Jule Amps Monique part 5

[Jule Potter]

Man----you knocked it out of the park with this one Jule! The size and form factor on the Tardis version are perfect! I'm shocked that you crammed all of that into a box that size. Wow!

Thanks Mike.

And the first larger group to hear the combination of this Monique - the 700 watt amp - and one of your beautiful cabinets was a Talkbass group. This was at the get-together Wally put together in Boulder Creek about a month ago.

The amp was then only a mass of wires poking in every direction on a slab of aluminum. Pretty ugly. But it sure sounded good.

The Rack Mount 700 is 2 inches shorter front to back than the Tardis, and it all fits. Meant to be.

 

[Jule Potter]

I'll talk to Jule about my commission, as well.

OK. You are now an officer of Jule Amps.

 

[nomatic]

The first Monique 700 will arriving at my house on Saturday according to the tracking info....
I will report back after I use it to punish my Mas 210 flex. I am very excited about this amp
As I had a strong feeling the Hypex company made perfect module to amplify what Monique does
So well. The fact that Jule has turned this pairing into reality and the final product passed his standard says a lot.

 

[Jule Potter]

I don't believe it's rated to 2ohms. 4ohms minimum. Also, in my discussions with Jule plus his interaction here, I think it probably is a BIG overstatement (and understatement) to say that this preamp is modeled on an SVT. Monique is its own thing, but it borrows some cues from a few other places besides Ampeg too.

I have come to believe that the SVT was based on Monique in some time warp kind of way. But I believe a lot of things.

Seriously, no. There is no direct comparison between Monique and the SVT. I didn't start out trying to make an SVT clone. I do think the obvious "tubey-ness" of both is similar, and the EQ's are similar, but they really are not the same.

I think my earlier post about the un-advisability of running at 2 ohms is a pretty good answer. It isn't a good idea.

There is one very good "reliability" thing about the way the amp module is built in this regard. By comparison, other amplifier modules will quickly destruct when you try to run them into 2 ohms. They just break. A puff of smoke and no more. It is a very positive thing to have an amplifier module that can run into 2 ohms without breaking, even though that is not the recommended impedance. It is one of the things I have come to admire about some of those I have worked with from The Netherlands. They do not over-state. They just do the job.

 

[JvN]

This means if we attach identical impedance speakers to both jacks the effective impedance will be half the impedance of one of the speaker cabinets.

Roger, Jule. Thanks. My cabs are 900 watts @ 5.3Ω, so 2 cabs means 2.65Ω in parallel. Slightly better? Anyway - probably only really need 1 anyway when using the Monique/700, but I love to run my '71 SVT with those 2 cabs, even if I don't need the power. The awesome headroom on both amp and cabs makes the sound sooooo sweet and versatile...

 

[Jule Potter]

Roger, Jule. Thanks. My cabs are 900 watts @ 5.3Ω, so 2 cabs means 2.65Ω in parallel. Slightly better? Anyway - probably only really need 1 anyway when using the Monique/700, but I love to run my '71 SVT with those 2 cabs, even if I don't need the power. The awesome headroom on both amp and cabs makes the sound sooooo sweet and versatile...

This "power" issue can be a confused story.

With Bass, we aren't sending out a steady tone, so we are not using any power between the notes. This may sound insignificant, but it is not. We are only using about 30 percent of the available power of our amplifiers most of the time. And if we aren't hitting a string we aren't using any power. This is one of those "slippery slopes" where some companies represent themselves as able to deliver more power than you and I use in the real world. What they do is factor that 30 percent use into their specifications. They guess that you and I will not use more power than that. That way they can stretch their specifications to say they are more powerful than they are.

If I am told I have 700 watts (or anything else) available, I want it available at all times. Not at all confusing.

 

[JvN]

If I am told I have 700 watts (or anything else) available, I want it available at all times. Not at all confusing.

