Sire Bass Club!

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Question for you guys. As Sire fans, like I am, the preamp seems to be the biggest thing people love about the basses. Would you ever consider putting a Sire preamp in another bass of yours?

Yes, I scored a spare Sire preamp from another TBer, I just haven't gotten it installed in the project bass yet. Sire doesn't sell the preamp separately though.

 

[Aweiss96]

Yes, I scored a spare Sire preamp from another TBer, I just haven't gotten it installed in the project bass yet. Sire doesn't sell the preamp separately though.

How hard was it to find? I'm debating getting an inexpensive Squier 5 string just to have one for recording purposes (not really gigging thus why I don't want to drop $600 on a new sire), and want to put a sire one in that if possible.

 

[Machiavelli]

Question for you guys. As Sire fans, like I am, the preamp seems to be the biggest thing people love about the basses. Would you ever consider putting a Sire preamp in another bass of yours?

For me, I mostly just like the mid control and sweep. The treble is average, but seems like its more of a high mid (which i prefer). The bass is really odd. I would say anything beyond 3 o'clock just distorts, but 10-2 is a really solid pan. Also, the tone control in active mode is just a 'turn on finger noise knob' as the frequency is set way too high.


So, yes I love it, but I think it wouldn't take much to do better.

 

[Aweiss96]

For me, I mostly just like the mid control and sweep. The treble is average, but seems like its more of a high mid (which i prefer). The bass is really odd. I would say anything beyond 3 o'clock just distorts, but 10-2 is a really solid pan. Also, the tone control in active mode is just a 'turn on finger noise knob' as the frequency is set way too high.


So, yes I love it, but I think it wouldn't take much to do better.

I definitely hear what you are saying. The thing I love about it is the 3 band EQ and the fact that it is 18v. The only one that I know of that does both is the Aguilar OBP3 and I was thinking a Sire one may be a bit less expensive.

 

[Machiavelli]

I definitely hear what you are saying. The thing I love about it is the 3 band EQ and the fact that it is 18v. The only one that I know of that does both is the Aguilar OBP3 and I was thinking a Sire one may be a bit less expensive.

.

18v and 3 band is not 'that' rare. Off the top of my head, there's the Schecter session bass.

 

[Djadja]

I played my new Sire with the church band today...

It sits very nicely in the mix. It is a lot heavier than my Bee. The signal is a little weaker and because it sits differently than the Bee - which required some fiddling with volumes - but that was easy enough to do.

All in all, it worked very nicely and I'm a happy camper. Had me wondering what the fretless one plays like...

 

[Tom Magri]

I played my new Sire with the church band today...

It sits very nicely in the mix. It is a lot heavier than my Bee. The signal is a little weaker and because it sits differently than the Bee - which required some fiddling with volumes - but that was easy enough to do.

All in all, it worked very nicely and I'm a happy camper. Had me wondering what the fretless one plays like...

There are several fretless reviews on YouTube...all very positive. I have a fretless V7 5 string on order. 45-60 days delivery but I'm in no hurry.

 

[greenklang]

Ok, the bass arrived yesterday. It looks great (don't have a photo but pretty much exactly like https://www.thomann.de/pics/prod/384327.jpg). Made in Indonesia, 2016. At closer inspection one can definitely tell it's a B-stock instrument though.

Some notions:

• Couple of tuners seem to have that certain stiffness to them. Not a biggie because the thing is tunable and stays in tune pretty good.
• The volume/tone knob seems a bit loose. The nut that tightens it is a bit skewed.
• The mid sweep knob turns with lesser traction than any other knob on this or on my standard V7.
  
• When used in passive mode, the volume is slightly louder than in active. Might have to tweak the blue box to even out the difference. Also, the preamp doesn't yield as drastic results in sound as the V7. Will test further after balancing the output. All in all, the preamp seems to work as intended, not counting the volume issue.
  
• The pickguard doesn't stay totally flat in the space between the neck pickup and truss rod adjustment hole.
• The inline dots are a bit hard to see, especially in low light. Also, there's some "deadness" near the C on a G string. Having owned nothing but J- and P-basses this is something I've come to deal with fine.
  
• Neck pickup is fat. Soloing it works surprising well for a fretless. The bridge PU is a bit thinner sounding but has a punch to it, and has that nasal JB growl in it if that's desired. Together the sound is quite fat, maybe the neck PU being more dominant of the two. Hence, I blend a bit to the bridge PU direction.
  
• The playability is great, especially after lowering the action a bit. The default D'Addario flats it came with produce a warm and smooth, slightly upright-y sound and feel. However, because I prefer the roundwound feel, I changed to nickelwounds that came with my standard V7. This added more grit to the sound and more of that nice mwah to spice up the lines here and there.
• No complains about the bridge or nut. The paint job and fingerboard finish are all great.

