Thanks for that.
The Villex pups are amazing. Massive output while remaining passive. Big lows, with a fabulous dub sound, smooth and warm, better than my Precision was with its Quarterpounders, and crisp, clear highs. You can punch through the live mix with the mid control, but I like to back the mid off a bit. You can't have the pickup volumes on full it's just mad loud, so again, I back both pickups off a bit.
I used it live a couple of nights ago, and the bass tone just filled the sound out so much more than before, even the band have commented on it being the best sounding bass I've ever had. It's not what I'd call a traditional jazz type growl, not like Lindy Fralins, but it produces a modern twist on the jazz sound, and the range of tones available is stunning, just by turning the pots a tiny bit, the sound changes a lot, so less is more when dialling up your EQ.