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Sire V7 or Skyline DJ5?

#61
The Lakland DJ5 is amazing passive. I have a few friends with difference preamps in their DJ5s. Predominantly Audere and John East J Retro.

Had John East installed was too flexible which made it time consuming to dial between different songs. You barely move the sucker and it changes dramatically. Passive engaged was absolutely horrible. Many agree.

The Audere was excellent and preserved the passive tone quite excellent, but was noisy with the single coils, very noisy.

Then at last, the Sadowsky Outboard Preamp. Amazing things happen when you pair the two. The tone knob with the Sadowsky Pre dials in some pretty wicked tone.

I whole-heartedly hope you purchase the DJ5, then eventually add the Sadowsky Pre.

AngelCrusher said:
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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#72
stingray69 said:
A little late to this thread - but if anyone hasn't already seen this vid, it goes through some Fender, Sire & Atelier Z basses:

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My goodness! Thanks for posting that clip!:thumbsup:

I really loved the high end clarity of the AtelierZ. What blew me away was that the Sire in passive, was as clear as the AtelierZ. I think that clip settles it for me, the Sire is the best deal, and maybe the best period. I would have to a/b it against a good passive to see how it stacks up there.

The Sire really makes me wonder how important the Seventies position is for tone?
 
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#73
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Dr. Cheese said:
My goodness! Thanks for posting that clip!:thumbsup:

I really loved the high end clarity of the AtelierZ. What blew me away was that the Sire in passive, was as clear as the AtelierZ. I think that clip settles it for me, the Sire is the best deal, and maybe the best period. I would have to a/b it against a good passive to see how it stacks up there.

The Sire really makes me wonder how important the Seventies position is for tone?
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No problem Doc - almost missed this clip myself on the internets, lol. That's the way I hear it too - the fact that Sire (a $500 instrument) is hanging neck to neck with an instrument 5x its cost is saying something now. I am slightly biased in the fact that I have a Sire on order. Given the positive reviews, I'm certain I made a solid purchase. Not a diss to higher end instruments - I've owned several boutiques myself and they are wonderful options for some, but ALL musicians benefit when manufacturers start raising the quality rather than the prices. ;)

I have several 70's position jazz basses - and I also love a 60's pup spacing too. The clips I've heard though make me start to wonder too because that Sire is the growliest thing I've heard outside of a true 70's spacing. I'm starting to believe that it becomes more of an intentional tone-goal in the overall design - and you know how Marcus is fond of a growly 70's spacing. No accident I'm thinking.
 
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#74
stingray69 said:
's

No problem Doc - almost missed this clip myself on the internets, lol. That's the way I hear it too - the fact that Sire (a $500 instrument) is hanging neck to neck with an instrument 5x it's cost is saying something now. I am slightly biased in the fact that I have a Sire on order. Given the positive reviews, I'm certain I made a solid purchase. Not a diss to higher end instruments - I've own several boutiques myself and they are wonderful options for some, but ALL musicians benefit when manufacturers start raising the quality rather than the prices. ;)

I have several 70's position jazz basses - and I also love a 60's pup spacing too. The clips I've heard though make me start to wonder too because that Sire is the growliest thing I've heard outside of a true 70's spacing. I'm starting to believe that it becomes more of an intentional tone-goal in the overall design - and you know how Marcus is fond of a growly 70's spacing. No accident I'm thinking.
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My name is Dr. Cheese, and I approve this post!:bassist:
 
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#77
kingsx925 said:
I too owned a DJ5 and it was a killer bass. I dug the passive tone of that bass, but it was kind of a one trick pony. I bought my first Sire V7 5 string (white body with a rosewood fretboard) and loved it so much I bought another V7 5 stringer (tobacco burst with Rosewood fretboard). There are way more tonal options with the Sire and the preamp is crazy ********! Tons of low end and sizzle in this sucker, gotta be careful with boosting frequencies. These Sires are as good if not equal to my Fender American Deluxe basses, seriously. The hardware would be the only point where I give Fender the nod, but it's so damn close who cares... It's all about that fat tone and ubber highs!!
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How is the neck profile of the V7 compared to the DJ5? Is the V7 chunkier?
 
#79
HA_DA_JA said:
I just got a Sire and I also have a Skyline Lakland and a USA lakland. The necks are miles apart on the USA vs Skyline Lakland. The neck on the Sire V7 is like the USA lakland - 60's C neck very comfortable.
The Sire 34" scale 5 string has a better sounding lower B than any USA Fender Deluxe Jazz V I have played but is not as good as the 35" scale of either Lakland. The 3 piece Alder on the sire looks alright on the front of the guitar (not exceptional but just alright) but on the back the 3 x pieces do show up a little different looking on my Tobacco Sunburst model. I guess it would not matter if it was a solid colour. I certainly think the Sire sounds very good in passive model and even better with options in Active mode. I think because it plays so well and it has the very good eq it was a no brainer to get the Sire over the USA jazz V deluxe. I know the workmanship is high on the V7 at the moment but for how long who knows. Grab one while you can.
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Just a note,,,almost a year later, I just picked up a red metallic Sire 4 string V7 5 days ago...VERY nice unit..400 bucks..perfect out of the box, absolute perfect workmanship, no flaws whatsoever..Beautiful neck, plays great. Tweaked the trussrod a bit to flatten out the neck to my standards...did not touch string height..perfect low the way i like it...right out of the box.....it has one a bit iffy note..the B on the D string, which is unusual...The G string is perfect!..which for a Jazz bass is most unusual
 
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