So..Sire

[ebenezer]

Thought Sire may have upgraded the tuners and bridge for the latest V10 model being a higher price point, but it would seem they are still fitting the standard spec tuners and bridge.....i don't own a sire so not sure of the quality of said parts !.......Is the quality poor? 

[uk_lefty]

16 hours ago, ebenezer said:

Thought Sire may have upgraded the tuners and bridge for the latest V10 model being a higher price point, but it would seem they are still fitting the standard spec tuners and bridge.....i don't own a sire so not sure of the quality of said parts !.......Is the quality poor? 

I had a vintage V7, so it had the BBOT Bridge which was just never an issue for me at all. The more modern bridges look more solid. The tuners feel cheap but I never had a problem with it slipping out of tune and I gigged in a tin shed in summer and at an ice rink in winter, no problems! While they could have been better I saw absolutely no reason to change, the bass performed perfectly with no issues from either. I've never understood "neck dive" being a problem so for me lightweight tuners etc are a luxury and not a necessity whereas other people would say the opposite. 

I saw Marcus Miller at a Sire plugging event and he was asked about the different models. He prefers the V7 and his view on the V9 etc was, not a direct quote but words to the effect, fancy wood tops and so on are for you to enjoy looking at and inspire you to pick up your bass but they are not making a difference to the sound. And that's from a man who is one of the top living bassists AND who makes money out of people buying Sire basses with his name on them! 

[ebenezer]

Not having a go at Sire, I think they are very good although on the heavy side.... just going off reviews on talkbass where some people were unhappy with the hardware.....I would happily own one if they were lighter.

[uk_lefty]

5 hours ago, ebenezer said:

Not having a go at Sire, I think they are very good although on the heavy side.... just going off reviews on talkbass where some people were unhappy with the hardware.....I would happily own one if they were lighter.

Yeah, I get you. Mine was heavy, but it was a 5 string so there was extra meat on it. I think the hardware is a personal choice thing. Some people complain about sharp bits on bridges, my hand only goes near the bridge when I'm changing strings, all down to the individual. I just wouldn't write off the hardware, it's good enough, not spectacular. 

[Mudpup]

7 hours ago, ebenezer said:

Not having a go at Sire, I think they are very good although on the heavy side.... just going off reviews on talkbass where some people were unhappy with the hardware.....I would happily own one if they were lighter.

I think most negative comments about the tuners were aimed at the version 1 models. The version 2 (current ones) have different tuners - i guess Sire took some notice and upgraded them. I have a V7 version 2 and the hardware is totally seviceable imho. I found the edge of the E saddle was a bit sharp so filed it off a touch and i changed the control knobs to metal ones which has made them a bit weightier when you turn them but apart from that everything seems pretty good to me.

[OliverBlackman]

I had a version 1 V7 and the hardware was great. As reliable as the hipshot hardware I have on another bass, although maybe not as lightweight.

[lemmywinks]

On 28/01/2021 at 13:37, BaggyMan said:

And being relatively cheap they are easy to pickup and are very popular.  A review I saw from 'lowendlobster' on youtube,  the complexity of the pre amp whilst enabling the bass to punch well above its price point, has 7 control and requires extra effort to drive and  understand.  I had an ACG with the dual filter pre amp and eventually sold it becuase i just couldn't drive it in gig situations.   

It will be interesting to see how many of the passive sires (V5?) pop up for re-sale in the coming months.  If the latter don't turn over as much, then maybe four knob pre amp from sire would work. 

 

 

I really like the LEL but I don't understand his criticism of the Sire preamp, aside from the cluttered nature of the bell plate which can be partially put down to the poor choice of standard knobs and close pot spacing. The Sires are as simple or complex as you want them to be - you can have a passive vol/blend/tone setup with the circuit turned off and the mid control is centred at a sensible point so you can ignore the mid sweep if needed.

