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Average user rating 4 of 5

• colinanderson

  

  47 weeks ago.

  User rating 4 of 5

  I wasn’t familiar with “Villex” with when I first came across their SJMB “Stratocaster Passive Mid-Range Booster” in Guitarist Magazine’s August 2007 edition, but a boost circuit that didn’t need a battery was definitely worthy of further investigation regardless of the maker. A quick search of the internet confirmed that while Villex do make some aftermarket guitar pickups most of their success so far has been with products for basses; but after reading some of the reviews of their other products I gained the confidence to give this new product a go. Given the lack of impartial information about this product I found online when I was considering my purchase I thought I’d put together a detailed review to help others decide whether this product is right for them.
  First of all, the installation. In a word - simple. My understanding of electronics is almost nil, but armed with nothing more than a pair of wire strippers even I managed to clip off the old jack and strip enough bare wire to insert in the two (clearly labelled) screw-clamp terminals. I was concerned that the screw holes might not line up when I came to screw the jack socket back in to place on the body, but I needn't have worried as it all fitted snugly. It literally took me less time to install than it usually takes me to change a set of strings!
  Next - plug it in and see if my guitar still makes any sound. The thing I noticed right away was the change in jack angle. I hadn't been expecting that - the jack on the lead used to sit almost flush with the socket, but now it sticks out about 25 to 30 degrees more than it did and could potentially make the guitar susceptible to damage if the lead was knocked and pushed against the body; it would definitely bend either the socket or the jack on the lead. Not a critical issue, but given that one of the product's biggest strengths is its ability to fit transparently on to a Strat it's a little irritating. It appears that the socket has to be at that angle so that the lead doesn’t foul on the switch that’s placed above the socket, so it’s a worthwhile compromise, but if there was a way of adding the circuitry without affecting the jack angle I'd prefer that. After playing around for a while I discovered that the jack socket now accommodates a lead with an angled jack, and using that results in the lead sitting safely flush with the body again. In any case, once I connected the lead and turned up the volume I was very pleased to hear my guitar still making a sound - whew!
  Next - my tone when the circuit's off. I decided to record some samples of my Strat in each pick up position prior to changing the jack socket so I had something concrete to compare it against. There's nothing worse than changing something fundamental about your guitar (like pick-ups for example) only to realise you've no way of hearing what it sounded like before hand for comparison. One of my biggest concerns about the Villex modification wasn't actually the "on" sound, but the "off" sound. If the "off" position doesn't physically bypass the circuit then there was a real possibility there might be a noticeable change in the guitar's tone. I'm pleased to report that the circuit does use a true bypass and that the change to my guitar's tone with the circuit "off" is as close to zero as makes no odds. If I wanted to be hyper-critical I'd say there seems to be a slight (and I do mean slight) reduction in some of the very top end sparkle, which is most noticeable on the neck pickup, but I really am talking about A/Bing the two signals back-to-back. If I didn't have the original recordings to compare it with I'd say it sounds identical to how it did before the modification.
  Next - my tone when the circuit's on. Wow! What else is there to say, really? It's exactly the effect I was hoping it would be - subtle enough not to fundamentally change the character of the guitar, yet powerful enough just to push the signal in to the "hot" category, and definitely powerful enough to create that wonderful warm overdrive more characteristic of humbuckers or hot single-coils. My Strat has Kinman AVn pickups installed, which are close copies of the original pickups installed in early 50's Strats, and while they have a beautiful tone, especially for rhythm and chords, they can really lack that "punch" when you try to solo with them. Not anymore! One flick of my Villex switch and I can solo confidently - even just with an uncompressed clean tone. And by the time you add a little overdrive from the amp it sounds perfect.
  Looking at the recordings I made through my POD XT Live with and without the modification I'd say that I'm getting an average +4db boost from the circuit rather than the +7db quoted, but I certainly wouldn't criticise it for that. The boost it gives is subtle enough not to sound artificial, yet powerful enough to be instantly noticeable. There’s a marked difference between plugging in to a tube amp and plugging in to a guitar effects unit such as a POD. If anything, when plugged in to an effects unit it seems to act as a compressor rather than a traditional booster, with the peak level remaining much the same and the average level being boosted. However, when you plug in to a tube amp it’s both louder (closer to +6db boost) and boosts the peak level as well as the average. I was initially concerned that this might result in unpredictable results in gigging situations where you may not have a choice over which amp to use, but Villex have confirmed that the variability of boost will be within 0.5db regardless of the amp it’s plugged in to (presumably due to variability in the amount of power it can draw from each amp). This also goes some way to explaining the difference I observed when plugging in to an effects unit, and it’s certainly comforting when it comes to playing live. Either way, it sounds great to my ears and is a welcome addition to my Strat's sonic capabilities. Hats off to the R&D team at Villex for this mod - a booster without a battery? Next it'll be an infinite energy machine!
  In operation the switch is very conveniently positioned. It’s close enough to be easily flicked before and after a solo but far enough away not to be accidently engaged at the wrong moment. If I was going to pick a fault it would be with the operating direction of the switch. Ideally it would flick on and off in the same direction as the pickup selector (top to bottom), but in actual fact it operates from left to right and so when installed on the guitar it operates at right angles to the direction of the pickup selector. Hardly the end of the world, but just irritating enough when you’ve finished a solo and want to get back to single-coils before the rhythm section. For comparison – imagine how the pickup selector would feel if it was rotated 90 degrees. Instead of working smoothly with the flow of your hand it would be working against it. As I say, a small point, but definitely one for Villex to consider when designing the “MK II”.
  So, in summary, I'm really pleased with my purchase. At £80, it certainly wasn't an impulse purchase, but then it's not that much more than you'd pay for a decent effects pedal and it opens up a whole range of tones I wouldn't have had at my disposal before - all with one flick of a very conveniently positioned switch. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for that mythical way of turning your Strat up to 11…
  

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