Sire Z7...here goes

[BaggyMan]

1 hour ago, thisisswanbon said:

I've revisited the thomann one before sending it back... and I'm even more confused!

 

The Thomann bass has a MUCH darker neck, weighs a full 1lb more, is nowhere near as hot output wise, has a MUCH more secure output jack but has the quietness in the A and D strings on the neck pick up! 

 

I tried swapping batteries between the basses but this didn't change the output either way.

 

Andertons bass (lighter headstock and neck) is on its way back... undecided about the Thomann one at present - interested to see how it stacka up against everyone else's weight and tone wise.

 

Anyone else's neck this dark, bass this heavy (9.9lb), and is your preamp mega LOUD?

 

 

I may abandon ship at this point and look at the SBEBMM Ray34 range 

 

 

 I took a sneaky pick at the pre amp.  It has an adjustment pot. Suspect a tweak will help.  And then I notice thats been said on other post ...sigh  Welcome to overlabouring a point (or pot) post club

Edited September 16 by BaggyMan

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

 

Wild contrast on the neck for sure.  I've noticed that cheaper basses seem to have the overly dark neck when advertised as "Roasted Maple", I figure its just to emphasise that feature over a the cheaper model (I'm going to assume that the Z3 is not roasted?).  It does look a bit silly.

 

I'm surprised to hear these issues, I always had Sire down as being an excellent value for money builder, perhaps they're getting a little too successful to still excel at their price point?

 

Possibly just natural;l variation, I'm guessing the colour will depend on time of harvest and the amount of sugar in the sap, as the brown comes from the maillard reaction (cooking rather than charring).

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Possibly just natural;l variation, I'm guessing the colour will depend on time of harvest and the amount of sugar in the sap, as the brown comes from the maillard reaction (cooking rather than charring).

 

I thought they just got distracted by something that focuses the mind (like arguing about bassy stuff on here) and left the dinner in the oven a bit too long - not that I've ever done that...

[BaggyMan]

4 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Possibly just natural;l variation, I'm guessing the colour will depend on time of harvest and the amount of sugar in the sap, as the brown comes from the maillard reaction (cooking rather than charring).

I have seen models across the range with horrendously dark necks and board where you really couldnt see the fret markers. I hard a P5 that was close to being too dark. .I think you are right the sugars/sap crystalise inconsistently across the timbers used some do are ok, some go dark..

[BaggyMan]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I thought they just got distracted by something that focuses the mind (like arguing about bassy stuff on here) and left the dinner in the oven a bit too long - not that I've ever done that...

On the way to a gig...'did i leave the gas on?  was there something in the oven???....oh shiiiii..."

[mcnach]

10 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

I'm just suggesting what could be an easy fix (and nothing to get in a knot about) before returning a bass needlessly if that does fix it.  We're all human, I don't think leaving the trim pot in the wrong setting when it can be easily fixed with a small screwdriver is that big a deal.

 

or tightening a loose jack socket... but that's just me.

[mcnach]

11 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

I've revisited the thomann one before sending it back... and I'm even more confused!

 

The Thomann bass has a MUCH darker neck, weighs a full 1lb more, is nowhere near as hot output wise, has a MUCH more secure output jack but has the quietness in the A and D strings on the neck pick up! 

 

I tried swapping batteries between the basses but this didn't change the output either way.

 

Andertons bass (lighter headstock and neck) is on its way back... undecided about the Thomann one at present - interested to see how it stacka up against everyone else's weight and tone wise.

 

Anyone else's neck this dark, bass this heavy (9.9lb), and is your preamp mega LOUD?

 

 

I may abandon ship at this point and look at the SBEBMM Ray34 range 

 

 

 

 

Mine looks dark like yours, but it's a 5-string and weighs 9.0 lbs. 

 

[thisisswanbon]

8 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

or tightening a loose jack socket... but that's just me.

It's not something that can be tightened - It's not the fitting that's loose, the socket itself doesn't hold the cable, so the cable works its way out.  The jack is also encased in plastic inside so you can't bend the contacts.

 

This bass is on it's way back now anyways - the darker neck one from Thomann is as tight as a gnat's chuff and much more secure.  The darker neck is starting to grow on me - and I don't use the neck pick up enough for the volume issues to be a hinderance - my compressor goes some way to helping with this too.  Opted for the Swamp ash so it'd be lighter, I suspect this is heavier than the colour options though.  The feel of the neck gives enough good will to ignore the smaller sins...

 

The darker contrast in the neck may grow on me over time - who knows 🤔 

[neepheid]

Wood be woody, I know, but swamp ash (even if it is black ash) is on average heavier than alder (which is what the solid colour Z7 bodies are made of).

[thisisswanbon]

11 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Wood be woody, I know, but swamp ash (even if it is black ash) is on average heavier than alder (which is what the solid colour Z7 bodies are made of).

Oh wow!  I'd always thought it was the other way! 🤦‍♂️  That backfired - I had assumed that was why it was £100 more than the solid colour Z7 basses 

[neepheid]

42 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

Oh wow!  I'd always thought it was the other way! 🤦‍♂️  That backfired - I had assumed that was why it was £100 more than the solid colour Z7 basses 

 

Swamp ash is more expensive than alder probably because it's rarer, or harder to procure, or "prettier".  Or, you know, "reasons in general"

[neepheid]

The Wood Database - https://www.wood-database.com/ - is a great resource, will give you stats like average dried weight of different woods, and where it's from, typical uses and lots of super geeky detail, like:

 

"The term “Swamp Ash” does not refer to any particular species of ash (Fraxinus genus), but is generally used by luthiers to describe lightweight wood yielded from ash trees which are usually found in wet or swampy areas."