 

He seems to really like the passive V5 but for me that negates the main point of Sires - the excellent preamp which you don't really see at those price points where there are a lot of excellent passive jazz basses vying for your attention. I guess the fact he likes it shows they are great basses regardless, would rather have the preamp option though.

[Rich]

On 26/01/2021 at 20:30, TheGreek said:

I just bought a Sire V3 5er - looks great, sounds very nice - but suffers from the worst neck dive of any bass I've ever played.

Short of handing it over to somebody like @Andyjr1515 for a chambering job any advice for dealing with this? I don't think lightweight tuners will make much difference TBH.

I fitted licenced Ultralites to my V7 fiver. I weighed them and the stock ones, there was half a pound difference. That is a hell of a lot, and yes they helped. 

[MattW]

I've got 2 x V7 version 2's, one Fretless and one 4 string vintage.  I think for the money they are fantastic - easily on par with many instruments twice the price.  The preamp is great, but I also knock it into passive mode a fair amount too.  Both sound great live or recorded.

Can't see me selling them, they're not worth much second hand and great just for going to Jams or gigs in dodgy pubs where I wouldn't want to take my Stingray or more expenive gear.   Have had zero quality issues with either of mine and they always make me smile when I play them

I'd buy another tomorrow if I needed one.

[javi_bassist]

I've been looking at demos the whole weekend. And I have to say, that they sound good. In the website they also have a list of pros who use them (I've never actually cared about that, but I was curious).

However, in my head, I still think that Sire sounds too good to be true. I'm in the market for a 5 string jazz bass. 1000 bucks more or less. And then I look at Sire and I like the v7, and it's 550€ in my area, And in my head something says "half the price? cannot be that good". People say that they are better than the Mex Fenders, but I don't know. It looks like it gives too much for the money. 

And the V10 and V9 sound pretty amazing. But I'm not a fan of the finishes.

[Cato]

1 hour ago, javi_bassist said:

However, in my head, I still think that Sire sounds too good to be true. I'm in the market for a 5 string jazz bass. 1000 bucks more or less. And then I look at Sire and I like the v7, and it's 550€ in my area, And in my head something says "half the price? cannot be that good". People say that they are better than the Mex Fenders, but I don't know. It looks like it gives too much for the money. 

'Better' is subjective,  but I've seen quite a lot of Far East made guitars and basses recently that, on paper at least, are as well or better specced than the equivalent US Fender model, let alone mex models, but for around 2/3 of the price of a US Fender.

It just seems to be substantially cheaper to make quality instruments in that part of the world than even Fender's Mexico factory.

Part of it is lower wages, part of it is that every part needed to make a quality instrument is already being manufactured relatively locally in that part of the world so it's cheaper to put the whole thing together. 

I'm sure there are other factors at work as well.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Cato

[Doddy]

2 hours ago, javi_bassist said:

However, in my head, I still think that Sire sounds too good to be true. I'm in the market for a 5 string jazz bass. 1000 bucks more or less. And then I look at Sire and I like the v7, and it's 550€ in my area, And in my head something says "half the price? cannot be that good". People say that they are better than the Mex Fenders, but I don't know. It looks like it gives too much for the money. 

Don't let your feelings be dictated by the price. I bought a V7 5 string based purely on the Marcus connection, and it's a great bass. I've played it on a load of shows and a few recordings and it's never let me down.  I've got a Fender Mexican Deluxe Jazz V which has been lent out since I bought the Sire. The Sire is a better instrument in both sound and feel, and the preamp makes it really versatile. I know some people complain about the hardware and the weight, but it's not an issue for me. The tuners are nothing special but they do the job, and personally I don't like super lightweight basses so the weight is ok with me.

Let's be honest though, I'm not going to say that it's better than my F Bass or my Roscoe but I do think that they are one of the best Jazz basses under £1000 new.

[Munurmunuh]

Sire, the night is darker now... 🎶

[TheGreek]

On 30/01/2021 at 20:00, Rich said:

I fitted licenced Ultralites

which ones?? If they make a difference, I'd be interested...

