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Jule Amps Monique

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#741
metron said:
For now just the effect return on my Walkabout. I have my band pa in the basement but it's not set up.



Well I don't know how much plugging into the return on the Walkabout makes it sound Walkabout-ish but... it kinda does!
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Hmm...sound WA-ish huh? Interesting. It couldn't be the power section coloring the tone...could it?!:confused: I hope not. A WA and a little cab would be FANTASTIC addition for my arsenal if they get close to my Mo - IP310 tone :bassist:
 
#742
metron said:
For now just the effect return on my Walkabout. I have my band pa in the basement but it's not set up.



Well I don't know how much plugging into the return on the Walkabout makes it sound Walkabout-ish but... it kinda does! I AB'd the WA and the Monique trying to match the gain with everything set to noon, only adjusting sensitivity. We all know the Walkabout. In general the Monique sounded a little fatter or thicker with roughly equal midrange complexity and slightly less top end (depending on where sensitivity is, slightly more). I haven't had a chance to use the eq much but first impressions are that they are very powerful and not really interactive, as has been said. This pre has a LOT of boost/cut. Isn't it +-20 dB for each?!?

It's a lovely tone. Hefty notes. Interesting mids. Plenty of treble eq to boost into sheen territory or to cut it back to sound like thick molasses. I particularly liked playing my 55-94 fretless through the Monique. It seems that the sensitivity dial can do a lot for the dynamics of a fretless. I can't wait to run it into the pa! :D
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Cool! Remember that the sensitivity control isn't regular input level/volume control. You're probably better using the control for whichever output you're using to feed whatever amp. I found that while the Sensitivity does effect the end level out, it isn't a volume exactly. It changes the input impedance while also effecting how much signal you're driving the tubes with. I came to think of it more as a 'color' control from my short time with it.

I did peep under the hood of mine yesterday and noted a couple more bright candy-like components involved. I also noticed that Jule removed the padding from my DI output. As I said, I didn't get a chance to actually give her a test run, but I did plug it into one of my MOTU interfaces and found that the DI set to 'noon' had plenty of signal to run the channel's preamp in a comfortable range and get healthy levels out of it with a passive Jazz Bass.
 
#743
Fretless5verfan said:
Hmm...sound WA-ish huh? Interesting. It couldn't be the power section coloring the tone...could it?!:confused: I hope not. A WA and a little cab would be FANTASTIC addition for my arsenal if they get close to my Mo - IP310 tone :bassist:
Click to expand...

Im sure its colored by the wa power section so take it all with a grain of salt. It seems like they are in a similar tone family though which i couldnt be happier about!

BurningSkies said:
Cool! Remember that the sensitivity control isn't regular input level/volume control. You're probably better using the control for whichever output you're using to feed whatever amp. I found that while the Sensitivity does effect the end level out, it isn't a volume exactly. It changes the input impedance while also effecting how much signal you're driving the tubes with. I came to think of it more as a 'color' control from my short time with it.

I did peep under the hood of mine yesterday and noted a couple more bright candy-like components involved. I also noticed that Jule removed the padding from my DI output. As I said, I didn't get a chance to actually give her a test run, but I did plug it into one of my MOTU interfaces and found that the DI set to 'noon' had plenty of signal to run the channel's preamp in a comfortable range and get healthy levels out of it with a passive Jazz Bass.
Click to expand...

Yup on the sensitivity, its definitely a color dial. Being an impedance control, it affects touch dynamics or at least it gives that impression. I played with the sensitivity a lot and so far i always prefermhigher settings. Lower settings soften the sound.

So far i really like the Monique!
 
#744
metron said:
Im sure its colored by the wa power section so take it all with a grain of salt. It seems like they are in a similar tone family though which i couldnt be happier about!



Yup on the sensitivity, its definitely a color dial. Being an impedance control, it affects touch dynamics or at least it gives that impression. I played with the sensitivity a lot and so far i always prefermhigher settings. Lower settings soften the sound.

So far i really like the Monique!
Click to expand...

