I have been looking for a compact and feature rich amplitude tremolo for a while now. My main criteria were: - have a wide range of speeds (I just like these hummingbird type of speeds) - multiple waveforms with sawtooth if possible - Tap tremolo or some other ways to set multiple speeds on the fly.
The Monk ticked all the boxes for me and more:
- Build Quality is typical JAM, feels robust and looks great
- Sound is great, I love it. Some people complained about the MK1 that it modifies the base sound of the guitar by boosting certain frequncies, but I did not notice it for the MK2 or it did not disturb me at all.
- Pulses can go from subtle to all out, thanks to the Level control. Never used a tremolo that has Depth AND Level, but this is a game changer. With Depth alone you get defined chops and intense modulation level. But with the Level control you can dial in an intense modulation, that will sit in the background and not take over your sound. Great.
- The Tap tempo works fine, both foot switches seem relay based, so there is no click when you push them.
- The Ramp function is very useful too. You can set a second speed and define how fast it should get there, when you hold the Tap tempo switch.
- The Harmonic side is a thing on its own. I like it best with the sine wave form. On high Depth and with the neck pickup it has a very Univibey sound, that works great with overdrive. On low Depth settings it gives a nice colour to the pulses. Very useful.
Overall, I am very happy with the purchase, I was mainly looking for a feature rich tremolo, and the harmonic side of it is just a bonus for me, but now I like that part actually more, than the amplitude side.
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