[Rich]

9 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

which ones?? If they make a difference, I'd be interested...

These

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224343815825

They are not a direct replacement, for each tuner you have to drill one new screwhole and fill the four old ones. But it's not a big deal, and more than worthwhile.

This is how mine ended up.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Rich

[TheGreek]

👍

I don't suppose you know how heavy the originals are?

Edited February 8, 2021 by TheGreek

[Rich]

31 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I don't suppose you know how heavy the originals are?
 

Unfortunately not, I've sold them on so I can't weigh them.

[uk_lefty]

8 minutes ago, Rich said:

Unfortunately not, I've sold them on so I can't weigh them.

You could weigh your bass and get someone with a similar bass but the original tuners to weigh theirs, subtract the difference...?

[Drax]

10 hours ago, javi_bassist said:

However, in my head, I still think that Sire sounds too good to be true. I'm in the market for a 5 string jazz bass. 1000 bucks more or less. And then I look at Sire and I like the v7, and it's 550€ in my area, And in my head something says "half the price? cannot be that good". People say that they are better than the Mex Fenders, but I don't know. It looks like it gives too much for the money. 

Fender have been price fixing for years which has skewed perspective, partly why the big guys (them, Gibson, Guitar Centre) have been in so much trouble lately. Sire seem priced about right by today’s standards. 

[Sweeneythebass]

I bought a Sire V7 new in 2018 for £350 and I’ve gigged it a number of times since then. It’s easily as good as basses 2 or 3 times it’s value. The neck is great and super playable, the pre-amp is very useable but equally the passive tone is great too.

As some have mentioned they can be on the heavy side mines 4.8kg (10.5lbs) but others aren’t as heavy. I’ve seen some advertised at 3.5 Kg’s. During lockdown I’ve been practicing a lot and the weight is adding up as I’ve got some upper back/shoulder stiffness.

My only other gripe is the intonation went way out about 6 months ago but I’ve been able to adjust the setup to sort that out.

Ive read that people have found the pickups to be ‘weak’ however I’ve not had noticed this myself.

if anyone’s interested I can post up some recordings.
 

[charlie45]

On 08/02/2021 at 18:41, Rich said:

These

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224343815825

They are not a direct replacement, for each tuner you have to drill one new screwhole and fill the four old ones. But it's not a big deal, and more than worthwhile.

This is how mine ended up.

 

How did you remove the old bushings ?

I m trying to install some Sandberg liteweights

46 grams  ratio 1:22

 

ok, managed to get them out

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by charlie45

[Al Krow]

On 08/02/2021 at 18:37, uk_lefty said:

You could weigh your bass and get someone with a similar bass but the original tuners to weigh theirs, subtract the difference...?

Trouble is exactly the same make and model with same type of woods can easily vary +/- 1lb just from the variation in the wood cuts. 

My Sire P7v2 5er was excellent, particularly for the money. I mean which sub £1k bass provides such a versatile EQ with parametric mids? I would have preferred greater accessibility at the dusty end - I felt I was effectively limited to 18 accessible frets - but this won't be a concern at all for many. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

Dammit - I do find these Sire threads all distinctly unhelpful. Lol!

The P10 has flamed maple top, roasted maple neck, improved pups, tarted-up knobs. Not sure that justifies the £600 new price premium over the P7v2, but it's still tempting. If one comes up used, I think I'll be finding it hard to resist!

Edited March 10, 2021 by Al Krow

[uk_lefty]

51 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Trouble is exactly the same make and model with same type of woods can easily vary +/- 1lb just from the variation in the wood cuts. 

Fair point! 

[Guest]

On 08/02/2021 at 17:55, TheGreek said:

👍

I don't suppose you know how heavy the originals are?

Sire tuners are 93g each including bushings and 4 screws. Hipshot Ultralite HB6Cs are 59g inc screw and bushing - both on my digital kitchen scales 😀