MNY

I don’t know if you have heard this track but Rob Mullarkey is totally killing it here. What a wonderful player. Fabulous octave sound on this from the Cog pedal.

Garrett Sayers is a total monster. One of THE modern funk players.

More from the fabulous Jarrod Lawson.

Another relatively unknown artist who has produced a couple of cracking albums, this is from his debut.

Not especially well known but a real gem of an album.

Not especially well known but a real gem of an album.

I wouldn’t worry about the slight marking in the neck. Cort know what they are doing when it comes to building what are arguably some of the best value for money basses and guitars on the planet. Just enjoy playing your new bass.

@thodrik you’re welcome. Thank you. I hope in some way the story was as interesting as the bass.

Hello All, My Vigier story is quite an unusual one. Some years ago not long after I first started to play bass I tracked down a JD Supernatural to a shop in Birkenhead called Fusion Music. I hadn’t ever seen one in the flesh let alone had the opportunity to buy one, despite them becoming popular off the back of the success of Level 42. I remember travelling with my Dad over the water from Wigan to view and purchase the said JD. Whilst we were in the shop looking at the bass which was on a shelf about 10 feet in the air, we got chatting to a French gentleman who had several flight cases with him. I believe this was early 80’s and may even have been Mr.Vigier himself looking to set up a UK dealer network. He showed me a Vigier Passion bass which I vaguely remember being a red/orange burst. The bass definitely had a full graphite neck and I do remember him eschewing the virtues of the bass for slap styles. I could have bought the bass off him for around the same price as the JD just under £700, but frankly I had no idea what I was looking at. I ended up buying the JD which looking back I probably loved because it was played by Mark King. It was an ok bass but went in trade for a Status a couple of years later. I bet if I’d bought the Vigier I would have saved myself a few quid swapping basses. Not being much of a handy man I have always found myself getting frustrated when having to mess about adjusting truss rods and bridge saddles, I know some folks like it but to me it’s a chore and a waste of playing time. Over the past few weeks I have struggled with the changing temperatures and even though my basses were stored in a stable environment their necks were definitely moving, practically every day. In my frustration I started to look at basses with more stable necks like Spector and Dingwall and came across a shop in Blackburn that had a couple of Vigier basses in stock. From there the research started. I literally scoured the internet and read as much as I could about the brand including several threads on this very site. I couldn’t find any negativity at all (apart from one absurd review in an online bass magazine which slated the build quality and lack of truss rod). After a chat with my lovely long suffering and ever reasonable wife I despatched myself off to Warwick to visit the brilliant Bass Direct to view the only stock Passion bass I could find in the UK. A beautiful blue 5 string. On the snowy drive down I tried to convince myself it was maybe too expensive, it was a 5 string (I haven’t ever kept one for a long period) I should look at other guitars including some Sadowskys, Mayones and maybe the stunning Haynes bass they have in stock. On arrival I was presented with an incredibly beautiful Vigier bass to try through a Genzler rig similar to my own and from there it was game over. I could have bought half of the basses in the shop for what I was going to shell out for the Vigier, minus the p/ex on my own basses of course. Needless to say I didn’t even look at the extensive range of drool worthy items on display. Initial impressions are very positive. The sound is not really what I am I used to hearing having played wooden necked Jazz bass variants in the main with a couple of exceptions, but it’s a really amazing tone especially with both pickups engaged, when it seems to have a real growl. This is my favourite setting for both finger playing and slap. I have been worried about the low B but I needn’t have been, not only does it sound clear as a bell I am enjoying using it as it never sounds at all woolly. Sorry for the long post, I sincerely hope that the Vigier remains in my possession for a very long time as I can’t imagine that there is much better out there in terms of quality of build or tone. The look won’t be to everyone’s taste but I find it quite refreshing and faithful to the ‘one that got away’ all those years ago. My very best wishes to you all for the year ahead.

This is a seriously good 5 string jazz bass for the money. https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB75_JJ_SFGP.html

I remember seeing the band live at Salford Uni around the time the first album was released. They played most of the album and I must say Pat Kane was outstanding, as was the rest of the band. I believe James Finnegan played his black Vigier on that gig. What a player he is!