Jule Amps Monique part 5

[juledude]

I don’t remember what they all were, other than the 3 band EQ that had the white knobs. One knob was drive. One was sense(sensitivity). That’s all i remember.

Thanks for being there my friend. And thanks for all the "first" ideas.

 

[juledude]

How was the amp?

Hall E at NAMM is downstairs and a whole lot less ear-abusive than Hall D above. The ambient DB level above was about 90db with regular excursions into 100+ db. That means that downstairs where we were it was still loud, but folks were able hear themselves play. The new little 500 watt power amp showed itself to be quite capable of keeping up with even that venue. And it is Hypex inside, so it works.

 

[juledude]

I apologize in advance for the lack of brevity.

Same controls as Monique plus the new "drive" control. Same 3 band EQ as Monique (with an extra bit of fun - see below), same Line Output Level Control, Same Balanced DI level out as Monique (using the exact same Cinemag Transformer as Monique). Also added a Mute Switch since it seems to be a requirement in this pedalish world.

The one Sensitivity Control of Monique is, in Simone, broken out into two things, a footswitch and a potentiometer. This is in contrast to the one push/pull Sensitivity knob we all know on Monique. For now it is called "Sense."

The footswitch duplicates the push pull action of the Sensitivity Control of Monique. The control now called Sense on Simone duplicates the sweep of the Sensitivity knob on Monique.

The Drive control gives us a way to take Simone into more aggressive tones and characteristics than Monique is intended to deliver. Still musical, but overdrive. I do understand a segment of the Monique crowd will find this added feature out of the realm of Monique-ness. I was in that crowd prior to the NAMM show in Anaheim last week. The acceptance, the smiles associated with the capabilities of this new Drive control were inspiring. Folks had more fun with it than I had imagined.

Another Simone feature (hinted to above) is the ability to use the EQ knobs as individual Drive elements. by that I mean that if I want to just put a bit of crunch in the highs I can now do that. Same goes for the mids and the lows. This is new for Simone.

I am full of gratitude for gifts I received from many people at NAMM this week. First Skip Fantry (String-Man extraordinaire) for sharing his booth with me. Ryan and David of TrickFish for the loan of their awe inspiring 2x10 cab. Paul Sips for a whole lot of things. Darryl Anders for smiling when I turned up the mids. Steve Lawson for being Steve Lawson. Tom Bowlus for coming by and bringing his whole crew. And for all the good people who came by and played or just chatted. And oh!, Thank you to Ron Tarsan for all the good ideas that will become Simone. ;-)

Most of all I am grateful to The Fabulous M for making it all seem sensible.

One more Thank you. Thank you Marco Basses and especially Ian for making sure we had incredible instruments to play.

 

[juledude]

Yes sir!! It’s a Marco bass.

It even made me sound good. This is Ian, who (unlike me) really does know how to play.

 

[juledude]

While i could physically hear the Simone, namm isn’t the place for comparing it to a Monique. Too much background noise and chaos going on. Plus i was playing through a completely different rig than my ears are use to. So to compare it to a Monique wouldn’t be fair of me to do under the circumstances.

Even with the headphone amp in the booth and a good pair of Skull Candy's NAMM really is a difficult environment to do justice to a good evaluation. The first batch of both Simone and the-yet-unnamed 500 watt amp will be available soon. We will all know a whole bunch more very soon.

One more pic. The largest picture at the Ibanez booth was of Dave Swift. Dave was probably the first man in England to start playing Monique. Immense star largely from his work with Jools Holland. A great guy. I quickly found that if Dave thinks it's OK a whole lot of other people will give it a try. Thanks Dave. And oh yes, the somewhat smaller person is the Fabulous M.

 

[juledude]

Reminded me of this.....
View attachment 3291934

(I’m sure this won’t be the case @juledude )



I can see the marketing already.....
‘Make every weekend a dirty weekend.’

There was a suggestion to call it the "ugly" knob. Might even have come from me.

 

[juledude]

Any more info on the pedal? Inputs outputs, knobs, etc?

Tubes will live in a very sturdy cage. Exposed only for the NAMM Show.

 

[juledude]

ok so I got the message that Jule didn't want to reveal any more info until Namm LOL. But today is Namm!! Who from TB is there? Where are the pics of Simone??? I need a fix LOL!!!!!

The metal work that will keep the innards safe will be ready soon. Then we start shipping.

 

[juledude]

Cool, it's one of my favorite Marco show basses this year. I actually had it here at my house for a few weeks last summer, working on the onboard electronics. So I guess in a sense Jule and I got to collaborate at NAMM again this year after all, even though I didn't go. View attachment 3297586

Really looking forward to seeing how Simone evolves.

 

[BurningSkies]

I apologize in advance for the lack of brevity.

Same controls as Monique plus the new "drive" control. Same 3 band EQ as Monique (with an extra bit of fun - see below), same Line Output Level Control, Same Balanced DI level out as Monique (using the exact same Cinemag Transformer as Monique). Also added a Mute Switch since it seems to be a requirement in this pedalish world.

The one Sensitivity Control of Monique is, in Simone, broken out into two things, a footswitch and a potentiometer. This is in contrast to the one push/pull Sensitivity knob we all know on Monique. For now it is called "Sense."

The footswitch duplicates the push pull action of the Sensitivity Control of Monique. The control now called Sense on Simone duplicates the sweep of the Sensitivity knob on Monique.

