Peerless Monarch

**richard vandyne** · 01-19-2013, 08:36 PM

Rob Jazz: congradulations on the new guitar. I too have been thinking about the Monarch but I have heard different stories about the acoustic value of the Monarch. I am sure you have tried that out so maybe you can give us some information on the acoustic play. I have a playing situation where I need to keep it down a little.

**RobJazz** · 01-19-2013, 09:35 PM

richard,

Nice to hear from you.

Before i entered the "world" of jazz , I had little experience of the subtleties of the instruments other than observe , listen and enjoy a few combos that played in our area ( Listening to Jazz generally being a given )

The Monarch is solid wood (pressed rather than carved). Despite the acoustic characteristics , don't confuse the volume output with , say , a dreadnought. The combination of the flatwounds and the "f" holes lift volume above a semi acoustic ( say Gibson ES335 ) but to a level where you can enjoy the sounds without amplification and, in my opinion, the acoustic quality is very pleasing, very different from an acoustic , or unamplified electric.

The Monarch that we get in the UK, has a floating pup. I know that alternatives in the States are available with a routed humbucker but the floating pup essentially amplifies the natural tone of the guitar from "above" so the natural acoustic qulaities are important .

At a certain time of night, I often play away without any amplification though I have to say the superb reverb on the AER Alpha does take you into a surreal world of contentment - even at the lowest volumes.

That, however is the icing on the cake. Unamplified , I find it very pleasing, very "jazz", will not disturb those in the next room..... very enjoyable.

Hope this helps

RobJazz

**richard vandyne** · 01-19-2013, 09:53 PM

RobJazz: Appreciate the explanation. I wasn,t looking for a booming sound,just one that is pleasant an can be appreciated without amplification. You have answered my question perfectly. I THink I will prefer the New York as opposed to the monarch since i want the natural color.The specs. on both are the same so the new york will be my choice, again thanks for the prompt reply- will talk to you later

**RuffRider** · 01-19-2013, 10:22 PM

When I got my Monarch from "Guitars 'n Jazz" - the guy there told me that you can get Monarchs in the "natural color" but they cost more than the sunburst model.

**richard vandyne** · 01-19-2013, 10:59 PM

Roughrider: Thats who i intend buying from Lou. When I priced the guitat the monarch and the new york were the same. I wonder why they would say one was more than the other. The only appreciable difference i could see was the color. How did they handle the delivery? Everything ok??? How do you like the guitar after this time span??

**RuffRider** · 01-20-2013, 03:30 AM

Richard - When I got my Monarch I wanted to get the Blonde color and Lou told me that the natural ones cost more but I've forgotten how much more it was. It's been about a year and a half since I got the Monarch. At that time I had never seen or played a Peerless in person, so I was hesitant to put so much money into a guitar brand that I no experience with. But natural color guitars are usually higher in cost than a sunburst instrument because the wood used has to be more appealing because the grain is exposed more without the sunburst stain covering it. He also mention that the natural color guitar had a tone control also - which would add to the cost.
The guitar was packed very well and shipped in a timely manner. I don't remeber if it was handled by Fed Ex or UPS.
I like the Monarch very much, but I changed the pickup to a Kent Armstrong 12 pole pickup. (The large black floating pickup).
That pickup makes a really big difference.

**peterpanico** · 01-20-2013, 05:44 AM

Hello Rob,

i perfectly understand your point,me too I'm not the "Mad modder" myself,but after awhile playing it,I felt like there was the need for a more complex sound,the usual OEM pickups for the Monarch line,is Epiphone with the regular humbuckers,and asian "made on a budget" Kent Armstrongs,for the floating minihumb just like the Monarch's one;

I don't wanna talk about the Epis since they are the first thing to swap ever,the OEM KA on the Monarch it's not that bad,but it lacks "something",you get accustomed to it and it's not bad,but if you listen to something better...well....
my luthier made an archtop for a guy,and I happened to visit him( he is a friend from old times) and tried that baby,and he had put in there an Aaron Armstrong custom made,handwound ( he can make them to your specs,he' a very nice guy also)
and it was like switching from 16.000 colrs depth to 16 million....

what I felt was lacking on the other one,was just there;

so I contacted him,we talked a bit and he made me one,a bit overwound so to lose some higher frequencies,well I do not know how to define a sound in words,but now I like it better!

