skej21

Well you may be correct but it’s certainly not Adrian or the product’s fault. The choice of finish significantly increases the likelihood of this happening during transit and there’s very little Adrian could do to prevent it. I used to work in a guitar store and (at the time) the Fender American Vintage range instruments used to arrive like this quite regularly, so like I said, it’s a byproduct of the spec and conditions so the blame should not be placed with Adrian (even if the responsibility is his to try and fix it).

I’ve said it before but it’s incredible how many people don’t know what they’re buying and then spend money on something they do not like it. I understand Adrian should be a little more professional dealing with it, but most of these ‘issues’ are not issues, they’re choices or byproducts of your choices. This is also likely why most will state you are not entitled to a refund on customised product, to protect themselves and their business.

I think it's in reference to the actual animal, not the bass!

I think it’s a really clever move to be fair! Being able to find a sought-after bass aesthetic (Panther II) and offer it whilst also allowing Nordstrand to enter the instrument/bass market without resorting to another obvious J or P type instrument. The price point seems great too. Nice balance of not-too-cheap (low quality) but affordable and a nice choice of colours. I’ve been seriously considering one since I saw the first pics!

Exactly the reason I decided to change it! Yes, it’s possible to have it in passive mode with the stock active circuit but for me, I like the look of it when it’s less fussy!!

Scratchplate finished (big thanks to Bass Doc!) and fitted, along with the passive loom and a thumb rest. Surprising how easy (and cheap!) it was to get this converted to passive and give it more traditional twist. The next things I might change are the pickups (thinking maybe the Aguilar PJ hum cancelling set) and/or tuners. That would require an investment similar to the bass itself though, so need to think about it more!

I gutted mine. All it took was £60 for a new scratch plate (to fit a VVT wiring loom) and a solderless VVT wiring loom from Kiogon. It was so easy and dropped straight in, so now my Sire P7 5 string is now completely passive

Lovely!! (Needs more monitors :P)

For me it's the Mustang (and if 33" counts, then also my ACG!), both pictured here!

So a little update on this. So far I’ve fitted some Dunlop flatwound strings, bought a thumb rest and ordered some strap locks. I also ordered a solderless passive VVT wiring loom from @KiOgon (thanks again!) and today, stripped the old scratchplate off in preparation for cutting the new one. As you can see, I decided to cut and crimp the wires, so that pickups etc can be dropped in and out with ease in the future. As the controls will be located slightly differently, this required a little redesign of the layout on the plate. I worked from a USA Fender 5 string PJ to get these in a place that should look right. For now, the plan is to fit the new scratchplate and wiring loom with the Sire pickups, but I might upgrade them to something different in the future.

Yeah. They were talking about it being in September and I either won’t be able to attended due to some commitments or it’ll be cancelled and I just didn’t want to get caught in the continuous push-back of dates.

I’ve already had mine refunded 🙂

Says the guy wanting a huge global corporation to change their entire business model to save you a few quid? Come on dude, have a sense of humour!

“Can I buy this new bass without strings, I’m just going to swap them for flats anyway so....”

There’s no pleasing some people. It’s like complaining your new car comes with tyres as part of a ‘bundle’ when 1 in 50 customers kept a perfectly good set in the garage from the old car...

Oh, don't get me wrong I don't mean in terms of "quality" i mean in terms of cost. Fender charge £80-100 for the V-Mod split coil and about £80 for the Yosemite (Alnico 5), so only a slight increase in cost, but still there!

If you're actually interested in the differences, they are as follows; Spec Player Professional Body Finish Gloss Polyester Gloss Polyurethane Neck Shape Modern "C" "1963 C" Fingerboard Material Pau Ferro Rosewood Nut Material Synthetic Bone Bone Fret Size Medium Jumbo Narrow Tail Truss Rod Standard Posiflex Graphite Rods Pickup Player Series Alnico 5 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass® V-Mod Split Single-Coil Precision Bass® Bridge 4-Saddle Standard 4-Saddle HiMass™ Vintage (String-Through-Body or Topload) Tuning Machines Standard Open-Gear Fender® Lightweight Vintage-Style Keys with Tapered Shafts Strings Fender USA 7250M Nickel Plated Steel Fender USA 7250M Nickel Plated Steel Cases/Gig bag None Elite Molded Case Personally, i can see the pickup, the hardware and the fingerboard wood having a significant impact on the cost of the instrument itself, so even without the case (whether you want it or not aside), is justifiably more expensive. Whether it is £1000 more expensive is a different story... I do however, agree with @uk_lefty. Even if Fender sold the bass without a case, it'd still be £1,300ish and for that price i think a majority of potential buyers would look to another manufacturer immediately if a decent hardcase wasn't included!

Count me in, i've got a few i can contribute too

The only shocking thing about this is that they’re the only company to be fined. Literally every company we dealt with when I worked in the shop sent reps round to check your pricing and threatened to pull dealerships if you didn’t “make it competitive for other stores” by having pricing the same. Most obvious examples are if you google a big brand (like a Taylor guitar) and hit ‘shopping’ and look at the long list of all the big name music retailers keeping exactly the same price. It’s not that Fender are an exception, it’s just common practice and it’ll not be long before they catch someone else.

Nope, nothing wrong with modding a sig bass IMO. I put '60s lollipop tuners, hum-cancelling Aguilar J pickups and stacked knob controls on my Geddy Lee Signature. Don't care what anyone else thinks

Just out of curiosity, which hipshot size replacements did you go for?

Well, I’ve already put flats on it and I’m not keen on the bridge saddles or the tuners so tempted to change those. Also, the more I play it, the more I’m realising that the pickups could be improved and at the same time, I might revert to VVT (as I’m mostly keeping the EQ flat and in passive mode and I use a preamp pedal all the time anyway).

A little bit later than anticipated but here's a NBD thread for my recently acquired Sire P7 5 String (V2) in black. I don't normally start these kind of threads but as I intend some modifications down the line and can't find many threads relating to mods on this bass, i thought it might be a good place to share! Initial impressions are that the bass is fantastic to play, but I bought this as a project, so changes are coming... (no offence meant to all the die-hard Sire fans!) ***Thread is worthless without pics!*** so here goes

Slap technique is to bass, what Slytherin is to the world of Harry Potter. It doesn't make you any less of a 'wizard' but making the choice to pursue that route immediately raises a number of serious concerns about you...