Sire Bass Club!

[ewe2]

NBD!! Here is Zapp, the gorgeous captain of the V5-iverse with that neck to die for, what an amazing fretless bass this is. Just incredible quality of the neck, and the body is so much lighter than I expected, I'm rocking it with a GUITAR strap and it's fine, not as neck-divey as I was expecting either. All the mwah you could want, I think LowEndLobsters assessment is accurate and I foresee pickup and preamp updates in the future but that's only building on a very solid foundation, it's perfectly giggable now, it's taking pedals just great, loves my empress compressor and my Keeley weird pedals etc. My only big question is, what's up with the serial numbers, does anyone have a clue to the format? Mine's 2N23211555 and my best guess is 2N = 2nd gen 232 = Feb 2023 and the rest is either more of a date or another number plus a production number or whatever.

Have some shots of the pretty:

 

[geisterfaust]

My fretless hunt continues: Sire M5/M7 Fretless 5 users, any long term reviews and/or opinions? The black M7 looks very nice...

Any cons? Pros?

 

[eli]

My fretless hunt continues: Sire M5/M7 Fretless 5 users, any long term reviews and/or opinions? The black M7 looks very nice...

Any cons? Pros?

I feel like the fretlesses (fretli?) I have really do everything I need. But I remain curious about a fretless M5/M7. Might have to get one just to find out. Meantime, waiting for opinions.

 

[klattman]

My fretless hunt continues: Sire M5/M7 Fretless 5 users, any long term reviews and/or opinions? The black M7 looks very nice...

Any cons? Pros?

I don't know about M but I have a fretless U5 and a fretless P7 and they sing. That hard finish on te fretboard surface and satin on the back is great. Haven't had them long enough to comment on longevity but they seem well made (better than some other brands I won't mention).

 

[timmus]

Just got back from playing my brandy new Sire P5R 5 string tonight at a southern/Black gospel thing….I put LaBella Deep Talking flats on it this past weekend and it was thunderous. It was unbelievably fun. I really need to up my game on slap but I was able to carry it as long as I didn't try to get too flashy .

 

[geisterfaust]

I don't know about M but I have a fretless U5 and a fretless P7 and they sing. That hard finish on te fretboard surface and satin on the back is great. Haven't had them long enough to comment on longevity but they seem well made (better than some other brands I won't mention).

Thanks for the response! I'm curious to see how hard is the fretboard surface since i'll be using roadwounds most likely. I've seen plenty of positive reviews regarding the P and V series, but I haven't seen that many reviews of the M fretless bassess...

Hope someone else can chime in!!!

 

[DoctorZeus]

Is the vintage white really a pale yellow? It looks a bit that way on the P5r pictures.

 

[Gadgetman6754]

Update on my Sire U5,finding the U5 has real narrow neck at the nut. Never use to have an issue with nut width. Took it to Church this weekend see how fit in the mix with other instruments. Piano,drums,and other acoustic guitars,sound real good. One of the guys that played lead guitar was really impressed with the U5. Liked the short scale 30" neck,and asked me if I would let him trade me his D'Angelico semi hollow body for the U5? And of course I was having mixed feeling about the narrow neck on the U5. I was familiar with the D'Angelico bass,and it was Cherry Burst,actually the finish on the U5 they say is Tobacco Burst which the finish I wanted on the U5. So I decided to trade with him. Call me crazy I know,but all is good.View attachment 5207508 View attachment 5207509

congrats on finding the better axe for you! Glad I could be a part of your journey

 

[eli]

Is the vintage white really a pale yellow? It looks a bit that way on the P5r pictures.

The old nitrocellulose lacquer turned yellow with age; I imagine that's what they were going for here.

 

[DoctorZeus]

The old nitrocellulose lacquer turned yellow with age; I imagine that's what they were going for here.

OK thank you. It is hard to tell if it has a yellow tint in the pics. Since you say it does that is helpful.

 

[StevewiththePbass]

Traded a Gen 1 Modern Player Jazz for this V7 today. LOVE the sound so far, but the setup is a different story. Couple high frets around the 14-15 fret, can't get the buzz out so I'm gonna get them leveled. Beyond that, I'm very satisfied…

 

[PeeeBass]

I'm not a Sire Owner, but have been wanting a P5R as soon as those came out.
Last night I found a local store had a used one for $499.
I went in today as soon as they open to check it out.
I was crushed!!! It played terribly!!!
The action was high. When I asked them to adjust the truss rod, they said the neck looked pretty straight.
The guy told me the saddles need to be adjusted....... ???
They tweaked the truss rod a little.
The first 3 frets buzzed, badly.
And there was fret sprout.

