Seems I've missed a lot since the days I was really active on this forum.
I'm a bit broken-hearted to learn that the Villex pickups aren't available on Railboards anymore; I'm absolutely in love with mine and I would have no hesitation recommending it to anyone.
So...does anyone have any comparison notes between the Villex and the EMG pickups? What's different in the tone? What's similar? And, heaven forbid my Villex ever need replacement, will the EMG's fit into the R-Block the same? Looking at photos on Stick.com it looks like there would be no problem, but looks of course can be deceiving.

I would say the EMG is a little "fuller" in the mids, and R-Block a little "heavier" in the bass.

The modules are exactly the same size and can be easily interchanged.

I just made the swap on my Railboard. They were pretty easy to change out. I have to say I like the EMGs a lot better personally. The sound is so much warmer and fuller to my ears. I LOVE the way my stick sounds now. The difference is more than subtle. It's just my personal preference and impression.

Any idea if or when the EMG will be available for the grand Railboard?

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

I ended up ordering an EMG R-Block, which is now on my Railboard.
What pushed me over the edge was an issue that popped up after trying to clean the original R-Block. After removing the pot knobs and rear covers, I sprayed electronics cleaner in several places. After reassembly, I noticed that the bass side wasn't as loud as the melody side anymore. Also, even with the volume knob all the way down, I could still hear bass notes.
So the new EMG is on there, and I do like how it sounds very much. I also like the simpler tone controls.
However, I'm going to miss the gorgeous sound of the original R-Block in active mode, so I'm going to see if SE can fix the original.