ped Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Hi guys I really haven't played this bass for some time and I am starting to get some photography work and need a new lens. As i play my fretted version of this bass nearly all the time, this is becoming an expensive piece of kit to lie around unused. As you can see the bass has been played but it is in excellent condition. Actually I'm going to use Shockwave's advert layout in case I forget anything!! Here we go: [u] Description[/u] Vigier Passion series III 'Delta Metal' fretless 4 string bass, 1995 (10th October I think, will check this!). Fitted with an East U-retro Deluxe' pre-amp, hooked up to powerful single coil Benedetti pickups. John did the work himself at his house near my old place. It comes with a slightly battered but functional original 'softlight' case (sort of a soft case with rigid outer, sturdy but not as cumbersome and heavy as a flight case). [u]Functionality[/u] Everything works as it should.. the bass has no truss rod as the neck is extremely stable, using Vigier's 10/90 system (10% graphite T shaped bars in between aged maple sections, dried for 7 years). It comes with my preffered Marleaux 40-95 steel roundwound strings and I'll also include some TI (Thomastik-infeld) flatwound strings which are cut to fit (the bridge is top-loading so strings can be swapped easily. The EQ is 18V and very powerful, making the bass extremely flexible for anything from emulating upright bass to slapping. You can't do any damage to the fretboard! [u]Playability[/u] I like my action LOWWWW so this thing is dropped right down to accommodate my light playing. Plenty of flexibility left in the bridge. Relief is probably about 1mm, so very low and easy to play. You probably won't have plyed anything like this before so you are welcome to come and try it. The neck is very comfortable, perhaps slightly wider than a Jazz bass. Effortless! [u]Sounds[/u] From glassy highs to ringing slap bass, to woody fretless upright to compressed nasal mwah.. this bass has it all. Most of the time I use the bass flat and adjust to taste, as in this clip: [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85432/Torrential.mp3"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85432/Torrential.mp3[/url] And this video (same track) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WILDNiF6k38"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WILDNiF6k38[/url] Extremely flexible, making it suitable for many styles. I played this bass with Wales' premier funk metal band 'Part III: the Onslaught' and jazz bands like 'I Like Your Hat'. haha. Information on the pre-amp: [i]VOLUME & BLEND[/i] VOLUME The upper knob is the Volume which has two sections under the same knob. A high impedance for the passive path and a low impedance section is used for the active circuitry. When used active, this knob has active circuitry after it so that the feed to your amplifier is a low impedance drive. BLEND & PICKUPS SWITCH The lower outer knob is the Blend balance for the pickups. Turn it fully clockwise for the neck pickup alone and fully anti-clockwise for the bridge pickup. The midway position, which has an indent, gives an equal mix of both pickups. The balance between the pickups is continuously variable with progressive level compensation towards the single pickup settings. Important:- The Pickups switch (by the blend) must be set pointing towards the jack for the Blend to function. [i]BASS & TREBLE[/i] TREBLE (+12dB @ 3 kHz, -12dB @ 1kHz) The upper knob is the Treble control with boost and cut. The central 'flat' position is indented. The cut settings work on lower frequencies compared to boost to give a deeper sound when the top is rolled off. BRIGHT (+8dB @ 7kHz) Pull the Treble knob for the Bright setting. BASS (+15dB @ 50Hz) The lower outer knob is the boost only Bass control. The frequency band of boost gets progressively lower as the boost is increased. An indent midway is included to aid the setting of this control. [i]MID LEVEL & FREQUENCY[/i] BOOST/CUT (+/- 12dB) The upper knob controls the amount of Mid boost or cut at frequencies according to the setting of the Frequency knob. The midway indent is the 'flat' position. FREQUENCY (150Hz - 3kHz) The lower outer knob is continuously variable and sets the Mid frequencies for boost or cut. [i]PASSIVE TONE[/i] The passive tone pot consists of two sections, one for each pickup. Two sections are necessary since the pickup signals are kept separate and fed to their own individual input amplifiers prior to the electronic blend circuitry. To retain the characteristics of a true passive tone, its circuitry is connected directly to the pickups at all times and therefore function in both active and passive modes. The roll-off frequency is set to give a deep mellow sound. [i]ACTIVE PASSIVE SWITCH[/i] Towards the jack for active, the opposite for passive. [u]Condition[/u] Very clean indeed - difficult to see any problems, but you might say the top edge of the fretboard has some slight crazing/cracking in the lacquer which seems to cover the top edge, but this is not noticeable when playing the bass and I had actually forgotten about it myself. [u]Price/Trades[/u] No trades unless someone has a fast prime telephoto lens or perhaps a wide zoom for a Canon but otherwise I'm looking at [b]£1600[/b] please, no offers or trades for basses. These basses have now been discontinued as they took so long to make and were expensive to produce. They have recently been replaced by the excellent series IV basses which have a bolt on neck as opposed to the neck-thru of the series III. For a limited time Vigier were producing a last run of these basses at £2500 without any options. [u]Delivery[/u] Collection only from Maidenhead area, will travel to meet depending on distance, but if you pay my fuel I can deliver anywhere within reason. certainly don't want to post this