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Sire V7 or Skyline DJ5?

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,308
120,517
Metro St. Louis
#1
That V7 has really gotten my attention and the price is unrivaled. On the other hand, I have never played, and don't know where I could find one to play. I know the V7 is active with a lot of options, but the DJ5 sounds fine passive, and I could get an outboard presumption latter. I could also buy a DJ5 from a great local dealer and trade in a bass or two or three if needs be. I can also put it on layaway too.
 
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#2
That's a tough call Doc. I have the Sire and it is quite the bass for the $$. I'm perfectly satisfied with it. That said, I haven't had the chance to get my hands on a DJ5. I will say the V7 has a great passive tone IMO. YMMV!
 
#3
I believe that the Sire is a great bass, but I like that I can layaway locally instead of having to cough up cash whenever Sire gets a shipment. I know $600 for the model I want is not a ton of money, but I seriously don't want to use plastic for a bass.
 
#7
Maybe I will pick one or the other up at the end of August. I have to admit that a bass that I played earlier the summer that really impressed me was the Ibanez SR665. Reverse p/j basses really get very close to the Jazz vibe when slapped, plus they have a split pickup that can be soloed. The bass is also under $700.
 
#8
I don't own any of those basses, but I do try both of them. I do own several Laklands, so, maybe I am a bit bias.

Sire V7 is indeed a great bass for the money, but I don't think it would match lakland DJ quality wise. The neck is imho, by far more comfortable on Lakland, Tone-wise, though V7 have some serious option of tone being switchable active/passive, I don't think we could underestimate DJ's.

imho though.
 
#10
I read that the tone of the Sire was focused a little higher. Maybe Sire users could comment?

If that's true then I'd go for the Lakland. I always aim to place my sound in the middle of fat and warm low mids.

I already have a US Lakland and the neck and B sting are so good I'd probably check out the DJ5 first just because of that.

Also I've owned 3 34" 5 string basses and only the Wal had a great B string, while both my 35" 5 ers have great B strings. That would probably sway me towards listening to the Lakland first.
 
#11
chris_b said:
I read that the tone of the Sire was focused a little higher. Maybe Sire users could comment?

If that's true then I'd go for the Lakland. I always aim to place my sound in the middle of fat and warm low mids.

I already have a US Lakland and the neck and B sting are so good I'd probably check out the DJ5 first just because of that.

Also I've owned 3 34" 5 string basses and only the Wal had a great B string, while both my 35" 5 ers have great B strings. That would probably sway me towards listening to the Lakland first.
Click to expand...

I have the Alder/RW V7 and I feel it has a good even sound. B string works great for me too. A little bit of the bass knob fattens the sound up in a good way and the sweepable mids can really change the overall character of the bass. Quickly becoming one of my favs is to favor the bridge p/u and roll the mids to a lower frequency and give the mid knob a little boost. Talk about a potent, fat but punchy bridge p/u sound! Once again I have no experience with the DJ, but for the $$ spent I'm more than happy with the Sire.

IMG_20150627_232510.jpg
 
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#12
Yo, Doc.
I own a V7 alder/rw, and have played the DJ 5, I understand your predicament.
Sound wise I have to say that the Sire is more versatile with the active/passive switching, for be 34" scale the low B is sounds good too. I'll give the DJ 5 a slight edge in hardware and the 35" scale does have a more focused low B, but really it's not that big a difference.
For me it all came down to the positive feedback on the Sire.
But you can't go wrong with either one.
Hope this helps.
 
#17
Dr. Cheese said:
I am a bit biased because I have played many DJ5s. Also, it seems like with Sire, I have to plan for when they are available. Maybe one day, I can just order one like with Carvin.
Click to expand...
In the end it came down to bang for my buck..especially since I wasn't set on having a 35" scale. The Skylines are great basses, in my heart though I still find it hard to spend MIA $ for Indonesian made.
 
#19
Dr. Cheese said:
I just want a good Jazz. Active or passive does not matter since I can always use an outboard preamp.
Click to expand...

The Lakland is awesome. I switched to a 6 so that eliminated Lakland from the running, and I prefer the Bacchus made stuff for a few reasons. But my Lakland 5 was excellent. With a Sadowsky outboard pre the tone is rather awesome.

If I had any complaint about my lakland it was that the tone was a little less clear and biting than I prefer. The other thing I notice is people on TB sell their used Skylines for too much sometimes . These are basses that realistically fetch $6-800 on the used market and I keep seeing them list at $900-1k here. For that money you can get a Bacchus woodline which has a very clear tone, and also has serial pickup selection, which gives yet another tonal pallet to a passive jazz bass. Just throwing that out there if you are thinking of sinking above $900 into a bass. There are a lot of awesome J style basses out there and many are flying under the radar.

For the price, the Sire is probably worth it. I haven't played one, but I know some good players using the who really like them. It just matters what bass speaks to you and if you really need it or not. Also, you need to really figure out if you prefer active or passive J's. The outboard pre does make a difference, but I found myself almost never using passive after a while.
 
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#20
Not trying to derail your thread, but for the kind of money you might be spending, why not try out a Fender American Deluxe Jazz? I have owned 3 and they have all been very well made, sounded good and played great! A great platform. That being said, I own a 2008 DJ5 with a factory installed East Pre and it is a fine bass. It sounds good, plays good and looks good, just like a jazz bass should. As far as Sire goes, I have not played one, but all I've read indicate it is a well made bass that is better than it's price tag.
 

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