I haven't tested the bass in a band setting yet but will soon, so I'll probably be back with more impressions in the near future. If I'm keeping it, that is.

So, I ended up returning the instrument and swapping it to a (not B-stock) fretless alder/rosewood V7. This time, unlike many other times, B-stock quality really showed (didn't spot it for the original list but also the bridge PU was tightly stuck too low). Not counting the mechanical flaws, the instrument itself was pretty solid. The only other issue was that the black paint on the side of the neck near the fingerboard made it a bit hard to see the fret lines at times. Would've probably gotten used to it, but could be an issue for somebody. Also, soundwise, the huge difference between the two pickups was something I wasn't prepared for. I guess I just like the alder/rw "togetherness" or warm tightness more than that 70's JB - albeit snappier - maple-y openness. As always, YMMV.

Had me wondering what the fretless one plays like...

Fast-forward to few days ago. The tobacco burst fretless V7 (Indonesian, 2017) came. It came strung with D'Addario Chromes, as expected. Sounded nice, everything worked and set-up was good right out of the box. The tuners are newer kind and work flawlessly. After a while I changed the strings to D'Addario nickelwounds, lowered the action a bit, and - lo and behold - maybe the best playing (and sounding) fretless I've ever laid my hands on. That classic, singing fretless sound is right there when blending slightly to the bridge pickup. The neck pickup gives you a nice, fat (but not as fat as the vintage V7), vintage (sic) sounding tone. All around, I'm very pleased with this one. A clear keeper. All I can do now is to hope that the fingerboard coating is hard enough to keep up with my roundwounds for years to come. Because it's hard to keep one's hands off the thing since it's so fun to play. Heartily recommended.

Here are my two V7's. With these may my bass needs be covered. (No, not thinking about getting the P7. Yet.)

 

[Tom Magri]

I just ordered that same V7 fretless 5 string and color after listening to many positive reviews on the net. Should show up around late October. That's a nice looking bass.

 

[tubestuff]

Pick guards on ebay, (No affiliation)


Sire bass ...: 21 new matches today

View all results


Here are the top 20 matches for today

Blue Pearloid 5 String Pickguard works...
Bid: $19.95

 

[Glazenn]

...Fast-forward to few days ago. The tobacco burst fretless V7 (Indonesian, 2017) came. It came strung with D'Addario Chromes, as expected. Sounded nice, everything worked and set-up was good right out of the box. The tuners are newer kind and work flawlessly. After a while I changed the strings to D'Addario nickelwounds, lowered the action a bit, and - lo and behold - maybe the best playing (and sounding) fretless I've ever laid my hands on. That classic, singing fretless sound is right there when blending slightly to the bridge pickup. The neck pickup gives you a nice, fat (but not as fat as the vintage V7), vintage (sic) sounding tone. All around, I'm very pleased with this one. A clear keeper. All I can do now is to hope that the fingerboard coating is hard enough to keep up with my roundwounds for years to come. Because it's hard to keep one's hands off the thing since it's so fun to play. Heartily recommended.
Here are my two V7's. With these may my bass needs be covered. (No, not thinking about getting the P7. Yet.)
View attachment 2745333

Congratulations. I have the same V7-5 Fretless, in Antique White. Stunning bass!
I too am targeting a P7-5, but fretted this time.

 

[Glazenn]

Pick guards on ebay, (No affiliation)
Sire bass ...: 21 new matches today
View all results
Here are the top 20 matches for today
View attachment 2745693
Blue Pearloid 5 String Pickguard works...
Bid: $19.95

Someone has understood a business is there. Hope the P7 version will come up soon.

 

[Christoph]

So, I ended up returning the instrument and swapping it to a (not B-stock) fretless alder/rosewood V7. This time, unlike many other times, B-stock quality really showed (didn't spot it for the original list but also the bridge PU was tightly stuck too low). Not counting the mechanical flaws, the instrument itself was pretty solid. The only other issue was that the black paint on the side of the neck near the fingerboard made it a bit hard to see the fret lines at times. Would've probably gotten used to it, but could be an issue for somebody. Also, soundwise, the huge difference between the two pickups was something I wasn't prepared for. I guess I just like the alder/rw "togetherness" or warm tightness more than that 70's JB - albeit snappier - maple-y openness. As always, YMMV.