one. [u]Other information[/u] I'll include a limited signed picture of me and Steve, the Basschat team. This will overtake the value of the bass itself within a few months. probably. I'll chuck in a tube of metal polish for the neck. The bass is French, so forgive the garlicky smell. The neck is a carbon/maple mix but upon closer inspection I have noticed elements of Baguette incorporated into the design. Photos: LOL I'll upload some more pictures later on. Got to shoot off to Oxford soon!! Cheers ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleblob Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 WOW WOW WOW. That is a really beautiful bass. I've been wanting one of these for a while now (and I'll admit I've been lusting after this exact one since seeing it on your vid months ago) but, it's true, timing is everything and I'm mid-way through a new house build with costs escalating . Maybe the family could do without a bathroom and I could get this off you instead. Hmm, I doubt it, in which case unless you'd take payment by instalments I can only offer you a bump. Good luck with the sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomEndian Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 [quote name='ped' post='878029' date='Jun 26 2010, 11:03 AM'][/quote] Please, in the name of all that is holy, make this your avatar. Immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Would you accept £3 a month forever? (Private joke) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 [quote name='BottomEndian' post='878230' date='Jun 26 2010, 04:07 PM']Please, in the name of all that is holy, make this your avatar. Immediately.[/quote] hehehe, plus the one. maybe we should all change our avatars to emulate that pose lovely bass btw - good luck with the sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 26, 2010 Author Share Posted June 26, 2010 Cheers guys I'll improve that picture tomorrow and upload some better images of the bass. ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomEndian Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 'E's only gone an' done it! Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Super stunning bass, from a rather splendid chap. If you're after a fretless, it doesn't get much better than this beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 A few quick snapz With case These chaps help you stay in tune and will be included in said purchase Here's the neck showing the low action The case Here's the back of the bass showing the control cover, which is slightly cracked near one of the screws but very secure The Kahler bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 Here's the pickups The neck again A previous owned moved the strap pin to the end of the horn, I moved it back and covered the little neat hole with tape, a temporary fix, it could happily be filled and painted, but I never bothered - it's been fine Here's the neck again The top of the neck showing a couple of small dings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 Bottom of the case. One zip is dodgy, the other is OK, the dodgy one has been flagged with yellow tape The empty case - you can see a small cut in the foam where I used the vase with a GK unit installed on my fretted - now it's installed internally there's no need for it but it doesn't affect the case at all I hope that helps - please let me know if you want to come and try it. Any questions I am happy to help, I will include some original documentation with the bass, manuals and magazine cuttings. Cheers ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 [quote name='Rayman' post='878982' date='Jun 27 2010, 05:20 PM']Super stunning bass, from a rather splendid chap. If you're after a fretless, it doesn't get much better than this beauty.[/quote] Thanks matey very kind of you to say so, The bass is indeed a real stunner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I had a quick go on what must be one of the newer versions of this that you mentioned (it was hanging up in the Bass Merchant). Very different bass, I really liked it although the combination of lines and dot markers completely screwed me up as I'm used to the dots "on" the lines on my fretless. This looks so cool I want to buy it just to stare at it! Best of luck Ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 [quote name='BottomEndian' post='878230' date='Jun 26 2010, 04:07 PM']Please, in the name of all that is holy, make this your avatar. Immediately.[/quote] MB1. ...Very Donald Fagan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Hey Ped, did they ever make a 5 string version with the delta metal? Also, damn you for not wanting trades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 Never made 5 string delta metal no, but they did make a small number of 5 stringed fretless basses with phenolic boards. One Arpege model for sale here: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=578684&highlight=vigier"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.p...ighlight=vigier[/url] Cheers ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 Blimey, things move fast around here!! I'll bump it a couple of times and then I'll just keep it!! ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I can't believe nobody has bought this, it's f***ing awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Cheers Rhys - quick bump. May take offers very close to asking price. Cheers ped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Just to add extra kudos to this bass, I have played it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plux_the_Duck Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 [quote name='Machines' post='885838' date='Jul 4 2010, 09:30 PM']Just to add extra kudos to this bass, I have played it.[/quote] +1 on that, lovely bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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