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Jule Amps Monique Part III

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#661
juledude said:
I like the question. It is important to me in my work.

Every "pre" (and every amplification stage) must add its character to the sound. Depending on their design, some add a lot of their character and some add very little. All this is getting around to saying that if you can somehow avoid the pre-amplifier in an amp and just rely on Monique you will have more control over your sound.

The uncomfortable word we can get to with more than one pre-amplifier in the signal chain is "mush." Detail (especially playing characteristics) and note definition can be quickly lost. It is similar to running a picture through a bunch of copies (ever watched a bootlegged vid?). At the end, the picture is similar, but not nearly so close to the original.

So if they exist, a pre-amplifier bypass switch is cool, or using the Return on an effects loop, or on some amps it just says something about "Power Amp Input." All do the same thing, which is eliminate the additional pre-amp stages.
Click to expand...

Its interesting to me that in the past year and a half or so, it appears that the Monique has gone from 'put it in front of your favorite amp and play' to 'find a way to avoid your amp's preamp if you can'. The product evolution is interesting, and in some ways, I'm not sure when you got involved in this you know where you were diving. ;)
 
#662
BurningSkies said:
Its interesting to me that in the past year and a half or so, it appears that the Monique has gone from 'put it in front of your favorite amp and play' to 'find a way to avoid your amp's preamp if you can'. The product evolution is interesting, and in some ways, I'm not sure when you got involved in this you know where you were diving. ;)
Click to expand...

I initially bought a Monique to be kinda like a "SansAmp" in front of my Mesas and GKs.

Almost a year later, the Mesas and GKs are gone (as are all of my other bass amps) and I now have this mess.;)

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#663
Baird6869 said:
I initially bought a Monique to be kinda like a "SansAmp" in front of my Mesas and GKs.

Almost a year later, the Mesas and GKs are gone (as are all of my other bass amps) and I now have this mess.;)
Click to expand...

Exactly. I was one of those people who kept coming in on the original thread here and saying "Great, but until it's in a rack form for my rig..." (I was also one of the preorders when it did go to rack). Obviously its a 'killer' of a preamp in any form...but to me it feels like Jule was coming from the 'guitar' side of things and the pro studio side of things when he first introduced Monique. It was a preamp in the way a guitar player might put in front of his amp and a DI that fit in a studio setting...but wasn't really designed or intended initially as many of us are using it. Even the rack version went through some changes to align it better for pre/power rig setups, etc.

I remember the PDF of the manual (and still have the first issue file) reviewing and re-reviewing it and thinking 'well this should be interesting' because there were a bunch of unknowns about using it as the front end of a rig without an 'integrated' amp in between it and the speakers.
 
#664
svtb15 said:
I was in a studio in Austin this week. The asst engineer had a Monique.. It sounded great! However i also brought my REDDI with me.. The Reddi got the nod to go and that is what was used on the tracks.. Now the engineer is buying a reddi this week.. It happens alot when i bring that box with me.. Tru story
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Is that because the REDDI sounded better than Monique's DI out? I'm curious at how these two devices compare tone-wise. I've listened closely to WAV files from the Tony Levin DI tests and can hear the warmth in the REDDI. I've got a Radial JDV which also produces a very clean, robust tone, but it's definitely has a bit less warmth than the REDDI.
 
#665
BurningSkies said:
Exactly. I was one of those people who kept coming in on the original thread here and saying "Great, but until it's in a rack form for my rig..." (I was also one of the preorders when it did go to rack). Obviously its a 'killer' of a preamp in any form...but to me it feels like Jule was coming from the 'guitar' side of things and the pro studio side of things when he first introduced Monique. It was a preamp in the way a guitar player might put in front of his amp and a DI that fit in a studio setting...but wasn't really designed or intended initially as many of us are using it. Even the rack version went through some changes to align it better for pre/power rig setups, etc.

I remember the PDF of the manual (and still have the first issue file) reviewing and re-reviewing it and thinking 'well this should be interesting' because there were a bunch of unknowns about using it as the front end of a rig without an 'integrated' amp in between it and the speakers.
Click to expand...

It has been an education.

Monique has from the beginning focused on bringing a great playing (and listening) experience to as wide a span of basses, amps and cabs as is possible. That has not changed. I want Monique to be fun no matter what we end up playing through, including a P.A.

Changes along the way have come from excellent questions from customers. Usually something like, "Do you think Monique could do. . . "

I think it was the good Bergantino crowd who got me excited about doing a bit more with the powered cabs. Then the QSC people talked to me about their Return loop requirements (on behalf of a customer). After that it was Crown-folk. Then I began to learn of (and appreciate) the work of Dave Green (fEARFUL) and Roger Baer. Then someone asked if James Demeter and I could come up with an amp that would showcase Monique and Demeter. Now I'm working on a very pretty all tube low wattage bass amp - again at the welcome nudging of a good customer.

