Last Friday I eventually got my Sire Z7-5 Mint bought in Thomann. Overall I’m very happy with this bass. The build quality is excellent, the finish looks great, and the instrument feels solid and well made.
Out of the box, however, the B string sounded noticeably quieter and rather dull compared to the other strings. I tried adjusting pickup and string height, but the real solution was reinstalling the B string through the bridge instead of through-body stringing. After that, the string came alive and now sounds full, clear, and balanced with the rest of the instrument.
The updated neck pickup sounds really good and delivers a warm tone that reminds me of a classic P-Bass character. The bass is versatile and sits very well in a mix. The only thing I slightly miss is the pure single-coil clarity and openness of a traditional Jazz Bass, but I already knew this before buying the Z7-5, so it’s not a negative surprise.
My bass weighed 4.45 kg stock. After replacing the original tuners with lightweight Gotoh tuners, I managed to reduce the weight by around 100 grams and noticeably improve the balance. Now the instrument feels more comfortable although it is still a bit heavy for me.
So, apart from the weight I really enjoy this bass. It offers excellent value, great versatility, and inspiring tones.
Out of the box, however, the B string sounded noticeably quieter and rather dull compared to the other strings. I tried adjusting pickup and string height, but the real solution was reinstalling the B string through the bridge instead of through-body stringing. After that, the string came alive and now sounds full, clear, and balanced with the rest of the instrument.
The updated neck pickup sounds really good and delivers a warm tone that reminds me of a classic P-Bass character. The bass is versatile and sits very well in a mix. The only thing I slightly miss is the pure single-coil clarity and openness of a traditional Jazz Bass, but I already knew this before buying the Z7-5, so it’s not a negative surprise.
My bass weighed 4.45 kg stock. After replacing the original tuners with lightweight Gotoh tuners, I managed to reduce the weight by around 100 grams and noticeably improve the balance. Now the instrument feels more comfortable although it is still a bit heavy for me.
So, apart from the weight I really enjoy this bass. It offers excellent value, great versatility, and inspiring tones.
