Callumjord Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Ok, so it's not really a new bass day since I have had this bass for a couple of months now but I feel like I can now give it a proper review. So, I have had my eyes on the sire basses for a while had slowly the GAS grew! Decided in the new year I would order a V7 4 string to complement my Fender 5 string P bass for use with my busy function band. Ordered from Andertons there was around a 3 week delay waiting for the bass to come in stock. Once it arrived at Andertons it was dispatched promptly and arrived very quickly! In all honesty the bass didn't arrive perfect, the neck needed intunating, string height adjusting, there was a number of dirty frets and strings were dead. That was no biggy for me as I like to give my own instruments a proper set up. However I did have a big problem with buzz coming from the open E. It took me ages to find out the problem (it was from the bridge of the E string being so far back that the e string when strung through went over at 90 degrees). Now that all the problems have been fixed, all I can say about this bass is "WOW! " for the price point this bass really out plays a lot other ones. The neck is excellent and smooth, it took a while to get used to it compared to my 5 string P bass. The fret job is brilliant, no sharp edges at all. The tuners are sturdy enough, annoyingly I broke two of the screws on the E string while trying to find out the problem with the buzzing. However I do plan on upgrading the tuners. The pickup and pre amp is fantastic, clear punchy sound and really cuts through. But tbh I don't really use the pre amp a lot of the time I use it in passive mode. I really can't get over how much bass you get for the money, I absolutely love playing this bass and it's been difficult for me to put it down! So much that my Fender professional P bass is getting very jealous about it. I'm not really great at doing full gear reviews but if anybody has any questions about it feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 You really aren’t helping my Sire P7 GAS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Dude you can kill small dogs with that rig, nice Sire too.. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoJoKe Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I really like sires, the preamp is fabulous... A couple of people here have put lighter tuners on, and it makes them balance much better. I found myself looking online at a V9 5 string fretless this morning.... Hmmm very nice, and I'm sure it'll play well like all Sires, but at £780ish a bit pricey? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callumjord Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 3 hours ago, Mcgiver69 said: Dude you can kill small dogs with that rig, nice Sire too.. Thanks, I absolutely love this rig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callumjord Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 2 hours ago, MoJoKe said: I really like sires, the preamp is fabulous... A couple of people here have put lighter tuners on, and it makes them balance much better. I found myself looking online at a V9 5 string fretless this morning.... Hmmm very nice, and I'm sure it'll play well like all Sires, but at £780ish a bit pricey? The pre amp is excellent, personally I don't have a problem with the tuners, aside from the screws, but some lighter ones wouldn't hurt. I was looking at the v9s but yeah it's a lot of money. As long there was a serious jump in quality between the v7s it could be worth the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Sam Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Now that is sexy. Thinking of selling of a couple items to buy one. I hope the wife and goldfish find a good home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Oh yes, just received my Sire V7 today from Thomann - exactly the same as yours! Mine was perfect straight out of the box ... fit and finish is immaculate in every respect and the set-up was spot on. It even arrived from Germany still in tune! The neck is a gorgeous hard rock maple with hints of flame AND birdseye figuiring. Result! It is incredibly resonant unplugged and on a par with my Shuker. Overall, my Initial impressions are that I am ASTOUNDED at the quality of this instrument at this price point. I would not only say that it is better than my Mexicano Fender P bass ... but compares very favourably with my 1976 Fender jazz. Even if I had paid £1000 for it I'd still be happy. Agree about the preamp - I love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callumjord Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 On 04/05/2018 at 22:00, White Cloud said: Oh yes, just received my Sire V7 today from Thomann - exactly the same as yours! Mine was perfect straight out of the box ... fit and finish is immaculate in every respect and the set-up was spot on. It even arrived from Germany still in tune! The neck is a gorgeous hard rock maple with hints of flame AND birdseye figuiring. Result! It is incredibly resonant unplugged and on a par with my Shuker. Overall, my Initial impressions are that I am ASTOUNDED at the quality of this instrument at this price point. I would not only say that it is better than my Mexicano Fender P bass ... but compares very favourably with my 1976 Fender jazz. Even if I had paid £1000 for it I'd still be happy. Agree about the preamp - I love it. That's great that yours was perfect out the box, was no problem tbh for me because I would be setting it up to how I like it and I do love cleaning my instruments as well. It is amazing just how well these basses are and how much bass you actually get for the money 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarc11 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 On 04/05/2018 at 02:40, CameronJ said: You really aren’t helping my Sire P7 GAS! It's a cracking bass, the preamp is very versatile, it truely is a pleasure to play and all for way less than a new MIM Fender! I got one in Feb/March time and I love it, however I couldn't get hold of a 5 string at the time so it'll probably appear in the marketplace of this site very soon as I'm most likely going to grab a MIA P bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I wish they'd sell the preamp separately. I have an M7 andvthe pre is knockout. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 What are the differences between the V3 and V7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 44 minutes ago, therealting said: What are the differences between the V3 and V7? 4 Sorry, I’ll get my coat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 On 04/05/2018 at 22:00, White Cloud said: ...,It even arrived from Germany still in tune! This is why I don't get why people moan on about the tuners. I get that they don't necessarily "feel" sturdy, but my V7 5 string is kept in a gig bag and often still comes out, after being in the car, still pretty much perfectly in tune. I'm not saying you'd expect a guitar to do this, but surely the tuners must be pretty solid if the tuning is not going out after being slung between gig/car/house/car/gig. I've owned various basses and guitars over the years and never had one be as close as this one each time you come to tune it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Huge Hands said: This is why I don't get why people moan on about the tuners. I get that they don't necessarily "feel" sturdy, but my V7 5 string is kept in a gig bag and often still comes out, after being in the car, still pretty much perfectly in tune. I'm not saying you'd expect a guitar to do this, but surely the tuners must be pretty solid if the tuning is not going out after being slung between gig/car/house/car/gig. I've owned various basses and guitars over the years and never had one be as close as this one each time you come to tune it. The tuner gearing seems to me to be absolutely fine - I read somewhere that the latest Sire's tuners have been upgraded from the originals? The stock bridge also seems to be reasonably good. I've always upgraded the bridge on my Fenders - but I just don't see the point in this instance. It sounds great, plays really well and looks the part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 9 minutes ago, White Cloud said: The tuner gearing seems to me to be absolutely fine - I read somewhere that the latest Sire's tuners have been upgraded from the originals? I don't know what is original and not, but I bought mine about December 2015 second hand from BC and I think the seller said it was 6 months old. Lots of people have whinged since then about them being the "worst part" etc. As I said earlier, I agree they look a bit tin-pot, but I've never had any troubles with mine. Love my V7! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 The feel of a tuner isn’t just about whether it holds tune - it’s also about how confident you feel when tuning. My Eminence uprights have some Musicman-type tuners on them that feel like they’re going to break when I tighten the strings. @knackeredjazz recommended swapping them for Hipshots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindibona1 Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Sire makes a very nice guitar for the money. I've played one and read other reviews. As you stated, the tuners are ok, but will get replaced just as others have mentioned. It's a shame because that seems to be the only weak link. They are so much better value than Fender. Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 The tuners are fine, they work ok and the bass holds tune. However after gigging the bass a ton that's the only real thing I wanted to change. I put a set of Schallers on mine (£40 off here for a 5 string set) and the bass is better for it, seeing as it's my main working instrument that's a pittance for a decent improvement to how it functions. If the bridge was easily swappable I'd have probably replaced that too for something better looking purely because I like the look of chunky bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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