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Jule Amps Monique part 5

#2,263
Dave W said:
It's an awesome preamp, enjoy!
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Thanks Dave I am totally looking forward to it. My current set up is a V4b and a Reddi.

I also have been waiting on a really special bass that will need a very special amp, next month or so the bass will be done. When it's all together it is going to represent everything that is uniquely me and I want make Monique a part of that.
 
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#2,264
peterpalmieri said:
Thanks Dave I am totally looking forward to it. My current set up is a V4b and a Reddi.

I also have been waiting on a really special bass that will need a very special amp, next month or so the bass will be done. When it's all together it is going to represent everything that is uniquely me and I want make Monique a part of that.
Click to expand...

From everything you've said, I think you'll like it. I love mine and have for 4 years now. I'm looking forward to a benefit gig at a theater coming up...I'm providing backline and the Monique/IPR/fEARful rig will be in use for the whole night, including some really great heavy hitters on the bill.
 
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#2,265
peterpalmieri said:
After hearing this a year and a half ago, it opened a door to me rethinking my bass choices. Fun to revisit.
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Almost forgot how good this is. Thank you for posting it.
 
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#2,266
Here is a sneak peak at my baby that Monique will be paired with.

image.jpeg
 
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#2,268
Thanks Fed Ex man!

I've been running with my Kern IP-777 for the past month or so, and while it's great, it's not the curvy embrace of Monique... After having some technical difficulties and lil' miss sassy threw a bit of a fit...she went to Jule for an attitude readjustment. Jule spent some time juggling the magic beans, gave her a 'deep tissue massage' (I didn't even want to ask about that!), and she came home with a complete facelift!

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Only a few pieces left from my original-batch rackmount...like her frosty green eye. In a tale that could have gone sour, Jule's been the best experience in customer support I've had. You may or may not remember that when I first got her back in 2012 there were some issues that were resolved quite nicely including some of the design upgrades (some of it tracked back to a bad OEM tube). Last year she went back and forth again for the latest revision updates. Something 'went south' recently and Jule asked me to ship her back again. I'm pretty sure at this point I represent about 90% of Jule's 'failure' (that's too harsh a word, really) rate.

This time rather than fixing and returning, Jule tore the ol' girl down...then built me a brand new one from the ground up. That move is not only awesome, but also rebuilds my confidence in a preamp that while being the best sounding amp setup I've had has also been plagued with bad luck...I'm actually thinking of removing the green eye for her original blue before starting her up, since I am a superstitious creature by nature.
 
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#2,269
My new to me Monique is to arrive today, after reading other folks experience with using the power section of an Acoustic Image head I am unclear if I should expect to be underwhelmed? I will of course go direct into my little studio monitors and I have a no amp gig on Sunday to test her out but I don't really get to hear whats in FOH..
 
#2,270
When I first got mine I ran it into the FX return of my GB ShuttleMAX 12.2 and was really not happy with the tone at all. It was very dark, flubby, undefined, yatta yatta. I honestly thought that was just the way the head sounded, but I did want to pick up a separate power amp eventually for my other preamps and figured I'd hang onto Monique until then (which I got for a song and a dance anyways).

I found a Crest ProLite 3.0 and jumped on it, then gave Monique a shot running through that at a gig. Boom! Totally different sound. It was still darker than I was used to (but it's a dark pre to begin with) but every other issue I had with it was gone, and it sounded freaking awesome in the mix to boot.

Most seem to agree that running it into an FX return of an amp may or may not give you a good result.

Have you tried running it with the Input knob pulled out?
 
#2,271
peterpalmieri said:
My new to me Monique is to arrive today, after reading other folks experience with using the power section of an Acoustic Image head I am unclear if I should expect to be underwhelmed? I will of course go direct into my little studio monitors and I have a no amp gig on Sunday to test her out but I don't really get to hear whats in FOH..
Click to expand...

I haven't used the AI...Either way, I think you'll not really be disappointed with the Monique itself. Spend some time though, especially playing with the Sensitivity control on it.
 
#2,272
Dave W said:
When I first got mine I ran it into the FX return of my GB ShuttleMAX 12.2 and was really not happy with the tone at all. It was very dark, flubby, undefined, yatta yatta. I honestly thought that was just the way the head sounded, but I did want to pick up a separate power amp eventually for my other preamps and figured I'd hang onto Monique until then (which I got for a song and a dance anyways).

I found a Crest ProLite 3.0 and jumped on it, then gave Monique a shot running through that at a gig. Boom! Totally different sound. It was still darker than I was used to (but it's a dark pre to begin with) but every other issue I had with it was gone, and it sounded freaking awesome in the mix to boot.