The original sound was duller and flatter,with the new pickup looks like it went 3D,something like that,without losing definition or clarity,also has a bigger voice,clear clean but "bigger",it made her really sing,even my friend the luthier,said that
after having tried it ( he made the change for me) another thing I swapped were the strings,I went for Thomasticks 12 gauge.

not bad I would say,but the next change will revert back to 11s and probably old D'Addarios,but that's very personal you know

Happy good vibrations with the Monarch!!

**peterpanico** · 01-20-2013, 06:02 AM

That's it the old one and the new one's box

**RobJazz** · 01-20-2013, 08:18 AM

Peter/Ruffrider,

A change of the pup seems a not uncommon thread with these guitars.As Jazzuki commented earlier, Peerless offer superb value for money and in The Monatch and New York among others , offer a quality workhorse guitar.

Comments on the pups most welcome. Will bear these in mind and maybe have a word with our Glasgow luthier , Jimmy Moon of Moon guitars.

All the best

**RobJazz** · 01-20-2013, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by richard vandyne

RobJazz: Appreciate the explanation. I wasn,t looking for a booming sound,just one that is pleasant an can be appreciated without amplification. You have answered my question perfectly. I THink I will prefer the New York as opposed to the monarch since i want the natural color.The specs. on both are the same so the new york will be my choice, again thanks for the prompt reply- will talk to you later

Richard,

I appreciate that some prefer the natural look.3 of my own guitars have a natural finish. However whilst the Monarch & The New York look very similar, I think you'll find the Monarch is spec'd with a "solid" spruce top - though I belive this is pressed, whilst the New York has a "laminated" spruce top.

There will be tonal differences so best to try both ( if you can ) before you buy. I believe however that the New York having a laminated top will have greater resistance to feedback than the Monarch , though in fairness, I haven't had any problems with mine, certainly at "cafe" levels of volume.

Good luck

RobJazz

**peterpanico** · 01-20-2013, 10:44 AM

Yes they are different,Monarch top is a piece of solid spuce, Hot pressed to the arched shape,also sides and bottom are solid maple,the New York it's all laminate,top sides and bottom, so they "sound" a bit different,one should try them both,otherwise you'll never get the idea.

**mr. beaumont** · 01-20-2013, 10:52 AM

Nice!

If they ever do a seven string, I will have a very tough time resisting...

**jazzuki** · 01-20-2013, 12:17 PM

Peerless.Re Monarch or New york.As I have said many times on this site PEERLESS are grear guitars.The reason I preferred the New York was because out of all their archtops it was the loudest acoustically. As I like to play certain tunes they sound better this way than through an amp. Re natural v.sunburst here in UK its the other way round with sunburst generally being dearer! Anyway,whatever model you play you have a great instrument so enjoy it.

**richard vandyne** · 01-20-2013, 11:44 PM

Gentlemen: I will answer all at once. THose are the best and fairest responses i,ve gotten in a long time. It seems that all are in accord about the guitar being well worth the money and are a terrific value for the dollar.I thank you very much. I will make a decision soon and plan to buy my new guitar(peerless in april. Will let you know then. Again thanks

**PDJazz** · 01-25-2013, 06:41 PM

Hey. I had a blonde Monarch with lovely wood. It was a nice guitar and a good value. You know it has a poly finish which is sort of cheap feeling to me. That's just my personal feeling, no offense to anyone who has one. Like I said, they are nice instruments and well made for the money.
My real problem was that it was neck-heavy. Not terribly, like a few other custom archtops I have owned, but the lack of balance bothered me.
I would consider another one.
Ordering "long distance" I would ask for an honest opinion about the weight and balance, and other things that might make a guitar uncomfortable for you.

