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Jule Amps Monique part 4

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#561
bassdoubler said:
ehhh....I still like to keep it cooking from soundcheck to the gig. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like there's a difference in sound from when Monique first turns on, to several hours of being left on. Things just seem to get warmer.
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+1 I have noticed this, as well.
 
#562
BurningSkies said:
But if you want a tuner out, a mute switch, a 'standby' or an effects loop, its probably not the unit for you.
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My 40w Jule Paycheck Guitar amp does have an effects loop and standby switch. Tube power section obviously and it is a complete amp head, not just a pre.

I think these nice to haves might almost price the Monique out of the market. Having said that, my Jule guitar amp costs less new than a dove cage bass preamp. Not sure how much more work/technology goes into Monique.

Monique is already expensive against most boutique preamps with the exception of maybe the Mike Pope pre which is a few hundred more in rack format. Not a negative as you get what you pay for (I own 2 Moniques), but the market for $1200-1800 standalone bass preamps is pretty small. Adding to that cost? A $1500-2000+ pre is a tough sell IMO.
 
#563
Baird6869 said:
My 40w Jule Paycheck Guitar amp does have an effects loop and standby switch. Tube power section obviously and it is a complete amp head, not just a pre.

I think these nice to haves might almost price the Monique out of the market. Having said that, my Jule guitar amp costs less new than a dove cage bass preamp. Not sure how much more work/technology goes into Monique.

Monique is already expensive against most boutique preamps with the exception of maybe the Mike Pope pre which is a few hundred more in rack format. Not a negative as you get what you pay for (I own 2 Moniques), but the market for $1200-1800 standalone bass preamps is pretty small. Adding to that cost? A $1500-2000+ pre is a tough sell IMO.
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I'm not an effects person anyway, so a loop or a separate dedicated tuner out don't mean a lot to me. Some people more so.

I did converse with Nick Dunwich about his new two channel tube preamp, which prices in the same ballpark as the Monique rackmount. Its more designed for heavy/hard distortion, etc., but for what I'd consider a 'similar build quality' its in the same price range.

I have a feeling if my Kern was still in production it would also be roughly commensurate in price.
 
#564
BurningSkies said:
I'm not an effects person anyway, so a loop or a separate dedicated tuner out don't mean a lot to me. Some people more so.

I did converse with Nick Dunwich about his new two channel tube preamp, which prices in the same ballpark as the Monique rackmount. Its more designed for heavy/hard distortion, etc., but for what I'd consider a 'similar build quality' its in the same price range.

I have a feeling if my Kern was still in production it would also be roughly commensurate in price.
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Yeah, I'm not a fan of effects loops at all, and I don't use a mute switch. I have a high quality tuner pedal with true bypass and mute (so no need for a 'mute/tuner out' on an amp, and just turn my bass volume down on breaks, and turn the amp off between set-up and gig. However, +1 that everyone is different and has this stuff configured in different ways, and hence might find some of this stuff useful.

Not sure, but I would think a mute switch would be able to be included in the design for very little cost. However, might be wrong. Every time the signal chain goes through additional circuitry, things happen. I read a few articles about how even 'true bypass' is not really 'true bypass'. Always a cost/benefit trade-off I guess!

Price of the Monique (especially if you don't go for the fancy bamboo case) seems quite reasonable to me personally, per your point.
 
#565
tombowlus said:
+1 I have noticed this, as well.
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While I guess this COULD be a function of the tubes warming up, that makes little sense to me (especially with preamp tubes). My guess is what you guys are hearing is the impact of digging in a bit more as the gig goes on and the adrenalin starts pumping a bit, and therefore hitting the input with a more aggressive signal.

You notice this on amps with gain stage clip lights all the time..... optimal settings of the pre gain at home or at sound check often need to be adjusted by the 3rd set:)
 
#566
BurningSkies said:
Well, the Monique is what I'd consider 'stripped down'. Its well worth it because of how it sounds. But if you want a tuner out, a mute switch, a 'standby' or an effects loop, its probably not the unit for you.

I run a Polytune in front of mine to use as a mute switch (and to tune).
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haha that seems a little silly. A mute function is hardly anywhere near "bells and whistles" status. I'm all about the "stripped down" thing. But come on. I'm not even asking for a full blown unit mute function, but just a way to mute the DI would be GREAT! I'm surprised I'm the only one who seems to have this issue....
 
