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Jule Amps Monique Part III

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#81
I just ran the #'s on my Monique rig after reading the idiotic "Monique is too expensive" thread that was quickly closed.

In any case, my Monique rack mount, Crest ProLite 2.0 2000w (bridged) poweramp and a nice 4U Gator case cost me $1543 all in.... A whopping $6 Less than the Mesa M9 I played for a couple of years. Also, $250 less than a SVT-CL and $956 less than the 1600w TC Blacksmith.

Of course, a Sansamp and a cheap poweramp can be had in the $700-800 range with a rack, but IMO, it doesn't sound nearly as good. Anyone price out a Mike Pope preamp?:eek: Also, Alembic is slightly more than Monique and Demeter preamps are fairly pricy too ($800-ish).

IMO, Monique isn't cheap, but for the tone it produces and the amount of (human) work that goes into one, it is a good value IMO.
 
#82
nostatic said:
minnie1.jpg
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That is the coolest looking amp ever.

I'm late to this party; I hadn't heard of these until a couple of days ago. Interested to learn more...
 
#83
chadds said:
Well "father knows best"!

When I tube rolled because of a faulty run of tubes back in the day :) I tried some NOS JAN RCAs. I'm not shouting:).

When I ordered them I said, "why not?" and grabbed up a NOS RCA rectifier tube.
The whole thing sounded just delish!
Yesterday in an unprovoked sense of "eureka" I installed a new EH Russian Rectifier tube.

Well, who knew? The 3D sweetness is still there. The detail and quickness were promoted. The note character and definition were more pronounced. In fact two players said they could really hear the difference in note articulation with the Ashbory.

In all humility I've always respected Sir Jule's choices. What I had obscured some with the more sag prone old school Rectifier tube was some of the designed in quick. Too much of a good thing!

Mea Culpa :)
Click to expand...

I do wish I was there to catch this. Sounds great.

Yes, that Rectifier is redundant as a rectifier and only there as a playing characteristics and tone tool. I can tell you that in the early development of Monique sage peers frowned and admonished, telling me, "it isn't needed." :smug:

It is.

If I could find reliably similar characteristics in NOS tubes, I'd send Monique to customers with them. Truth is, there is such variance in the NOS available that I must stick with the newly manufactured tubes. And then you discover these glowing "gems."
 
#84
Baird6869 said:
I just ran the #'s on my Monique rig after reading the idiotic "Monique is too expensive" thread that was quickly closed.

In any case, my Monique rack mount, Crest ProLite 2.0 2000w (bridged) poweramp and a nice 4U Gator case cost me $1543 all in.... A whopping $6 Less than the Mesa M9 I played for a couple of years. Also, $250 less than a SVT-CL and $956 less than the 1600w TC Blacksmith.

Of course, a Sansamp and a cheap poweramp can be had in the $700-800 range with a rack, but IMO, it doesn't sound nearly as good. Anyone price out a Mike Pope preamp?:eek: Also, Alembic is slightly more than Monique and Demeter preamps are fairly pricy too ($800-ish).

IMO, Monique isn't cheap, but for the tone it produces and the amount of (human) work that goes into one, it is a good value IMO.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I imagine a world where every bass player gets paid based on the entertainment and joy they give. And that feels good.

Thank you for the kind words.
 
#85
nostatic said:
Plugging straight in? Didn't think that would give enough level. I'll try it tonight.
Click to expand...

There is plenty of level coming out of some active pickups to push Minnie to full volume. There is not enough coming from passive pickups.

In the early development moments of Minnie, it was decided that it would take 0db (.775volts RMS) to push Minnie to full volume. That is because Monique does that with the Line Level pushed in (or the original version without the push/pull Line Out feature).

That much level can be put out by a lot of active bass pickups, but not by passive pickups. Some passive pickups are down in the -20db range.
 
#87
Baird6869 said:
I just ran the #'s on my Monique rig after reading the idiotic "Monique is too expensive" thread that was quickly closed.
Click to expand...

Agreed... a Monique with a good power amp is a pretty good deal, really. Compared to the same stuff myself, a full rig is right there in the ballpark with upper-middle range of bass heads you see folks getting all the time. Even with the luxury of an on-board Minnie, it's still competitive. (About $100 more than the ubiquitous SVT-CL.)

As a bonus I already had everything I needed besides the Monique. But even if I started from scratch to get the same stuff (BX1500, custom built 5U ATA case, rack power strip, etc... all adding up to a good bit more than the poweramp & simple case actually needed) it'd still be a good deal.

Speaking of "boutique" gear, that poster is selling a Blacksmith that he purchased new. The new->used depreciation/loss there all by itself is more than the cost of a rack Monique. So I really don't get the "too expensive" remark that was made. At ALL.

Anywho, just some blather while I patiently wait for my Monique. It's really hard, but I can do it. :D
 
#88
makohund said:
Speaking of "boutique" gear, that poster is selling a Blacksmith that he purchased new. The new->used depreciation/loss there all by itself is more than the cost of a rack Monique. So I really don't get the "too expensive" remark that was made.
Click to expand...

Aaahhhh.... I missed that.

2 Moniques have sold on TB and the sellers lost less than $200 each.

The TC Blacksmith seller will only lose $1000+ (a 40%+ loss) and it is still available after being listed a month at $1000 lower than the online sale price. I would be pissy too.
 
#89
Baird6869 said:
$1000+ (a 40%+ loss) and it is still available after being listed a month at $1000 lower than the online sale price.
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Includes the optional $150-ish footswitch. And shipping, so subtract both.

The loss is easily greater than the cost of a rack Monique, shipped. Pure sour grapes. That's the last guy on the planet that should talk about anyone else "spending too much money on overpriced boutique gear".

Ah, well. Back to pining for Monique.
 
#97
This thread has been great. I'll be getting a new amp this summer and day by day am convincing myself to pull the trigger on Monique. The only question is whether to get the Monique and pair it with a GK or dedicated power amp to power it or go ahead and get the De-Monique. It would be nice to have a GK to power it, and would save a few hundred bucks (assuming I buy the GK used), but there's a lot to be said for having something integrated that's designed to work as a whole.

Input from Monique-land is appreciated.
 
#98
kalanb said:
This thread has been great. I'll be getting a new amp this summer and day by day am convincing myself to pull the trigger on Monique. The only question is whether to get the Monique and pair it with a GK or dedicated power amp to power it or go ahead and get the De-Monique. It would be nice to have a GK to power it, and would save a few hundred bucks (assuming I buy the GK used), but there's a lot to be said for having something integrated that's designed to work as a whole.

Input from Monique-land is appreciated.
Click to expand...

I personally think a $300-$500 poweramp is all you need. My Crest ProLite was $349 and it sounds great and can do 2000w bridged.

If you already have a GK, that would work too... OR... If you like the sound of the GK amp, it is always cool to have different sounding options.
 
#99
Baird6869 said:
I personally think a $300-$500 poweramp is all you need. My Crest ProLite was $349 and it sounds great and can do 2000w bridged.

If you already have a GK, that would work too... OR... If you like the sound of the GK amp, it is always cool to have different sounding options.
Click to expand...

+1, my Crown XTI2000 bridged 4ohms is great with the rackmount Monique and still very light on the back.
 
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