How did you find out about that LE Lobtster (Le' Lobster...?) ? If I find out that the V7s have hum canceling pickups it will make deciding even harder. Does anyone have any thoughts on the 'plain' maple neck stability on the 7's?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Which Sire!!
- Thread starter Jon Draffan
- Start date
The neck on my 1st gen V7 is VERY stable and rarely needs the truss rod adjusted. I keep 5/64” string height at the 12th fret
Hehe, Le Lobster. I borrowed a P7 from a friend, purchased a P7 and bought a U5 with the same pickups. I've only tried the V7 vintage which has true single coils. My V7 Vintage is maple/maple and the neck is very stable. Have had it for a little over a year now and it's been great. One of my favorite J's in my arsenal (esp with the mods).
I finally am comfortable with a choice. For anybody not wanting to read my musings below, the choice is a P7. Hunting for a used Gen 2
Each of the Sires in the 7 (and now 5 series) has +'s and -'s and after a lotta' GASsy obsessing and a lot of listening to different videos of different "demos" with different signal chains and playing styles... I have formed an opinion about the basses I have been considering:
Each of the Sires in the 7 (and now 5 series) has +'s and -'s and after a lotta' GASsy obsessing and a lot of listening to different videos of different "demos" with different signal chains and playing styles... I have formed an opinion about the basses I have been considering:
- V5 +Looks amazing and love that roasted neck, -No matter what lies I tell myself, as soon as I hear single coil hum I dislike the instrument (that last comment lost a few fans for sure)
- V7 + classic looks and is one of few basses in the price range where the manufacturer added the binding AfTER the neck slots were cut, - See number 1 above, and I already have a pretty sweet JB that I put noiseless PU's in
- P5 + Again see #1 (+ and -), - I have owned many basses that were great versions of 'nothing special' and I have a Players P with a couple of Mods that the only reason I want to replace is that its NOT-rolled FB edges are actually pretty uncomfortable for the first 5-10 in. of playing
- P7 + Got all but one of my positives above It's got a J PU that sounds more usable than the average bridge J (IMO, without a lot of tweaking they tend to sound weak), - No roasted maple neck
- M5 + Soooo versatile and from what I have listened to, every PU config. sounds really great, - It's so versatile, and tiny... it remnids me of the Ibanez Cerro that I tried so hard to love but couldn't find a comfortable way to hold
Last edited:
Hey Jon, where are you located? I have both a Gen 2 P7 and a Gen 2 V7 Vintage that I’ve been thinking of parting with. Both excellent basses that I bought in early 2020, but I’ve found that I just don’t play them enough. PM me if you’re interested, maybe we can work something out.
Thanks Pat, I PM’ed you. I do want to ask if you could share in this public thread about any thoughts on the two models compared to each other, by themselves, wood combo’s you have… whatever. If your willing I’d love to read…?
A quick background- I had stopped playing for a couple years to focus on my career, but saw the writing one the wall in March of 2020, and was smart enough to have the P7 Ash/Tobacco burst show up on my doorstep the day before Chicago entered its first lockdown at the beginning of Covid. I used the time during lockdown to really get back into playing and have these two basses to thank for it.
The first thing you notice on the P7 is the neck. The rolled edges and finish just make it feel so smooth. The P pickup has great punch and the J pickup is a nice compliment to clean it up. That paired with their preamp make this a extremely versatile instrument. I liked it so much that I bought the V7 Vintage 3 months later. If you’re looking for that classic ‘70s Fender tone, this is the bass for you. Honestly, I played along to Limelight and immediately giggled at how easy it was to mimic Geddy’s tone. Super, super fun bass to play if that’s the tone you’re looking for.
Now for the “cons” and they’re not really complaints. I understand that if you’re trying to copy a boutique type bass on a budget, there has to be some cutbacks. The finish is obviously one of those areas. I’m sure they would look great on stage, but when you look closely you can readily see imperfections and the clear coat is thin. I’m disappointed with the pots. All the pots on the P except 1 have a detent for the center position except the treble. It looks like they replaced the knobs on the newer models, but mine are cheap plastic and I have looked into replacements. I’m not the biggest fan of the bridge on the V7 Vintage when compared with the P. The P has much larger saddles that I feel give it fairly decent sustain vs. the small barrel, retro looking saddles on the V.
I took them both out of their cases to play tonight. The V I last played about 5 months ago and closer to 8 for the P. Both sounded great out of the bags, the P overall about a half step flat but still in tune to itself, and the V similarly down about a quarter step. One oddity I’ve noticed on both is the D and G strings take a few more turns to tune vs the E and A strings. I thought it might have something to do with the string trees, and rounded the outside edges of each, but that made no difference. I’d be happy to answer any questions if I can. Both basses will be up in the classifieds soon.
The first thing you notice on the P7 is the neck. The rolled edges and finish just make it feel so smooth. The P pickup has great punch and the J pickup is a nice compliment to clean it up. That paired with their preamp make this a extremely versatile instrument. I liked it so much that I bought the V7 Vintage 3 months later. If you’re looking for that classic ‘70s Fender tone, this is the bass for you. Honestly, I played along to Limelight and immediately giggled at how easy it was to mimic Geddy’s tone. Super, super fun bass to play if that’s the tone you’re looking for.
Now for the “cons” and they’re not really complaints. I understand that if you’re trying to copy a boutique type bass on a budget, there has to be some cutbacks. The finish is obviously one of those areas. I’m sure they would look great on stage, but when you look closely you can readily see imperfections and the clear coat is thin. I’m disappointed with the pots. All the pots on the P except 1 have a detent for the center position except the treble. It looks like they replaced the knobs on the newer models, but mine are cheap plastic and I have looked into replacements. I’m not the biggest fan of the bridge on the V7 Vintage when compared with the P. The P has much larger saddles that I feel give it fairly decent sustain vs. the small barrel, retro looking saddles on the V.
I took them both out of their cases to play tonight. The V I last played about 5 months ago and closer to 8 for the P. Both sounded great out of the bags, the P overall about a half step flat but still in tune to itself, and the V similarly down about a quarter step. One oddity I’ve noticed on both is the D and G strings take a few more turns to tune vs the E and A strings. I thought it might have something to do with the string trees, and rounded the outside edges of each, but that made no difference. I’d be happy to answer any questions if I can. Both basses will be up in the classifieds soon.
