Sire V7 5vers vs Fender J vs Custom build

[Reverend T]

Been a semi pro who recently turned pro. I play live and tour with some acts and have my own band (two).

I own a Fender Am Std J (4 String) and on the verge of receiving a Fender P Am Std (4 string) scored used from TB. I also have an Opti FET ordered and on their waitlist. I am starting to get a fair share of studio session work and now miss a 5ver with a good B.

My own band has a hip-hop, RnB and soul influenced vibe. I am a pocket player. Don't solo a lot and throw in the occasional slap (I can slap fairly well but dont have a band that musically justifies it currently). I really want five string bass with some growl and I wanna buy once. Budget is $1500 and used or new doesn't matter.

For reference sake let us say I dig Me'shell NdegeIcello's tone (Bittersweet, Digging you like an old soul record, Call me etc.)

My dilemma is choosing between:
1) a luthier built 5ver
2) MM SireV7
3) MIA Fender 5ver
4) Others

I don't have the opportunity to play and check out a lot of bass guitars given my current predicament.

I haven't heard great things about the Fende lowr B. I also didn't like any of the Ibanez bass guitars, good but not for me. I like chunky, meaty bass guitars.

Can the MM Sire hold its own in the studio? Can I shell out on upgrades and get it to go head to head against an Am Std? It sounds great on the YT videos. Other suggestions and your thoughts are welcome

 

[bholder]

Been a semi pro who recently turned pro. I play live and tour with some acts and have my own band (two).

I own a Fender Am Std J (4 String) and on the verge of receiving a Fender P Am Std (4 string) scored used from TB. I also have an Opti FET ordered and on their waitlist. I am starting to get a fair share of studio session work and now miss a 5ver with a good B.

My own band has a hip-hop, RnB and soul influenced vibe. I am a pocket player. Don't solo a lot and throw in the occasional slap (I can slap fairly well but dont have a band that musically justifies it currently). I really want five string bass with some growl and I wanna buy once. Budget is $1500 and used or new doesn't matter.

For reference sake let us say I dig Me'shell NdegeIcello's tone (Bittersweet, Digging you like an old soul record, Call me etc.)

My dilemma is choosing between:
1) a luthier built 5ver
2) MM SireV7
3) MIA Fender 5ver
4) Others

I don't have the opportunity to play and check out a lot of bass guitars given my current predicament.

I haven't heard great things about the Fende lowr B. I also didn't like any of the Ibanez bass guitars, good but not for me. I like chunky, meaty bass guitars.

Can the MM Sire hold its own in the studio? Can I shell out on upgrades and get it to go head to head against an Am Std? It sounds great on the YT videos. Other suggestions and your thoughts are welcome

I don't have a Fender AmStd J for comparison, but my V7 compares favorably to my '95 American Deluxe P. Whether you'll find the bridge, tuners, and pickups to your taste or in need of replacing, only one way to find out, but it certainly leaves lots of $ headroom for any upgrades you deem necessary. May well be better deals used, but not much in the new market is price/quality competitive with Sire, in my opinion.

 

[ErnieD]

So are these Sire MM V7's still only available to pre-order. I check in on these threads now and then, go to the site and last time still showed pre-order for US. Just wondered are they going to be available in US online stores or other stores at some point? I'd like to try a 5er out. Hoping the low prices stay low too. Maybe pre-order now is best.

 

[Alphaman]

So are these Sire MM V7's still only available to pre-order. I check in on these threads now and then, go to the site and last time still showed pre-order for US. Just wondered are they going to be available in US online stores or other stores at some point? I'd like to try a 5er out. Hoping the low prices stay low too. Maybe pre-order now is best.

They have been out for a few weeks now. A few have already sold in the used market in the classifieds. If you search, there's a really long thread on people's experiences with the basses. I have one and its a very nice playing bass!

 

[ErnieD]

Thanks Aman...I do searches every few days/weeks. I see where some folks have them in the US already. Maybe I need to search differently but didn't really read how some went about acquiring a Sire to the states. There are a few threads out there so I mighta missed it.

