People have different preferences and experiences. Sires aren't everyone's cup of tea. No issues with that, doesn't affect their value at all, imho.
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Sire V7 - are they really THAT good?
- Thread starter SimonSays
- Start date
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- fender sire v7 sire v7 vintage
To clarify, I didn't mean "thin" as in thin profile, but thin as in... weak, empty, hollow, etc. The neck, to me, feels cheap. But again, just my opinion.
I just received a new Vintage V7 that seems off. The bass came with medium high action and a lot of neck relief. After a couple truss rod tweeks, it seems the truss rod is about maxed. The forward bow is still 0.020" at the ninth fret with the stock XL170s. What's weird is the bridge also appears to be nearly maxed out in height. If the neck had the relief it should, I am not sure the saddles would go high enough. And the saddles are crooked going from E to G as it appears the threaded saddles are too long. There is a definite angle from the intonation spring / screw heading into the saddles. The bridge looks like a bunch of parts thrown together. I am a fan of Fender vintage bridge and understand it is not super precision but this bridge looks like it is assembled with the wrong parts. Frets are pretty good. Maybe a smidge rough at the edges. I like the passive sound. Preamp is subtle. I can hardly tell any difference between flat EQ and passive. All in all I love the look and sound. But the workmanship is poor and will need to go back.
Interesting thread.
To answer the original question posed by the OP years ago. I simply post this video.
This is a great demonstration to me that the bass is generally as good as the player you hand it to. Once you get above a minimum level of quality, it's the player that matters the most. Marcus makes the Sires sing.
To answer the original question posed by the OP years ago. I simply post this video.
This is a great demonstration to me that the bass is generally as good as the player you hand it to. Once you get above a minimum level of quality, it's the player that matters the most. Marcus makes the Sires sing.
I’ve played too many instruments and played for too long to believe that. Having owned a Sire V7 I can testify that it is far better than the best MIM Fenders. I just picked up a Fender Player and the quality isn’t close to a Sire V7. The stock pickups in the Fender are thin as hell and the fit was poor. I had to re-drill the screw holes for the bridge pickup because one hole was more than 1/4” off. Plus the bass required a full fret leveling for low action. My Sire was fret board was top shelf out of the box. Plus it was substantially less $$ and included the best soft case I’ve ever owned.
My only complaints were the Head stock and the overly busy controls.
I do believe those like Marcus with huge hands and monster hand strength can get more out of a marginal instrument.
@joellay
Here is an excellent player on a £300 bass. She is young with small hands, but with killing time, note choice, dynamics, and articulation.
It’s not about hand size. It’s about the player, and practice. This was a bitter pill for me to swallow when I first learned it. But I have had it consistently proven to me, not least when I traded basses with Jeff Berlin during a lesson and we both ended up sounding exactly like ourselves in spite of completely different instruments.
The SUB in the video above, in spite of all of the issues that people on this board keep going on about (like a too hot preamp, or whatever), sounds fabulous, and meets my test of ‘minimum level of quality’ for the bass being reached.
It’s the player.
Here is an excellent player on a £300 bass. She is young with small hands, but with killing time, note choice, dynamics, and articulation.
It’s not about hand size. It’s about the player, and practice. This was a bitter pill for me to swallow when I first learned it. But I have had it consistently proven to me, not least when I traded basses with Jeff Berlin during a lesson and we both ended up sounding exactly like ourselves in spite of completely different instruments.
The SUB in the video above, in spite of all of the issues that people on this board keep going on about (like a too hot preamp, or whatever), sounds fabulous, and meets my test of ‘minimum level of quality’ for the bass being reached.
It’s the player.
I have that exact same bass down to the color. Sterling sub. Set up properly it’s superior to a Mexican Fender. You’ll never hear me say practice doesn’t matter. Quality doesn’t necessarily reflect price paid. I put an Aguilar Pick up in mine and it sounds like a vintage MM. It plays incredibly easy and fast. I can do slap and tap on this bass. Pick up a poorly set up bass and all the sudden it sounds way worse. Did I suddenly lose my technique? No.
Owning a number of basses in various price ranges has taught me this.
I agree. The setup is absolutely key. No arguments there.
The key phrasing in my last response (and my first post) was 'minimum level of quality'.
