dual coils on the Fodera through it - so much I may change back to that choice for ones I have on order. Actually all three of the fretted basses sound great through it. I haven't had a chance to play the RA yet as I've got a short that needs to get sorted out next week.

Now there are some great images, somewhere between pinup and centerfold, actually, but done with taste, class, and real artistry. Too bad you have the metal birdcage rather than the bamboo one. Why? Were it bamboo, I could get away with saying that the images give me wood. Alas, I can't do that now...

 

[Joelc73]

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...

Very helpful.

It wasn't meant to be a veiled "which is better?" question. Really more just to get a sense of if that Kern sound was the general tonal family of the Monique.

I love the Kern. I suspect I'd love the Monique as well. Add it to the GAS list.

 

[chadds]

Now there are some great images, somewhere between pinup and centerfold, actually, but done with taste, class, and real artistry. Too bad you have the metal birdcage rather than the bamboo one. Why? Were it bamboo, I could get away with saying that the images give me wood. Alas, I can't do that now...

Okay! Yikes!!

Seriously anyone notice how much is going on just a little off center of flat on the tone controls?
There's of course the same degree of change farther off center it's just that less is more with Monique.
I never feel the eq is throttling the clear representation of my bass.

 

[Baird6869]

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

I will prolly keep it. They aren't worth a lot and owning a backup is smart.... Even if it weighs a ton.

 

[Baird6869]

I've never heard my fodera dual coils sound better!

Cant wait to hear my first Fodera thru my Monique.... I have to wait until mid-Feb though. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

 

[nostatic]

Same here bro! I've never heard my fodera dual coils sound better! Cant wait for my Minnie to get here!

Yeah, I frankly wasn't crazy about the dual coils (I'm traditionally a PJ guy). I've been working with them on the MGS and while I've gotten good results in recordings I've always felt like I was missing something when I was going for certain tones. Well, whatever was missing ain't missing any more.

I'll quit gushing about Monique at some point. Or not. Trio hit today, third different band in the last three gigs with her. Outdoors on a rainy day, since there weren't many people it became semi-rehearsal (this band is fairly loose anyway).

The Fordera sounding (and more important, *feeling*) just like I wanted it to. Some raggedness as I looped the entire form bass line and always a challenge for a live band to play along with that. But you get the idea:

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And with the Lull JJ bass. I used to hate JJ basses. That may have changed:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] (has some Wonderlove env filer, Octamizer octave, and Agro distortion in places)

Monique also is a conversation piece. Even non-musicians notice the design and ask about it. Pretty amazing to have sublime tone and aesthetic in one package.

 

[SactoBass]

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?

Hopefully Jule will chime in with his answer to that question, as I was wondering the same thing.

 

[husky123]

Hopefully Jule will chime in with his answer to that question, as I was wondering the same thing.

Oh I'm sure he'll chime in on that.

Well, test #2 passed: The Loud Cover Band Test. I've never sounded more full, deep or powerful and I've played some pretty big rigs....lately being the venerable Mesa M9. I haven't played my '73 SVT out in over a year but this tone tonight really reminded me of those days and that my friends is a good thing.

Next test is my "new to me" original band. After tonight I know it'll easily slay in that environment. One electric guitarist , one acoustic and a light hitting drummer.

I cannot believe how smooth and liquid the tone is on the Monique. It's just butter. Found a nice little trick tonight. When I really needed a cutting tone I notched the mids up to 3 o'clock and backed the bass down the 9 o'clock with the sensitivity knob out at 3 o'clock. Having the bass down to 9 resulted in no real loss of low end through my 215, just more aggressive mids. Incredible, not ganky or clickitty AT ALL.

Looks like I'm going to have some gear for sale soon.....

 

[f.c.geil]

...Looks like I'm going to have some gear for sale soon...

Oh, good! I've been waiting for a Monique to come on the used market so I could afford to get one!

 

[nostatic]

Oh, good! I've been waiting for a Monique to come on the used market so I could afford to get one!

