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Vigier Passion for Hard Rock/Metal?


Bigwan
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Vigier are a brand I've been interested in since I used to read Guitarist magazine in the very early 90s and saw a review of the Passion - I never thought I'd be able to afford one, but I recently received a little bit of inheritance money from my grandfather so I'm in bass shopping mode! 

A used Amethyst Passion 5 at Bass Direct has caught my eye and is just within my budget... The other basses I'm considering are a Dingwall D-roc 5 Standard (currently on order with Mark as it was floating my boat originally) and a Spector Euro 4 or 5

What I'm looking for is a bass that feels ALIVE... Punch and growl are what I'm after. I don't see many reviews for the Passion that would cover my style (hard rock to metal) so it's hard for me to really judge and visiting Warwick is out for the foreseeable. What are the thoughts guys? Would a Passion 5 fit the bill?

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18 minutes ago, itu said:

If the instrument brand dictates your playing style... no, I won't continue.

Make a test ride and choose the one that fits like a glove and sounds incredible.

The brand name means absolutely nothing. I'm asking about the tonal attributes of a specific model... A relatively rare bass, I've never seen one in the flesh in my 30 years of playing. 

It would be simple if I could try everything I wanted to... It's not something a bass player on this island ever has a chance to do on an instrument of the level we're talking about, not without significant travel. That's why I've always relied quite heavily on basschat input, since before day 1 of the basschat forum - some of us remember basstalk.co.uk. If you haven't anything better to contribute maybe you should be on a different thread... 

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I do love a Vigier, a friend of mine plays an 80’s passion in a Rock/metal covers band & it sounds glorious?

I think it all depends on what sort of tone you are looking for, The graphite necked Vigier is very full sounding, with a clear top-end but IMO more traditional sounding than say, a Spector or a Dingwall, even a Warwick, which can all provide a real ‘growly mid’ more modern metal sound, especially if you like that overdriven sound?

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32 minutes ago, Bassman68 said:

I do love a Vigier, a friend of mine plays an 80’s passion in a Rock/metal covers band & it sounds glorious?

I think it all depends on what sort of tone you are looking for, The graphite necked Vigier is very full sounding, with a clear top-end but IMO more traditional sounding than say, a Spector or a Dingwall, even a Warwick, which can all provide a real ‘growly mid’ more modern metal sound, especially if you like that overdriven sound?

I really don't like the modern rock/metal tone. The Dingwall & Darkglass thing is EVERYWHERE and it sets my teeth on edge! Think more James Lomenzo/Billy Sheehan tones (not playing-wise I might add!). 

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13 hours ago, Bigwan said:

I'm asking about the tonal attributes of a specific model... A relatively rare bass, I've never seen one in the flesh in my 30 years of playing.

I only have two Passion II basses, and their preamps are capable of anything I need to play. So my understanding of the Excess is therefore limited, but I do not have any reason to believe they wouldn't be very good in any genre.

String choice affects the outcome quite a lot, so for twang I would choose Vigier's basic strings, 40-95 SS RW. For more middle nickel strings work better, and naturally you can go down to flats if needed. I think string choice is crucial to the basic sound of any instrument.

As the necks do not have truss rods, you can only adjust the bridge. If you are after a very low action, my instruments have been steady since 1980's and I am confident that Excess is no exception.

Edited by itu
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I saw Lomenzo playing with Megadeth and he was using a Passion at the time. Sounded great.

I own an Arpege and Excess. They both cover all manner of rock and metal playing, or funk or pretty much any genre you fancy. They are also brilliant for alternate tunings as the stability of the neck means that set ups are easy.

The Vigiers however in my opinion don’t really do authentic ‘vintage’ tones so if you are looking for something that gives you that tone then maybe look at something else. Given the placement of the pick up on the Passion it won’t really give you a traditional ‘jazz’ or ‘P-Bass’ tone, primarily because it wasn’t designed to do so in the first place. However, no vintage bass will give you the tone of a Vigier so it is really a case of whether the Vigier is what the OP is looking for.
 

For a Passion I think that the closest comparisons would be a cross between a Warwick Thumb and a Spector but even then that doesn’t really give an accurate description. There are plenty of YouTube demos as well.

I would buy a Passion without hesitation for use in a rock/metal context.

Edited by thodrik
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1 minute ago, itu said:

I only have two Passion II basses, and their preamps are capable of anything I need to play. So my understanding of the Excess is therefore limited, but I do not have any reason to believe they are very good in any genre.

String choice affects the outcome quite a lot, so for twang I would choose Vigier's basic strings, 40-95 SS RW. For more middle nickel strings work better, and naturally you can go down to flats if needed. I think string choice is crucial to the basic sound of any instrument.

As the necks do not have truss rods, you can only adjust the bridge. If you are after a very low action, my instruments have been steady since 1980's and I am confident that Excess is no exception.

That's extremely useful. Thanks @itu! It's a Passion IV I'm interested in.

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I own a Passion 5 s3. I've used it for all sorts of music, including heavy stuff, and it's never let me down. 

I've also tried an Excess 4 and a couple of Passion 5 s4.

They're all very well made and play consistently well.

Only oddity I've found with my particular instrument is the way it interacts with effects units (especially OD/distortion), possibly due to the low-impedance (600 Ohm) output. Not an issue with the s4, as I don't think the Glockenlang pre has a low-impedance output.

Best bet? Try some out.

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Here's the best recording I can find of mine in a band setting; think the intro shows how the Passion s3 cuts through. 

Carousel.mp3

Edited by Lfalex v1.1
Edit- This recording is straight to the desk via a DI box, with only the bass' onboard EQ in play. Further EQ & comp were applied by the mix engineer, but it's still fairly minimal.
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Another Vigier Passion player here.

I've used mine for every style of music, including heavy rock. Comparisons are admittedly difficult to make, purely because there is nothing else like a Vigier out there.

Having also owned a Arpege during the late 80's, for me, Vigier are the best basses on the market ... and I've owned almost everything from Wal to Alembic.

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Alas I missed the boat on 2 (yes, 2!) Passion IV 5 strings over the weekend. Have wanted ads up - it's time for a bucket list bass so have ads up for Vigiers, Spectors and a left-field-in-comparison  Dingwall Super P! 

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