Fast-forward to few days ago. The tobacco burst fretless V7 (Indonesian, 2017) came. It came strung with D'Addario Chromes, as expected. Sounded nice, everything worked and set-up was good right out of the box. The tuners are newer kind and work flawlessly. After a while I changed the strings to D'Addario nickelwounds, lowered the action a bit, and - lo and behold - maybe the best playing (and sounding) fretless I've ever laid my hands on. That classic, singing fretless sound is right there when blending slightly to the bridge pickup. The neck pickup gives you a nice, fat (but not as fat as the vintage V7), vintage (sic) sounding tone. All around, I'm very pleased with this one. A clear keeper. All I can do now is to hope that the fingerboard coating is hard enough to keep up with my roundwounds for years to come. Because it's hard to keep one's hands off the thing since it's so fun to play. Heartily recommended.

Here are my two V7's. With these may my bass needs be covered. (No, not thinking about getting the P7. Yet.)

View attachment 2745334
View attachment 2745333

Congrats. They are beauties! What kind of fingerboard finish is on the fretless? High gloss or matte/oil?

 

[Glazenn]

Congrats. They are beauties! What kind of fingerboard finish is on the fretless? High gloss or matte/oil?

High gloss (most likely epoxy).

 

[puff father]

So, I ended up returning the instrument and swapping it to a (not B-stock) fretless alder/rosewood V7. This time, unlike many other times, B-stock quality really showed (didn't spot it for the original list but also the bridge PU was tightly stuck too low). Not counting the mechanical flaws, the instrument itself was pretty solid. The only other issue was that the black paint on the side of the neck near the fingerboard made it a bit hard to see the fret lines at times. Would've probably gotten used to it, but could be an issue for somebody. Also, soundwise, the huge difference between the two pickups was something I wasn't prepared for. I guess I just like the alder/rw "togetherness" or warm tightness more than that 70's JB - albeit snappier - maple-y openness. As always, YMMV.



Fast-forward to few days ago. The tobacco burst fretless V7 (Indonesian, 2017) came. It came strung with D'Addario Chromes, as expected. Sounded nice, everything worked and set-up was good right out of the box. The tuners are newer kind and work flawlessly. After a while I changed the strings to D'Addario nickelwounds, lowered the action a bit, and - lo and behold - maybe the best playing (and sounding) fretless I've ever laid my hands on. That classic, singing fretless sound is right there when blending slightly to the bridge pickup. The neck pickup gives you a nice, fat (but not as fat as the vintage V7), vintage (sic) sounding tone. All around, I'm very pleased with this one. A clear keeper. All I can do now is to hope that the fingerboard coating is hard enough to keep up with my roundwounds for years to come. Because it's hard to keep one's hands off the thing since it's so fun to play. Heartily recommended.

Here are my two V7's. With these may my bass needs be covered. (No, not thinking about getting the P7. Yet.)

View attachment 2745334
View attachment 2745333

Both gorgeous basses! I have an alder V7 5 string and a fretless alder V7 4.

My P7 4 string is only a couple of weeks ahead..., I hope.

 

[greenklang]

Congrats. They are beauties! What kind of fingerboard finish is on the fretless? High gloss or matte/oil?

Thanks! As Glazenn said, it's glossy. After a few days of playing, at very close inspection, I can see some light string markings where the strings touch the fingerboard. I think it's only natural on a high gloss finish, and purely cosmetic, at this point.

 

[greenklang]

An interesting side notion: The fretted V7 (manufactured in 2016) feels a bit bulkier than the fretless V7 (manufactured in 2017). Obviously the frets themselves add height to the fingerboard but I'm not referring to that. The bass as a whole seems slightly lighter in weight and slightly slimmer, especially in the neck and the headstock area. It may very well just all be in my imagination, and probably stem from the great playability that the bass has. Or maybe Sire has indeed made "bulkiness-reducing" changes in the manufacturing process during the last year or two? If I only had a decent scale to weigh it...

 

[Aweiss96]

An interesting side notion: The fretted V7 (manufactured in 2016) feels a bit bulkier than the fretless V7 (manufactured in 2017). Obviously the frets themselves add height to the fingerboard but I'm not referring to that. The bass as a whole seems slightly lighter in weight and slightly slimmer, especially in the neck and the headstock area. It may very well just all be in my imagination, and probably stem from the great playability that the bass has. Or maybe Sire has indeed made "bulkiness-reducing" changes in the manufacturing process during the last year or two? If I only had a decent scale to weigh it...

Definitely agree. I have the fretted and fretless in the same wood combinations and colors but both were ordered this year. There are a couple of other little different details, but the fretless is definitely a hell of a lot lighter.

 

[bajo_scl]

does anybody knows if its possible to adjust the poles in the Precision pick up of the P7? i mean the pick up heigh of bass and treble side of the P pick up..

 

[jlepre]

A little ditty with my VV7 5er