Dedicated Power Amp for Jule Amps Monique?

[E sharp]

I bought a Crest CA9 years ago, after reading loads up on it. 
It’s mainly beloved over on Talkbass- though is very heavy. Bought it cheapish, to try out and scratch the proverbial itch. I’ve had loads of power amps over the years, and it’s absolutely great on bass. There are loads of mentions about the reasoning behind this- that it’s not a flat sound, and by a sort of quirk in the design, works well on bass guitar. 
I bought it with the view of being sceptical, and then moving it on, but it’s really good. 
The only issue is the weight, and also the fact that it’s very deep in size- meaning you have to look for a suitable rack. I found a 2U Boschma rack on their site- very heavy duty moulded plastic one. But I’m not sure that they’re still in business or not. 
I use it with a Sonic Farm mic pre In front of it, and sounds really good

[Owen]

2 minutes ago, E sharp said:

I use it with a Sonic Farm mic pre In front of it, and sounds really good

Ooooft!

[Guest Gabriel1918]

Anyone have any views on the pros/ cons of partnering the Monique with a valve/ tube amp versus a Class D?  Came across the Ampeg Portaflex 50W tube and the Orange AD200B, for example.

[msb]

I’ve been running Monique through a Bergantino Forte , I use the effect return and bypass the front end of the Forte. And I am in no rush to buy another dedicated power amp. 
I have tried Monique through various amps and they all work well , I use the Forte because it’s got some serious slam , and is a simple clean back end.

Enjoy Monique! She brings something wonderful to the table.
 

I’ve become a believer after using mine.

 

 

edit … I saw a Demeter Minnie for sale about two months before I bought Monique. The Minnie was going for a silly good price , but I had no real reason to snag it at the time … regrets.

Edited June 18, 2023 by msb

[msb]

Now if you’re reluctant to use a dealer , I believe Jule will sell direct. Contact him , he’s very approachable.

 

Edit … but if you have a TH500 I would try using that before buying a dedicated power source. Try it first using the effect return , and even try using the regular input. It’s simpler to dial in if you are just using Monique as the front end.

One of the beauties of Monique is that she can be run with just about any power amp.
After running my Monique with the Forte I’m not in any hurry to buy a dedicated power source. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by msb

[Guest Gabriel1918]

26 minutes ago, msb said:

Now if you’re reluctant to use a dealer , I believe Jule will sell direct. Contact him , he’s very approachable.

 

 

Cheers msb.  Your setup sounds and looks good.  I've come to the conclusion - thanks to the good advice given on this thread - that a small, class D integrated amp will do nicely.  This makes life a lot easier.

 

As for dealers...man.  Yes, I've been in fairly regular touch with Jule and he is, as you say, very approachable and friendly.  Such a breath of fresh air actually after some of the tossers I've been dealing with lately.  

[msb]

I bought Monique through a private sale , and mentioned one was on the way in a thread in another forum. Jule immediately contacted me and said that he wasn’t aware of a sale in Nova Scotia , but that he would make everything right. I immediately replied to say it was used  … and he said that I could have had him going for a while there… 

 

He is a breath of fresh air.  

The Tonehammers have a unique quirk where the gain stage will affect the midrange , but if you use the effect return you bypass all that . 
So you only have the tone stack on Monique to deal with. And Monique is very simple , much of the magic resides in the sensitivity switch. 

 

I hope you will find the same joy with Monique that I have. 

[Guest Gabriel1918]

3 minutes ago, msb said:

I bought Monique through a private sale , and mentioned one was on the way in a thread in another forum. Jule immediately contacted me and said that he wasn’t aware of a sale in Nova Scotia , but that he would make everything right. I immediately replied to say it was used  … and he said that I could have had him going for a while there… 

 

He is a breath of fresh air.  

The Tonehammers have a unique quirk where the gain stage will affect the midrange , but if you use the effect return you bypass all that . 
So you only have the tone stack on Monique to deal with. And Monique is very simple , much of the magic resides in the sensitivity switch. 

