Vigier Guitars
Encyclopedia
History
1978: Patrice Vigier sets up as an independent luthier.1980: Exhibits at his first music show in Paris introducing the Arpege series and the following:
A/ Trapezoid through body neck
B/ Metallic reinforcement under the fretboard
C/ Creation of a fretless guitar with a metallic fretboard:
D/ Electronic supply by accumulator
E/ Through body Anchor Bridge
1982: Creation of a ball bearing Vibrato and the first memory guitar incorporating a processor (Nautilus System).
First use of cellulose impregnated with a phenolic resin to make fingerboards. The company will call it Phenowood.
1983: The Passion series is revealed. An Arpege guitar with a flat fingerboard is made to fit Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
's way of playing, the action of the string is set very low (0.5mm)
1984: Release of a carbon fibre neck guitar and a guitar including a ROM memory.
1985: The Marilyn series is presented.
1989: Creation of the carbon reinforced neck (90/10).
1991: The Excalibur series is revealed, with a bolt-on Neck, as well as the Floyd Rose Vibrato
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
pivoting on needle bearings.
1996: The Excess Bass is released and an active noise reducer for the pickups appears.
1998: 18 years after the first fretless guitar
Fretless guitar
A fretless guitar is a guitar without frets. It operates in the same manner as most other stringed instruments and traditional guitars, but does not have any frets to act as the lower end point of the vibrating string...
, the Surfreter is introduced.
1999: Creation of the reinforced Zero Fret. Thanks to Bumblefoot, the fretless guitar starts to sell worldwide; in the 18 years prior Vigier had sold only one.
2000: The 7 string Excalibur hits the market. The Expert is also released, featuring 3 single-coil pickups. For the 20th anniversary, a special guitar is created, decorated with gold and jewels for a value of 30,000 euros.
2001: A new Excalibur is released featuring the 2010 vibrato; a non-locking tremolo system pivoting on needle bearings.
2003: At the Frankfurt Musikmesse, a guitar is presented incorporating a Midi system to control the pickup selector, volume and tone controls. It was never to be released, since Vigier never approved the final version.
2005: The Excalibur Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane was an American musician. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas when he was just fourteen years old....
is built with a flat radius and becomes the guitar with the lowest action offered on the market.
2006: The Roger Glover
Roger Glover
Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
signature bass and the Bumblefoot signature guitar are unveiled. New features also appear: a new strap button with secured endpin and heavier locking tuners that increases sustain.
2007: The Excalibur Indus and Excalibur Special are made available in a left-handed version.
2008: New improved version of the Marilyn guitar.
2009: Introduction of the first Vigier single cutaway, the G.V.. G.V. are the initials of Georges Vigier that died in 2007. The name has been chosen after a vote made on the manufacture web site by the public.
2010: Introduction of the Flexretainer that replace the traditional string tree located on the head of the guitar. The Flexretainer is flexible and therefore eliminates any friction while using the tremolo. The result is a better stability.
This system was first introduced at NAMM in January 2010 on the new Excalibur Kaos.
During the same show a new Excess 5 string was also presented.
Notable Vigier players
- Geezer ButlerGeezer ButlerGeezer Butler is an English musician and songwriter. Butler is best known as the bassist and lyricist of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was also involved in Heaven & Hell from 2006 to 2010.-Career:Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, with old friend John "Ozzy" Osbourne in the autumn of...
(Black SabbathBlack SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
) - BucketheadBucketheadBrian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
- Adam ClaytonAdam ClaytonAdam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965...
(U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
) - Roger GloverRoger GloverRoger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
(Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
) - Stanley JordanStanley JordanStanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
- Shawn LaneShawn LaneShawn Lane was an American musician. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas when he was just fourteen years old....
- Gary MooreGary MooreRobert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
- Ron Thal (Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
) - Dave SturtDave SturtDave Sturt is an English bassist and record producer.-Musical career:Sturt began playing bass guitar and recording at the age of 17...
(Bass only) (Jade WarriorJade Warrior (band)Jade Warrior are a British group that were formed in 1970, originally evolving out of a band named July. The founding members were Tony Duhig , Jon Field and Glyn Havard...
) - Patrice GuersPatrice GuersPatrice Guers is the former bassist of the Italian symphonic metal band Rhapsody of Fire. He joined the band after Alessandro Lotta left the band and performed with them until 2011, when he departed with guitarist Luca Turilli. He started playing bass at the age of fourteen and he started lessons...
(RhapsodyRhapsody of FireRhapsody of Fire is an Italian symphonic power metal band led by Alex Staropoli. Since forming in 1993, the band has released eight studio albums, one live album, two EPs, and a live DVD...
)