Hello! I have been contemplating the purchase of a Vigier Excalibur for a long time. I love the design of the guitar- they seem like top shelf instruments. I have owned many great guitars (Valley Arts, PRS, Parker Fly, etc) but have always wanted a Vigier.
My concern is the zero fret. There seems to be many examples listed on this forum and others pertaining to the zero fret quickly wearing out and causing issues. The official response from Vigier appears to be acknowledging the issue as something that you just live with and replace the fret when needed. Seems some people have had the zero fret develop grooves in the matter of a few months. This seems unacceptable to me, but perhaps this isn't the norm?
Those of you who play Vigier day in, day out as a workhorse instrument- what is your experience with the zero fret? How long does it last and how difficult is it to obtain a new zero fret (USA)? I do appreciate the design since it is user serviceable, but don't want to have to be constantly needing to replace it- or living with the strings popping and hanging up on a worn one on such an expensive and otherwise flawless instrument.
I do like the idea of the zero fret and appreciate the benefits, but how does the Vigier design handle the rigors of the real world? Thanks for any insight you can give!