 

I hope you will find the same joy with Monique that I have. 

Simple sounds good.  Life's too complicated as it is.  And yes, I'm really looking forward to the Monique.  3 month wait....unless the dealer in question messes that up too!

 

Thanks for everyone's input.  Much appreciated.

[krispn]

I’m selling a fender 800Pro head which has a massive clean power section. If you’re not too concerned about weight. (14kg) it’s got all the clean power you could want. The eq can be switched in or out and it’ll take the Monique via fx loop in.  It’s class A/B I believe and has large toroidal transformers hence the weight and unrelenting power and immediacy. I’ve linked the manual below. 
 

Alternatively if you can find the Fender power amp only MB1200 they’re equally as impressive. I used one with a DB680 pre amp and was so impressed with the power section bought the two fender amps which incorporated that same power section, the 800Pro and the TB600. 

 

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/622322/Fender-800-Pro.html#product-800 Pro

[bassmayhem]

Any good amp will do.

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 16/06/2023 at 20:20, Guest Gabriel1918 said:

Thanks three.  Sounds good.  Are you running your Monique into the return socket of your effects loop then?

Can't answer for them, but that is what I would do, as the Effects Return socket is effectively a power amp input, bypassing the preamp section for it not to color the output of your Monique.

 

And as, as far as I understand it, you got a line level poweramp transformer output on the Monique, meant to be fed into an additional more powerful external poweramp to amplify it further in order to reach normal gigging/band rehearsal levels, but while still giving a tube poweramp tone, the whole point with this tiny tube amp (that is getting the full tube pre+power-amp tone, which then just needs to be amplified further), adding another tube poweramp into the equation would be kind of obsolete, and in fact possibly even unwanted in order to not further color the intended, already full tube pre+power-amp, tone from the Monique too much.  

 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[three]

2 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Can't answer for them, but that is what I would do, as the Effects Return socket is effectively a power amp input, bypassing the preamp section for it not to color the output of your Monique.

 

And as, as far as I understand it, you got a line level poweramp transformer output on the Monique, meant to be fed into a poweramp to amplify it further, but while still given a tube poweramp tone, the whole point with this tiny tube amp (that you get the full tube pre+power-amp tone that just needs to be amplified further), adding another tube poweramp would kind of be obsolete, and in fact possibly even unwanted in order to not futher color the intended, already full tube pre+power-amp, tone from the Monique too much.  

 

 

Thanks for this - I run the Monique into the 'power amp in' on the back of the DB750.  This bypasses the preamp section of the latter, though it should be possible to do the same with the effects return (I just don't use that option).  The DB751 doesn't appear to have the 'power amp in' on the back panel - I suspect that this was dropped as a (semi) redundant feature.  The 751 is a superb amp, and has the 'improved' tone-stack.  That said, I retain a slight preference for the 750 (I know a few users of the big Aggies that feel the same).  My DB750 was in for a switch repair for a short while recently (my fault - snapped a switch whilst swinging the amp around - it's a bit of a beast to carry).  I used a GSS Baby Sumo to deputise - Class D obviously.  The Monique performed gloriously with that, as does a Warwick Hellborg pre.  For most practical purposes, I'd go with the Class D idea.  However, there is a significant difference when using the pres with the 750.  Perhaps more coloured, but more of everything - bigger, wider, higher, deeper.  Dynamics are tremendous.  Ridiculous to try to express this in words, but there's certainly a very positive difference when listening very critically.  I hope this helps.  I'm going to dig the Hellborg power amp out of storage if I can lift it.  This thread has inspired me   

[Owen]

3 hours ago, three said:

more of everything - bigger, wider, higher, deeper.  Dynamics are tremendous. 

This is what I am here for!

[bassmayhem]

I have used my Monique in front of a Jule preamp, a GSS Sumo, my Genzler Magellan 350 and my Vanderkley Spartan. I prefer using the Spartan.