New Sire U5 review and discussion thread

[alweeks]

Has anyone put flats on theirs, and if so what have you fitted? Have some Thomastik's coming for another bass and am tempted to migrate the D'addario chromes from that bass across to the U5.

 

[Backwards]

For anyone looking for a nice hard case for your U5, this is the one I bought.
Kurt asked me to send a photo that he could share on his website.
At least my Bass is (relatively) famous!

Douglas BGC-200 3/4 BK Short Scale Bass Case Fits Fender Mustang Gretch G2220 and others

 

[Plutonium244]

For anyone looking for a nice hard case for your U5, this is the one I bought.
Kurt asked me to send a photo that he could share on his website.
At least my Bass is (relatively) famous!

Douglas BGC-200 3/4 BK Short Scale Bass Case Fits Fender Mustang Gretch G2220 and others

Thanks!

I have so few hard cases any more. I live in a gig bag world. But a nice hardshell is great for max protect.

I've been using my M7 5str 's soft case/bag which is slightly shorter than the standard Sire V7 etc gig bag, for the U5. The M7 is now on stand duty in the den with my teeny rig. Funny how sometimes your perceptions change over time. For some time I wasn't 100% sold on M7, didn't play it that much. For some reason I hankered to pull it out, put on a brighter set of strings and a finger ramp, and now I love that bass. So articulate.

 

[scott cuppello]

For anyone looking for a nice hard case for your U5, this is the one I bought.
Kurt asked me to send a photo that he could share on his website.
At least my Bass is (relatively) famous!

Douglas BGC-200 3/4 BK Short Scale Bass Case Fits Fender Mustang Gretch G2220 and others

Nice, not sure if they are available in the UK though, I am amazed that Sire have still not offered a gig bag for the U5!

 

[Backwards]

Just type "Douglas BGC-200" in your search engine, and see if anything turns up.
Maybe there's a UK Distributor?

 

[dalkowski]

For anyone looking for a nice hard case for your U5, this is the one I bought.
Kurt asked me to send a photo that he could share on his website.
At least my Bass is (relatively) famous!

Douglas BGC-200 3/4 BK Short Scale Bass Case Fits Fender Mustang Gretch G2220 and others

Just what my Vista Musicmaster needs! (Short scale bass gig bags are a tough get... anyone have any good reccos?)

(Also, I think I'm leaning away from the U5 and toward the G&L Fallout Tribute for $100 more... #taxrefund)

 

[Backwards]

For what it's worth, I was curious which plant my U5 would be produced in, and was pleasantly surprised that it was built in Indonesia, and not China. I don't know if being a lefty model played a part in it...

 

[scott cuppello]

For what it's worth, I was curious which plant my U5 would be produced in, and was pleasantly surprised that it was built in Indonesia, and not China. I don't know if being a lefty model played a part in it...

I was only aware of the Indonesian plant?

 

[Backwards]

I was only aware of the Indonesian plant?

Nope. There was an insert included with my Bass, where Sire CEO Kyle Kim explained that production was being expanded to China, but that Sire would only be producing their own products in that plant, and to the same standards employed in their Indonesian Factory.

 

[threefour]

Has anyone put flats on theirs, and if so what have you fitted? Have some Thomastik's coming for another bass and am tempted to migrate the D'addario chromes from that bass across to the U5.

I just bought a U5 secondhand (I know!) and the original owner put La Bella flat wounds on it, presumably these:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I love the feel of these strings. I'm a long-time guitar player and new bass player, my previous experience with flat wounds is on a Gibson L-7 jazz guitar. The only other bass I've played was an Ibanez GSR200B with regular strings. The U5 with the short scale, flat wounds, and the rolled fretboard feels a world apart from the Ibanez; just a pleasure to play. Doing Tony Levin-style slides feels very natural on these strings.

 

[greenscharlie]

I just bought a U5 secondhand (I know!) and the original owner put La Bella flat wounds on it, presumably these:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I love the feel of these strings. I'm a long-time guitar player and new bass player, my previous experience with flat wounds is on a Gibson L-7 jazz guitar. The only other bass I've played was an Ibanez GSR200B with regular strings. The U5 with the short scale, flat wounds, and the rolled fretboard feels a world apart from the Ibanez; just a pleasure to play. Doing Tony Levin-style slides feels very natural on these strings.

Why did he sell ?

 

[threefour]

Why did he sell ?

I think he has a serious case of GAS and he needed to offload some stuff.

 

[greenscharlie]

the U5 body looks like it is inspired by Fender Aerodyn jb

 

[alaskaleftybass]

the U5 body looks like it is inspired by Fender Aerodyn jb

So much so that if it was black it could have been its little cousin! I noticed that too.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Thought I would post this youboob clip of Low Down Lobster's review on the Sire U5. He appears to be beaming while playing it. I think he likes it.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Thought I would post this youboob clip of Low Down Lobster's review on the Sire U5. He appears to be beaming while playing it. I think he likes it.

Thanks for sharing this, @Doctor Morbius .

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Thanks for sharing this, @Doctor Morbius .

No need to thank me. Thank Low Down Lobster.

 

[threefour]

Thought I would post this youboob clip of Low Down Lobster's review on the Sire U5. He appears to be beaming while playing it. I think he likes it.

"Dare I say it, the best short-scale bass in this price range, better than the Stingray." Great review. I bought this as my first bass (after playing guitar for many years) and love it. It's nice to be validated.

 

[ranat]

The 1st short scale bass I’ve been digging! I have an old Fender maniac friend and tried the U5 and he said it sounds great different than his 70a Precision! Think the PJ and maple VVT knobs on U5 are a killing combo

 

[threefour]

I would post the TalkingBass review here too, but he goes on and on repeating the tired cliches about short-scale basses being for people "with small hands" or "children", so I won't subject you to that. There's also the cliches about sound difference which are think are negated in our age of digital processing.