Another point taken - your effort to finally educate us, both in theory and with actual gear and sound, is greatly appreciated, Jule. Really. Maybe 'power' wasn't the correct word there. What I mean (as an ordinary player, not at all a pro), is that 1 cab or 2 cabs make a huge difference in sound, depth, pressure (feel), dynamics, even clarity, openness and 'space' at the slightly higher volumes required when playing live. Even when playing live, I hardly ever have to push my SVT above 10 o'clock. This maybe even less than 30% of the available 'power' (240-270 watts - for that's what most vintage SVT's are delivering at max) into a 1800 watts capability of 6 nice 10" speakers is like driving a vintage 240 Volvo Polar or riding a BMW R100RT along a smooth back road, if you know what I mean. Feels totally different in a vintage Trabant or on a Kawasaki Ninja. Matters of taste, maybe. But since we're not talking €399,- class D amps here, I really must fight my GAS and sincerely want to find out such things before ordering ;-).

 

[BurningSkies]

OK. You are now an officer of Jule Amps.

Finally, a seat at the big table in the boardroom of Jule Amps International. I've already added it to my resume, CV, and Linkedin profile.

I have come to believe that the SVT was based on Monique in some time warp kind of way. But I believe a lot of things.

Seriously, no. There is no direct comparison between Monique and the SVT. I didn't start out trying to make an SVT clone. I do think the obvious "tubey-ness" of both is similar, and the EQ's are similar, but they really are not the same.

I think my earlier post about the un-advisability of running at 2 ohms is a pretty good answer. It isn't a good idea.

Without getting into the connect the dots game, I know that you've mentioned influences from a number of 'classic tube amp' lineages, both vintage and modern. Its probably enough to say that while the ingredients are great to start with, Monique is well more than the sum of the parts...you could say that the secret ingredient (love from Jule) is what makes her a real dish.

 

[JvN]

There is no direct comparison between Monique and the SVT.

Don't get me wrong, Jule - never said the Monique was an SVT clone. If I understand your web site well, it's just that the EQ section has some similarity with that of the SVT. Maybe I read some magazine reviews which exaggerated the relation with the SVT a bit as well. Still, those 3 letters struck me because most boutique builders always refer to the B-15N as the all tube standard for bass and want to get close to that sound, because that's what engineers in a studio 'expect' or 'work from' when recording bass. They probably haven't heard Monique yet. Live, the SVT is still the pro standard in a lot of music genres (definitely not all though). So if the Monique/700 surpasses that (even with a single cab, sound wise ;-) like the Monique pre-amp surpasses a mic-ed B15N - what else on earth does mankind need...!?

Anyway - as you know, by the way ;-) - you don't have to convince ME that Monique is unparalleled and unique in its own league B-D.

 

[Jule Potter]

Don't get me wrong, Jule - never said the Monique was an SVT clone. If I understand your web site well, it's just that the EQ section has some similarity with that of the SVT. Maybe I read some magazine reviews which exaggerated the relation with the SVT a bit as well. Still, those 3 letters struck me because most boutique builders always refer to the B-15N as the all tube standard for bass and want to get close to that sound, because that's what engineers in a studio 'expect' or 'work from' when recording bass. They probably haven't heard Monique yet. Live, the SVT is still the pro standard in a lot of music genres (definitely not all though). So if the Monique/700 surpasses that (even with a single cab, sound wise ;-) like the Monique pre-amp surpasses a mic-ed B15N - what else on earth does mankind need...!?

Anyway - as you know, by the way ;-) - you don't have to convince ME that Monique is unparalleled and unique in its own league B-D.

Without a chance to play Monique, players need comparisons to gear they understand to help them know what they are getting. It is all they have to go with, and I am very grateful to those who make these comparisons. I take pride in any comparison of Monique and great gear like the SVT and the B-15. If I had in mind any single Bass Amplifier in the early days of Monique, it would probably be the very old Sunn Bass Amps. They were never all that popular, but they had a note definition that I have always appreciated.

 

[chadds]

I read the text concerning Monique. I read SVT but had an idea it was more. The SVT has a character through its cab, eq'd a certain way and cranked. I also know that big powerful tube amps can bring huge hifi tone. No grit no grind but color.

