I'm sure it will sound great. I love my Monique with my CN212.
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Jule Amps Monique part 5
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I'm sure it will sound great. I love my Monique with my CN212.
Merry Christmas Jule and and all Monique lovers. 
I had a chance this morning to slip away for a few minutes and play my Monique/Berg/Fodera setup and I quickly remembered why I haven't looked at another cab or amp in over 3 years.
New Mesas? New Peaveys? A Bergantino amp? Demeters? Meh.
I had a chance this morning to slip away for a few minutes and play my Monique/Berg/Fodera setup and I quickly remembered why I haven't looked at another cab or amp in over 3 years.
New Mesas? New Peaveys? A Bergantino amp? Demeters? Meh.
I regularly play my Lakland 55-94 directly into the M700, and out thru a Audiokinesis Thunderchild TC 112.
It's quite full, and can get remarkably loud. If I want more gain, I put a 3Leaf Audio Enabler, into the signal chain, between the Lakland 55-94 and the M700. I've played pop shows with a 5 piece horn section and 4 rhythm. The gain control on the M700 was setting at @6 for the entire performance and never broke a sweat. The Audiokinesis cabinets, combined with the M700 and a decent preamp, can get really loud. Be kind to your head.
Ric
I should update this thread. Picked up an 800w Tardis Monique and a MAS 66/110 combo (both lightly used), it's looking like I'll be putting my three GS112 cabs and an Eden head up for sale. Looking forward to gigging with this new setup! It's a big change for me as it means getting away from lots of parametric EQ choices (including an outboard Rane unit) and a rack-mount compressor in favor of simplicity, but I feel as if my ears have been opened to a whole new approach to my sound and I don't think I'll be looking back.
Congratulations,
Having a great Preamp like the Monique and it's powerful EQ section eliminates the need for additional signal processing. In the same way my Walter Woods combines it's remarkable Pre Amp, EQ section and a handbuilt, 800 Watt, Digital Power section.
Ric
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,222
- 45,013
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
That's a great combination you've got there. Monique and MAS are world-ruling together.
Here's a Monique-noob question:
I have a Monique 700 rackmount.
With Line level and Sensitivity knobs pushed in, I find that I'm running the line level quite high (around 3 o'clock) to reach a level that's comfortable in a band-situation. That's with a passive bass, and 1 8 ohm cab.
With Line level pulled out I can set it well below 12 o'clock to reach a comparable volume.
Is there any reason to prefer one of the two described situations? Am I pushing the (pre-)amp harder in the first or in the second situation? Are there (tonal) advantages to one or the other? I haven't had the opportunity to compare myself...
Thanks for any input!
I have a Monique 700 rackmount.
With Line level and Sensitivity knobs pushed in, I find that I'm running the line level quite high (around 3 o'clock) to reach a level that's comfortable in a band-situation. That's with a passive bass, and 1 8 ohm cab.
With Line level pulled out I can set it well below 12 o'clock to reach a comparable volume.
Is there any reason to prefer one of the two described situations? Am I pushing the (pre-)amp harder in the first or in the second situation? Are there (tonal) advantages to one or the other? I haven't had the opportunity to compare myself...
Thanks for any input!
I have a question for you Monique 700 owners. When I fire up my unit at first you can hear the bass but not full volume, then it disappears completely for a few seconds then it comes back slightly distorted, then full clean volume. Anybody else's unit do this? Is this normal just the "nature of the beast"?
Do you have two switches, one for preamp and one for power amp? I always give the preamp about five seconds before switching on the power amp. It then usually takes a few seconds for the power amp to get biased up, so I usually wait to start playing for another 5 seconds or so. Any attempts to play before that does have some inconsistent sounds.
Many amps have a delay to allow the tubes in each section to bias up before allowing an input signal to pass through. My Genz amps did that. I'm sure that is the reason. I would just give each section a few seconds to get biased up before playing. Likewise, I do the same powering down in reverse.
OMG! I never knew my line level knob and sensitivity knob could pull out!! I'm sorry for asking such a noob question but what do the pull knobs do exactly?
From the manual (you can find it on the jule amps site):
"The Sensitivity knob is a push/pull knob. The push/pull function was originally designed to accommodate the lightest wound passive bass guitars pickups (pulled out) and very high output active pickups (pushed in) with one knob. When that Sensitivity knob is pulled out, you are adding 4db to the overall headroom of the front end of Monique
Monique was designed to work with active pickups with the Sensitivity knob pushed in. The truth is she can work well in both positions for both types of pickups. All that matters is what you prefer. Remember the tone monster idea."
"Monique has a built in option to increase the the Line Out level from the original maximum output level of 0db (.775 volts) to more than +4db (1.44 volts). To add the additional 4db to both the Line Output and the Balanced XLR Output just pull out the Line Out knob. Pushed in, Monique is exactly at the original 0db (.775 volt) levels."
My question remains, though. Anyone?
Maybe I'm overthinking.
"The Sensitivity knob is a push/pull knob. The push/pull function was originally designed to accommodate the lightest wound passive bass guitars pickups (pulled out) and very high output active pickups (pushed in) with one knob. When that Sensitivity knob is pulled out, you are adding 4db to the overall headroom of the front end of Monique
Monique was designed to work with active pickups with the Sensitivity knob pushed in. The truth is she can work well in both positions for both types of pickups. All that matters is what you prefer. Remember the tone monster idea."
"Monique has a built in option to increase the the Line Out level from the original maximum output level of 0db (.775 volts) to more than +4db (1.44 volts). To add the additional 4db to both the Line Output and the Balanced XLR Output just pull out the Line Out knob. Pushed in, Monique is exactly at the original 0db (.775 volt) levels."
