5 things I Hate About My Sire V7 Bass | 3 Years Of Ownership
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In the last couple years the Sire Basses have got a lot of hype but how does the 1st generation stack up in 2020?
You’ve heard all the hype so…
Here are 5 things that I dislike about my Sire v7 5 string bass after 3 years of heavy use.
check out the bass CLEFFED merch ????
#Hate #Sire #Bass #Years #Ownership
Originally posted by UCq67LhCOtWyvaVfdKZdNpxQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVUdf4xmLCI
Glad to see that the things you hate are really super nitpicky.
1. the battery cover on the gen 2 is solid.
2. if you play well, no one cares how much your bass cost.
3. take care of your stuff.
4. $2800 Ernie Ball Stingrays all have two batteries.
5. if the guy booking your gig is more impressed with your axe than your chops, it's probably going to be a rubbish show.
I've only had mine a year. I've put new batteries. 2nd generation.. the volume pot ended up with scratchy noise, and volume dropping out. Tried deoxidizer and cleaned..didn't change. I only use once a week, about an hour each time. Had to take to a guitar tech. He showed me difference..evidently uses cheap electronics. Fortune he's only charging $50 plus cost of volume pot replacement. He does have a great recommendations for his work
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It's how you can play and instrument and how it sounds that matters not the name on the head stock as proved by Marcus himself. If you can play good and the instrument sounds good you'll get the gig. When I see professional musicians on tv and stage, I don't know half of what makes their guitars are, there usually some custom made effort. In the old days it was just Gibsons and Fenders but now it's all kinds. Paul McCartney plays a Hofner for goodness sake.
You got a much prettier wood structure than mine
I have the 4 string v7 first gen.
Over 30 years I've owned around a few basses. 2 Fender Jazz. Deluxe MIM active. American passive. Padulla Rapture. Stingray. Ibanez soundgear. Ibanez mezzo (underrated short scale bass). Lakland 55-02. Fender acoustic. Ovation acoustic. 1979 Fender PBass that I stumbled on in high school at a garage sale… Sandberg California TM configuration… and the Sire V7.
My Sire V7 is probably the most versatile bass I have. Even moreso than the Sandberg. The Fender deluxe was the bass that earned the most hours of time in my hands learning on it. Sire is the first Jbass I've ever preferred over that early 2002 deluxe in my hands and overall tonally.
Agree yes if someone is gonna pay me or audition me for anything substantial. I'm bringing the Sandberg for the expression of seriousness but I also bring the Sire. It slaps so much better omg. I don't think there is a better slapping JBass.
Great instrument. Note Sire was 500$ and Sandberg was 3000$ and although the craftsmanship and component quality is better with the more expensive bass… when I plug them in I get the same sound quality out of my hands. I'd say the sandberg is a little better with fingerfunk and Sire is better with slap obv.
Well i came to a video stating reasons why someone dislikes a certain aspect of X item, and i leave more convinced than ever of buying that item. I guess that's how good they are! Thanks mate, great video! New sub here
I've been a gigging and recording bass player since 1984. A year ago, I purchased a 2nd gen. Sire V7 Fretless.
The downsides to the Sire I own:
1. Out of the box and at stage stage volume, ground noise when touching metal.(solution: Copper foil shield the pickup and control cavities -no more grounding noise)
2 The tuners were not very precise. Not bad, just not great. (solution: upgraded the tuners – now tunes better and is significantly lighter weight)
3. Opening it up to shield everything revealed an issue that is really more a preference than a problem…The wiring is a disorganized rats' nest under the control plate. A zillion wires all just recklessly crammed in there, and the pots have really loose fitting "push-on" connectors that are really sort of held in place by the big bundle of wires crammed underneath.
4. The output jack is a cheap plastic box-type, and it will break. (solution: replace with a Switchcraft jack)
5. The stacked Volume/Tone pot bent and flat out quit working.
5a. Too many knobs that are too close together. Difficult to just plug in and quickly get a good sound for a session or show. Go to turn the tone knob, and the volume spins with it, go to turn the mids, and the frequency turns with it.
5b. The control layout just feels cramped and un-intuitive in general. 5 pots/7knobs and a switch all nearly touching.
(solution: Removed the entire electronics package and installed EMG J-Set pickups and V-V-T with a three-hole Fender plate. It sounded good, was always quickly ready to go and easy to make micro adjustments by feel, but not much mojo. – Solution to the first solution: Install DiMarzio Area J pickups with CTS pots in a fully passive V-V-T circuit. – Lots of growly mojo/vintage Jazz bass vibe, more dependable, no batteries, and I can solo either pickup with no single coil hum.
The upsides to my Sire V-7 Fretless Gen.2:
1. Incredibly great neck and fingerboard. I love the feel of the Edgeless fingerboard. The neck sets up easily for low action and lots of MWAH. Holds adjustment really well. Truss rod only needs adjustment when I change string gauges. Neck is nice and true with no dead spots whatsoever.
