Sire V7 MM Bass. Controls designed by a blind 5 year old?

[logicred]

NBD for me yesterday. After reading reviews/hype etc. Great bass. I have had quite a few basses over the years but was not prepared for a bass with controls set out quite like this. I have no idea how these got through testing to be honest. I appreciate it's a lot of stuff to cram in a small silver control place though!

The active pickup switch is quite simply laughable, it's really hard to flick as it's tucked between two other switches and is off centre so it looks randomly placed. The stacked nobs are awful and are tall enough to knock a mic stand over. It's hard to see where the main tone and midrange control is set to. Out of the box had the action all over the place (bottom and top string were about 3mm lower than the others but the bridge looks ace and a quick tweak and all good. The finish on mine is good but not amazing like other people have said. Mainly the plastic cuts around the pickups and scratchplate had lots of plastic peeling bits which to be fair are soon rid of. I must say I love the dark fret markers of my squire VM bass and playing back to back I struggled with the faint white block inlays of the Sire bass, completely personal preference though. The bass is a keeper. Great tone. Crazy low price, with the worse controls I have ever seen.

The icing on the cake was that it has craziest controls I have ever seen but no instructions come with it ;-) (easily found on the web though).

Edited November 17, 2015 by logicred

[Machines]

On behalf of blind 5 year olds, I find this post offensive.

[Bigwan]

I don't usually do active basses but had no issues with mine. I agree the controls do protrude a bit! For the price I'll not be doing too much complaining!

[CamdenRob]

It's funny the things that get through the design process sometimes... they must real world test this stuff surely?

I have a mesa mini rectifier guitar head, which is an astonishing piece of kit in every way except it's one flaw... the chrome control knobs have a chrome indent... making them impossible to read from further away than an inch. A bit of colour in there and it would have been so simple to rectify.

Edited November 17, 2015 by CamdenRob

[drTStingray]

There's a review of these basses (4 and 5 string) in Bass Player magazine this month. They also mention the controls but also say the individual elements of the stack knobs are difficult to operate independently - I.e. It's difficult to operate the mid control for instance without moving the mid sweep.

I was quite surprised because I'd never seen this mentioned on Basschat or Talkbass despite seemingly hundreds of posts about these basses. Maybe the test ones had unusually finicky controls.

[LayDownThaFunk]

Why buy something without even trying it first?

[Mudpup]

Because the interweb facilitates it..........

[Naetharu]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703']
Why buy something without even trying it first?
[/quote]

Often, when it comes to bass guitars/amps/cabs its not possible to try first. There are very few places that stock good range of bass equipment. Most that do have a decent bass section fill it with Fender/Music-Man/Squire/Ibanez and little more. As such, if you want something that is not one of the brands mentioned it's often going to be the case that you have to buy blind.

Personally, this is why I use Thomann for almost all my stuff. I know that if it comes and turns out to not be what I am after, they will take it back without charging me a penny. So far, I've never had to use their return service but it is reassuring to know that it is there just in case.

[Bigwan]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703']
Why buy something without even trying it first?
[/quote]

Because they aren't stocked anywhere in the UK...

[Rich]

The controls are slightly fiddly and they'd be hard to adjust on the fly. But I never adjust controls on the fly, so... *shrug* ☺
The rest of the instrument is so damn good, I'm happy to look past any shortcomings in the control layout. It doesn't affect the playability or the overall look.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703']
Why buy something without even trying it first?
[/quote]

Because, unless your tastes in instruments are very middle of the road, there is almost no opportunity to try before you buy. And even if you do get an hour or so on it in a shop that doesn't mean that you'll be able to cover every aspect of the instrument to ensure that it is perfect for you. In the last 10 years I have bought one bass that I tried in the shop first and out of all the basses that I bought over this period it was the one I kept for the shortest amount of time. The things I couldn't get on with only became apparent after a rehearsal and gig or two.

[chardbass]

I find the control section far from ideal but can live with it for the ££. I'm not a fan of mid-range controls on Jazz basses anyway so I won't be touching mine.
For £300 however, I find it hard to criticise anything about the instrument. I'm not sure I'll be able to spend proper serious money on a bass ever again.