My question remains, though. Anyone?
Maybe I'm overthinking.
I cannot answer this with any objective information. However, I doubt that it is taxing the power amp more to run it in the in position, versus the out position
Line level provides additional gain from the preamp, much like removing an input pad for active inputs will do. Pulling the sensitivity knob provides more range for the sensitivity function. I think it may further increase the effect, whatever IT is. LOL! In any event, it gives you more of that effect.
Hah, I started trying to answer your question, and given my lack of knowledge thought better of it. Apparently it remembered that discarded draft and included it in my last post. It may be that with the additional input gain, you get to a distorted level at the outputs of each section quicker, but I would be surprised if while operating within appropriate parameters, that it would affect tone. I'm assuming that one could perhaps over-drive the preamp if you turn the line level up high enough, but I also assume that Jule would have designed the output amp to handle the higher output from the preamp appropriately.
Thanks for the explanation on the sensitivity control. I've never seen that before. No wonder I like my active basses with the sensitivity control in and not turned all the way up.
Do you have two switches, one for preamp and one for power amp? I always give the preamp about five seconds before switching on the power amp. It then usually takes a few seconds for the power amp to get biased up, so I usually wait to start playing for another 5 seconds or so. Any attempts to play before that does have some inconsistent sounds.
Yes mine is the two switch version - I guess it's not a problem jus the way the amp fires up. Thanks for your info
Yes mine is the two switch version - I guess it's not a problem jus the way the amp fires up. Thanks for your info
In reference to Monique, powering up and the controls:
Remember, originally Monique was a pre amp only. Jule used a dual line level control to address the two most common levels for power amps (.775v and 1.25v).
Monique is a very clean pre, if you are getting adequate volume (at whatever position) in the "in position" that is what I would use. Just remember, before switching from the "in" position to the "out" position (or vise versa) turn the line level control FULLY COUNTER CLOCKWISE (all the way off). If you don't you will get a pop through your speakers. You don't want that.
Although Monique 700 is a self-contained bass head, you also have both an independent pre amp and power amp, hence the need for the dual line level control. You can use the pre only, the power amp only or both. For instance, I could connect the Monique pre to an external power amp using the line out connection.
When first turning Monique on, you should give adequate time for the tubes to fully heat up. Remember, you have four tube in the preamp section. I like to be extra careful when loading in in this cold weather to let the head acclimate from the colder temps to the normal room temps. I also like to give the head enough time to fully warm up to operating temperatures. What you are experiencing when first turning Monique is normal for tube amps.
The Sensitivity control as well as the EQ controls will add gain to the signal. But the Sensitivity control shouldn't be thought of as a volume control as much as a "dynamics" type control. It will also affect the tone and "drive" of the signal. It can get very aggressive with the Sensitivity cranked.
Just remember when working with Monique, the controls do not seem extreme, but they are very useful and very musical. Especially when using nice cabs. You really get to hear what you and your instrument are putting into Monique.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
I hope this info is useful.
Remember, originally Monique was a pre amp only. Jule used a dual line level control to address the two most common levels for power amps (.775v and 1.25v).
Monique is a very clean pre, if you are getting adequate volume (at whatever position) in the "in position" that is what I would use. Just remember, before switching from the "in" position to the "out" position (or vise versa) turn the line level control FULLY COUNTER CLOCKWISE (all the way off). If you don't you will get a pop through your speakers. You don't want that.
Although Monique 700 is a self-contained bass head, you also have both an independent pre amp and power amp, hence the need for the dual line level control. You can use the pre only, the power amp only or both. For instance, I could connect the Monique pre to an external power amp using the line out connection.
When first turning Monique on, you should give adequate time for the tubes to fully heat up. Remember, you have four tube in the preamp section. I like to be extra careful when loading in in this cold weather to let the head acclimate from the colder temps to the normal room temps. I also like to give the head enough time to fully warm up to operating temperatures. What you are experiencing when first turning Monique is normal for tube amps.
The Sensitivity control as well as the EQ controls will add gain to the signal. But the Sensitivity control shouldn't be thought of as a volume control as much as a "dynamics" type control. It will also affect the tone and "drive" of the signal. It can get very aggressive with the Sensitivity cranked.
Just remember when working with Monique, the controls do not seem extreme, but they are very useful and very musical. Especially when using nice cabs. You really get to hear what you and your instrument are putting into Monique.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
I hope this info is useful.
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I will only add that pulling the Sensitivity control out gives a different texture to the sound (along with the few dB of boost) from having it pushed in, even when dialed so that the overall level is the same. I find "pulled out" to be a bit grittier and more open sounding, "pushed in" a bit smoother. Jule has mentioned before that the sensitivity knob is not a simple gain control -- I seem to recall that it altered more than one parameter at a time (not sure if impedance was one of them). Anyway, it's one of those things you'll have to explore for yourself.
I usually play with the line level in and the sensitivity out and dialed to 10:30 or 11:00, but it depends on the bass and on the sound and feel you're going for.
I usually play with the line level in and the sensitivity out and dialed to 10:30 or 11:00, but it depends on the bass and on the sound and feel you're going for.
For my my active Dingwalls, I like the sensitivity in, and about 4 o'clock. It gives them a nice low-mid growl, but the highs are still fairly smooth. For my passive Super P, I like it around 11 o'clock. Interestingly, my Super P is passive, but has output signal that is hotter than my two active fivers.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Heh. I run with the Line Out pushed, but all the way up...around 3 o'clock would be low for me. I prefer it to the line level pulled (boosted). It just sounds different.
On the other hand, I like the sensitivity knob pulled out. For the same reason. It just sounds better to me.
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