I've had a casual desire for a passive P/J bass to record with (it really is just easier to get a sound that mixes well), but I've also gotten really used to the sound and feel of my active fivers for live work. I have a passive Jazz that I riced out with DiMarzio UJs and independent volume and tone, but she's a four-banger, and I really like having that D available (and the Eb, and the B, C, Db etc). My fivers are also 35" scale length, really tightens up that B string.
So I've been looking around from time to time for a hybrid of all these things; a 5-string P/J with defeatable active electronics, retaining as much control as I can get with the preamp off, and a price tag that doesn't require me to sell off every other instrument I own to have a prayer of affording it. For the longest time I really couldn't find anything fitting the bill right off the shelf. I could buy something that's almost there and mod it, but pretty much all the options I've seen are still fairly expensive to use as the jumping off point of a project. Or, I could go to a custom shop and pay $3000.
Now, Sire basses is on the scene, and the P7 looks like exactly what I've had in mind the whole time. Volume, blend and passive tone, plus a defeatable 3-band semi-parametric onboard preamp, loaded into a 5-string P/J with classic styling. They sound pretty good, at least I haven't heard anyone getting a bad sound out of them, and the sub-grand price tag is very attractive.
Sire's totally new to me, but apparently about 3 years old, and Marcus Miller's involved. That's about all I know, I'm going through reviews, and there isn't too much downside to these instruments. The knobs are a bit cheap, fivers are a bit neck-heavy (but don't dive), and they're Indonesian-made. But for the $600-$800 range it looks like I could do much worse.
So, is Sire worth a try for a traditional-looking instrument with the strings and electronics of a more modern bass? Is there another brand anywhere between these guys and the custom shops that makes a better bass along these lines? Carrots?
So I've been looking around from time to time for a hybrid of all these things; a 5-string P/J with defeatable active electronics, retaining as much control as I can get with the preamp off, and a price tag that doesn't require me to sell off every other instrument I own to have a prayer of affording it. For the longest time I really couldn't find anything fitting the bill right off the shelf. I could buy something that's almost there and mod it, but pretty much all the options I've seen are still fairly expensive to use as the jumping off point of a project. Or, I could go to a custom shop and pay $3000.
Now, Sire basses is on the scene, and the P7 looks like exactly what I've had in mind the whole time. Volume, blend and passive tone, plus a defeatable 3-band semi-parametric onboard preamp, loaded into a 5-string P/J with classic styling. They sound pretty good, at least I haven't heard anyone getting a bad sound out of them, and the sub-grand price tag is very attractive.
Sire's totally new to me, but apparently about 3 years old, and Marcus Miller's involved. That's about all I know, I'm going through reviews, and there isn't too much downside to these instruments. The knobs are a bit cheap, fivers are a bit neck-heavy (but don't dive), and they're Indonesian-made. But for the $600-$800 range it looks like I could do much worse.
So, is Sire worth a try for a traditional-looking instrument with the strings and electronics of a more modern bass? Is there another brand anywhere between these guys and the custom shops that makes a better bass along these lines? Carrots?
