Sire marcus miller p7

[Al Krow]

Speaking of V7s, here's "mine" complete with gig bag...

Edited March 14, 2020 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

But I guess I can't complain: I spent a while discussing the P7 model with Andertons and then the guy offered me a discount based on V7 pricing and managed to send out a V7 rather than a P7 before I spotted what he'd done. Happy ending is that they're going to swap the basses to get me the P7 I was after but stick to the discounted price they had given me. So apart from the slight inconvenience and delay, it's not a bad result!

Edited March 14, 2020 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

35 minutes ago, Drax said:

Fair enough. I'm a clumsy f*cker and definitely need the added protection

For me the Mono was more GAS than need. Sire sent me two of their gig bags when i got my V7, so i was covered for transporting it. I was only going car to car, with a brief tube ride, so didnt want anything too heavy duty, nor bulky. The Mono seemed like a good idea (as was the Stealth end of last year year), but in practice it caused more problems than it solved. 

[Al Krow]

4 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

For me the Mono was more GAS than need. Sire sent me two of their gig bags when i got my V7, so i was covered for transporting it. I was only going car to car, with a brief tube ride, so didnt want anything too heavy duty, nor bulky. The Mono seemed like a good idea (as was the Stealth end of last year year), but in practice it caused more problems than it solved. 

How did you wangle that?! Or did you simply order an extra one?

[dave_bass5]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

How did you wangle that?! Or did you simply order an extra one?

I asked. Simple as that. I got the bass from Thomanns, who didnt have the bags (as they aren’t supplied with the basses outside the USA), so i emailed the CEO of Sire to ask how i could get hold of a couple, as i planned on getting a second bass. Obviously i hyped my enthusiasm up a bit, did a bit of gushing etc, and he said he would send me two, all i had to do was pay for delivery. We worked out that delivery  was going to be quite and bit so he said forget paying that and just got them sent to me. 

Now THATS customer service. 

[Al Krow]

In which case, you really do owe Sire to get that second bass then. Suggest you return your Yammy BB 435 and get a P7 (after you have tried mine out, of course) 😄 

[dave_bass5]

21 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

In which case, you really do owe Sire to get that second bass then. Suggest you return your Yammy BB 435 and get a P7 (after you have tried mine out, of course) 😄 

Well that is the plan. 435 going back Monday, and ill get over to yours when i can. In fact i may even end up with yours 😂

[Al Krow]

5 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

In fact i may even end up with yours

As you say...

5 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Well that is the plan.

😁

[Al Krow]

Now for the important decision of black or silver knob hardware upgrade on an antique white bass with tort PG...

[Al Krow]

Shared by @Quatschmacher - nice demo of a Sire P7 in action. Obviously would have been improved if he had a B string to rest his thumb on...

 

[Quatschmacher]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Now for the important decision of black or silver knob hardware upgrade on an antique white bass with tort PG...

Silver knobs obviously.

[Al Krow]

22 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Silver knobs obviously.

And TI flats, right? 

Although both PJs, it should then be quite a different beast to a Yammy BB 1025 with nickel roundwounds (well at least that's what I'm telling myself to justify the spend 😁)

[Quatschmacher]

57 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

And TI flats, right? 

Although both PJs, it should then be quite a different beast to a Yammy BB 1025 with nickel roundwounds (well at least that's what I'm telling myself to justify the spend 😁)

I’ve just bought some TI flats. They’re £37 on Amazon right now. I’ve never had any but played @AlexJMcGibbon‘s bass that had them fitted and they were lovely. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

I really liked my Chromes on my PJ. They heavier set was nicer for the P thump but a bit too heavy to get the grunt out of the jazz pickup. Labella FS or FL work really well on a PJ.

[dave_bass5]

Ive got Chromes (not one a bass at the moment), and had TI’s a couple of times. Much prefer the TI’s,  but ultimately, for me at least, flats are nothing more than dead strings that don’t go any more dead. No use for anything i do really. 

[Quatschmacher]

5 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

flats are nothing more than dead strings that don’t go any more dead.

That’s why I love them. 

[dave_bass5]

29 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

That’s why I love them. 