I sincerely hope nothing has been lost. By that I mean with all the special configurations and match-ups we discuss here, I hope we never lose track of the bass player who has to show up and play in what may not be his or her optimal conditions. I want that to always be fun.
 
#666
to this day I've STILL never used a REDDI. I've used the Avalon U5 and 737i, I've used the Millenia TD, Radial, Countryman, and Presonus. The Monique, to my ears, sounds as good if not better than ALL of them, and serves multiple purposes as the front end of my live rig as well....Kirk has good ears though and has been praising the REDDI for years.
 
#667
I have used both the Reddi and Monique on multiple tracks in
the studio and prefer the Monique. The key is understanding the
Eq and sensitivity controls. Once this is dialed the Monique is
without peer in my opinion.....
 
#671
monsterthompson said:
Man, if it was a low-watt tube amp with a Monique front end and a disengage-able power section to run pre-only, I'd be drooling and sendin you my credit card now.
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that would def be the way to go! DI out when you want, and power tubes to send to a mic'd speaker when you need!
 
#674
Since I'm new to the party, can you guys help me sift through a few of the pages of posts? Are there any power amps and/or cabs that have tended to mate up best with Monique, or ones that have tended to not work as well? Perhaps "best" isn't the right word, more like "user favorites."

Are there form-factors of choice? I'm considering jumping in the club after I just had my first chance to hear and play one. I'm just trying to structure the set-up. I like the look of the dovecage, but think the rack may ultimately be more functional. I also like the idea of having the poweramp integrated, but I don't know much about the "De" in De-Monique. I would assume that the De-Monique can be run as a pre only, without a speaker load connected; is that correct?
 
#675
monsterthompson said:
Since I'm new to the party, can you guys help me sift through a few of the pages of posts? Are there any power amps and/or cabs that have tended to mate up best with Monique, or ones that have tended to not work as well? Perhaps "best" isn't the right word, more like "user favorites."

Are there form-factors of choice? I'm considering jumping in the club after I just had my first chance to hear and play one. I'm just trying to structure the set-up. I like the look of the dovecage, but think the rack may ultimately be more functional. I also like the idea of having the poweramp integrated, but I don't know much about the "De" in De-Monique. I would assume that the De-Monique can be run as a pre only, without a speaker load connected; is that correct?
Click to expand...

To answer some of your questions....

I have successfully used Crown and Crest poweramps as well as GK, Mesa and Hiwatt amps with Monique and they all sounded great. As long as the input sensitivity works with Monique, you should be good with almost everything with not much (IME) tonal differences.

As far as format, I own the dove cage AND a rack version. The dove cage looks super cool but the rack is much more functional. When I am feeling lazy, I almost always grab my 4U rack with my rack Monique and Crest poweramp. The rack is cheaper too.

I have no experience with the "De" as I refuse to pay $800-1000 for a poweramp, but that is just me.:)

As far as cabs, I love my Bergantino AE210s as well as my rehersal cab (TC Electronics RS112), but there is a lot of love here for all things fEARful, Baer and a few others.
 
#676
Thanks! I figured Baer would be on the list. I'm already packing a fEarfual and that is what I played it through.

I'm half tempted to go rack pre and run it into the poweramp section of my TecAmp Jag 900, but I tried doing that in my test-drive and it was full of hiss/hum noise. Not sure if we connected something wrong, but I'd expext it shouldn't have been that noisy.
 
#677
monsterthompson said:
I'm half tempted to go rack pre and run it into the poweramp section of my TecAmp Jag 900, but I tried doing that in my test-drive and it was full of hiss/hum noise. Not sure if we connected something wrong, but I'd expext it shouldn't have been that noisy.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the Monique-side input was too hot? I had a 20 watt tube amp used as a pre and had to dial the line out to almost zero because it was too hot and overpowered the external power amp's input (causing hissing and humming noise through the cab).
 
#678
Ukiah Bass said:
Perhaps the Monique-side input was too hot? I had a 20 watt tube amp used as a pre and had to dial the line out to almost zero because it was too hot and overpowered the amp's input (causing hissing and humming noise through the cab).
Click to expand...

very possible. i didn't take the time to troubleshoot it. the experience did makle me aware of a low amount of noise in the Jag (which is lower than the Mesa Carbine i used before). i was going into the effect-in on the Jag, so it should have bypassed the Jag's pre-stage. it was a stark contrast to the graveyard silence of the QSC power amp connection that the Monique was mated to before connecting to my Jag.
 
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