Cool! I dig the sensitivity in a couple ways...if you want clean hi-fi more precise, its nice in the 9 o'clock to noon range. After that you get into the bigger, fatter yet less precise tones, more saturation and compression. For me it seemed that I liked stuff up to about 3 o'clock or so before it got a little too hairy. Of course, I should have a better idea tonight.
 
#745
BurningSkies said:
Cool! I dig the sensitivity in a couple ways...if you want clean hi-fi more precise, its nice in the 9 o'clock to noon range. After that you get into the bigger, fatter yet less precise tones, more saturation and compression. For me it seemed that I liked stuff up to about 3 o'clock or so before it got a little too hairy. Of course, I should have a better idea tonight.
Click to expand...

Loud and live that cranked sensitivity gets real great for chords and stepping up/out. :) I often dial it back to zip and push it in to hear just how clear Monique can be. With an Ashbory it adds almost a tension to each pluck really giving a '20s feel.
 
#750
Holy crap, Jule. This preamp is a &$^%ing monster. Its a bulldozer in the best way, and a REALLY fun unit. Really really fun to play.

First off, it definitely is working properly versus what it was like before. For my setup it worked best with the +4 DB input pulled, and I found it was driving my power amp amply, giving me similar signal to my other preamp, with the Line Out at somewhere between 4 and 5 o'clock. Its deceptive in the fact that it seems that most of the 'action' on that Line Out knob is in the last quarter of it's throw, but once you're up there, its really sensitive to small tweaks. My original observations about its overall tone and feel were reinforced in this round of playing.

Tonally, it just has this WEIGHT to what it does. I'd swear I had a 3000w tube amp behind me. With the fEARful 15/6+15sub it was just monstrous, they're so clean that it sounds fantastic, no sense of speaker breakup or harshness. It never felt like it was struggling or bumping up against any ceiling when it comes to headroom...it feels like its idling as it deals out these huge hefty solid natural sounds, just effortless. To me it sounds like everything I want from a tube amp, but without the stuff that I think of negatives of tube amps.

I spent most of my night with the Sensitivity control between noon and about 3 o'clock. Which gives it thick tube harmonic fullness but keeps things pretty controlled, not too spongy. I could run my bass comfortably in its parallel setting and still not feel like things were too scooped and losing punch.

Oh, and it acts unbelievably like an amp with a tube power section when it comes to dynamics and desirable compression characteristics (not overly crunched or brickwalled and still sounding open). Early on in the evening, I was facing the amp at close range and holding notes while turning EQ knobs. I was working with the treble control, and found that with it turned up to about 3 o'clock, the amp and my bass were singing with really musical feedback swells. I've never had that happen with a non-tube amp in a musical way (and not on many tube amps either), just these sweet, lovely sustained notes that were entirely made of feedback not plucked at all... I was just fretting notes, moving around the neck letting the amp and bass 'sing' along the way.

So anyway, after about 2 hours of running through some of my favorite riddims, lots of the 16th note Roots Radics style stuff...this preamp really excels in dealing out punch and gravity in the transients while making stuff feel big and 'natural'. It really pushes the notes out, it's like a freight train that just plows ahead full steam. Its going to be the heavyweight boomshot on stage. I have a week off from gigs, then I'll have it on stage a week from Friday.

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#753
Fretless5verfan said:
Fantastic! Cool set-up too man. :bassist:

The wait begins for my Rack-Mo...t-minus 6 days. :help:
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Thanks! This is the longest 'on boarding' gear purchase I've had (minus the custom bass that was ordered at the height of the Dingwall custom waiting line), but its definitely been worth it. I knew that even a month ago, which is why I stuck with things and let them unfold. The whole process has been really rewarding, and the end tone of the Monique is definitely worth it.
 
#758
If you assume there is exactly 1 inch from where the cover would go to where the rail starts then you would still have an inch at the back. Anything less than 1 inch in front and I smell trouble. I don't have any of my gear racked right now so perhaps someone else can chime in as well.

EDIT: Just noticed you said without covers. Yes, 12" should fit it comfortably.
 
#760
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