NBD - Well-travelled Vigier Excess

[fergs40]

This is quite a long post, so do feel free to skip to the pictures below…

 

So, as I’m sure we often tell ourselves, I really didn’t mean to buy this. No, really. But I’m very pleased I did.

 

I was on the Ishibashi Music website (looking for something completely different) and this presented itself at a very reasonable price. I’ve never bought an instrument from so far flung a seller (I’m in Ireland), so was a bit trepidatious. But I knew many on here had been down this route before, so I pressed ahead and of course it wasn’t really any more complicated than buying from a local seller.

 

A couple of days later I got a shipping notification, and a couple of days after that a text message from An Post asking me to pay the import duty (really just 23% VAT plus a small processing fee). So I paid that and sat back to wait for delivery.

 

And then An Post did a strange thing - they sent the bass back to Japan.

 

We still don’t know why they did that. The best explanation I have had from them is that there must have been something wrong with the import paperwork (in which case, why ask me for the import duties?), but they haven’t said what that was, and neither Ishibashi nor Japan Post (who did investigate on Ishibashi’s behalf) have been able to get to the bottom of it.

 

To their credit, Ishibashi were wonderful, and readily agreed to try sending the bass again (they could just have refunded me and left it at that). They were understandably reluctant to re-send the bass via Japan Post/An Post when we were no wiser about why it had been returned, so this time they sent it by DHL, a more expensive option for them, at no extra charge to me over what I’d already paid.

 

This time it got through (albeit I had to pay a second set of import duties, though I’m still hopeful of getting the first lot back), and it turned up yesterday.

 

And what a great instrument it is. Ishibashi reckon it’s a 2003 model. I know the early Excesses had a pick guard, which obviously this doesn’t, but it does have the single 9v preamp, so I’m wondering if it’s some sort of transition model between the first Excesses and the later 18v models. It’s got some light scratches as you’d expect on a bass of its age, the recess round the jack socket is a bit of a mess (which I guess is just inherent in the design and the result of years of trying to locate the socket with a jack plug) and some of the chrome is looking a bit tired, but no major dings and from a few feet away it looks mint.

 

There was an odd buzz (really more of a ‘zinging’) on the open E and G strings when I first tuned it up which caused a few nervous moments (have I bought a lemon? Is it going back to Japan - again?). I eventually traced it to these strings sitting too high in the nut/string guide and buzzing gently against the zero fret - a couple of minutes work with a file on the slots sorted it out. Never come across that before, and Ishibashi say they put EXL165s on it, which aren’t madly heavy strings, so all a bit odd. All of the grub screws which lock in the intonation on the bridge were also completely backed off, so I guess maybe there was a bit of a rattle from them too. Anyway, all quiet now!

 

I’m not convinced the preamp is the original (I’ll do a thread in technical to ask about that), but the sounds that come out of it are fantastic in their range and quality, and the playability is, of course excellent. The neck is noticeably chunkier than that on my Passion III (to be fair, every other bass I have has a chunkier neck than the Passion…), but very easy to get around. I’d like the action a little lower but the A saddle is bottomed out, so will look at shimming at some point I expect. When I find the luggage scales I’ll tell you what it weighs - somewhere just north of 4kg I’d guess.

 

Anyway, I’m delighted.

 

Some pictures:

 

Edited November 20 by fergs40
Tidying up formatting

[Madein1962]

"I’m not convinced the preamp is the original (I’ll do a thread in technical to ask about that)"

 

For comparison, you can take a look at parts.vigierguitars.com

This is a company that was founded by Patrice Vigier, I believe.

It sells genuine replacement parts and has both a 2 and 3 band EQ listed for the Excess.

 

[fergs40]

49 minutes ago, Madein1962 said:

For comparison, you can take a look at parts.vigierguitars.com

This is a company that was founded by Patrice Vigier, I believe.

It sells genuine replacement parts and has both a 2 and 3 band EQ listed for the Excess.

Thanks @Madein1962 - I had a look and unfortunately the 2 band preamp they list there (https://www.parts.vigierguitars.com/en/electronic/265-vigier_parts_excess_4_electronic_2_bands_eq.html) is for humbuckers (mine are single coils) and I suspect it's also 18v where mine is 9v. It's also out of stock, so everything is conspiring against me! But thank you anyway!

[LukeFRC]

 If you post photos of the preamp @sifi2112 had/has a similar model

[Hellzero]

Yours is a bit older (2002) than announced and the 9 Volts preamp seems totally correct (I had a few over the years and the early ones were always in 9 Volts). 😉

 

Check this: https://reverb.com/item/40680229

 

Or this: https://reverb.com/item/14878269

 

[Hellzero]

Just saw the non original Bartolini preamp in your other thread...