I’m one of those that changes strings a almost every month. I don’t like over bright stings, i only use nickels, but i do miss the overtones after they start to wear in. 

I do want to try another set of EB Cobalt flats though. I briefly had a set last year but noticed a couple of rust spots on the D so sent them all back. Hmmm, might get another set at the next string change. 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

...flats are nothing more than dead strings that don’t go any more dead. 

Is that completely right, though?

Surely lifeless 3 /4 year old rounds are not going to be same as a set of new flats?

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Is that completely right, though?

Surely lifeless 3 /4 year old rounds are not going to be same as a set of new flats?

To the audience it is lol. 

I guess I’m generalising to a point, but even two different brands of flats wont sound the same, so its a tricky one. Flats do ‘mature’ over time as well, so a better companion as would be 3 year old flats vs 3 year old rounds. Flats would be more playable i guess, but they are designed to produce a certain tone, which isnt for everyone. 

And you should know what 3 year old rounds sound like 😂

[GisserD]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m one of those that changes strings a almost every month. I don’t like over bright stings, i only use nickels, but i do miss the overtones after they start to wear in. 

I do want to try another set of EB Cobalt flats though. I briefly had a set last year but noticed a couple of rust spots on the D so sent them all back. Hmmm, might get another set at the next string change. 

You tried elixirs? 

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, GisserD said:

You tried elixirs? 

Yes, a few times. Also NYXL’s and currently XT’s . I like them all, but I don’t find they last much longer than normal strings, at least for me. I get my usual XL’s for £18 so they seem to be more economical for me. I have Chromes in a drawer somewhere, and I think  a set of GHS flats (purple ends?). I

As i play with a pick I think i notice the overtones dropping more than with finger playing. I guess im just a sucker for buying new strings. 

[GisserD]

The pick probably dont help due to the abrasion.

The new elixirs are alot better than the older versions. The coating old ones used to "flake" off. 

Theres also alot of fakes around so always buy from a reputable seller.

Edited March 14, 2020 by GisserD

[dave_bass5]

Just now, GisserD said:

The pick probably dont help due to the abrasion.

The new elixirs are alot better than the older versions. The coating old ones used to "flake" off. 

Theres also alot of fakes around so always buy from a reputable seller.

I had a set from Strings direct last year, and they felt different to my last set (probably about 8 years prior). They sound great but yes, the pick seems to wear them out a bit faster. I did notice a drop it tone after what I would consider a normal period for other strings, but none of the flaking the old ones did, and they then stabilised for longer than normal. 

[Al Krow]

P7 arrived today! 

First impressions - very positive. A shade under 10 lbs (4.5kg = 9.9 lbs) which is fine and comfortable to 'wear'. 

The EQ is very versatile. Having a tone knob in addition to a 3 band EQ allows you to dial in a lot of variety. My preference is for the tone knob to be at around 8/10 which gives quite a sweet tone. The treble has a decent range from cut to boost. The bass EQ is just huge and needs, if anything, to be cut slightly otherwise it's going to dominate (and not in a good way!). Will need to get my head around the mids with a semi para range of 80 Hz to 2 kHz.

Key annoyance for me are the two stacked pots which are 'sticky' with each other and dialling the bottom also moves the top - another excuse to replace these as well as their slightly cheap plastic appearance.

In terms of the pups, I sense this bass is going to be mainly used in solo P, which I really like btw, occasionally J and hardly ever P+J blend, which feels a little insipid.

So this bass provides a very nice set of complementary options to my purely passive Yammy PJ, which I typically use in either P+J or solo J these days. The active P on the Sire cuts through on the low B really well and won't, I suspect, require me to switch to the solo J which I do on my Yammy. As a PJ bass, it is in many ways a better stable mate to have alongside my Yammy BB1025 rather than it's sibling BB735A, which whilst active had many similarities tonally / pups / feel etc.

So overall a big thumbs up in terms of very initial impressions and this will, when they start happening again(!), likely be a regular feature at our gigs.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

Nice looking bass. Looks wise it matches my V7. Have you tired loosening of the top part of the knobs and re seating them a little higher (if that’s possible)?

What’s the neck like? I loved the one i had for a while. Will have to come over when its safer to.

Your last statement.....nah, ill give it one gig if that lol.