So the mid frequency sweep for me is awesome. I play for a church and we live stream our service and with that mid frequency sweep does is allows me to boost up a certain frequency that can be heard on any type of mobile device and I don't need to just have the subs cranked up. It has been a lifesaver. I definitely think it's a plus and enjoy having it on some of my bases
I am on my second Sire Z7, which is being returned due to QA issues. The first Z7, the volume knob was not working. It behaved like a switch. At 0%, I would get no volume as expected. Anywhere else on the dial, it would be at 100%. No in-between on the volume dial. The replacement Z7, the volume works properly. However, the volume post is bent so severely, the top volume knob touches the tone knob below it on one side. The tone knob below it turns with the volume knob. It is bent so much there is no fixing this pot. It is going back tomorrow. It does not appear to be damaged during shipping. It was very well packaged. Very frustrated with the QC on the Z7.
Got the same bass since September and its impacable...I changed the tuner for sandberg Ultralights , now its 4,1 kg ...great neck , super sound spectrum ....Highly recommandable in my opinion...could be that the folks of Sire are in a rush because of the huge demand worldwide and the quality control is a bit delayed ...
I'm wondering if humbucker coils can be split? To get a J-Bass kind of tone. Having a J, P and Ray in one bass... To me ears, Z7 sounds really good. There's To small difference between middle position and bridge pickup soloed, but apart from that, it sounds great to my ears. Certainty better than Sterling Ray4 and Ray24. I would love to hear a comparison between this and Ray34. Andertons made such comparison but it was horrible. The sterling had completely dead strings
@sonojon0 wow, are you planning to put Nordy into Sire? That's great, looking forward to it! I mean, it sounds really nice, but not as good as real Stingray or Ray34. Pickup and/or preamp swap might help...but I think mostly pickup
Yeah, this thing is a little disappointing, it's a shame. However, I liked the sound of the neck pickup when it was working. Could be a tiny bit beefier, but it's fine. The preamp is to aggressive and too complicated for my taste. And the tone knob could use a stronger, higher value cap. Perfect for me would be a 5 knob solution: volume, balance, tone, treble, bass (with classic StingRay tuning), and the push/pull for passive mode. Maybe a second push/pull to split the bridge pickup.
I ordered a Z7 in the 3 tone sunburst mostly because that color isn't available in the Z3 so as long the bridge humbucker is good, i am totally happy. The Tone know is great for passive and active. I am not a fan of mid frequency control. I prefer on the bass to just be direct. I have a bass like that and i find that it distract me too much as i find it just take me way too much time trying to blindly dial the tone. I have a graphic EQ on my darkglass microtube infinity. I find just soo much easier to dial in the frequency i want to cut and boost with it than with a mid frequency control knob. It's just easier to learn and understand. Same things for the knobs on my amps. Low mid, high mids, always the same, you know what you cut and what you boost. I mean i could probably just spend time to learn the knob, but even if i have one on one of my bass for so many years, i end up leaving it a about mid range and using it like that.
Wel well , first of all thank you for the great demo and playing🙏Sorry that it was a monday bass you got 😩With that said I can tell you mine Sire Z7 5str Swamp Ash was perfect out of the box and if you got that you could change your headline to”Always instead of almost” Sorry that you didn’t test mine version of the Z7 with rosted neck and Swamp Ash ! It’s outstanding best bass for the money in the world ! best Bertil from Sweden
@@sonojon0 You should do a video of stock pickups compared to expensive Nordy aftermarkets to see if it improved the bass or you just wasted lots of money.
I have the z3 and I love it. But I think sire could have left off the silver control plate and mounted the knobs directly to the body more like the U7. That would’ve given them more space for the crowded electronics with a rear cavity entry.
I have 2 Sires but not that one. The neck pickup is a jazz pickup. I usually don't have high expectations of jazz pickups. I like mine a lot. I'm glad you are sampling that one for us.
We've spoken already at some length about the Z7, but for balance and putting it out there, I have not had the issues that you had (which indeed suck and should be highlighted, in a balanced way which I think you have). The only gripes I had with mine were that it's easy to pull/snag the connectors on the pots - I rendered my bass pot non functional when I had a look inside the cavity because I must have snagged the wires and it was on permanent maximum bass cut until I had figured out what I had done. Pushed the connector back on and the bass pot was fully functional again. Also, the knobs suck. I changed mine in the first week of ownership. Apart from that, it's been smooth sailing - flawless fit and finish, tuners are decent IMO (smooth operation and no backlash). Gigged mine the other week and it performed great, very happy with it.
Knobs are definitely the go-to mods from these Sire series. One thing I didn't really dig too much about in the review as I was more pressed about my neck pickup situation. Hopefully the Nordstrand replacement will make it all better!
I see a U7 in the background, I have one just like it. The bridge pickup magnet is off center and the A string doesn’t have equal output. There’s always something with these basses, if it wasn’t for the amazing neck they’d be forgettable.
Beautiful bass and it sounds really good, but I get a little hesitant to spend money on these due to their very known quality control issues, specially with the preamps & wiring. I do have a P8 (and the knobs suck!).
Hopefully once the hype dwindles down on these basses, some QC might be resolved. $600 is a lot to commit for an instruments that could potentially have some issues
The big draw for me with the Z7 over the Z3 is honestly the passive tone knob, I like the range of the preamp but taming those harsh high highs while still retaining a lot of tonal shaping options sounds great to me(or just using the mid shift as a treble)
Can confirm, I play my Ibanez SRSC806 in passive mode most of the time so I can use the treble knob as a passive tone control. I also recently took out the battery so now the active/passive switch is a kill switch :P I already have a Sire V7 5-string but I really do want to get a Z7 if I know I can return it or get it replaced if something goes wrong.
