One of the best things about reviewing
gear for
Premier Guitar is
experiencing how attentive and
passionate luthiers can be.
When it comes down
to it, all of us rely on
wood and wire to
craft our tones, but
that doesn’t stop
Vigier Guitars
from trying different
approaches
to bringing those
elements together.
The French company
was one of
the first guitar
builders to use
carbon-reinforced
necks and build
a fretless electric
guitar, and they have
a history of readily
embracing new technologies
that will make their
instruments more playable.
The new G.V. Wood single-cutaway
model is very much a
product of Vigier’s evolutionary
impulses—with a fantastic array of tones
and an innovative, super-slick fretboard.
Fit for a King
Upon opening the G.V. Wood’s Hiscox
Liteflite case, I was treated to a stunning
transparent amber finish with a gorgeous
flamed-maple top. The guitar was structurally
flawless in every sense, with nary a
trace of finish marring or sloppy paintwork
anywhere. Perhaps the only thing that
came as a slightly unwelcome surprise was
that Vigier says the G.V. Wood is approximately
7.3 pounds, though the shipping
scale I used registered a slightly heftier 8.35
pounds—still, that’s not unheard of in guitars
of this style. The guitar also has a quality
set of Schaller M6 2000 locking tuners
and a zero fret that’s placed almost right up
against the Teflon nut.
The 24.8"-scale guitar’s bolt-on neck is
fashioned from hardened maple that’s been
dried naturally for three years. The neck
also features Vigier’s carbon-infused wood
construction technique—which makes
the neck 90 percent maple and 10 percent
carbon—for added strength and durability.
The fretboard is the real treat, however.
Instead of using a standard material like
rosewood or ebony, the G.V. incorporates a
material called phenowood, which is basically
birch that’s been injected with carbon
and phenolic resins. After being exposed to
intense amounts of compression and heat,
the material is virtually invincible to the
stresses that commonly plague other types
of fretboards—such as warping, cracking,
and other issues caused by moisture and
humidity changes.
The phenowood fretboard felt like a
sheet of glass under my fingertips, and
it had a smooth, clear sheen that I could
almost see my reflection in. It was pretty
obvious that Vigier was attempting to
minimize any possible sources of friction,
because the fretboard also features 22
medium-sized stainless-steel frets that are
slippery to the touch, perfectly applied, and
rounded at their edges. Getting a feel for the
G.V. Wood’s unique fretboard took some
time, though. The combination of the slick
phenowood and even slicker frets induced
several “Whoa, Nelly!” moments—especially
when I grabbed the higher strings for bends
above the 15th fret. To make sure each fretted
note—single or within a chord—was
perfectly in tune, I had to keep a close
eye on how hard I fretted and picked the
strings. For players with a more aggressive
attack, the G.V. Wood might feel a little too
hyper and precise under the fingers. On the
flip side, those with a softer touch might
never be able to let this guitar go.
The guitar’s body is a thing of beauty, too.
It’s built from aged alder and has a 2-piece
flamed-maple cap. Deep-set brass mounts
anchor a custom-designed bridge with six
graphite saddles and a small, flat stop tailpiece.
Two handwound custom humbuckers
made by Germany’s Amber Pickups are wired
for a multitude of switching options selectable
via a 5-way blade switch between the
Volume and Tone controls. Full humbucking
modes for the bridge and neck pickups can
be selected from the first, third, and fifth
switch positions (with the middle position
engaging both), while the bridge unit is coil-tapped
at the second position and the neck
pickup is coil-tapped in the fourth position.
Tone A-Go-Go
The Vigier feels like a guitar for every occasion.
Sent straight into a Mesa/Boogie Dual
Rectifier Multiwatt head and an Emperor
4x12 cabinet with four Weber C1265 speakers,
it covered an expansive tonescape, with
a high-fidelity attack and bite that left me
floored more than once. The bridge pickup
demonstrates incredible response and definition,
with serious body in the midrange and
a pleasing sag in the lows. Gingerly playing
open chords with moving bass notes revealed
an amazingly detailed high end. More aggressive
pick attack cut through with authority,
revealing nuances in the upper frequencies
that I’d never heard through the Mesa. As I
moved up and down the neck with a combination
of bluesy lead work and jazzy chording,
each note rang out forcefully but with
even volume and sustain. It was especially
nice to hear how treble detail stayed intact
as I dropped the guitar’s volume to soften
the upper mids and keep the bass response
tight and focused. The same hi-fi qualities so
plainly heard in the bridge pickup are apparent
in the neck pickup, too.
In full humbucking mode, the bridge
pickup yielded fantastic rock lead and
rhythm tones through the Mesa’s orange
channel. Flipping to the second position, the
Angus Young tones of the humbucker transformed
into dirty funk tones with a scooped
midrange and ferociously cutting treble.
I had a ball laying into Curtis Mayfieldinspired
rhythm lines in this mode.
Moving from smooth lead sounds
to sharp, ’70s-style rhythm and then to
velvety chording perfect for augmenting
blues bass lines was as easy as a flick of the
pickup-selector switch. I ended up finding
the third pickup position—both pickups
in humbucking mode—the most impressive.
A lot of dual-humbucker guitars tend
to sound hollow in this configuration, but
the G.V. Wood is not one of them. Playing
Zep-inspired riffs with both pickups at full
bore and hearing the thick, syrupy neck
tones meld with the immediate attack of
the bridge was a blast. It’s also the loudest
position of the five. But rather than a
jumbled mess of frequencies fighting, it
yields a beautiful, full-spectrum signal that’s
exceptionally responsive to touch.
The Verdict
If you’re looking for a guitar that covers an
impressive variety of tones and caters to those
with a precise touch, the Vigier G.V. Wood
is an extraordinary 6-string. Its modern
combination of a phenowood fretboard and
stainless-steel frets offers a more slippery feel
than a lot of players are accustomed to, but
chances are it’s a feature that will ultimately
enhance your technique. The pickups have
superb response and body, with a unique
sense of hi-fi detail. Touch and tone come
together beautifully in the Vigier V.G. Wood
to offer a playing experience that’s worth
every penny—if you have them to spare.
Buy if...
you relish the idea of a superbly
voiced guitar that avoids some
of the pitfalls of traditional construction
while encouraging you
to play more precisely.
Skip if...
traditional materials and greater
affordability are your thing.
Rating...