2. The finish and fit of the body and neck are entirely flawless. It is a beautiful instrument.
3. The bridge is actually really nice. Plating is nice and shiny. Plenty of mass withoiut being too heavy. High level of setup accuracy. They must have improved them over the first gen.
4. Weight. After the tuner upgrade, my Gen2 V7 Fretless balances very well and is plenty light enough. It feels significantly lighter weight than my Fender USA Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, my CIJ Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, and all of the other Fender Jazz basses I have owned over the years.
5. Price. Even with the upgrades and mods, I spent a lot less on it than the current price of a MIM Fender Player 2 Jazz Bass. It is a great playing and sounding fretless that would be significantly less expensive to replace or repair than my Pedulla should anything unfortunate happen to it on the road or at a gig. In my opinion, it also sounds as good as my '82 Pedulla Buzz.
Lol. 4 yrs later and the price has gone up. Thank god I picked one up as soon as they came out. Mine's heavily modified though. Which I kind of regret because the bass didn't really need anything.
Reasons 1, 2, 4, and 5 do not apply to the Marcus Miller P5 passive P Bass. There are no batteries or Preamp, and if you introduce it not as "my Sire bass" but as "my Marcus Miller bass" that disarms any snobbery pretty effectively.
not about budget but about the ridiculously high Fender prices
I have a V7 vintage and I modded the hell out of it. EMG pickups and preamp, new bridge new string tree. I put that bass up against anything out there…..
Why can't they make it USB charged battery? Charge your bass with your phone before the gig?
Love this. Thank you!
I dont give 2 fu&k$ about what anyone thinks about the brand of bass im playing cause i can promise you the second i start playing they wont care what bass im playing cause i spend all my time wirking and perfecting my craft and that is all that matters.
The Fender jazz bass is a pound heavier no body complaining about that
So in summary, the only real issue with this bass is the vulnerable battery compartment.
The rest of the so-called issues are no real issues. Especially the ‘stigma’ argument: sound and playability are all that counts, … and okay: looks too. But Sire did a great job with all three of them. After playing one note everyone forgets it’s not a Fender and even doesn’t care about it anymore. That is: unless you are a snob ;-).
I totally understand what you're saying about the controls you got to be careful putting in and out of the gig bag…I had that same problem……
Why do you have your TC RH450 (or RH750 on a shelf)? That's one of the sweetest bass amps made in the past 30 years! I own two RH450s (for reasons).
A good workman don’t blame his tools.
I’m trying to finally fulfil my old dream of playing the bass and I’ve honestly fallen head over heels for the Marcus Miller V7, now I just need to find all the other suff I’ll need (I’ve only had acoustic guitars up until now and I’m mostly self taught)
Don't blame the bass. SIMIAN
Im not buying a fender knock off, i prefer the real thing.
Reason 3 isn't Sire's fault! I currently have 2, 2nd gen V7 and P7. I've owned a 1st gen V7 and an M3. They retired my Fender MIJ Jazz from gigging. Had that from new (1992). That's now strung with flats and on and used for recording.
Two batteries you say well have you ever heard of headroom in the world ???? you live in because headroom is what makes it better and hotter than having one battery in your bass guitar. I suggest you check and do your research before making people see that your not to bright and knowledgeable about things you speak ???? on
3 years after you released this and I think the reputation thing is even less an issue. They are standing the test of time and releasing new models all the time. Thanks for the vid!
How is the weight of the instrument btw compared to say, a Fender active Jazz V?
Apart from the battery cover these are the biggest non issues for a bass.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts, there is a lot of hype on these bass's and it's good to hear what the downside is from someone that has routinely played one. I play both lead and bass, one area I would respectfully sort of agree but also disagree with you is the perceived stigma of Sire being a budget brand – Personally I would not make any negative judgements on a bass player turning up to an audition with this bass (if you are working with musicians that judge you on your bass rather than your bass playing it's time to find another band????)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I have a V7 on order and I'm looking forward to playing it
Great reviw I also sold my fender deluxe made in Mexico to get the v7
Good summary of how these basses fare over time (and of course the video itself is a few years old now). I purchased a P8 recently and initially loved it… until it cut out on stage. Not because the batteries died — I was already playing in passive mode — but because of a bad terminal pin contact inside the jack. Sire uses a weird jack housing I've never seen before, but the pin itself is really thin metal and bends easily… to the point that it doesn't make proper contact with the plug on the cable. I could replace the jack, but… I shouldn't have to do that on a nearly new instrument! It's extremely disappointing because I love (almost) everything else about it. You hit on the other main annoyance I have — how tall the stacked pots are.
you should have got one of the passive models bloke
It’s hard for a two thousand dollar Fender Jazz bass to beat a seven hundred dollar Sire Marcus Miller V7 or P7 in tones, I will take my Sire to the biggest gigs ever and be proud to play it because I know it’s giving me the tones I want and need. Keep tucking yours away if you want, I’m laying mine in the case and heading for the next gig proudly. ????????????????
