BaggyMan Posted September 11 Author Share Posted September 11 2 minutes ago, mcnach said: .... now I need to focus and finish work! Good luck with your focus on that.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 11 Share Posted September 11 One thing I didn't like much is teh pickguard shape... but the routing is reasonably clean Passive tone control doesn't go as dark as I'd like, I might change the capacitor... however, while playing around adding a bit of the neck pickup while rolling off the passive tone and the treble control I found some really tasty sounds, fat and rich... This is a lot of bass, and not just 'for the money'. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 On 08/09/2024 at 17:31, neepheid said: I'll be sure to report how I find the Z7 when I get it. Damn, after all this hype, I bloody hope I like it! To be honest I think the 4 in line looks better on the Sire also, but that's not really why I've got a bee in my bonnet anyway. My ultimate objection is to the fact that EBMM seem to think they "own" 3+1 in any circumstance. That's a load of anti-competitive balls - imagine if Benz had said "right, our car has 4 wheels, one in each corner, that's ours, you can't have it" - we'd all be driving around in Reliant Robins! At best they have a trademark on 3+1 tuners in that specific headstock shape, and that's as much leeway as I'm prepared to give them. In this way, I don't see that Sire did anything wrong in the first place. But that's just my interpretation of it - as I said, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm certainly nitpicky and "dog with a bone" enough to be one . Happy to accept that you and I are unlikely to ever see eye to eye on this one. I have enjoyed today's robust but fair debate. Well, this was nice, but sometimes I feel I must stand up for my beliefs when challenged and occasionally invoke the zealot gene for the benefit of my self esteem, but I have to remember to keep it under wraps most of the time... If Sire engaged in a legal dispute I’m sure their margins aren’t big enough to take the hit and it’d have to be passed to the consumer in a very competitive market where price point is one of their key advantages. Probably a lot cheaper to just redesign instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 14 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said: If Sire engaged in a legal dispute I’m sure their margins aren’t big enough to take the hit and it’d have to be passed to the consumer in a very competitive market where price point is one of their key advantages. Probably a lot cheaper to just redesign instead. In someways it might help them. The value of pre-lawsuit instruments could rise and their overall profile increase. I doubt Ernie Ball have a keg to stand on or should that be the brass neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaggyMan Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 Gah! Andertons had my delivery on 'Next Day' and that was to deliver...yesterday. If its parcel farce i'll be very grumpy. Soooooooo damn close. Still...Christmas soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slug Ice Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Thanks for sharing your experiences. Please could someone provide string spacing for 4s and 5s? Struggling to find definitive information online. I'm really interested in these models but would like to be sure about that particular detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 I think @mcnach said it was 17.5mm, but he can confirm I'm sure 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisswanbon Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 (edited) So after still no response from Thomann, I panic ordered from Andertons thinking I'd return the Thomann bass when it eventually arrives... Typically, both arrived at the same time! 🤦♂️ Both are being sent back. The thomann bass was certainly the nicer bass as far as wood grain goes, and it seemed as though it had genuinely been QC'd. Issue is there's a blemish/dot on the back of the neck that you can feel underthumb that I think would bug me... The Andertons bass definitely hadn't been checked. There were sharp fret edges as well as shocking finishing at the top of the neck, and shavings under the scratchboard. I have a replacement coming tomorrow so hopefully third time lucky! Edited September 12 by thisisswanbon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Cards on the table - I'm not convinced that Andertons do much in the way of checking beyond "is there a bass in there?" and maybe "is it the right colour?" - my Z7 had some sticky dark stuff on the inside of the top horn and around the strap button. A bit of WD40 and it came right off. I wasn't going to mention such a tiny detail as it seemed petty and utterly insignificant, but seeing as we're on the subject it was mildly irksome that I had to clean some sticky shyte off my new bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaggyMan Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 And finally, it be here. Not quite the over the top fab grain of one i have seen on the owners page (pic shown for reference ...omg thats perdy) My new ride has landed safely without the QC issue of some poor souls here. First impressions Neck Dive: a little but not on the strap Heavy?: No 9lbs and a bit. Lower horn embarassment?: Yeah a bit noticeable, access is a lot better for the dusty end but looks better in the flesh Controls: I quite like the knobs, a bit sadowsky like and definately better quality than the really cheap plastic ones one my v3, v7 etc. But still plastic (even on the sadowsky metrolines they are aluminium) Neck: Rolled edge is great, no fret sprout Pickups: Mman pickup is very articulate and quiet. Single coil on the neck position has 60Hz noise at high treble settings (Nordstrand drop in perhaps). Took a peek under the controls plate, spareate pre to the controls, getting a parallel/series switch will be a squeeze so probably wont attempt. Four wire Mman pickup though so technically possible. Looks like wired in series. Am I happy with my purchase: ?. Yes, first impressions are good, pre amp seems a bit tighter voiced than the v7 (maybe thats just my looks like a stingray so must sound like one eyes..), hardware looks ok. Just for a laugh a laid a musicman scratchplate over the pickup etc. Looks like the Mman is about a cm further forwards towards the neck. Edge of the plate overlaps the control panel. De-condoming the scratchplate the drills holes are tidy as is the routing, so it can be 'topless' without looking crap. I so want to add the musicman style lugs to the bridge....i have some...it may happen Anyway check this.. Mine's a more modest 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 (edited) 1 hour ago, BaggyMan said: Just for a