The general quality of basses has gone up so much that even cheap basses like Squiers, SUBS, and upwards can get good setups (although often they need some fettling - nut slots filed, some frets dressed, etc - to do it).
My main point about Sires is that they are well above the 'minimum level of quality' needed to sound good. Once you're above that minimum level, the rest is up to the player.
I suspect we agree on more than we disagree.
The key phrasing in my last response (and my first post) was 'minimum level of quality'.
The general quality of basses has gone up so much that even cheap basses like Squiers, SUBS, and upwards can get good setups (although often they need some fettling - nut slots filed, some frets dressed, etc - to do it).
My main point about Sires is that they are well above the 'minimum level of quality' needed to sound good. Once you're above that minimum level, the rest is up to the player.
I suspect we agree on more than we disagree.
Another killing video with Marcus on the Sire V7.
The keys player and drummer are superb as well.
Yes, Sires do sound that good.
The keys player and drummer are superb as well.
Yes, Sires do sound that good.
Hi and happy New Year everybody,
I would like to be really sincere and honest here. I purchased a 5 string Sire V7 vintage by curiosity and reading all the posts out there that promote these basses. I got it new online for about 550.-. I picked this model because of the wood, swamp ash body and maple neck. The craftsmanship is ok and better than instruments at this price range, but not outstanding, which is normal for the price. For example, the "rounded frets" are still coming out of the neck and you can feel them including their irregulariies when passing your fingers on the neck edge. In addition, the height of the strings can be lowered to a good and decent extent, but not to the very low due probably to the neck craftsmanship, even when it is adjusted. The bass is heavy and it is something to consider when playing long gigs or being a semipro, professional musician. The onboard preamp is not intuitive and hard to control, it is sensitive for slight moves and has very poor quality plastic knobs. The sound is just ok and is not well balanced even when the preamp is not on. You have to play with the preamp a long time to understand how it works and get a decent sound, but still just ok probably due to the pickups that are average (normal for the price).
As you can read, I was really disappointed but did not give up due to the wood and descent craftsmanship of this bass. Hence, I changed the pickups with a set Delano JMVC 5 FE/M2-AS, same as Hadrien Feraud (AS is important because, Sire has been so smart that there are not many pickups out there that have the correct dimensions and will fit this bass). I understand that Aguilar would be a good alternative, but they are more expensive. I also change the preamp to have a better and more natural sound with the Glockenklang 3-Band Electronic 5 poti (the best fit in the body hole configutation for me was volume, bass, treble, pickup blend, medium). This preamp has the same controls has the Sire, pull off volume knob (to cancel preamp) including bass, treble and medium controls. I also change the knobs, because as I mentioned it above, they have a very poor quality. Finally, I changed the bridge because it is not a good quality bridge and is lose. I chose the Hipshot Kickass bass bridge for a regular 5 string bass. The only con here is that you will abandon the holes to string your bass through the body. I included to pictures so that you can see how it looks.
As a results, the sound is greatly improved and much more accurate sound with a wide dynamic range that cuts through the mix live and when recording. The pickups and preamp work great together and will give you a very natural tone, with lots of possibilities (bass, treble and medium frequencies). I play this bass in all kind of styles, rock, funk jazz, and can get an awesome slap tone a la Marcus Miller. It sounds now like top end expensive bass and I do not regret a second my choices. However, I added an extra cost of about 400-500.- dollars for these changes.
Take care,
Greg
What year were they? I have found that 2008 or later MIM Fenders are usually rather good.
Bought one in 2012, one in 2017. Electronics went out in both. Turn volume all the way down, still sound. Tone pot made no difference. Jacks wore out in both in under 6 months.
Will never buy another MIM Fender.
Only basses I have had issues with. Spent $250 on a Sterling Sub that has been flawless. Of course the US G&L SB-2 and 4003s have also been without issue.
So not a price range issue. Me and Fender just seem to never work out.
Suit yourself but two new CTS pots, a capacitor, some wires, and a Switchcraft jack wouldn’t have cost you much.
I just got a P7 (not V7), 5-string. Workmanship seems great, buzz-free low action of 3/32. Swamp Ash and maple. Only complaint I’ve read in reviews is that the stacked pots might not take too much abuse. Mine seem pretty solid, though.
