Villex Thread

[billoetjen]

Hey,
This goes out to other Villex fanboys.
There still seems to be some mystery surrounding this brand. It's no mystery with me, but for the sake of everyone else, why not put your comments/observations up here?
Comparisons between single coils and humbuckers; mid control; rotary passive booster....

Bill

[fullrangebass]

I can only say that I've bought and tried most of what is out there in terms of pickups and electronics. Having tried all these things head to head (side by side), I have to say that Villex is the best kept secret in the world of pickups and electronics.

My .02

[bassrique]

Running a series/parallel switch is no problem with a Villex J/J configuration I hope?

I'm talking about the 3-band EQ version that still isn't on the website. What's up with that?

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Running a series/parallel switch is no problem with a Villex J/J configuration I hope?

I'm talking about the 3-band EQ version that still isn't on the website. What's up with that?

Was this a dumb question?

[Human Bass]

No,no. There is a thread dedicated to the new Villex system...I will try to find it.

[Human Bass]

New Villex Pickups and Passive EQ

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Human Bass

New Villex Pickups and Passive EQ

That thread is why I mad this post. I have archived the hell out of anything Villex here. I'm still not getting it though.

Originally Posted by fullrangebass

so I asked Villex if I could use a 4 position rotary switch instead

Does that mean that I can't blend Villex Jazz pickups [V/V]?

With the rotary switch, is it ON/OFF, OFF/ON or ON/ON?

Forgive me for being so slow on this.

[fullrangebass]

I have wired the two NVT pickups to a Dingwall 4 pos rotary switch and the results are fantastic (even though I can't get into the great fine-tuning blending territory, but that is MY choice; Villex allows for a very active-like blending approach, even though they are passive)

The positions are: bridge, parallel, series, neck.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by fullrangebass

I have wired the two NVT pickups to a Dingwall 4 pos rotary switch and the results are fantastic (even though I can't get into the great fine-tuning blending territory, but that is MY choice; Villex allows for a very active-like blending approach, even though they are passive)

The positions are: bridge, parallel, series, neck.

My questions were worded incorrectly, but you still got to the heart of the matter. Thank you.

Tell me, when the Villex Jazz pups are wired in series, is the sound fat enough to approximate the Precision sound?

And is it possible in this world to have the parallel/series option as well as blend?

[m.oreilly]

you might just call mr villex and ask him...

[fullrangebass]

Mr Villex will tell you to go for vol/vol (rightfully so)

[DaveAceofBass]

Originally Posted by bassrique

My questions were worded incorrectly, but you still got to the heart of the matter. Thank you.

Tell me, when the Villex Jazz pups are wired in series, is the sound fat enough to approximate the Precision sound?

And is it possible in this world to have the parallel/series option as well as blend?

I'm not sure that it is. Most pickups have four wire leads, Villex has only three. I'm not sure about the new 3-band ones though. William Villex will answer all your questions. I would go with a split coil pickup if you want a P sound. Villex makes great pickups!

[billoetjen]

Hi,
I just played another outdoor gig with my Villex p/j equipped 4 string and was reminded again of the stupendous emphasis on the fundamental. I like a bottom-heavy tone, and usually cut the mids.
But two songs in to the first set I had to boost the "contour" control on my Ampeg BA115HPT one step up in the mids. Two songs later, I had to take it up one additional step.... That helped balance out. Having that much fundamental helps because it gives me more on my palette to work with.
Bill

[fullrangebass]

Originally Posted by DaveAceofBass

I'm not sure that it is. Most pickups have four wire leads, Villex has only three. William Villex will answer all your questions. I would go with a split coil pickup if you want a P sound. Villex makes great pickups!

I do not remember Villex pickups having 3 leads But I could be wrong

[Aram]

Hi, happy Labor Day wknd everyone!

I meant to start a thread like this because I recently put a Villex setup into my Ibanez BTB 1006e. The Bart setup wasn't doing it for me for some time, even though I do like Barts...I think this set had lost its magnetism or something.

Anyway, I'm absolutely psyched with the way these pickups sound. They kind of remind me the first time I played through Bergantino and Epifani cabs...all of a sudden a lot more of the spectrum was represented. In fact, I played a gig with my Bergie HT210, and the sound was the fullest I've ever experienced....and PERFECT for that gig, which was bluesey acoustic rock.

I generally play with the mid knob all the way up, and hover around the bridge pickup (that's just my most typical sound), but I've also gotten an amazing electric upright / Rob Allen tone by scooping the mid knob and favoring the neck pickup or both pickups on full. I find the mid knob responds a lot like an 'enhance' knob on a lot of amps, but inversely (ie, turning it all the way up would be like keeping the enhance knob all the way down), and this sounds way more natural than any enhance knob I've ever used.

