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New Sire P Basses!

#781
Glazenn said:
Home made, cut from a black adhesive sheet/tape. Now replaced with black markings (BIC Onyx permanent marker 1481, that can be removed with ethyl alcohol).
IMHO - The issue with Sire fretless basses is that side dots are placed between the frets, like on a fretted bass, and not aligned with the ghost frets (which is what I prefer).
Click to expand...

That is a deal-killer for sure. I can't believe Sire is dumb enough to do that! I have an old fretless Carvin with dots between "frets" as is sometimes the case with lined fretless (they use fretted necks with stripes instead of frets) but on my Carvin, lines are white and clearly visible from the edge of the neck so the fretted dot positions are not a problem. But for a non-lined bass to have dots on fretted positions would drive me insane in no time. That bass would immediately have to go back!

(I noticed on yours the lines are white but not visible from the edge of the neck because it's bound and white too. I could not live with that in a new bass. For a used bass I might get a black marker out like you did, but for a new bass I expect it done right)
 
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#788
I made a new thread concerning this, but could you guys help me out perhaps? Here is the full post:

Dear all,

Can any of you help me out with info on Sire MM P7 bass I just got? I bought a brand new one, but I have doubts about the pickup balance. It seems like whatever mode the bass is in, the bridge (J) pickup is significantly lower in volume than the neck (P) pickup. I made a video showing the difference, it is located at this link:

Invalid Link Removed

I just played a bit with the height of the pickup and got the P magnet to a low point where the pickup volume balance is identical, but I guess this is not a permanent solution.

Has any of you encountered this kind of a problem? Is the pickup faulty, or are the guitars made just like that?

Thank you very much for your help!
Uros
 
#789
Hi.

You are on the right track. Unless you have a much hotter wind, stronger magnet, etc. In the bridge pickup, a pickup in that location will always be less loud than a pickup in the neck position, when set to the same height. You already have the right idea. Get both pickups to where they sound best. When you sound check, do it so the bridge pickup is at the right volume. Then when you are using other settings, use the blend, volume, tone controls, and your ears to get the tone and volume you want. I always have my bridge pickups set a little higher than the neck pickups. Then, for me personally, when I'm going for that "PJ" sound, my blend is actually slightly off center in favor of the P pickup. Your video sounds typical of a PJ. You can turn your knobs off center to get the sound and volume you like
Uros Maric said:
I made a new thread concerning this, but could you guys help me out perhaps? Here is the full post:

Dear all,

Can any of you help me out with info on Sire MM P7 bass I just got? I bought a brand new one, but I have doubts about the pickup balance. It seems like whatever mode the bass is in, the bridge (J) pickup is significantly lower in volume than the neck (P) pickup. I made a video showing the difference, it is located at this link:

Invalid Link Removed

I just played a bit with the height of the pickup and got the P magnet to a low point where the pickup volume balance is identical, but I guess this is not a permanent solution.

Has any of you encountered this kind of a problem? Is the pickup faulty, or are the guitars made just like that?

Thank you very much for your help!
Uros
Click to expand...
 
#790
Thank you so much Timmy! This is exactly what I did. Basically, the bass now sounds amazing as I lowered the neck pickup to a point where the two are balanced in the right way. I guess the original properties of the neck pickup are a bit lost once the pickup is lowered, or am I wrong? But to be honest, I wouldn't tell the difference as it sounds great, a real P-bass feeling that I have been missing as I played JJ pickup settings, as well as EB MM H all my life. If this lower neck pickup could be considered a permanent solution, I am more than satisfied.

I really appreciate your help!
 
#791
Uros Maric said:
Thank you so much Timmy! This is exactly what I did. Basically, the bass now sounds amazing as I lowered the neck pickup to a point where the two are balanced in the right way. I guess the original properties of the neck pickup are a bit lost once the pickup is lowered, or am I wrong? But to be honest, I wouldn't tell the difference as it sounds great, a real P-bass feeling that I have been missing as I played JJ pickup settings, as well as EB MM H all my life. If this lower neck pickup could be considered a permanent solution, I am more than satisfied.

I really appreciate your help!
Click to expand...
No problem! Hey, if you are losing qualities by lowering the neck pickup, then raise it a little! Here's what I typically do on my PJ:

When first plugging in, I go passive, panned in the middle (inherent volume drop) and set my volume there.

Then for most of the gig I play full on P pickup and back the volume off a touch.

When I pan towards the bridge, the volume is up full and I kick it to active, where i have mids and bass bumped a little and highs lowered a little.

If I get the urge, i play around with the settings, especially the blend control and tone control, to have even more variation.

Glad you are finding good tones from your bass. Sometimes to get a certain tone it is quieter. It's easier to adjust your overall amp volume for the quieter settings then back off when you are going P bass. It's been working well like that for me.
 
#792
Thank you once again! Yeah, this helps! Nowadays you just gotta tweak, tweak, tweak. I noticed I could get a similar output if the pickups are at the same height, but when I switch to bridge pickup, I kick in the active mode and up the lows and a bit of mids. However, I am not that happy with that, so I guess I am much more happier keeping the neck pickup lower - I get a sound more than adequate.

In addendum: I just powered up the bass through my Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig, Jesus, the sound on this is inexplicable! :)
 
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#794
Bought one about a month ago (the tobacco burst fiver) and it has got some serious THUMP!
Pickup balance and setup was perfect right out of the box (proverbially speaking, I tried it in the shop first). I also have an M7 which came with really crappy pickup balance so this was a pleasant surprise.

It's a great instrument especially considering the price. My only issues are it's weight (counterpoint: good wood), a touch of nosedive but mostly the access to the upper regions. I'm used to a MM Bongo which is absolutely perfect in that respect. It probably won't be a huge issue since I'll mainly be using it for simple stuff in the money zone.
 

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