Anyway, another of the MM/Sire threads a TBer suggests, IIRC, his Lakland JoBo w/Sadowsky outboard pre, gets him darn near there; tone-wise. I happen to have both of those, JoBo 5 & Sadowsky pre. Gona give those a go again with some suggested knob settings and may cure my Sire GAS.......temporarily anyway, as I also wanna try a Roscoe real bad.

And I want to snag another Valenti, as my recent purchase here of a used-new-to-me #25 has me hooked on Valenti' basses now too. So much for GAS relief. d

And now, looking again at this thread title, prolly not the best thread to ask for such specifics of the Sire basses. My bad here, I sorta went OT. But to sorta circle back OT. OP might consider a Valenti J bass. They're pretty awesome. OK. I'm done.

 

[jim nolte]

Been a semi pro who recently turned pro. I play live and tour with some acts and have my own band (two).

I own a Fender Am Std J (4 String) and on the verge of receiving a Fender P Am Std (4 string) scored used from TB. I also have an Opti FET ordered and on their waitlist. I am starting to get a fair share of studio session work and now miss a 5ver with a good B.

My own band has a hip-hop, RnB and soul influenced vibe. I am a pocket player. Don't solo a lot and throw in the occasional slap (I can slap fairly well but dont have a band that musically justifies it currently). I really want five string bass with some growl and I wanna buy once. Budget is $1500 and used or new doesn't matter.

For reference sake let us say I dig Me'shell NdegeIcello's tone (Bittersweet, Digging you like an old soul record, Call me etc.)

My dilemma is choosing between:
1) a luthier built 5ver
2) MM SireV7
3) MIA Fender 5ver
4) Others

I don't have the opportunity to play and check out a lot of bass guitars given my current predicament.

I haven't heard great things about the Fende lowr B. I also didn't like any of the Ibanez bass guitars, good but not for me. I like chunky, meaty bass guitars.

Can the MM Sire hold its own in the studio? Can I shell out on upgrades and get it to go head to head against an Am Std? It sounds great on the YT videos. Other suggestions and your thoughts are welcome

Of those options, in that price range, I would go with a American Standard 5 with an Sadowsky

Thanks Aman...I do searches every few days/weeks. I see where some folks have them in the US already. Maybe I need to search differently but didn't really read how some went about acquiring a Sire to the states. There are a few threads out there so I mighta missed it.

Anyway, another of the MM/Sire threads a TBer suggests, IIRC, his Lakland JoBo w/Sadowsky outboard pre, gets him darn near there; tone-wise. I happen to have both of those, JoBo 5 & Sadowsky pre. Gona give those a go again with some suggested knob settings and may cure my Sire GAS.......temporarily anyway, as I also wanna try a Roscoe real bad.

And I want to snag another Valenti, as my recent purchase here of a used-new-to-me #25 has me hooked on Valenti' basses now too. So much for GAS relief. d

And now, looking again at this thread title, prolly not the best thread to ask for such specifics of the Sire basses. My bad here, I sorta went OT. But to sorta circle back OT. OP might consider a Valenti J bass. They're pretty awesome. OK. I'm done.

In that list I would go with a American Standard 5 with a Sadowsky or Aguilar outboard pre, or for less money 2 Sires. one ash/maple, one alder/rosewood, or look for used. Jim

 

[Reverend T]

I was basically asking if I benefit more price/value from a Sire MM or MIA Fender J and I am looking for a bass that will make work great in studio sessions.

I have a Roscoe on the whishlist but right now I want a tried and tested J bass since I know Roscoe bass guitars are very different beasts and also over my budget. I would consider the Sadowsky Metro five but it would be pushing the money too far. Even used they go for 2k. I am guessing I will get a AM Fender 5 very for now and upgrade to the Sadowsky in a few years. Thank you for your inputs.

 

[Alphaman]

I was basically asking if I benefit more price/value from a Sire MM or MIA Fender J and I am looking for a bass that will make work great in studio sessions.

I have a Roscoe on the whishlist but right now I want a tried and tested J bass since I know Roscoe bass guitars are very different beasts and also over my budget. I would consider the Sadowsky Metro five but it would be pushing the money too far. Even used they go for 2k. I am guessing I will get a AM Fender 5 very for now and upgrade to the Sadowsky in a few years. Thank you for your inputs.

The Sire is a very good bass. I like it as well and any of the Fender basses I've owned over the years.