**SamBooka** · 01-26-2013, 04:05 AM

If neck heavy is the only thing from stopping you from loving the guitar..... What are the tuners?
They look like Imperials which are much heavier than the kluson keystones

**peterpanico** · 01-26-2013, 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by PDJazz

Hey. I had a blonde Monarch with lovely wood. It was a nice guitar and a good value. You know it has a poly finish which is sort of cheap feeling to me. That's just my personal feeling, no offense to anyone who has one. Like I said, they are nice instruments and well made for the money.
My real problem was that it was neck-heavy. Not terribly, like a few other custom archtops I have owned, but the lack of balance bothered me.
I would consider another one.
Ordering "long distance" I would ask for an honest opinion about the weight and balance, and other things that might make a guitar uncomfortable for you.

Of course anyone has the right of his/her opinions,but regarding what you wrote I disagree "in toto"

Since I own a Monarch AND a top Ibanez AND a top Gibson and have held in my hands a lot of other archtops,the "poly finish" on the Monarch it is nothing lesser than what you find on 98% of other good high grade hoolwbodies,about being neckheavy...well...i did not get that feeling,but as Sam has said,big headstock and "really good working" big machineheads...
But again it does not feel neck heavy at all to me.
regards

P.S.
yes they are Imperials...and do their job,not "cheap stuff" like those on the "thousand dollars" Gibsons...

**RobJazz** · 01-26-2013, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by PDJazz

Hey. I had a blonde Monarch with lovely wood. It was a nice guitar and a good value. You know it has a poly finish which is sort of cheap feeling to me. That's just my personal feeling, no offense to anyone who has one. Like I said, they are nice instruments and well made for the money.
My real problem was that it was neck-heavy. Not terribly, like a few other custom archtops I have owned, but the lack of balance bothered me.
I would consider another one.
Ordering "long distance" I would ask for an honest opinion about the weight and balance, and other things that might make a guitar uncomfortable for you.

PDJazz

Got to agree with peterpanico re weight distribution and finish,though maybe I'm a tad biased as I, like I suspect most of us , tend to play this type of guitar sitting down !

Re the tuners , they work like a dream. Will probably be changing the strings before I have to re-tune

Robjazz

**peterpanico** · 01-26-2013, 11:52 AM

just out of curiosity,about keeping the tuning,well there must be a law that says " the more they cost,the worse stay in tune.."
about my guitars,here is the chart:

1st place: the "puny" ESP LTD Tele,it does not lose the tuning,even if you abuse her (when I tried it,before buying,I compared vs Fender MIM ,same type double cost,and Squier more or less same price even though onlt S-S,and I noticed a big difference in "feeling" about overall quality, and about the hardware in general!)

2nd place (but nearly there) the Monarch and the Ibanez PM100

3rd place the Strato,but that may derive from its bridge,not a fixed one so...

4th place,and worst of all, the Gibson CS336....horrible,like all the Gibsons I had in time for that matter,they simply can't stay in tune.

**jazzimprov** · 08-26-2015, 12:31 PM

I only have a serial number;

PE3006365

Any way to find out the year?

**jazz.fred** · 08-26-2015, 01:15 PM

Hi,

It is my understanding that the Monarch 16 model is exclusive to Guitars-n-Jazz, having been designed by Lou del Rosso and built by Peerless to his spec.

Therefore, your best bet would be to contact him regarding the age of the instrument.

**jazzimprov** · 08-26-2015, 01:47 PM

I did, he said he has no way of knowing--unfortunately

**jazz.fred** · 08-26-2015, 02:30 PM

Afterthought:

Lou is a nice guy, a good musician and apparently very knowledgeable about guitars. I don't think he's much of an administrator or record keeper. His website could stand an update/overhaul and I told him so during our phone conversation last week.

Hey, ya' can't be good at everything.

**docdosco** · 08-27-2015, 12:47 PM

I emailed Peerless last night with a question about another guitar and sent this serial. I asked about it and they said they had received your email and would look it up and email you back.

Let me know if they do......

Doc Dosco

**jazzimprov** · 08-27-2015, 02:38 PM

Thanks Doc!!

I sent it too....

....see if they respond (more likely to you) :-)

...going to look at tonight after work......

..should be interesting o compare to the PM2 Ibanez