Got a Sire V7 5 string for £240

[bubinga5]

From a shop in Kidderminster. A lovely chap on BC gave me the heads up. Not a mark on it.fairly light for a V7. 9.3 pounds on my digital scales. It was set up badly and i was using the wrong allen key.thus my previous post. .fresh set of DR Low Riders. Monstrous tones. It makes me wonder why i spent thousands on very expensive basses in the past. £240 for this quality of bass, that preamp and those pickups that sound this good. Really.???!!!

Edited May 13, 2023 by bubinga5

[King Tut]

Any idea if this is the Mark1 or 2? I had a mark 1 and couldn’t get on with the vintage fingerboard profile. Glad you’re happy with it, great basses!

[TheGreek]

Yep, Sire another of the new fandangle modern range of basses build to an incredibly high standard and sold for virtually nothing. 

 

I wish they'd been built like this when I started playing. 

 

Oh, and BTW I have no issues with the shape of the headstock. 

[Rayman]

It makes me ask this question:

 

Are expensive, boutique instruments relevant anymore?? Seriously, why? (sure I’ll get ***t for that). 
 

I also had to put up with the awful invasion of terrible Japanese instruments when I started playing…… if only there had been Sire and the like back then.

[bubinga5]

3 hours ago, Rayman said:

It makes me ask this question:

 

Are expensive, boutique instruments relevant anymore?? Seriously, why? (sure I’ll get ***t for that). 
 

I also had to put up with the awful invasion of terrible Japanese instruments when I started playing…… if only there had been Sire and the like back then.

For sure they are, When im mortgage free in a year a Lakland 5594 or another Suhr is a must. But I think the tools are getting better and better for a cheaper price.

[Rayman]

I honestly struggle to think of an expensive bass I want….. I’m pretty happy with the mid range stuff I have…. 
maybe an old Stingray though…. I do miss my Stingrays.

[kodiakblair]

5 hours ago, Rayman said:

I also had to put up with the awful invasion of terrible Japanese instruments when I started playing

How much of that was down to distributors only ordering instruments which cost buttons to build ?

[Rayman]

30 minutes ago, kodiakblair said:

How much of that was down to distributors only ordering instruments which cost buttons to build ?

Yep could well be. When I was 15, and looking for my first bass, there was only really Fenders to look at. We thought that your Cimar, Jedson, CSL, Shaftesbury etc and even early Ibanez, we’re ***p. It was Fender or Rickenbacker if you could find one.

 

Those early imports were really terrible. I had a few of them.

[Lw.]

6 hours ago, Rayman said:

 

Are expensive, boutique instruments relevant anymore?? Seriously, why? (sure I’ll get ***t for that). 

They certainly are. Sire are one of a long line of tool manufacturers; they're perfectly usable, look acceptable & do the job for making music. 

 

But that is not why people buy boutique basses, no one buys them because they think it'll make the songs they're performing be better (equally, I have some quite expensive Japanese kitchen knives, they don't make my dinner taste any better). It's about ownership of a nice thing, always has been always will be. 

 

There's nothing wrong with either, they're just different purchases. 

[kodiakblair]

@Rayman

 

I was around the same time but remember the late 70's/ early 80's when Japanese companies changed track, Americans were quaking in their boots.

 

The toy trade is a good example of the West importing crap. While our shops were full of basic fake Action Man things, Japanese kids had really cool robots.

[asingardenof]

14 hours ago, King Tut said:

Any idea if this is the Mark1 or 2? I had a mark 1 and couldn’t get on with the vintage fingerboard profile. Glad you’re happy with it, great basses!

Based solely on the bridge it's a 1st Gen, 2nd Gen have the hand-me-up bridge from the V3 (which is still decent to be fair).

[Chienmortbb]

20 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Oh, and BTW I have no issues with the shape of the headstock. 

I am with you.Leo Fender at al were fantastic but sone of his headstocks were horrible. That headstock looks fine to me. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

That's a good score for £240.

Congrats

[Owen]

On 14/05/2023 at 12:23, Rayman said:

Are expensive, boutique instruments relevant anymore?? Seriously, why? 

I am in no position to answer that. But I am hugely aware of the Law of Diminishing Returns. 

[andruca]

Nice score!

 

I've been the owner of a gen 2 V3 5er for 10 days and I'm still in awe at all the features, quality, playability and tone. Really superb. I've been playing some Sires for the last years (gen 1 mostly) and really liked them, but spending real time with it I don't think it plays, sounds or feels a penny cheaper than over 1000 instruments (I own a couple Stingray5s, and have owned several other over-1000 basses). The V3 was definitely my choice as I prefer both the lighter weight and the more modern tone (kind of a more delicate/refined hi-end). Best Jazz 5er I've played. I've owned a Maruszczyk Jake 5a+ and played several Elwoods (real lovely Jazz Basses) and I'd take this one over those, at 1/4-1/3 the budget. First Sire and first Jazz 5er for me.

 

So much value. Enjoy your V7 👍

[ern500evo]

They’re great basses. I’m on my second one, I had an early V7 in the antique white with rosewood fretboard, and now have the white V7 vintage with maple neck and block inlays. I love them. 

[Kiwi]

On 14/05/2023 at 19:23, Rayman said:

It makes me ask this question:

 

Are expensive, boutique instruments relevant anymore?? Seriously, why? (sure I’ll get ***t for that). 

For the most part, not to me anymore.  My main basses are less than £1800 and I paid way less for them years ago.  They sound every bit as good, if not better, than basses I've owned that cost three times more.   A Sire V7 5 with maple board and ash body is on my shopping list over the Summer as well, if I can find one that isn't too heavy.  I'm looking for a particular kind of character too, which means I'll be trying before I buy rather than taking a leap of faith.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Kiwi
spekking

[BillyBass]

7 hours ago, Kiwi said:

I'm looking for a particular kind of character too, which means I'll be buying before I try rather than taking a leap of faith.

Hic🥂cheers

[jonnybass]

I love my V7 Gen 2 five string.  Didnt really enjoy the pre-amp, so swapped that out for a Fender one I had lying about, now very happy with it.

 

I think this is one to slowly mod over time into a great gigging bass.

 

Jonny

[Johncee]

Great buy. It's the more expensive swamp ash version and also seems to have had the horrible plastic knobs upgraded. I had a V7 for a while and although it wasn't for me (prefer closer string spacing and flatter fingerboard) it was amazing quality for the money.

[ebenezer]

Love these basses but wish they had 21 frets.

[leroydiamond]

I have owned countless Fenders, a Jaydee, Sadowsky NYC, WAL and a few other basses over many years. Right now I am setting up a pair of the cheaper end Sire basses ( a fretless and a fretted ) for my brother and am blown away by the quality. The fretless coated neck at this price point is stunning. The only downside for me is the weight. Other than that these are excellent pro level giggle basses. If I were to go back playing, I would have no interest in boutique basses.