 

In this case, "lightweight" means light as far as ash is concerned, in this case the rather vague "less than 30-33.6 lbs/ft3".  Red alder is 28.0 lbs/ft3.  These are averages, of course, as I said, wood be woody - you could be lucky and score some super light swamp ash, or be unlucky and get some heavy alder.

[mcnach]

2 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

It's not something that can be tightened - It's not the fitting that's loose, the socket itself doesn't hold the cable, so the cable works its way out.  The jack is also encased in plastic inside so you can't bend the contacts.

 

This bass is on it's way back now anyways - the darker neck one from Thomann is as tight as a gnat's chuff and much more secure.  The darker neck is starting to grow on me - and I don't use the neck pick up enough for the volume issues to be a hinderance - my compressor goes some way to helping with this too.  Opted for the Swamp ash so it'd be lighter, I suspect this is heavier than the colour options though.  The feel of the neck gives enough good will to ignore the smaller sins...

 

The darker contrast in the neck may grow on me over time - who knows 🤔 

 

 

It's true: the neck is superb on these things!

 

And apologies not only for getting wrong the issue with the socket, but mainly because I can see how my comment may have come across as a bit... "unnice", which wasnt the intention but... in writing it doesn't look as intended.

 

I'm pretty comfortable with most aspects of the 'mechanics' of a guitar, so if I like a bass enough I can find workarounds for the bits that are not optimal, but I understand that not everybody is so inclined nor there's a need to be. 

 

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/09/2024 at 16:45, BaggyMan said:

I have seen models across the range with horrendously dark necks and board where you really couldnt see the fret markers. I hard a P5 that was close to being too dark. .I think you are right the sugars/sap crystalise inconsistently across the timbers used some do are ok, some go dark..

 

My P10 has cream markers.

[BaggyMan]

Been using this chopped carbon wrap on scratchplates.. the one on my z7 fits well enough to not need screws..really pleased with look without the screws. Swapped out the neck pickup for a slightly punchier big poled version. Better volume balance and a more cohesive look. 

[wjoyce]

I received my Z7 4 the other day and the G string seems a *bit* too close to the edge of the fretboard.  I keep pulling it off the board.  It's possibly a combination of the rolled edges and poor technique but would be interested to know how others measure up.

 

At the 12th fret the G is about 5mm from the end of the fret, where the E string is about 7mm. 

[Minininjarob]

Do the people who have tried out the z7 think it’s worth having the extra jazz pickup? I’m not fussed about the sweeping mid control and I love the glitter black finish which only comes with a z3. 

[neepheid]

On 21/09/2024 at 18:28, wjoyce said:

I received my Z7 4 the other day and the G string seems a *bit* too close to the edge of the fretboard.  I keep pulling it off the board.  It's possibly a combination of the rolled edges and poor technique but would be interested to know how others measure up.

 

At the 12th fret the G is about 5mm from the end of the fret, where the E string is about 7mm. 

 

I think mine's between 5 and 6mm on both sides.  It's hard to measure because of the rolled edges.  Either way, I don't have any bother with pulling strings off the side of the board.

[neepheid]

12 minutes ago, Minininjarob said:

Do the people who have tried out the z7 think it’s worth having the extra jazz pickup? I’m not fussed about the sweeping mid control and I love the glitter black finish which only comes with a z3. 

 

Eh, just get a Z3 then - you won't miss what you never had.

[Raving_camel]

Well, my Z3 has just died. Was playing it and it started getting farty and cutting out until complete silence. Tried a few 9vs, new leads, different amp and nothing. Passive mode doesn't even work. There's definitely something going on with the push/pull knob, since receiving it yesterday it's been loose and the pot was scratchy. 

I went 14 years without buying a new bass and when I do it dies within 24 hours. Oh well!

[BaggyMan]

Put mine through its paces and it running like a champ.  Mods:  Changed out the neck pickup for higher output, control knobs.

[mcnach]

5 hours ago, Minininjarob said:

Do the people who have tried out the z7 think it’s worth having the extra jazz pickup? I’m not fussed about the sweeping mid control and I love the glitter black finish which only comes with a z3. 

 

 

I already have 3 Stingrays, the thing that attracted me to the Z7 was precisely the Jazz pickup together with the passive tone always in the circuit.

 

Is it worth it? I've played single pickup Stingrays for years, and managed quite well, so it's not like the bass is lacking anything. But I like what the Jazz pickup brings. One of my favourite tones on the Z7 is based on adding a bit of the Jazz pickup, just when it starts to become noticeable plus a gnat's baw hair, cut all treble on the active EQ, and bring the passive tone down to taste. Fat but very articulate sound. That means... I'm a fan

 

In addition, the necks on these basses are soooo nice. I've played instruments with rolled fingerboard edges, but this is top level. It's making it very difficult for me to want to play anything else

 

So, I'd say Z7... but the heart wants what the heart wants, and I bought my purple sparke SBMM Ray35 despite being able at the time to buy a used 90s Stingray5 for a couple of hundred quid more... because purple! sparkle! It's a heavy beast. The Sire Z7-5 that I've got is 9.0 lbs, another factor that is making me like it more and more.

 

Another thing, if you're talking about the 4-string... I have nothing to add. But the 5-string versions look like they have different string spacing, with the Z3 being the one with the shorter spacing. The Z7-5 is 17.5mm at the bridge.

 

[Roseweave]

i'm so glad a scottish person has weighed in, thank you

[neepheid]

4 hours ago, Roseweave said:

i'm so glad a scottish person has weighed in, thank you

 

Fan are we nae weighin' in?

 

[Kev]