Villex P/J pickups with StellarTone ToneStyler - your thoughts?

[TimBosby]

So, I used to own a bass with a custom Villex pickup (it was an Ibanez SRX400) with a special mid-tone control. The pickup absolutely smoked.

I'm working on another project bass in my head and I'm thinking I have too many J basses so it'll probably be a P/J. I am thinking the Villex P/J set with the stacked J humbucker would be sweet. It's rather expensive ($250 for the pickup set) but I think it should be worth it.

Some questions

1) In a Villex pickup SET does EACH pickup come with a mid-tone control or is it just one pot for the pair? Ideally I'd like only three holes drilled in the body but I could probably do 4. Was thinking stacked vol/vol, mid(villex) and tone.

2) How loud are these compared to an active preamp? I recall my custom Villex p'up being pretty loud and I was able to toss out the preamp altogether but I can't really remember. All my basses are active so that's what I'm used to but I really want to go straight passive on this one - even if it is passive on steroids.

Thinking of adding a StellarTone tone pot for more tone control in the treble/bass. I figure the Villex gives some nice mid controls, why not add the Stellartone in conjunction. I figure this would be the most tone control possible while remaining passive. Thoughts?

[fullrangebass]

Hi Tim

I am NOT affiliated with Villex electronics in any way (only as their most demanding customer probably), but I think I can answer the questions

1) There is only ONE (1) mid-control per pickup set (let it be 1, 2 or 3!!! Villex pickups on the instrument). But that mid control works in every pickup selection. The concentric vol/vol, mid, tone is a very useful outlay of controls.

2) The output of Villex pickups compares to the output of an active preamp (but no battery involved ). The output along with the tonal pallete offered made me remove the preamps from all Villex loaded basses of mine.

The most usedful addition to the above mentioned configuration was the addition of the PRTB (replacing the tone pot). The StellarTone allows for fine-tuning the tone pot function, while the PRTB removes highs and boosts lows and low-mids
http://www.villex.com/images/booster_graph.gif
Thing of the "basic" Villex tonal pallete (quite extended) expanded 4 times.

I do not live on the hype of graphs and internet; I use my ears and the PRTB delivers!!!

YMMV etc

[TimBosby]

Thank you again, sir, your responses are always helpful!

I was going to mention the PRTB - so basically, when you turn it counter-clockwise, it removes "brightness" (like a tone pot) while simultaneously boosting lows and low-mids (unlike a tone pot)? And when you turn it clockwise, it adds "brightness" while removing lows and low-mids? Is that correct?

[fullrangebass]

The most counter-clockwise position is hard-wired bypass, like the PRTB was never installed

There are another 3 positions that involve gradual removal of highs while gradually boosting low mids and mids. This does not interfere with the mid-pot function, so one can achieve a multitude of tones (the "basic" expanded tonal pallete, times three)

The effect on the tone is as descrided, more or less, but one needs to hear to fully realize what can be achieved through such a "simple" (yet fully passive) approach

[TimBosby]

Sounds awesome... I'll probably check that out.

[fullrangebass]

I have a bass that I incorporate vol/vol/mid-control/tone/PRTB and I can tell you that I have not heard the whole of the tonal spectrum yet

[Kabal]

Originally Posted by fullrangebass

The most usedful addition to the above mentioned configuration was the addition of the PRTB (replacing the tone pot). The StellarTone allows for fine-tuning the tone pot function, while the PRTB removes highs and boosts lows and low-mids
http://www.villex.com/images/booster_graph.gif
Thing of the "basic" Villex tonal pallete (quite extended) expanded 4 times.

So does this mean that the StellarTone and the PRTB are incompatible? Or that you need a tone pot for the Stellar to work and the PRTB is just another world of tonal goodness?

[TimBosby]

The Stellar and PRTB each have a tone pot built into them, I believe.

Either the Stellar or PRTB can replace your existing tone pot. I think.

[fullrangebass]

The PRTB is very different to the StelarTone.

The PRTB boosts the low mid and low output of the pickups while altering the tone (removing highs), while the StelarTone removes different frequencies of highs (depending on the position). I suppose they can function together, but they are really apples and oranges. IMHO the StelarTone replaces the tone pot, while the PRTB can replace the tone opt OR function along with the tone pot (yes the PRTB is another three levels of tonal goodness along with the original tones provided)