Villex MusicMan Replacement

[Ezbass]

Anyone out there have any experience with the Villex MM replacement? I'm thinking of replacing the p/up and circuit in my SUB for something passive, but with more flexibilty than a normal passive circuit. I've done a search but couldn't find any opinions of this particular product. Any help or guidance gratefully received.

[russjm]

Yeah, having had Villex jazz pups in my jazz for some time, and absolutely LOVING them, I decided to order a musicman version to drop into my OLP Tony Levin as an upgrade.

However, I must admit to being a bit underwhelmed by the result.

The jazz pups have a MASSIVE output, almost active like power, but the MM version doesn't have the same punch at all. It's actually a precision style split coil under the MM style cover, so it's a kind of P bass type of sound you get, but in my case, certainly lacking some spark. Maybe the addition of the mid boost control would help, maybe my tech wired it up wrong, I don't know, but I'm thinking of swapping it out for a Nordstrand instead.

Hope that helps.

[Ezbass]

Originally Posted by russjm

Yeah, having had Villex jazz pups in my jazz for some time, and absolutely LOVING them, I decided to order a musicman version to drop into my OLP Tony Levin as an upgrade.

However, I must admit to being a bit underwhelmed by the result.

The jazz pups have a MASSIVE output, almost active like power, but the MM version doesn't have the same punch at all. It's actually a precision style split coil under the MM style cover, so it's a kind of P bass type of sound you get, but in my case, certainly lacking some spark. Maybe the addition of the mid boost control would help, maybe my tech wired it up wrong, I don't know, but I'm thinking of swapping it out for a Nordstrand instead.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that, I knew that it was a P p/up under the covers (one of the reasons it appeals to me as they'll do a reverse P config if required) but sad to hear your underwhelming experience. Having said that a negative tale is just as useful as a positive one at the moment.