For all you Vigier fans

[joe_geezer]

Paul Webb is playing some nice finger style on what looks like an original Vigier Passion?

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by joe_geezer

[Misdee]

I probably watched this the night it was on!

 

Great band, excellent bass player, lovely bass. Paul Webb was/is a tasty player, for sure.

[lidl e]

3 hours ago, joe_geezer said:

Paul Webb is playing some nice finger style on what looks like an original Vigier Passion?

 

seeing your username and the thread title, reminded me of the coolest Vigier of all time

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by lidl e

[joe_geezer]

20 minutes ago, lidl e said:

seeing your username and the thread title, reminded me of the coolest Vigier of all time

 

 

 

 

 

Haha Exactly that! Good old Geezer Butler!

[White Cloud]

Excellent...do love me a Vigier!!

[itu]

Not quite original: the headstock is black, i.e. carbon graphite i.e. series II. The first Arpege and Passion basses had wooden necks.

[joe_geezer]

Just now, itu said:

Not quite original: the headstock is black, i.e. carbon graphite i.e. series II. The first Arpege and Passion basses had wooden necks.

Ahh thank you, i was waiting for someone to confirm / correct me as I'm no expert on Vigier, just an admire! 

[ped]

17 minutes ago, itu said:

Not quite original: the headstock is black, i.e. carbon graphite i.e. series II. The first Arpege and Passion basses had wooden necks.

I might be wrong but I’m 99% sure the passion entered service with a graphite neck and never had the wooden neck/metal laminate that the Arpege had until the series II instruments. 

[ped]

The earliest Passion basses had wider horns as you can see on this bass. They narrowed them down a bit in around 1988 I think or thereabouts 

[itu]

@ped has a good point here, there has been quite a few wooden Arpeges, but Passion and wood?

[wright/watt]

Just seen this..Remember from Back in the Day!! lol🙈🙊🤣 Definitely an early Passion with a carbon neck..but most surprising to me, only two control knobs!! @ 2.42 in video.. mind you, my eyesight..Ironically enough on www.leboncoin.fr there is an early Vigier Passion Jazz as described for saleIt's Been on the market for a few years I believe? at 1000 Euros..Needs abit of touch up work to the Headstock and neck..but definitely a wooden neck as on my old Arpege series 1, plus it's a non active bass..I have thought about this a few times but cannot set up a leboncoin account, not through lack of trying, believe I need a French phone number..Fortunate to own a January 86 Passion 11 bass, and it does have as @ped our man all things Vigier😃👍👍 rightly says has wider horns and the start of the 2nd ,generation Benedetti single coil pickups..

[ped]

The two knob versions sometimes had a removable preamp module with pre set EQ so the remaining knobs are vol and balance. I’ve only ever seen a couple like this though and the system never caught on, a bit like the Nautilus preamp. 
 

The one above looks like a carbon neck to me? Can’t find it on the site, got a link? Also looks active with the para EQ as standard?

 

[ped]

Here’s an early passive one but with carbon neck still

 

https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/vigier-passion-passive/12523

[wright/watt]

Hi Ped, as per anything technical cannot upload the link from www.leboncoin.fr

of the Vigier Passion bass I mentioned ..How I ended up playing these game changing basses is a mystery to me..lol🙈🤣

[ped]

No worries, it'll definitely be graphite especially with the later pickups. Never ever seen a wooden necked series I Passion. I'll ask Patrice of they ever did them just to be sure!

[fergs40]

https://www.leboncoin.fr/instruments_de_musique/1988904642.htm

 

I think this is the LeBonCoin listing.

 

EDIT.

 

1. It does look like a wooden neck - in fact the finish at the neck/headstock join almost looks like there’s been a break. Photos aren’t very clear, though

 

2. Is posting a link to someone else’s for sale on another site for the purposes of this sort of discussion within this forum’s rules OK? Apologies and please delete if not

Edited January 7, 2023 by fergs40
Added info

[ped]

1 hour ago, fergs40 said:

https://www.leboncoin.fr/instruments_de_musique/1988904642.htm

 

I think this is the LeBonCoin listing.

 

EDIT.

 

1. It does look like a wooden neck - in fact the finish at the neck/headstock join almost looks like there’s been a break. Photos aren’t very clear, though

 

2. Is posting a link to someone else’s for sale on another site for the purposes of this sort of discussion within this forum’s rules OK? Apologies and please delete if not

Well fancy that! It does look like a wooden neck! And yeah no probs posting links to things for sale elsewhere. 

[wright/watt]

36 minutes ago, ped said:

Well fancy that! It does look like a wooden neck! And yeah no probs posting links to things for sale elsewhere. 

Think it is abit of a  rarity!😊

[ped]

Yeah I’m pretty sure it’s the first one I’ve seen. I really like the sound of the wooden necked Arpege basses I’ve had but they tend to be pretty heavy with that metal laminate and a truss rod. 

[wright/watt]

8 minutes ago, ped said:

Yeah I’m pretty sure it’s the first one I’ve seen. I really like the sound of the wooden necked Arpege basses I’ve had but they tend to be pretty heavy with that metal laminate and a truss rod. 

I hear you @ped about weight, my series 1 Arpege fretless, ALMOST the weight of a wal! though in my humble opinion so much more comfortable to play😃👍

[itu]

19 hours ago, ped said:

The two knob versions sometimes had a removable preamp module with pre set EQ so the remaining knobs are vol and balance. I’ve only ever seen a couple like this though and the system never caught on, a bit like the Nautilus preamp.

Now the two knobs are vol and preset tones. There is one pot and one switch. The switch has maybe six (?) positions and the ROM packs are inserted to a printer serial multipin connector. I have not seen many of these Passions, but played one.

 

The idea was nice but it did not fly. I do not know how many different preamp modules were produced, but they were marked with texts. That semi parametric was the most common option. I think Nautilus system was only put to an Arpege, not to Passion?

[ped]

2 minutes ago, itu said:

Now the two knobs are vol and preset tones. There is one pot and one switch. The switch has maybe six (?) positions and the ROM packs are inserted to a printer serial multipin connector. I have not seen many of these Passions, but played one.

 

The idea was nice but it did not fly. I do not know how many different preamp modules were produced, but they were marked with texts. That semi parametric was the most common option. I think Nautilus system was only put to an Arpege, not to Passion?

 

Ah I see, so it's a rotary switch - there's one for sale here https://reverb.com/item/33188518-vigier-passion-4-graphite-neck-active-bass-1986-white

 

Yes the Nautilus was Arpege only. Nearly had one a few years ago but it fell through.

[E sharp]

Are they really that much second hand now, or are they chancing it?

[ped]

3 minutes ago, E sharp said:

Are they really that much second hand now, or are they chancing it?

Reverb guy is chancing it, big time. I think a seriously nice Passion or Arpege would be £2K tops

[haimesy]

I got a Nautilus in 87 .. bought it from my Bass tutor John Currie .. it had a 19 band eq pre set .. and a thick cable that went to a foot controller , and a prism which the pre set number would be displayed .. Great bass but the cable to the foot controller was a nightmare for curling up and I had to get the weird flat batteries direct from Patrice .. Fab bass all the same .. J