bass (amp) porn

[nostatic]

Glowing bottles of goodness. Monique tube preamp by Jule Amps. Hand made in Santa Cruz. Tone and feel for days...

[targa911S]

sick!

[911dean]

Very cool!!!

[nostatic]

Yup. Jule is partnering with James Demeter and James is making an 800 class D power amp that has the same footprint as the Monique chassis. Should have that next month. Right now I'm running it into the effects return of the Puma. Totally digging the aesthetic in addition to the sound. Main thing is feel though - just no substitute for tubes...

[azasadny]

Very nice!!!!

[Superman]

Some folks don't seem to hear the difference, but to my ear, there is a WHALE of a difference between the best SS amps and any good tube unit. In tone (richness and fullness/fatness and bite and grind) and, as you say, in feel. You can suddenly do MUCH more with the strings.

I began lusting for an SVT in the early seventies. Finally got one about six weeks ago. It's supposed to weigh less than a hundred pounds, but I wonder if it really does weigh less than that. I don't care. It's a tone MONSTER. It can't seem to make a bad tone. Just a whole wide range of ear candy.

Congrats, Nostatic, on your acquisition and your obvious and certainly justified enjoyment.

[jim72911t]

Man, that thing is purrdy.

Totally agree about the tube amp sound, though I haven't played one regularly in close to 20 years. Back when I was gigging a lot, I had a few, including an Ampeg V4B and 100W Fender Bassman. Loved the tone, hated the maintenance. Seemed like something would always go wrong at the worst possible time.

Looking back, it was probably because I was a broke ass college student/musician, and most of my amps were "purchased" with combinations of cash and trades (which included drinks at the bar, crappy gear that I didn't want anymore, various illicit substances, etc.) And, always, a firm handshake.

Settled on an SWR with a tube front end. Decent tone, and the thing has never, ever let me down.

[fritzgator]

here are a couple pics of a rig i put together during the summer with the "NEW" bassman and fenders Neo cab.The cab weights about 1/3 of traditional 8x10, which is nice when you have to throw it every day.

[sammyg2]

Yer pre-amp doesn't have and frets. How much does it weigh? Does it go to 11?

Serial, I've always been a hardware junkie so that kinda stuff gets me going. Very nice.
Since I can't play worth a darn all I gots left is the hardware.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by fritzgator

here are a couple pics of a rig i put together during the summer with the "NEW" bassman and fenders Neo cab.The cab weights about 1/3 of traditional 8x10, which is nice when you have to throw it every day.

So help me out here... that is a wireless, plugged into two new bassmans, plugged into a 8X10 Cab?

[nostatic]

Probably main head and backup head (it is a Fender after all ). Wireless could be for bass or for IEMs - those are getting more popular. That riq is still way over my personal weight limits. I do 100+ load in/out a year, mostly small rooms so not only is an 8-10 overkill, it would overkill my back.

Right now I'm playing Baer ML112 cabs. They are a 12" and 6" in a really well designed cabinet - no tweeter. Weighs 37lbs and I can run it horizontal or vertical. I have a pair so for larger gigs I run the pair vertical. The heads are Tecamp Puma 500 or 900 (yes, those are the wattage ratings). For right now I'm running the Monique into the effects return and just using the power amp section. James Demeter is making a matching 800W power section to sit underneath the Monique. Then I'll have that as main rig, with the Tecamp head as a backup. I always have a backup in the car.

[fritzgator]

2channels of Wireless to pedalboard with pre and post d.i.'s fx etc. all the business happens at the back of the rack. Correct main &backup heads though we haven't had any issues with them. Redundency mainly. The show must go on and all that. To quote the gov in blazing saddles " we've got to protect our foney-baloney jobs gentleman"

[intakexhaust]

nostatic - That amp is terrific!

Anyhow, recently found a 70's relic Kasino 4 channel bass amp head made by Kustom. I didn't write down the model but seem to think it was coded to be a 100 watt and non-tube (not much for vents so its non-tube), not much to work with but has reverb. Heavyweight case and for what I don't know. I don't need another amp but its sitting lonely in a resale store tempting me. No chance to test it either. Wondering if anyone recalls the name, traits, tone... maybe current values? Looks like this:



Price seems reasonable but could be junk as well. At worst, the cabinet and pots are useable as a retro project.

[nostatic]

Here are the latest variations

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I have a Fender Rumble 15.

When I feel like waiting for tubes to warm up (and my family is out of the house) I play through my '59 Bassman LTD.

[intakexhaust]

^^^damn smooth and 'warm'!