NBD - Sire M7 2nd generation - initial review

[NeonMig]

Posted about this in elsewhere but I think it warrants its own thread. Posted this over on TB too, figured I should start posting here more as well.

Picked up a Sire Marcus Miller M7 2nd generation on a whim on Monday, and I'm extremely impressed.

I compared it to my other bass at home, my 2016 Marleaux Consat Custom. Not exactly a fair fight, but life is unfair.

The attention to detail on the M7 is extremely impressive - super smooth neck and rolled fretboard edges, ebony fingerboard with absolutely perfect fretwork (I daresay it's better than on the Marleaux), bone nut, wood electronic covers, and other features that you wouldn't see on a Cort/Samick or anything similar of this price. The out-the-box setup is all right, but not perfect. Standard tuning was perfectly adequate, action is not super-low but there is definitely an allowance for it. Besides I do like to really dig in when I play, so it works for me. If you're handy at that sort of thing you can adjust it easily enough, or if you want to be 100% sure take it to a tech. For a 35" scale it was a bit less tight than I would've wanted, but then again I should emphasise that I do play one step down, so a setup is in order. Still perfectly playable, though.

Tone is really powerful, and very versatile. The preamp doesn't quite have the clear sparkling brilliance that the preamp in my Marleaux has, but that preamp alone probably costs more than half of this entire bass does, so I'm not complaining. This one is super versatile, can deliver pretty much whatever sound you need it to, just don't expect it to emulate a P-bass too closely. Close enough, I guess. J-tones can be had fairly easily by switching to passive mode and putting the pickups in single mode (separate tone control available - something my Marleaux DOESN'T have...). You can make some pretty radical adjustments with the preamp, each control has a very wide range. Most other sounds are doable too, the sweepable mids are really helpful. There's a very noticable drop off in volume between passive and active mode, but that's to be expected.

The only chinks in the armour so far aside from the less-than-perfect setup are the kinda plasticky-feeling knobs, they just don't fit with the premium vibe of the rest of the instrument - I'll probably swap them out for some generic metallic domed ones soon. Also, with the stacked knobs, if you move one the other would move too - I managed a temporary fix for that by pulling off the top knob and then putting it back but not pushing it all the way down, it's merely the bottom of the knob dragging the lower one along with it. With a set of metallic knobs costing around 6-7 quid on eBay, it does make me wonder why they chose this particular corner to cut, I'd have gladly paid that much more for good ones already installed but I guess it's the whole economies of scale thing. The pots themselves however are smooth and solid. The coil tap/passive active switches too are a little cheap feeling as well (less so than the knobs though), but again that's a relatively easy thing to modify should the need arise.

Overall though, the value, quality, sound and features are outstanding and come together to bring a very, very impressive bass. An extremely impressive and creditable instrument that a beginner or intermediate player would be overjoyed to own, and that a seasoned pro would be happy to play with a few very minor adjustments - it holds its own very well against some of the best out there.

Full band practice with it next week, so I'll add some more thoughts then!

Edited May 23, 2019 by NeonMig

[ebenezer]

looks a really nice bass!....upper fret access could be a little better though, just an observation. 

[visog]

And it has that 'beater' mojo... ding a Marleaux and it's like a knife to you heart. Ding a Sire and it's a battle scar...

[NeonMig]

I bought it with playing technical death metal in mind so it will get beaten up on a lot 

Upper fret access is ok in practice and besides I don't spend too much time up there when it comes to that type of music. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

Does switching the pick-up coils alter the output level?

The Stingray 5, for example, has the series and parallel positions buffered down to the level of the single coil output so you don't get volume jumps when switching. One of the best things about it.

Used to drive me nuts on the Status Streamline I had.

Thanks in advance!

[NeonMig]

There's a drop-off between series and parallel (as one would expect) but not much of a difference between series and single coil.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Thanks.

I rather like the look of these.

Has many features that I favour;

Mid + frequency sweep, series/parallel/single coil switching. Even the aesthetics and construction don't seem too bad, especially at the price.

[mangotango]

I tried one of these when I was looking to upgrade my 5'ers. I actually played this better and managed to achieve more tonal variation than with the Fender-style Sires, but I wanted a fretless as well and there wasn't one around.

[NeonMig]

On 27/05/2019 at 12:08, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Thanks.

I rather like the look of these.

Has many features that I favour;

Mid + frequency sweep, series/parallel/single coil switching. Even the aesthetics and construction don't seem too bad, especially at the price.

Aesthetics are of course subjective, but I love the modern look, and especially that it's a fairly unique design, it doesn't really look like anything else (as far as I am aware!) and the construction is nothing short of outstanding. Finish is wonderful too, they had a really amazing trans blue one in as well but I went for the black as I already have a blue bass!

[NeonMig]

Had first rehersal with it today, playing technical death metal with 2 guitars and drums. Played through an Orange Terror 500 head and Orange 4x10. Kept eq flat, had to use the input pad to tame the 18v preamp. First time I've had a chance to properly play it loud.

Sound was huge. The sweepable mid gives a mad array of tones, and lets you cut any troublesome frequencies. 

2 hours flowed by, the bass is so light and comfortable to play. Sire are on to a real winner, no wonder they're selling like hot cakes.

The other guys in the band all thought it looked and sounded awesome. Overall very happy with this thing, now taking it to a tech to fine-tune the action and have straplocks fitted!

[Tokalo]

Please excuse this if it’s complete ignorance on my part, but is it usual for basses with an active/passive switch to play (in passive mode) without any batteries inserted?

 

It turns out a Sire M7 will.

 

I was under the impression that with active bases the battery was always engaged, regardless of the mode selected.

 

It appears the Sire M7 is really a passive bass with an optional active mode.

I like it even more now I don’t have to worry about battery failure!

[JvJazz83]

Most basses, that I know of, where you can switch between actve and passive mode should work fine without a battery. You simly engage/ disengage the onboard preamp. Basses that are active only, like MM Stingray, and many with EMG active pickups will not make any sound if the battery goes dead. i would consider an active/ passive bass that does not play without battery flawed. 😊

Edited February 22, 2022 by JvJazz83