I think he's talking about selling his other gear

 

[f.c.geil]

I think he's talking about selling his other gear

Shhh! I'm hoping that with enough double-talk he'll get confused, and sell me the Monique at a substantial discount.

 

[GregC]

Worked out what I think is going to be a very fun scene with James Demeter. Details [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

He is still waiting for pictures and such, but it is very real.

Very cool! How much will the De-Monique weigh? I scouted around but didn't find the number.

 

[Baird6869]

Found a nice little trick tonight. When I really needed a cutting tone I notched the mids up to 3 o'clock and backed the bass down the 9 o'clock with the sensitivity knob out at 3 o'clock. Having the bass down to 9 resulted in no real loss of low end through my 215, just more aggressive mids. Incredible, not ganky or clickitty AT ALL.

Looks like I'm going to have some gear for sale soon.....

Thanks for the tip. I haven't tried any real extreme (I play pretty flat normally) EQs and this will be useful.

And you likely know how big a M9 fanboy I was..... I don't miss that amp at all since I got Monique.... And i still think itisone of the best bass a,ps ever made. If I buy another amp it will be a rack Monique.

 

[husky123]

Thanks for the tip. I haven't tried any real extreme (I play pretty flat normally) EQs and this will be useful.

And you likely know how big a M9 fanboy I was..... I don't miss that amp at all since I got Monique.... And i still think itisone of the best bass a,ps ever made. If I buy another amp it will be a rack Monique.

Yeah, I was A/B'ing my Monique and Mesa M9 for about an hour yesterday. While the Mesa is extremely good at what it does (angry bass amp) it just doesn't have near the smoothness of the Monique. And when I play aggressively it can't match how the Monique responds to input.

 

[babebambi]

Interesting how a couple of the M9 guys seem to favor the Monique in comparison.

So, if I want a Monique to replace one of my Mesa
Would the Monique be closer to the V12 rather than the M9?

 

[nostatic]

If the Mesa bass amps compare with the guitar amps, I'm not surprised by the touch sensitivity thing. I played a variety of tube guitar amps many years back, and owned a lot of Boogies. They are great amps. But once I played a Bogner I really couldn't go back to Boogie. Very different feel. The Boogies are solid and are a great commodity tube amp. But they don't really have the sublime thing going on.

Ordered up my DeMonique power amp to sit under the birdcage. I think I'll sell one of my Puma heads (I have two - one main, one backup) and just leave the Puma in the car as backup and use the DeMonique pair as the main head for everything.

 

[juledude]

Hopefully Jule will chime in with his answer to that question, as I was wondering the same thing.

This is a bit difficult to answer well in words. More fun to show "live."

When you change the position of the push/pull Sensitivity switch on Monique you are not working with an over-lap situation (there is some) as much as you are changing the characteristics of that first tube.

You are changing its gain and its ability to highlight different frequencies. Those are two big things to mess with.

Pushed in (originally intended to accommodate higher output Active Pickups) that first tube is operating in a more linear range and has less gain (4db). Both of these operating characteristics match up well with Active Pickups. The articulation of notes will be slightly more specific than when the Sensitivity Knob is pulled out. This is a bit like adding "Presence" on a lot of gear.

Pulled out (originally intended for Passive Pickups) the first tube is slightly less linear and has the additional 4db of gain. This gain is not equally full spectrum, but focused below 500 hz. Adds a bit of bump to the bottom so that the Passive Pickup has an opportunity to jump out in the mix. This is something I've come to identify in the recorded sound of Monique.

As soon as you open up the Sensitivity Knob things change significantly and immediately. There is some overlap of characteristics, but more than overlap (duplication of characteristics), it is a different set of characteristics we are getting out of that push/pull switch.

The reason I say above (originally intended...) is because these functions have evolved rather far from their origins. Originally designed in as a straightforward way to accommodate widely ranging pickups, I have been taught by my customers that there is just a heckuva lot that can be done with this capability.