#567
KJung said:
While I guess this COULD be a function of the tubes warming up, that makes little sense to me (especially with preamp tubes). My guess is what you guys are hearing is the impact of digging in a bit more as the gig goes on and the adrenalin starts pumping a bit, and therefore hitting the input with a more aggressive signal.

You notice this on amps with gain stage clip lights all the time..... optimal settings of the pre gain at home or at sound check often need to be adjusted by the 3rd set:)
Click to expand...

I notice it more in the studio actually. I do a lot of recording at a specific studio upstate where I leave my Monique. When I arrive to record, it's already plugged in and has been warming up for several hours. There have been times where I've come in and had to turn it on when I get there, and there's ABSOLUTELY a difference in sound there. Can't place what's causing it....maybe having a tube rectifier? I don't know, but it's a habit now....
 
#568
bassdoubler said:
I notice it more in the studio actually. I do a lot of recording at a specific studio upstate where I leave my Monique. When I arrive to record, it's already plugged in and has been warming up for several hours. There have been times where I've come in and had to turn it on when I get there, and there's ABSOLUTELY a difference in sound there. Can't place what's causing it....maybe having a tube rectifier? I don't know, but it's a habit now....
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That makes sense, since you would hear EVERYTHING in the studio, even subtle stuff. Let's hope Jule can eventually do a mute for those who need it.
 
#570
KJung said:
While I guess this COULD be a function of the tubes warming up, that makes little sense to me (especially with preamp tubes). My guess is what you guys are hearing is the impact of digging in a bit more as the gig goes on and the adrenalin starts pumping a bit, and therefore hitting the input with a more aggressive signal.

You notice this on amps with gain stage clip lights all the time..... optimal settings of the pre gain at home or at sound check often need to be adjusted by the 3rd set:)
Click to expand...

I tend to write off some of the changes I perceive as ear fatigue from playing in a loud stage setting.
 
#571
bassdoubler said:
+1! Jule and I talked about a 3 way on/off/standby switch for Monique but I usually wuss out about taking Monique on the road with me so it's never an issue. Now I'm doing a slightly bigger, nicer US tour so I decided to take Monique with me and it would really come in handy....
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I use my life pretty exclusively. My usual method is to turn it on as soon as I'm plugged in and even if soundcheck isn't happening for a while or we're hitting the stage with only a brief momentary line check, I just leave it on. I just keep my power amp off until we're actually making noise.
 
#572
tombowlus said:
+1 I have noticed this, as well.
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It takes about 10 to 15 minutes for any tube gear to stabilize to a point where it will not change significantly. Doesn't mean it is terrible during that time, but it is still slightly changing.

The metal in the tubes (at a microscopic level), suspended in a vacuum, is bending and warping to find a final shape. Sometimes you hear this as a "crackle." A filament in a tube heats up to between 1800 degrees Farenheit and 3500 degrees. Pretty hot. All that mechanical action plus the capacitors and other components reacting to the overall increased heat gives us that wait time before all is rolling along at its sweetest.

But then I remember a pretty famous Blues Guitar man I was working with who would have none of my suggestions to wait. He snapped the amp on and started right up, as he said with only slight disdain, "It's in the fingers, man." :D
 
#573
dang. i know this was brought up before, but i'm finding my Crown XLS 1000 isn't punching out much sound through my Mo. fortunately, it is loud enough through my PH 115 for now, but in a love setting, i'd be hurting.

on the plus side, i just picked up a Nash JB 63, and it slays. i'm finding i can turn the sensitivity way down, which is a huge change from how i run my Nash PB 63 (pulled and at 3 o'clock). guess that J sound doesn't need it. it is nice to have the option to adjust for each bass, since the P sounds a bit dull without it.
 
#575
monsterthompson said:
...in a love setting, i'd be hurting.
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#576
I have a Crown XLS2000 and it is loud but heavy.

I highly recommend the much cheaper, lighter and similarly powered Crest ProLite 2.0.

I am only using the Crown for rehearsals now and the Crest gets all of the gigs.

If you are looking to replace the XLS1000, definitely check out the Crest. It is also stupidly simple to use. No weird cables are required as well. I use a 1/4" from the poweramp to Monique and a Speakon from the poweramp to my cabs. No more XLR to 1/4" cables, banana plugs, etc.
 
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