I took a chance. Monique was more. It had that Sunn 2000s thing and that Hiwatt hifi tube thing. Big pure bass tone without breaking a sweat. Okay, where's the grind? Just a hand's touch away. Moniques can bring the grind, its in the fingers, because Monique is so so touch sensitive!

 

[JvN]

If I had in mind any single Bass Amplifier in the early days of Monique, it would probably be the very old Sunn Bass Amps.

Ha! Could have known it. My tube guru swears upon Sunn as well - even included the brand in the name of his band! He has about fifteen working 200S-es in his workshop ;-).

(In a little while, we'll have a few more of those comparisons I suspect you're alluding to, Jule, so people can judge for themselves and subsequently keep you busy building Moniques for us into eternity: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/amp...-ext-amp-and-etc.1062963/page-3#post-15955071.)

 

[BurningSkies]

The comparable thing about the 'Ampeg' sound to me comes from the fact that the Monique sculpts the 'note envelope' in a similar way. Beyond that, it has a certain 'gravitas' to what it puts out, big and solid and natural sounding. If we keep in mind that most TB'ers and/or bass players in general don't have a whole ton of experience with classic non-Ampeg amps, it makes sense to make that comparison. They EQ and overall tone are definitely different from the 'classic Fender' tube sound. But still I didn't want to say Sunn without Jule saying it first, or any of the others that he's worked with or on or near.

 

[Jule Potter]

Ha! Could have known it. My tube guru swears upon Sunn as well - even included the brand in the name of his band! He has about fifteen working 200S-es in his workshop ;-).

(In a little while, we'll have a few more of those comparisons I suspect you're alluding to, Jule, so people can judge for themselves and subsequently keep you busy building Moniques for us into eternity: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/amp...-ext-amp-and-etc.1062963/page-3#post-15955071.)

The work you are doing (others will soon know of it) is very important to the larger bass community. I feel honored to be included. Thank you.

 

[JvN]

Needless to say, Mr Potter - YOUR excellent work (far more important to the larger bass community than anything else I can imagine!) actually prompted the whole thing. The article is in Dutch for the time being and will go to the press next week, but I'll make sure a short explanation in English will accompany the web link to the 21 sound clips.

 

[Luke Sheridan]

How is the progress on a 700 for the Dove Cage?

 

[Jule Potter]

The comparable thing about the 'Ampeg' sound to me comes from the fact that the Monique sculpts the 'note envelope' in a similar way. Beyond that, it has a certain 'gravitas' to what it puts out, big and solid and natural sounding. If we keep in mind that most TB'ers and/or bass players in general don't have a whole ton of experience with classic non-Ampeg amps, it makes sense to make that comparison. They EQ and overall tone are definitely different from the 'classic Fender' tube sound. But still I didn't want to say Sunn without Jule saying it first, or any of the others that he's worked with or on or near.

I just read in a book that the name Ampeg came from a real "peg." Before pickups, a small peg was installed to hold a microphone for use with an amp. Hence, "Amp Peg". Ampeg. Is this book pulling my

How is the progress on a 700 for the Dove Cage?

Not too much longer. It is all about the enclosure now. What has happened is what often does. My first "brilliant" ideas as to the required cooling considerations for this stand-alone 700 watt bass amplifier proved themselves needy of re-consideration.

 

[MarcusPHagen]

I just read in a book that the name Ampeg came from a real "peg." Before pickups, a small peg was installed to hold a microphone for use with an amp. Hence, "Amp Peg". Ampeg. Is this book pulling my

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Not according to the company site.

Marcus

 

[nostatic]

Not too much longer. It is all about the enclosure now. What has happened is what often does. My first "brilliant" ideas as to the required cooling considerations for this stand-alone 700 watt bass amplifier proved themselves needy of re-consideration.

I'm still hoping for the art deco building design but I can't figure out how to make the ergonomics work...

 

[looper]

Something cubist, with smart lines and a large veranda, for cooling.