Guitar School Toolshed
Vigier G.V. Wood Guitar Axe de Triomphe
rench Luthier Patrice Vigier built his first running both pickups and even coil- is basically birch that’s been injected guitar in 1980 and has established him- splitting for switching the full humbuck- with carbon and phenolic resins to produce Fself as a true innovator with a line of high- ers into single-coil mode. A single vol- an extremely durable and slick surface for quality guitars and basses that feature numer- ume and tone control completes the fretting. Stainless steel frets are another nice ous technological firsts. The G.V. Wood is the guitar’s electronics. Vigier uses a custom- upgrade, and as with all Vigier instruments, company’s first single-cutaway model, and this designed, six-way adjustable bridge and the G.V. Wood has a zero fret to help improve impressive axe excels in every detail, from stop tailpiece to anchor the strings and tonal balance and allow for more precise its flawless craftsmanship and silky-smooth to allow for fine-tuning string height and setup of the action. The guitar also features action to its versatile array of superb tones. intonation. All hardware is chrome-plat- a Teflon nut (yet another Vigier innovation) The G.V. Wood model is built using woods ed, which contrasts well with the guitar’s and Schaller locking tuners. harvested from French forests, as Vigier firmly highly figured wood. The G.V. Wood is a great guitar to play. believes in using local sources for his materials Taking a closer look at the G.V.’s From an ergonomic standpoint, the instru- wherever possible. The guitar is manufactured neck, we begin to notice some of the ment is extremely well balanced and com- using a combination of modern CNC machin- design enhancements that Patrice fortable to hold. The stainless frets and phe- ing techniques and old-school hand carving for Vigier is known for. The guitar nowood board make noting and final shaping. From the first glance, it is appar- does not use a traditional truss vibrato so effortless that it actu- ent that this is a top-shelf guitar built with great rod; instead, it has a fixed car- ally takes a little getting used care and absolutely no compromises in qual- bon-fiber strip embedded right to, but you will quickly become ity. The G.V.’s contoured body is made from into the bolt-on maple neck addicted to its light touch and naturally aged alder wood, which is capped in to keep it rock-solid. In fact, effortless action. When it comes to book-matched flame maple. The G.V. is stun- Vigier was one of the first man- tone, the G.V. delivers a spectrum ning to look at, with a tastefully applied stain ufacturers to utilize carbon of amazing colors via the five- carefully finished in a high-gloss, slow-dry- fiber technology in instru- way selector switch, and this ing varnish. Even the case, a sturdy Hiscox ment-building, a design guitar has sustain for days. Liteflite that comes standard with the G.V., is called “the 10/90 sys- At $3,999.99, it may not be impressive. tem” because it uses 10 cheap, but the G.V. Wood is The G.V. Wood is equipped with two hand- percent carbon fiber a truly worthy instrument wound humbucker pickups (custom-manufac- and 90 percent wood. whose impeccable quali- tured by Amber Pickups of Germany) mount- Examining the finger- ty, versatility and attention ed in the bridge and neck positions. A five-way board, we find yet anoth- to detail more than justify its switch allows for a variety of configurations, er surprising innovation in price. —Keith Baumann including selection of an individual pickup, the use of phenowood, which Ordering info: vigierguitars.com
Cooperstand Pro Instrument Stands Small & Sturdy
ugging gear has always been one of the els, all featuring the same overall design but more tedious tasks in a performing musi- varying in size and materials. The Pro-G is for Lcian’s life. Players are constantly on the lookout acoustic and electric guitar or banjo and is con- for new products that can lighten the load and structed from African Sapele wood. The Pro- ease the burden of getting to the gig. Nashville Mini, also made of Sapele, is designed to hold singer/songwriter Daniel Cooper, frustrat- a ukulele, mandolin, violin or even an iPad. ed by the lack of a truly compact instrument The Eco-G model is identical to the Pro-G, stand that could fit into a guitar case, decided except it’s constructed from 100-percent recy- to design and build his own. He introduced the cled first-run ABS composite material, which Cooperstand Pro-G guitar stand in 2009, and makes it more affordable and virtually inde- his company now produces several models that structible. All models utilize special neoprene are impressively small yet surprisingly sturdy. padding that will not harm your instrument’s Along with his musical career, Cooper has finish. been a sculptural artist and is also from a fam- Cooperstands are extremely practical and ily of tool and die makers, so designing the allows it to collapse into a very small pack- highly attractive, so it’s no surprise that they’re Pro-G was not that far of a stretch for him. The age. According to Cooper, “Everything we are getting a lot of attention in the industry. key to the stand’s strength and portability is its doing is totally dictated by necessity.” —Keith Baumann innovative four-footed folding design, which Cooperstand now offers three basic mod- Ordering info: cooperstand.com
74 DOWNBEAT JULY 2012