Second post backstory, reactions, and comparison to my SBMM Ray34.
Backstory
So, I already have two SBMM StingRays, a short scale and a Ray34. So why another one? Mostly because I wanted the HS configuration. Benny Rietveld (Santana's bass player) plays one and I love his sound, though of course a lot of that is his substantial talent. I'd been shopping used HS StingRays on Reverb and none of them were a good enough deal for me to pull the trigger. I had started thinking about getting another SBMM and modifying it to add the J pickup when Sire announced the Z7. Stainless steel frets, roasted maple neck, HS configuration for $700? Sure. I pre-ordered as soon as
Sweetwater was taking pre-orders.
Reactions
The first thing I noticed when I first played is that the neck is _fantastic_. It just feels absolutely terrific. It's definitely less chunky than the standard StingRay neck so if that's what you want, a Sterling is probably a better choice. But personally I love it being a little less thick and the satin-finished roasted maple feels just perfect, fast and super playable.
On the bridge(humbucker) pickup, it sounds a lot like a real StingRay—definitely has that sharp attack—but it's not quite a perfect copy, most likely because of the preamp, which is the standard Sire 3-band, mid-sweep, active/passive deal. It's a very good preamp and provides a lot of flexibility but it's not identical to the StingRay preamp so there's some small difference. On the other hand, it's close enough that if you're in a band context or using almost any pedal it'll be hard for most people to tell the difference.
But what'd I buy it for? The single-coil neck pickup. When solo'd, it sounds like a hybrid of a J bass with the neck solo'd and a P bass. When blended with the humbucker it produces a terrific tone that sounds not quite like anything else—except an HS StingRay. The neck pickup is definitely not as loud as the humbucker so when the pickup selector is at the detent, it's definitely more humbucker-y, but honestly it's about the amount of the neck pickup that Id want blended in anyway. The down side is that while the neck pickup provides enormous versatility because it sounds so different than the humbucker, the imbalance in volume requires a little knob-tweaking to go smoothly from one to the other. Minor thing but not nothing.
There's no hum at all from the J pickup. Sire says it's a "Premium J" pickup (which Sire lists only for the high-end V10dx) and
Sweetwater lists it as "split jazz single coil." I'm half-tempted to pull it out and take a look, but based on the lack of hum and the sound, I do wonder if it's some kind of split-coil in a single-coil housing like the Nordstrand hum-cancelling J.
In the realm of minor issues, the setup wasn't great. Action is pretty OK, maybe just a smidge high, but there's lots of fret buzz, especially on the E string. Not a big deal because it's correctable with a good setup, but not as good out of the box as other Sires I've owned (this is my 4th Sire).
Comparison with SBMM Ray34
This seems a pretty obvious thing to do since they are both non-EBMM StingRay-style basses of similar price (though the Sire is somewhat cheaper). I bought my Ray34 Ash mid-2020 and a couple years later there were more QC complaints about them. Mine has been fine from a QC standpoint (whew) but it's a bit of a boat anchor (11lb 11oz). There are key similarities between the Ray34 and the Z7: big humbucker in the MM position, 3-band preamp, roasted maple neck and fretboard, very similar feel in tuners and bridge. I like the black ceruse finish on my SBMM better, the Ray34 sounds almost exactly like an EBMM, it has the true StingRay shape, and I love the truss rod wheel (all basses should have this). The Sire, on the other hand, has the extra pickup, passive mode, string-though, stainless steel frets, mid sweep on the EQ, and the lower price tag.
I think it's a pretty straightforward choice: if you want the more authentic StingRay look and sound (or you want the HH version, which Sire doesn't offer) and don't mind paying a bit more (depending on model), get the SBMM. Otherwise get the Sire.
I think it may be a great addition.
