Villex

It seems I'm not the only one taking the plunge for Villex... I ordered a set of 7 string pickup from him (there not installed yet). I received the same diagram... odd looking isn't it?

take care
PL

 

Are they available in soapbar or MM-style configurations?

 

i too got my villex pj set courtesy of matt. so what do you think of them? i currently have 'em on my warwick stage 1 (with extra light guage la bella flatwounds which i wanted to test, but don't like, so now i'm going back to my beloved elixir nanoweb super light guage; incidently, if anyone reads this and wants to buy a brand new set of 760fx la bella flats at a decent price, let me know).

once i get the nanos back on i'll be able to make a more proper evaluation. but for now i'm amazed at the sound. the villex are repacing emgs, which i liked the clear deep piano sound of, but not the electronic attitude. i always liked the response of passive pickups, and these villex have that in spades, plus some strange kind of active-like quality to them that's hard to pinpoint. in fact, the lows are almost too low - and this with extra light guage strings! - but this may be tempered once i go back to the nanos.

as regards the mid and high tone controls, it's true, a variety of sounds are available, and it sounds like they interact with each other, so having the high tone half way down, for example, and gradually reducing the mid control will not only affect the mids but the highs as well. looking at the installation diagram it appears as though even the two volume pots interact with each other and the with the two tone controls in this manner. wierd!

also strange is that tapping on the pickups themselves produces almost no noise, this with the volume full blast. hmmm. there's also no noise from the pickups at all. it's an odd sensation to hear these piercing, active sounding highs without any electronic buzz. also, let me tell you, reducing the highs just a bit, and reducing the mids all the way produces one of the best modern slap sounds i have heard. playing over a pickup itself accentuates the quality of that pickup. for example, playing over the bridge pickup really clarifies and nasals the tone. i should also mention that the j pickup is extremely loud, no output anemia there. turning both pickups up produces a sound somewhat like that of the millenium falcon when it flys slowly across the screen. you know, that sustained, noble, magnificent, rumbling holler.

 

So they are passive?

forgive my stupidity.

 

So do the Villex PUs work well with preamps, or does that sort of kill their thang?

 

I'm sooo glad I found this thread. I am considering Villex as an option in an FBB. I love passive sound and active sound but when I read about these things they really sounded interesting.

I did think tho that using a preamp with it was not the point.

So how are you liking them so far ?

I am either hoing with the nordstrand pups and U-Retro or the Villex.

THoughts ?

 

I'd go with the Nordstrand's
Just kidding, go with what you think will work best for you.

I should mention though that the mid control is not a new thing entirely. It may be new to the world of bass pickups, but John Suhr has been doing it for years on his guitars.
It's actually a pretty simple circuit, at least the way Suhr does it. It's simply an inductor, like an air coil, in series with a capacitor across a pot to ground.
I can't tell from the schematic what the Villex is doing, but it's very interesting. I'll have to try a set some day.

 

Carey, you are a shameless salesman...

what do you think of the U-retro with you pups ? Actually, what preamp are you using in your basses ?

 

Don,
I use the OBP-3. I think it makes for a great fingerstyle tone with lot's of flexibility.
I have not tried the U-Retro with my pickups, but I'd imagine it also would be a pretty powerful and flexible setup.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the innovation of these Villex pickups is that there is some kind of magnetic circuit that gives the pickups enough midrange punch to make a passive mid cut worthwhile. Is Suhr doing the same thing, or does he just add a passive mid cut to his own stock pickups?

 

Matt,

Suhr doen't make his pickups any different. The circuit is most effective on a Strat with a neck pickup setting for a scoopy rhythm tone.

Now you've got me really curious to figure out what Villex is doing. What do you mean by "magnetic circuit"?

David,
How much for the set? PM me a price.

 

Carey -

William Villex told me this via email:

"Magnetic circuit inside of pickup which interacts with sensor coil making it more or less sensitive to mid frequencies."

This is about as verbose as William Villex will get. I'm sure he's perfectly happy with none of us knowing what goes on inside his pickups. You can see in the wiring diagram that black is output, and then there are the yellow and red feedback lines that make David's head hurt.

 

Hmmmm... very interesting.
I'm just naturally curious, and I really dig this kind of stuff.
I guess I'll have to give the system a try...