NBD - Sire Marcus Miller P7-5 version 2

[Norris]

Well I've actually had it for a couple of weeks but only gigged it for the first time on Friday night. You can play it at home, but it's not until you get a bass in a proper band situation that you can properly evaluate it.

 

Out of the box it was very close to being in tune. Action was good, intonation pretty much spot on. Probably set up by Anderton's (? good job if so) but not damaged by DPD either. Factory fitted d'Addario strings were a nice touch.

 

Gigging wise, well it's a Precision so what's not to like?! Clear, articulate & punchy and slotted into the mix nicely (guitar, bass, drums trio). Plenty of positive comments from the audience too, including many musos (which is always fun when you're not so familiar with 5 strings!)

 

There's a lot of knobs! Master volume/master tone (split), pickup blend, active treble, active mid/mid frequency (split), active bass. Then an active/passive switch. The balance between active and passive is pretty good, although I stayed on active all night.

 

It is a very impressive bass for the price.

 

I was actually looking for something like my beloved (passive) Squier P-bass Special, but with 5 strings. It seems that Fender don't have much to offer currently, and latest Squier reviews indicate that production standards have dipped again recently. Sire seems to fill that gap according to the reviews I read.

 

The Sire seems to be well spec'ed and built, with some very nice features for the price. Build quality is very good. The one thing that lets it down slightly is the battery cover, which is is held on by 4 wood screws rather than a compartment with easy release cover. However, that is the only negative thing I've found about the bass so far.

 

I enjoyed playing it, it sounded great (and looks great imho) and is a keeper. Oh, and the B string is nice and tight, and well matched to the rest of the strings 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Norris