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Problem with Villex tone control

Daniel Elliott

Daniel Elliott

Jul 27, 2002
987
11
58
Sacramento, CA
#1
I have a Villex pickup with the passive mid and treble control in my bass which sounds great when it works. The mid tone control just randomly stops working. I tried using contact cleaner on the pots. I haven't resoldered it yet, but I'm skeptical that would be the problem. Generally when there is bad soldering the signal cuts in and out, but in this case the signal is not interrupted, the tone control just doesn't have any effect. But after a few days, it'll start working again.

Help:confused:
 
#5
Does it change if you turn the bass at a certain angle?

If the mid control stops working (i.e. sounds the same as if it were turned all the way up) and if you've verified that all your solder connections are correct, then it may be a problem with the internal circuit in the pickup, or you may have a bad wire in the cable.

The former would need to be fixed by William Villex. The latter can be somewhat tested with a multimeter. If necessary you may need to replace the cable, up to the point where it leaves the pickup housing.

The other thing you can try (temporarily) is using a toggle switch instead of a potentiometer. This will effectively give you two settings: midrange full on, or midrange all the way scooped. If this is still problematic then you've eliminated the potentiometer as the problem.
 
#7
well I resoldered everything and now the mid tone control works again, but that was intermittent to begin with so we'll see if it goes out again.

There is a new problem or maybe I just didn't notice it before. when the volume knob gets close to full power there is an audible click and then it get's significantly louder rather than a gradual increase. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
 
#12
I have two Modulus VJ's with Villex system's and the volume controls on both basses do the same thing as what you have just noticed since your repair. It's nothing to be worried about but if it bothers you that much you may want to, I think it's a difference of the pots being audio taper or linear taper. I'm not sure which ones are being used in this system but it could be worth looking into. I wish I could help you with your tone control issue. Good luck with it.
 
#14
Joe verified that the pots and wiring are all good. He pulled the pickup and sent it back to Villex. The guy at Villex said he would not replace the pickup even though it was defective. He want's $100 to replace it. I'm not willing to give him more money so consequently I will not be purchasing another Villex product EVER.

I'm considering putting a Delano pickup in there instead.
 
#19
It has had the same problem from the very beginning. It is an intermittant problem and has gradually gotten worse. I don't know what else to say. It's not like it has any moving parts or anything. So the pickup is only guaranteed to work for a couple of years and then you're on your own?

If the pickup is not the problem, the pot is not the problem and the wiring is not the problem, then there is nothing left to be defective.

I love the sound of it and I love the passive mid control, but I need it to be reliable.
 

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