Here are some very quick comparisons to my other basses:

Fender Geddy Lee with Bart split coil J-style pickups: The Barts definitely sounded thinner and weaker compared to the Villex. I'm still keeping the Barts in the Geddy, though, b/c it does have a barky character that I use sometimes (probably also due to the alder/maple combo). Also, I don't think it's possible to run vol - blend - mid/tone stacked with the Villex, which I would need for the Geddy. I can get more of a Jaco tone from the Geddy at this point too, but I think a lot of that has to do with the Alder body, as opposed to the Mahogany/Rosewood Ibanez.

Nordstrand NJ6 Deluxe with Dual Coils wired in Series: This is actually not a fair comparison because the Nordstrand pickups are dual coil (as opposed to the Villex which are split coil), and also carry a way higher price tag. The Nordstrand DC's in series are the only ones in that line that work for me because of their over the top midrange which is great in a chordal jazz setting (think Richard Bona-type sound). I couldn't quite coax the midrange I was able to get with the Nordstrand DC's, although it was pretty damn close. The output is slightly lower on the Villex, again because they're not dual coil. Overall, I like the Nordstrand better for jazz, and the Villex way better for everything else (although the Villex obviously works just fine for jazz too at the end of the day).

Spector Euro 4-string with EMG P/J: This was tough to get a comparison because of the massive difference in gain...the EMGs are EFFING loud. I was surprised when I first tried a Euro that I actually do like the EMG sound. Of my basses, the Villex is most similar to the EMGs with blend and mid centered, and the tone knob all the way up. However, I absolutely HATE the Tone Pump preamp, and the bass is too heavy, so I will probably be upgrading that bass to the Villex system as well. I use the Spector and Ibanez basses for the same band, and switching between the two is not really that feasible given the high output of the Spector, so the Villex should compensate for that as well.

Again, I am VERY impressed with the Villex setup, and I look forward to putting more mileage on them. The midrange knob in conjunction with traditional blending between pickups really offers a TON of usable tones -- even the extreme mid-cut which I would typically never use has that great EUB tone. I will be recording with my band in a couple weeks and plan to use both my six strings. I'll post the tunes for everyone once the recordings are done, and add any additional thoughts as I play some more on the Villex.

[Dirk Diggler]

Well I had a customer that was interested in a set for a custom build and after several emails with no response I gave up. If I can't at least get an email in response then they get none of my business, despite how good they are supposed to be. The other major companies had no problem and contacted me very quickly.
I just wanted to pass on my personal experience, sorry to derail the conversation.
Dirk
p.s. I have heard nothing but good things about them, it really is a shame.

[fullrangebass]

Hi Dirk. I am not affiliated with Villex in any other way but as a very demanding customer. From what I know, Mr Villex had his PC failing on him 2 times over (in a matter of few months) and that caused a loss of many data (this includes some email replies). He respects both his work as well as anyone who contacts him (been a customer for few years now so I know a thing or two). The other thing is to call him up. He will answer your questions and let you know of the steps need to be taken for any purchase (the email is the proper way but sometimes servers or junk filters can shred emails into nothing, plus the PC failure issue). Not defending Mr Villex, just stating my experience and alternatives

[Aram]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

Well I had a customer that was interested in a set for a custom build and after several emails with no response I gave up. If I can't at least get an email in response then they get none of my business, despite how good they are supposed to be. The other major companies had no problem and contacted me very quickly.
I just wanted to pass on my personal experience, sorry to derail the conversation.
Dirk
p.s. I have heard nothing but good things about them, it really is a shame.

That's weird to me, I've had nothing but great customer service, which has included multiple emails and phone calls (even on holiday weekends).

[Dirk Diggler]

Well interestingly I received a message from William, wow I'm impressed in his desire to provide service. I totally understand the perils of email and how things can happen with spam and machine issues and certainly hold no grudge at all and it looks like there will be Villex pickups in my future builds.

Now I can see why there is such a fanatic following and the reactions to my previous post.

Oh yeah by the way I also have to mention William contacted me twice today on the Labor Day holiday. How cool is that?

You have to love TB and it's ability to help in communications, even ones that seemed to have ended badly.

Thanks guys,
Dirk

[billoetjen]

Hi,

Every inquiry I've made to William, no matter how goofy, has been promptly and respectfully answered. There may be some language differences, but the guy has been 110%. In my experience. I was VERY surprised to see any negative comments about customer service.

Bill