I have only played a handful of Sires, oddly enough, all at the same store(used).
I'm guessing this isn't typical?

 

[Holdsg]

why do you think it was used?

sometimes buying used you get someone else's problem.
at least you got to try it before you buy it.

now, my experience with Sire has been buying 2 new basses direct from the company. And those have been great. Maybe I got lucky.

 

[klattman]

I'm not a Sire Owner, but have been wanting a P5R as soon as those came out.
Last night I found a local store had a used one for $499.
I went in today as soon as they open to check it out.
I was crushed!!! It played terribly!!!
The action was high. When I asked them to adjust the truss rod, they said the neck looked pretty straight.
The guy told me the saddles need to be adjusted....... ???
They tweaked the truss rod a little.
The first 3 frets buzzed, badly.
And there was fret sprout.

I have only played a handful of Sires, oddly enough, all at the same store(used).
I'm guessing this isn't typical?

I have 4 sires, all bought new, sight unseen from different online shops and they all showed up nearly perfect.

Sorry you found a dud.

 

[PeeeBass]

The store I played the P5R is a huge store. 80% used stuff.
It's a Music Go Round if that means anything. They're a pretty big chain outfit.
They don't do much if anything when stuff comes in as far as setup.
This place is the on place I've ever seen Sires in person

 

[Gadgetman6754]

I'm not a Sire Owner, but have been wanting a P5R as soon as those came out.
Last night I found a local store had a used one for $499.
I went in today as soon as they open to check it out.
I was crushed!!! It played terribly!!!
The action was high. When I asked them to adjust the truss rod, they said the neck looked pretty straight.
The guy told me the saddles need to be adjusted....... ???
They tweaked the truss rod a little.
The first 3 frets buzzed, badly.
And there was fret sprout.

I have only played a handful of Sires, oddly enough, all at the same store(used).
I'm guessing this isn't typical?

I've bought 2 V7 2nd Gen's (one fretted and one fretless), both off of eBay, and they were both fabulous, so I would guess it's been the ones that you've seen. I have heard (I believe it was in this Forum) that Sire has been very good about fixing issues when purchased from the factory (sending replacement instruments). What I'm wondering (and hopefully someone here can advise) is if they send a replacement to someone who has received a "not so perfect" one, where does that old one go? Do they allow people to keep them and then they find their way to the secondary market, or does Sire have them sent to music stores (secondary market), etc.?

 

[eli]

The store I played the P5R is a huge store. 80% used stuff.
It's a Music Go Round if that means anything. They're a pretty big chain outfit.
They don't do much if anything when stuff comes in as far as setup.
This place is the on place I've ever seen Sires in person

Since it was used, fair possibility the previous owner either liked the action that high or adjusted it poorly. A used place like MGR would be VERY reticent to tweaking the truss rod, because if it breaks, the bass is dead and they can't sell it.

Fret sprout is a climate thing. Cold and dry will make the wood contract and the frets seem to "sprout". There's not much the manufacturer can do about that.

 

[timmus]

I just received a new P5R early last week from Germany (my 4th Sire from Germany). It played beautifully as received but even so, I lowered the nut slots a bit, adjusted the truss rod a tad and lowered the saddles a bit. It played very well out of the box but what I did were just my preferential setup things.

I have to say, in all the years I've played bass (33), I've never played a neck like this one. It's just glassy yet satiny, almost erotically smooth. This bass could quickly become my desert island bass.

I wasn't too thrilled with the strings that came on it so I put a set of LaBella Deep Talking flat wound strings on it . I think the original strings were D'Addario round wounds...not bad strings but I really like flats on my P-Basses.

Did I say I was in love?

 

[Chrome Dome]

Not asking for pity,or concern just sharing some dilemma in wanting the Sire U5 tobacco burst with the body binding. Looks like the Cherry Burst to me. First was told the tobacco burst U5 would not be available until mid to last of October. Was offered the natural finish which I bought off another TBer here. Won't bore you with the story I shared here earlier. Been seeing the U5 I preferred but seemed over priced on Reverb. Finally did see one reasonably priced,so it should be here today. Not a new but used,with some minor scratches on back where the string ferrules are located. Which I can deal with right now. Might not matter to some about the finish,but at least it is the one I prefer. Fickle I guess fits the scenario. To see the pictures have to click on the black arrows,for way it downloaced?

 

[lug]

The tobacco burst is the one all the cool kids have.