When he was five, he picked up the guitar, learning from his father and from records by Django Reinhardt, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Pass, and Johnny Smith.

[3] Early in his career, he went to used record stores to buy albums by musicians whose work he didn't know, so that he could study their music.

In the early 1990s, he was in New York City, playing in groups with Max Morath, Andy Stein, Herman Foster, Joe Ascione, and tuba player Sam Pilafian.

[2] The roster of musicians he has worked with includes Leon Redbone, Ken Peplowski, Susannah McCorkle, Charlie Byrd, Joey DeFrancesco, Gene Bertoncini, Johnny Frigo, Bucky Pizzarelli, Wynton Marsalis, David Grisman, Jane Monheit, Mark O'Connor, and Donald Fagen.

In November 2017, friend and fellow guitarist Tommy Emmanuel posted an update on Vignola's status, stating that he would be unable to play the guitar and may only recover after many surgeries and a long period of physical therapy.