The plastic peeling bits mentioned in the OP are supposed to be there for protection surely? Peeling them off is part of the fun of a NBD :-)

[neepheid]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703']
Why buy something without even trying it first?
[/quote]

Because I live in the middle of nowhere (as far as instruments and most of the UK is concerned). Because my local (and even not so local) shops do not cater for my needs. Because I don't have middle of the road tastes in instruments. Because I'm protected by distance selling regulations. Because it would cost me less to post back a bass I don't like than travel to a shop which MIGHT have a bass I like, try it, decide it's not for me then travel back. Because I'm pretty self sufficient (do my own setups, can perform electronic repairs/upgrades, can polish out marks, can steam out dings, most things short of a full refinish to be honest)

Is that OK?

[Rich]

[quote name='chardbass' timestamp='1447842031' post='2910793']
The plastic peeling bits mentioned in the OP are supposed to be there for protection surely? Peeling them off is part of the fun of a NBD :-)
[/quote]
This! Peeling off that plasticky protective film stuff is a big part of the fun of a New [i]anything [/i]Day.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1447851096' post='2910902']
This! Peeling off that plasticky protective film stuff is a big part of the fun of a New [i]anything [/i]Day.
[/quote]

And surely commands a premium in the second hand market if this film is still intact, if you overlook the suggestion that the seller is a total weirdo who doesn't peel off that stuff as soon as they get something new!

[drTStingray]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703']
Why buy something without even trying it first?
[/quote]

Unfortunately this is reality for many bass purchases in the UK - I have several Musicman basses all of which have been bought from order or used - mostly without trying them.

These days many music shops with one of two exceptions seem to have huge guitar sections and very small bass stock - you may find one Musicman and a few SBMM or Subs but most of what you want would have to be ordered. Same goes for most brands.

I guess it just reflects the level of guitar sales compared with bass.

Edited November 18, 2015 by drTStingray

[dave_bass5]

I love where the active/passive switch is, as its protected from my plucking hand and i wont be switching modes by mistake.
Not sure what the OP means about it being between two other switches, mine only has the one switch.

Edited November 18, 2015 by dave_bass5

[Marvin]

I have fairly agricultural paddles for hands but don't find the controls on the V7 a problem at all.

[biro]

I agree. I've been playing with mine for some days and I found it to be a minor pet peeve. Granted, I normally don't care about changing settings on the fly – and if I do, I keep in active mode anyways. But that and, mine being a fiver, the 7.25" radius do bother me.

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1447778554' post='2910289']
It's funny the things that get through the design process sometimes... they must real world test this stuff surely?

I have a mesa mini rectifier guitar head, which is an astonishing piece of kit in every way except it's one flaw... [b]the chrome control knobs have a chrome indent... making them impossible to read from further away than an inch. A bit of colour in there and it would have been so simple to rectify.[/b]
[/quote]

If you haven't already - get some dark nail polish, best to get something with a bit of colour (especially if the panel the knobs are on is dark).
Put a dab in each of the indents - you should be able to see it much farther away - and tell from a glance if one of them is cranked before switching off mute.

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1447911743' post='2911373']
If you haven't already - get some dark nail polish, best to get something with a bit of colour (especially if the panel the knobs are on is dark).
Put a dab in each of the indents - you should be able to see it much farther away - and tell from a glance if one of them is cranked before switching off mute.
[/quote]

Yes I've been contemplating this. I may get some of those little round coloured stickers you can get from stationary shops to save actually painting something in the indent.

Something needs to be done though.

[Bigwan]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1447917932' post='2911391']


Yes I've been contemplating this. I may get some of those little round coloured stickers you can get from stationary shops to save actually painting something in the indent.

Something needs to be done though.
[/quote]

Black non-permanent marker was what an old band mate of mine used. Not like the indent ever saw much action so wearing off wasn't an issue except when he wanted to clean it off to sell and it came right of with a cotton bud and some household cleaner of some description.