At first, I was surprised to come across this sentence in the press release for the new Vigier G.V. Guitar: "By using the company's exclusive 10/90 system (10% carbon/90% wood) and a few secrets in the design, Vigier has created a light guitar with superior tonal characteristics." I mean, Jean-Pierre Vigier has published over twenty papers on his causal stochastic interpretation of quantum physics theory, why would the company bearing his name decide to leave anything he'd discovered unpublished? Then I realized that Vigier guitars and the G.V. Guitar itself take their names from George Vigier, pioneering luthier. Boy did I almost have Dirac’s Aether on my face!

What makes me feel like even more of a jerk? The G.V. is a tribute to George Vigier, who passed away last year, from his son Patrice. This axe honors his memory by introducing new design innovations while still retaining traditional Vigier design elements. The George Vigier concocted wood-to-carbon-fibre ratio of 10% carbon, 90% wood remains, as do the zero fret and impeccable neck-work, but the G.V. marks Vigier the company's first foray into single-cutaway axes.

The G.V. features another Vigier first that I'm sure ole George, if I knew him at all (I didn't) would have loved: a stop-tail piece that locks into place after setup. Out of respect for the deceased, I won't make any cracks about the G.V.'s Teflon nut, which is itself crack-resistant.

Vigier will also be unveiling something they're calling the "Bfoot signature model" at Winter NAMM 2009, which we're assuming is a a reference to one of Patrice's less-well-liked exes.

P.S.: According to my research assistant, J. Irving-Giles, George Vigier was, in addition to being an innovative luthier, a Central American traveler born in Havana, Cuba circa 1710, meaning he lived to the ripe old age of 298. J. Irving-Giles, you are fired.