Most seem to agree that running it into an FX return of an amp may or may not give you a good result.

Have you tried running it with the Input knob pulled out?
Click to expand...


I run it all the time with the Sensitivity knob pulled out. It just sounds better to me that way. I think people's experiences with it in front or in the loop on amps will be widely divergent based upon what the amp is...the reality is that even if you're bypassing the preamp on an integrated bass head there may still be a ton of 'stuff' inbetween Monique and what's hitting your speaker.
 
#2,273
Dave W said:
When I first got mine I ran it into the FX return of my GB ShuttleMAX 12.2 and was really not happy with the tone at all. It was very dark, flubby, undefined, yatta yatta. I honestly thought that was just the way the head sounded, but I did want to pick up a separate power amp eventually for my other preamps and figured I'd hang onto Monique until then (which I got for a song and a dance anyways).

I found a Crest ProLite 3.0 and jumped on it, then gave Monique a shot running through that at a gig. Boom! Totally different sound. It was still darker than I was used to (but it's a dark pre to begin with) but every other issue I had with it was gone, and it sounded freaking awesome in the mix to boot.

Most seem to agree that running it into an FX return of an amp may or may not give you a good result.

Have you tried running it with the Input knob pulled out?
Click to expand...

I haven't even received it yet, delivery is today. If I remember correctly you have a pair of 210AVs how does Monique pair with them? I've got a Crown XTI that I have out on loan to my church, while I wouldn't plan on gigging it I could play around with it for comparison purposes. Just setting myself up to not be disappointed if I'm not thrilled just running it through what I've got set up at home.
 
#2,274
peterpalmieri said:
I haven't even received it yet, delivery is today. If I remember correctly you have a pair of 210AVs how does Monique pair with them? I've got a Crown XTI that I have out on loan to my church, while I wouldn't plan on gigging it I could play around with it for comparison purposes. Just setting myself up to not be disappointed if I'm not thrilled just running it through what I've got set up at home.
Click to expand...

The Monique experience is unlike other gear experiences in my estimation. You may notice that there's less tech-&-spec when it comes to the unit's boilerplate, and that's sort of Jule's spirit. You're really going to want to get your hands on it and spend some time. It sounds great 'out of the box' but there's a whole lot in there to play around with. I always consider the controls to be 'elastic' in how and what they do. I really think it's a FUN preamp.
 
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#2,276
BurningSkies said:
I run it all the time with the Sensitivity knob pulled out. It just sounds better to me that way.
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Yup, I also run mine with the Sensitivity knob pulled out and I have mine turned up all the way to boot.

peterpalmieri said:
I haven't even received it yet, delivery is today. If I remember correctly you have a pair of 210AVs how does Monique pair with them?
Click to expand...

I do have a pair of 210AV's but I've never used them with the Monique. I'd think they would sound pretty good together.
 
#2,277
Dave W said:
Yup, I also run mine with the Sensitivity knob pulled out and I have mine turned up all the way to boot.



I do have a pair of 210AV's but I've never used them with the Monique. I'd think they would sound pretty good together.
Click to expand...

I my sensitivity control rides between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock most of the times, sometimes 12-ish. In the studio I had more positive feedback with it rolled back a bit.

I also like to have the line out cranked. I don't pull it for extra level but do have it close to maxed out.
 
#2,279
Here is my quick review. It's awesome

Compared Monique to Reddi as a DI into monitors, Line out to AI head vs V4b. I used it with a EA NL210 and ampeg 210av. With the AI I used 1/4 to XLR input, padded and not. 1/4 to 1/4 and into the effects return with line pulled. I liked it into the effects return with the line pulled.

What does pulling the sensitivity do again?

It was short as is this quick summary I have to learn twenty songs for a gig next week and arrange 8 songs for church next Sunday.
 
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#2,280
peterpalmieri said:
Here is my quick review. It's awesome

Compared Monique to Reddi as a DI into monitors, Line out to AI head vs V4b. I used it with a EA NL210 and ampeg 210av. With the AI I used 1/4 to XLR input, padded and not. 1/4 to 1/4 and into the effects return with line pulled. I liked it into the effects return with the line pulled.

What does pulling the sensitivity do again?

It was short as is this quick summary I have to learn twenty songs for a gig next week and arrange 8 songs for church next Sunday.
Click to expand...

The pull on the sensitivity boosts the input, so you're hitting the front end with a bit more signal. Jule originally planned on it as a 'passive/active' switch but we put the kibosh on that by using it to get a different tone out of it no matter what you're playing.
 
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