laugh a laid a musicman scratchplate over the pickup etc. Looks like the Mman is about a cm further forwards towards the neck. Edge of the plate overlaps the control panel. Would depend on the year the Stingray was made, if you measured from the end of the fingerboard alone. Prior to 2018 Stingrays had 21 frets, and from 2018 up they had 22 frets so on the 22 fret models the pickup will always be closer to the neck Edited September 12 by LeftyJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minininjarob Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 On 11/09/2024 at 13:48, neepheid said: HERE That looks fantastic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 1 hour ago, BaggyMan said: Controls: I quite like the knobs, a bit sadowsky like and definately better quality than the really cheap plastic ones one my v3, v7 etc. But still plastic (even on the sadowsky metrolines they are aluminium) and I dislike them intensely - set of John East knobs incoming for mine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Glad to hear peeps are (mostly) happy with their new toys! Sire really are putting out some great basses for nota lot of dosh nowadays. If they did the Z3 in a natural finish I'd be pretty tempted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 4 hours ago, neepheid said: Cards on the table - I'm not convinced that Andertons do much in the way of checking beyond "is there a bass in there?" and maybe "is it the right colour?" - my Z7 had some sticky dark stuff on the inside of the top horn and around the strap button. A bit of WD40 and it came right off. I wasn't going to mention such a tiny detail as it seemed petty and utterly insignificant, but seeing as we're on the subject it was mildly irksome that I had to clean some sticky shyte off my new bass. In my experience they do sod all checks. I bought a new G&L Tribute a few years back and it had a good few faults and a few days later after I returned it, it was listed for sale in the shop as B stock. I`m guessing if you are buying a bog standard Fender or similar they don`t even open the box, if you are buying something expensive they will check it. I`m thinking they don`t have the staff to check each guitar they send out. One of the downsides of buying from a large box shifter operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 44 minutes ago, jezzaboy said: In my experience they do sod all checks. I bought a new G&L Tribute a few years back and it had a good few faults and a few days later after I returned it, it was listed for sale in the shop as B stock. I`m guessing if you are buying a bog standard Fender or similar they don`t even open the box, if you are buying something expensive they will check it. I`m thinking they don`t have the staff to check each guitar they send out. One of the downsides of buying from a large box shifter operation. I had thet problem with Thomann on an HB guitar. Sent is back and the replacement had an obvious blemish. In the end I accepted a refund to B stock price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaggyMan Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 yep my bad ally knobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaggyMan Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 One QC issue: The action as delivered was way off too high. Not really an issue until i tried to adjust the D string saddle. The allen key/wrench spin in the hole. Luckily i have a bunch of old scrap bridges and harvested two allen screws off an old Ibanez bridge which were a straight swap. Worth checking yours folks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisswanbon Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 8 minutes ago, BaggyMan said: One QC issue: The action as delivered was way off too high. Not really an issue until i tried to adjust the D string saddle. The allen key/wrench spin in the hole. Luckily i have a bunch of old scrap bridges and harvested two allen screws off an old Ibanez bridge which were a straight swap. Worth checking yours folks... Actually both the basses I received (Thomann and Andertons) were the same, really high action! Didn't adjust them as I'm returning though but good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBass Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 4 hours ago, BaggyMan said: Single coil on the neck position has 60Hz noise at high treble settings... No it doesn't. Americans might experience '60 cycle hum' but us Brits are the beneficiaries of 230 volt 50 Hz mains. Ok, Pedant hat off...Good review! Enjoy your new bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 16 minutes ago, BaggyMan said: One QC issue: The action as delivered was way off too high. Not really an issue until i tried to adjust the D string saddle. The allen key/wrench spin in the hole. Luckily i have a bunch of old scrap bridges and harvested two allen screws off an old Ibanez bridge which were a straight swap. Worth checking yours folks... Were you using the supplied 1.5mm key? It's garbage. I thought "uh-oh" when the first grub screw I tried it in the key just spun around. But I tried my own 1.5mm key and it worked like a charm on all the screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 16 hours ago, Slug Ice said: Thanks for sharing your experiences. Please could someone provide string spacing for 4s and 5s? Struggling to find definitive information online. I'm really interested in these models but would like to be sure about that particular detail. The Z7-5 is 17.5mm, the same as standard for a Stingray 5 I also couldn't find that information before I ordered mine. I looked carefully at the polepieces and the relative spacings and I felt the Z7-5 was probably 17.5, 18mm at most. Meanshile the Z3-5 looks to me like it'll be 16, maybe 16.5, but I don't know for sure 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slug Ice Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 2 hours ago, mcnach said: The Z7-5 is 17.5mm, the same as standard for a Stingray 5 I also couldn't find that information before I ordered mine. I looked carefully at the polepieces and the relative spacings and I felt the Z7-5 was probably 17.5, 18mm at most. Meanshile the Z3-5 looks to me like it'll be 16, maybe 16.5, but I don't know for sure Thanks! If anyone can confirm the 4 string for me it'd be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 I was wondering how these looked without a scratch plate as a I don’t like the one they use, and saw this on FB! Oooff! Finally the lower horn looks In proportion. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 11 hours ago, Slug Ice said: Thanks! If anyone can confirm the 4 string for me it'd be much appreciated. 19mm (Z7) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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