The Drive control gives us a way to take Simone into more aggressive tones and characteristics than Monique is intended to deliver. Still musical, but overdrive. I do understand a segment of the Monique crowd will find this added feature out of the realm of Monique-ness. I was in that crowd prior to the NAMM show in Anaheim last week. The acceptance, the smiles associated with the capabilities of this new Drive control were inspiring. Folks had more fun with it than I had imagined.

Another Simone feature (hinted to above) is the ability to use the EQ knobs as individual Drive elements. by that I mean that if I want to just put a bit of crunch in the highs I can now do that. Same goes for the mids and the lows. This is new for Simone.

I am full of gratitude for gifts I received from many people at NAMM this week. First Skip Fantry (String-Man extraordinaire) for sharing his booth with me. Ryan and David of TrickFish for the loan of their awe inspiring 2x10 cab. Paul Sips for a whole lot of things. Darryl Anders for smiling when I turned up the mids. Steve Lawson for being Steve Lawson. Tom Bowlus for coming by and bringing his whole crew. And for all the good people who came by and played or just chatted. And oh!, Thank you to Ron Tarsan for all the good ideas that will become Simone. ;-)

Most of all I am grateful to The Fabulous M for making it all seem sensible.

Sounds like a fun time, Jule. I hope you get some rest and recovery.

...on the technical side, when you're talking about the EQ controls having some drive component, does that mean when you get 'above a certain point it pushes some distortion in that band/area, or does that mean when the drive control is engaged it does that?

 

[juledude]

Here they are, live and in the wild!!!

View attachment 3297151

The little beige box with the XLR plugged into it is just a headphone amp. I built it to help with the testing of Moniques in the shop. Nope - not for sale.

 

[juledude]

Sounds like a fun time, Jule. I hope you get some rest and recovery.

...on the technical side, when you're talking about the EQ controls having some drive component, does that mean when you get 'above a certain point it pushes some distortion in that band/area, or does that mean when the drive control is engaged it does that?

Yes. The EQ drive is dependent upon the setting of the Drive Control. If the Drive is turned off, the EQ drive capability is also turned off.

One of the excellent ideas that came from NAMM is to make the Simone Full Off position of the Drive control duplicate the full drive of Monique. This is instead of having the Drive Control capable of stopping all audio out. That is something like Monique Sensitivity full open, pulled out, with the Line Out Push/Pull also pulled out.

In other words the Drive Control starts where Monique leaves off.

 

[juledude]

Sounds like a fun time, Jule. I hope you get some rest and recovery.

...on the technical side, when you're talking about the EQ controls having some drive component, does that mean when you get 'above a certain point it pushes some distortion in that band/area, or does that mean when the drive control is engaged it does that?

The reason I am able to reply today is that it can be done in a lounge chair. Legs kinda went away down there at NAMM. So yes, I'm resting up.

 

[juledude]

The small size would also help reduce microphonics if I understand things correctly. But yes, I see what appear to be well tested old stock at really nice prices. You can tell that I'm already excited about it.

Strangely, the microphonics can still be found in these 6AK5 pentodes. However because of their small size and the greatly reduced mass of the internal elements of the tube, the microphonics are less destructive. This is in contrast to microphonics in physically larger tubes like 9 pins or octal power output tubes where microphonics turn the audio to complete nastiness.

 

[Bigwan]

Even with the headphone amp in the booth and a good pair of Skull Candy's NAMM really is a difficult environment to do justice to a good evaluation. The first batch of both Simone and the-yet-unnamed 500 watt amp will be available soon. We will all know a whole bunch more very soon.

One more pic. The largest picture at the Ibanez booth was of Dave Swift. Dave was probably the first man in England to start playing Monique. Immense star largely from his work with Jools Holland. A great guy. I quickly found that if Dave thinks it's OK a whole lot of other people will give it a try. Thanks Dave. And oh yes, the somewhat smaller person is the Fabulous M.
View attachment 3300491

By all accounts that picture of Dave must be close to life size...

 

[juledude]

Aww man wish I was going!! I'm so so psyched for this!! I was ready to pull the trigger on the Mesa WD800 but paused due to this. I am eagerly awaiting their arrival!

Jule you are the man! If this combination fits my tonal expectations, it will be the optimal, portable rig for me as I gig in so many different situations. Easy subway carry too! Sweet!

Safe portability is the objective.

The metal work conversation right now involves a small cage-like enclosure to protect the tubes, and, in addition, a larger "cover" to protect the knobs, switches, and all the rest. I want it safe to be thrown across the stage.

 

[juledude]

By all accounts that picture of Dave must be close to life size...

Ahh! You have met Dave Swift.

He truly is a delightful man.

 

[Bigwan]

Ahh! You have met Dave Swift.

He truly is a delightful man.

Not personally, but know people who have.

 

[nalapit13]

Thanks for being there my friend. And thanks for all the "first" ideas.

It was a pleasure talking with you. Kinda cool that i had an idea that could come to fruit action.

I mean, you had some really great ideas, they’re all yours. Haha!!

 

[nalapit13]

The little beige box with the XLR plugged into it is just a headphone amp. I built it to help with the testing of Moniques in the shop. Nope - not for sale.

If Skip doesn’t return that power amp or headphone amp, i swear i don’t have it.......