dave_bass5

Ok, just my opinion here. The V7 and Lakland will sound very different. The V7 is a Jazz bass after all. I was never knocked out by the pups and preamp in my 55-01, although they were nice. Build quality will be the same IMO. The pre amp in the V7 is much more versatile, and you can get a much wider range of tones. I also love that it will run without a battery, or a dead battery. IIR my Lakland couldn't. Not a big deal but its a feature that makes me feel safer on stage if the battery does go. I cant really comment on what version of V7 you should get. I like the White/RW combo so went with that.

I cant really help with the basses asked about, but i do have a TRBX505, and have owned 2 Lakland 55-01 basses. Personally id go for the Lakland every time. As much as the TRBX is a lovely bass i dont think it is a versatile as the Lakland. To my ears its quite a bland tone, although in a nice way. Boring but fits in comes to mind. There is a 44-01 for sale on here i believe. Also worth looking at are the Sire basses. Better pre amp than either the Yamaha and Lakland, cheaper than either and the neck on my Sire V7 feels very close to how i remember my Laklands to feel.

Just a heads up (if its allowed). Ive just placed a for sale add on here for one of my new Sire MM gig bags. I thought i would post here as id rather it went to a Sire owner. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264086-sire-bass-gig-bag-for-sale-never-been-used/

As i was reading down this thread i was going to suggest a V7, but wasnt sure of the string spacing or availability. My 5 string version is one of the nicest, most comfortable jazz basses ive ever played. Not too keen on active basses but luckily this sounds good with moderate use of the knobs, and just as good in passive mode.

Just watching this on Sky Arts. I've never seen this gig before (I know it's an old one though). I was pleased to see Guy getting a lot of screen time, and really enjoying himself. Great bass lines as always, so understated but hitting the spot 100%.

Did you notice any lip sync issues :-)

Wow, I didn't know these came in white. Very nice. My first Lakland was a 55-01, boring black and rosewood. I'd never heard of Lakland before going to the Bass Centre one day looking for a 5 string and seeing a large stand full of 55-01's. I was prepared to spend a lot more on a 5 string, but the 55-01 won out very quickly. The necks are really comfortable and I never noticed the extra inch in length. It fits a standard Fender sized gig bag, due to the short 3 -2 headstock. I did change the pre amp on mine, but to be honest I never really noticed much difference.

Although I don't have many necks to compare it with i feel it's shallow. It definitely doesn't feel as chunky as the Squier VM5 I tried last year.

We once auditioned a punk guitarist. He turned up with the full Punk outfit, and one of those odd shaped white guitars that looked very punk. When we started playing he just kept making these noises from his guitar. Like grunts or something. When questioned what he was playing he said it was "alternative". Our drummer (also punk) asked if he was in tune. Guitarist said "no idea, it came like this when i got it". The drummer got up and offered to tune it for him. As soon as he moved any of the tuners the relevant string broke. Guitarist ended up giving us the guitar because it now had no strings on it and left. Very bizarre.

The gig bags arrived this morning. I had a bit of a shock as they turned up in a Sire V7 box, for a moment i thought i got lucky :-) Lovely bags. i'd price these in the sub £50 category. Very similar to the Thomanns bag i have (£22) and the Rockbag version i had that was much too heavy (£55). Nice bit of branding on it but not over the top. Well happy.

The B is the best ive had since my Laklands. In fact i would say its as good as my old DJ5/55-01 and better than my Fender MIA P5 (all from memory though). Ive also got a Yamaha TRBX 505, and while both basses are 34" there is a huge difference. The TRBX can be quite muddy and soft, the V7 is punchy and very well balenced with the other strings. Both have the exact same strings on them. Ive had a hard time making the transition to playing a 5 again. I hadn't played a 5 string for a good few years until i got my TRBX last Oct. Although the extra sting wasnt an issue i just wasnt playing it as it should be played, and i think it was because the notes on the B string just didnt cut it live, Not so with the V7 and now i can apreciate the advantages of a 5 string agian. Very happy with it. I did have a quick go on a Squier V5 last year, but IIR it still didnt quite have the clarity that the V7 has.

I just asked them how i go about getting a couple and they offered to send me them, all i had to pay was postage. I guess i just caught them on a good day :-) It looks like they will be be opening up an international web store so maybe you will be able to buy them at some point. I agree, they punch well above their price. I cant see me buying another bass now, at least not unless they bring out a 5 string P bass built to this standard.

Ok, to be more specific they are coming from South Korea (Incheon).

Ive just had an email from Sire (China) to let me know they have just posted two gig bags out to me. Should be here in about a week. Ill get some shots up as i haven't seen much abvout these bags so far.

[quote name='jassbass' timestamp='1431009057' post='2766860'] I like the neck and fretboard on my sire v7 5er more than i did when i had a carvin sb5000,the carvin had banjo frets and too flat [/quote] I love banjo frets, but i find the frets on the V7 to be almost as nice. I hate those Med-jumbo frets. All my necks have small frets on them now.

Hmmm, i'd argue (polity of course) that a lot of amps have different signature tones. So just liking one amp doesnt mean you can get any tone you want out of it. Some have way more control than others and i suppose thats why we like to use different amps.

Ive been using a Darkglass VTMD for almost a year now. I dont use it full on, but it adds something "warm and 3D like" to my tone that i wouldn't be able to get from an active bass (within reason). It just brings my Markbass head to life, without really changing the overall tone. Of course it can be used as a dirt/overdrive pedal, but used with care it just becomes part of the overall tone. I couldn't really gig without it these days, even though i use an active bass.

Well that's sounds promising. Could be a bad joint that got moved when you took the plate off. I've try and narrow it down a bit more over the next few days, but at least you know it can work so it can't be too serious. Ive had a few active gasses in the past and have always been paranoid about the battery or preamp going during a gig. It seems a lot safer to have a bass like the Sire (and my TRBX) that can work in passive mode even without a battery in it. In fact I made sure this was the case before ordering my V7. Funny thing is I'd say I use passive mode a bit more than active mode now.

Shame. It's definitely a looker though. I'm glad I'm not in your shoes now. It's easy enough to send back but then you know you would have to wait ages for a replacement. Might be worth sending Sire to see if they can help.

That's not good. Was this new or B stock etc? I'd say take the plate off and see if there are any loose wires or joints, but other than that I can't think of anything else. Hope it is just as simple as that.