Why would you choose a Fender over a Sire?

[squeally dan]

I've always been a Fender guy. No matter what I try, I always seem to end up back playing a Fender. Recently I briefly played a friend's Sire and was really impressed. It played great.
Now in searching for a new P, I'm considering a Sire because of the lower cost. However, I'm wondering what I won't be getting that would Come with a Fender P.

 

[bholder]

Because I wouldn't.

 

[bholder]

That is, you'll get more with the Sire, especially if you're looking at a particular price point.

 

[Sharko]

However, I'm wondering what I won't be getting that would Come with a Fender P.

The Fender decal ( maybe hardware quality too depending on the model and year)

 

[tom-g]

... However, I'm wondering what I won't be getting that would Come with a Fender P.

The name

 

[squeally dan]

That is, you'll get more with the Sire, especially if you're looking at a particular price point.

Don't need any extras. Mainly just looking at the P5 4 string.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

We can connaisseur all day here on TB, but the Fender brand is very strong and has its own magnetism and widespread recognition that may impact purchase decisions.

 

[bobyoung53]

I've never tried a Sire but have owned many Fenders, never had a problem and they've always played and sounded good and I knew I could get my money back if I sold them.

 

[DCGuy]

I'd give Fender the edge on component quality and resale value. But I'd buy what feels good and works for me. I played a Sire recently that was excellent.

 

[LBS-bass]

I own both. The Fender is my go-to but it wasn't cheap new. The Sire is my #2 and it's required a bit more tweaking; the bridge could probably stand to be replaced because I've had to jury rig some stuff to keep a saddle from rattling, but overall the build quality is quite excellent.

Unless you want to buy a very expensive Fender (mine is an Elite) I don't think you'll find a huge quality difference between the two. The Sires offer a tremendous value for the price.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Weight and less knobs
No harm in owning both or choosing one of the other. Get which ever one you prefer.

 

[micguy]

I've had both Fenders, and one Sire in my shop. I don't own any of either brand, so I'm relatively unbiased. The Fenders were in my shop because they needed work, the Sire was in for a mod. The notable things about the Sire were it had REALLY rolled edges, and spectacular flaming on the wood. I actually thought the edges were a bit too rolled - you do lose "margin" in terms of the string falling off the fretboard if you roll edges too much. Other than that, the Sire was a very well made piece - t's the nicest looking bass that's ever come through my little place. The Fenders? I haven't seen one with that level of detail, or anywhere near that fancy of wood. Sample size was obviously very small, but that's what I have observed.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I've always been a Fender guy. No matter what I try, I always seem to end up back playing a Fender. Recently I briefly played a friend's Sire and was really impressed. It played great.
Now in searching for a new P, I'm considering a Sire because of the lower cost. However, I'm wondering what I won't be getting that would Come with a Fender P.

I would choose a Fender over a Sire because I don't like preamps.

 

[mb94952]

SIRE is in MY opinion the BEST production bass on the market in the classic bass FSO market. I just learned that stands for Fender Shaped Object, so I'm a little late the table.

A SIRE does everything better. It has dead silent electronics, a 3 1/2 band active EQ (mid sweep) and passive mode, and the old fashioned tone knob works in both settings. I haven't found a more versatile, comfortable bass. I've used it on more recordings lately than other basses.

The SIRE is not one of those "once you replace the pickups, bridge, and tuners you'll be good" basses. The ONLY common complaint I see on the Sire Club are the 5 string players who put ultra light tuners on. Otherwise, the bass needs nothing.

If you don't like preamps, use the toggle that goes to true bypass passive.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I've seen Sire basses that looked nice, but have only tried one and it was so heavy it made T-40s look like balsa.

 

[primusfan1989]

1) Resale value, Fenders will resell for higher
2) People listen with their eyes, Ive encountered engineers/producers that will not take your bass seriously without the fender logo. Id agree that is asinine but Ive encountered it
3) Personally I have no interest in an active instrument (and to my knowledge Sire doesn't make passive instruments, I know you can select a passive mode but I don't want the circuit or extra knobs and battery in the equation at all, fickle perhaps)
4)There are no seminal records made with a Sire to my knowledge

 

[Sands]

I've seen Sire basses that looked nice, but have only tried one and it was so heavy it made T-40s look like balsa.

I've heard they are heavy. Who makes them? Who profits? CCP?

 

[chadhargis]

Never played a Sire bass, but I've owned a few Fenders. I still own one. I think Fender's American instruments are typically of good quality. Yes, they have some QA issues from time to time, and yes...given the number of Fender instruments that are sold repair shops will have more of them than any other brand.

With a Fender you know what you are gonna get. I good instrument that is moderately over priced due to the headstock logo. It's sort of like the saying from back in the early days in the technology world, "No one ever got fired for buying IBM". It's sort of like that with Fender.

I other brand basses, including a $149 Harley Benton and they all play quite well. We live in interesting times these days. With CNC machines and automation, there aren't many mass produced instruments that have a lot of hands on labor. Machines don't typically have bad days and good days. They produce the same product over and over again.

 

[Hot Rats]

I would choose the Fender because of the headstock shape. I would like to play both if I could, but mostly the Sire headstock turns me off. I could be swayed by an exceptional example though.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

I just played a 5 string P style Sire, passive, stupid light, roasted neck. G.A.S. is a bitch.