Yes, because the general word about Sire is ' a great value FOR THE PRICE', there IS a stigma…but I own and have toured professionally with Fender Jazz 4 and 5 string basses, now I own a Sire P7 and IT'S AN INCREDIBLE INSTRUMENT…and I can't believe they only ask a few hundred bucks for them! It's not just a great value, it's an AMAZING bass…
If you buy one of these be prepared to start repairing and replacing parts. I got my V10 DX in January and I'm already working on a second replacement part. Great sounding basses but definitely not boutique build quality. Waiting for sweetwater to send me a new battery compartment with wiring.
Don’t be with a band that judges you by the make of bass you have.
Impressions… Let's just let our playing speak for us. Way more important.
Ok bro, you care waaaay too much what people think about what your playing…if it’s good It’s good!! If it’s a great deal and plays great? WTF get on with your life and jam!!
I have 2 V7s and 1 V3…checking out a P5R now. Marcus signed one of my basses so it stays at home!
Nice review! I am a Luthier. That said, I do not build Fender clones, copies, or Fender 'looking' basses like so so many famous boutique builders do. I work on some client's Sires, and was impressed with many points. I needed a five string Fender style bass for some gigs. So, I bought two Left Handed Sire V-7 Second gens last year. The bridges are better, the tuners are much better than many people say, (they even have a tension Allen head screw like Hipshots) and the basses sound as good, or a little better than the five string Fenders I have worked on and setup. Sire, LISTENS to us, and continues to do regular improvements to their instruments. That said, the points you make, are correct. The single biggest weakness on these basses, is the durability, or lack thereof, of the preamp assemblies. The plus? They're only $75.00 new direct from Sire. There's only eight wires to unsolder and solder in a new one. Other preamps are available, and as with the Audere, are a significant upgrade. The other issue- is the fingerboard shrinkage will leave very sharp fret ends, worse than an un rolled edge, because of HOW they file the ends at the factory. As a repairman, I've had to file my fret ends twice- on both basses. But, I live in Nevada, and drying of woods is common here.
So- my conclusion- Sires are a great deal, better than a lot of other basses- especially in the price range. Issues? Sure- but all easily correctable. Oh, I almost forgot, I just ordered a lefty P-5 5 string. It'll be here in five days from order to delivery- from Germany!
Well I have 3 different Sire basses
and I don’t care with smaller errors It’s all about the Sound and the neck and the playibillity !!
So : the best bass for the money !!!
You hate that you have abused this bass, and now things are starting to break on it?
NO DISRESPECT BROTHA, BUT THIS VIDEO SHOULD'VE N E V E R BEEN MADE! You Get a ton of tonal options with these bass guitars! The prices are all great no matter which model you get, Very light weightIs With the best, I mean THE BEST preamp in the business!!! In fact when I'm through with this message I'm going to purchase another one! Keep rocki' Marcus!! ????????????
The reason I've been looking around youtube to find some reviews on the Marcus Miller Sire Basses,is,that I'm planing to purchase a Sire 5string bass.Well,I think I'm convinced now.Time to save up some dosh and get me one.
Am i the only one who thought gettin a bass review with young Tupac before putting on my glasses? ????
Thanks for the review. I want to know the downsides of an instrument as well…so i can decide if they are a problem for me. ????????
☑ I really like that you downgraded from 5.0 to 4.5 _makes it seem more like an application version thing gone awry , than anything seriously wrong with the bass ????
anyhoo i know not much about bass , but gonna invest in the Sire V7 Ash body burst maple fretboard ; i suspect it will pretty much defeat my Fender MIM P bass or my Squire 40th Annv Jazz bass❗❗????????
I just got a 2nd gen p7 5 string and I absolutely love it! I have a $2,000 strat with upgraded pickups and a $3,000 7 string kiesel and I needed a bass for the album I'm working on. I knew this was a budget bass, but man was I blown away by how good it feels and sounds. Feels like a professional bass. I don't know TOO much about basses, but I know quality when I feel and hear it!
There’s ppl with 2k basses and can’t play to save they life so that don’t matter
I owned a Sire V7 5 string. In general, it is a very good bass. To nitpick, my V7 weighed 10 3/4 lbs. I did not like the 7 knobs which made it difficult to change tones without fiddling around between songs on a live gig. I went back to my USA Stingray 5 which has a 5 way pickup selector switch. Battery covers will not break if you know how to open it properly.
I wouldn't worry about stigma, at all. If you can play + Sires do have good reps!