After installing a pair of Villex pickups to a great bass of mine (restoring the absent punch and clarity caused from the original pickups) I was really impressed with the outcome (both in terms of tone and tone shaping possibilities). So I thought of trying the
Villex Passive Booster.
The truth of the matter is that Villex pickups are not shy on the output and they don't really need a boost; on the other hand it would be nice to see the tone shaping possibilities provided with this booster.
So I went ahead and contacted Villex regarding the booster (if it would be possible to install it on a bass). I hardly ever use the tone pot myself (many of the bass players i've asked over the years they don't touch their tone pot either) so I asked Villex If I could completely remove the tone pot from the circuit (the bass still has 3 holes drilled) and replace that one with the Booster. Villex informed me that the booster can be used with the bass (just like it would be used with a guitar) and that the tone pot could be completely removed from the circuit, if I chose that. He informed me though that the treble shaping part of the Villex circuit would not be available (once the tone pot was removed the tone would be like being fully open) but the mid-control would be fully functional.
So I went ahead and replaced the tone pot with the Villex Passive Booster. If replacing the original pickups and circuit with the Villex p/ups and pots was easy, then replacing the tone pot with the four position rotary booster was 10 times easier.
It's a
four position rotary booster. On the by-pass position the bass was the same great bass as before. When I engaged the first position there was a subtle yet noticable boost of mids and lows. The sound became a little louder and thicker without loosing the original character. Positions 2 and 3 gradually increase the amount of boost more but the boost never goes into extreme or unmusical territory. The Mid-control is fully functional and I was really impressed with the tone pallete that was in front of me, provided by one single PASSIVE instrument!!!
I tried the bass with a band that has a very diverse playlist (acoustic numbers, AOR, reggae, heavy, swing, disco etc). I hardly needed to touch the boost most of the times. eg in acoustic numbers I'd use the brigde p/up w/ the mid-control to tame the mids and then go back to full mids on the loud numbers. Did I mention the Villex p/ups have good output? guess I have
But when I needed a sweet singing fingerstyle tone, make a passage stand out a bit more , or I needed to play the D and G strings way up high in the neck, the booster was heaven. It thickened the sound without making it muddy, indistinct or annoyingly loud. The best thing? It's TOTALLY PASSIVE!!!! (battery-free)
If I had a bass with a decent to great tone but with weak to medium output, I'd consider replacing the tone pot with a Villex booster (not on a vintage bass though). It's cheaper and easier than replacing the pickups, needs no modification, does not change the character of the bass on the by-pass position (unlike pickups replacing) and it's totally reversible (I doubt that anyone will ever want to remove it once he/she listens to it). Even on the 3 boost positions the bass retains it's character.
I am trully amazed.