I just ordered one of the 4-strings today from the new shipment that’s on its way to the US. Hopefully they’ve ironed out some issues. I guess I’ll find out!
Sent my Z7 back after having the same control cavity issue. After two bad necked M5's a couple of years ago, I've had enough. Shame it was nice and all but super bad QC is inexcusable
Yeah why the separate bass and treble pots? Stack em and make it a 4 knob layout. And the mid freq is kinda meh. Had that on a stingray and never found it useful. A high mid and a low mid stacked knob would be more useful imo. Nice demo though fun as always
@@sonojon0 I bought a trb6005 . Needed a. Bass for metal/funk but I also own a bb735 coffee Love them both. Nearly bought this bass Here the Z butt Ive seen a lot of bad things about their quality.. same with sterling. Sent 3 back. All had issues. Yamaha all the way 👌🏆
Even a Sterling is a piece of crap compared to a real US made Stingray. They carefully pick the wood and all for that solid quality feel you'll only get with a real one, anyways.
@@abouc Yes you're right. They can sound awesome but from the ergonomic standpoint -> they are shitty and unbalanced ;) I own 7 basses and 5 of them don't neckdive when sitting. You should try it. Your fingering hand and forearm will be grateful ;)
I'm fine with supporting the bass with my right arm, preventing it from diving. But I don't like it when it sits too far right, so I prefer offset shapes. They dive even more seated, but they still are more comfortable to play seated for me. But I'd always go for lightweight tuners.
I still have my 1st gen V7 5 and am THRILLED WITH IT!!! I'm impressed with the tonal versatility of the Z7 but the neck pickup issue is disappointing!!!
So the mid frequency sweep for me is awesome. I play for a church and we live stream our service and with that mid frequency sweep does is allows me to boost up a certain frequency that can be heard on any type of mobile device and I don't need to just have the subs cranked up. It has been a lifesaver. I definitely think it's a plus and enjoy having it on some of my bases
@@dynodansmoking Nice! I knew the mid frequency can be useful in certain situation cases like yours. Glad it’s treating you well
Great job bro. You hung in there. You showed us the truth of the bass that you got and I respect you for that. Great job on this review
I am on my second Sire Z7, which is being returned due to QA issues.
The first Z7, the volume knob was not working. It behaved like a switch. At 0%, I would get no volume as expected. Anywhere else on the dial, it would be at 100%. No in-between on the volume dial.
The replacement Z7, the volume works properly. However, the volume post is bent so severely, the top volume knob touches the tone knob below it on one side. The tone knob below it turns with the volume knob. It is bent so much there is no fixing this pot. It is going back tomorrow.
It does not appear to be damaged during shipping. It was very well packaged. Very frustrated with the QC on the Z7.
Got the same bass since September and its impacable...I changed the tuner for sandberg Ultralights , now its 4,1 kg ...great neck , super sound spectrum ....Highly recommandable in my opinion...could be that the folks of Sire are in a rush because of the huge demand worldwide and the quality control is a bit delayed ...
I'm wondering if humbucker coils can be split? To get a J-Bass kind of tone. Having a J, P and Ray in one bass...
To me ears, Z7 sounds really good. There's To small difference between middle position and bridge pickup soloed, but apart from that, it sounds great to my ears. Certainty better than Sterling Ray4 and Ray24. I would love to hear a comparison between this and Ray34. Andertons made such comparison but it was horrible. The sterling had completely dead strings
If the humbucker has 4 conductor wires, I’m sure it can be split. That’s what I’ll be currently doing with the Nordstrand Humbucker
@sonojon0 wow, are you planning to put Nordy into Sire? That's great, looking forward to it! I mean, it sounds really nice, but not as good as real Stingray or Ray34. Pickup and/or preamp swap might help...but I think mostly pickup
Yeah, this thing is a little disappointing, it's a shame. However, I liked the sound of the neck pickup when it was working. Could be a tiny bit beefier, but it's fine. The preamp is to aggressive and too complicated for my taste. And the tone knob could use a stronger, higher value cap. Perfect for me would be a 5 knob solution: volume, balance, tone, treble, bass (with classic StingRay tuning), and the push/pull for passive mode. Maybe a second push/pull to split the bridge pickup.
I ordered a Z7 in the 3 tone sunburst mostly because that color isn't available in the Z3 so as long the bridge humbucker is good, i am totally happy. The Tone know is great for passive and active. I am not a fan of mid frequency control. I prefer on the bass to just be direct. I have a bass like that and i find that it distract me too much as i find it just take me way too much time trying to blindly dial the tone. I have a graphic EQ on my darkglass microtube infinity. I find just soo much easier to dial in the frequency i want to cut and boost with it than with a mid frequency control knob.
It's just easier to learn and understand. Same things for the knobs on my amps. Low mid, high mids, always the same, you know what you cut and what you boost. I mean i could probably just spend time to learn the knob, but even if i have one on one of my bass for so many years, i end up leaving it a about mid range and using it like that.
Wel well , first of all thank you for the great demo and playing🙏Sorry that it was a monday bass you got 😩With that said I can tell you mine Sire Z7 5str Swamp Ash was perfect out of the box and if you got that you could change your headline to”Always instead of almost” Sorry that you didn’t test mine version of the Z7 with rosted neck and Swamp Ash ! It’s outstanding best bass for the money in the world !
best
Bertil from Sweden
No worries. I'm kinda glad it's one of a few many that have suffered some issues. No big deal once I get these Nordstrands installed and ready to go!
@@sonojon0 You should do a video of stock pickups compared to expensive Nordy aftermarkets to see if it improved the bass or you just wasted lots of money.
Unrelated, but I'm still hanging out for your review of the new Squier Affinity active bass you have in the background !
I'm hoping very soon before the end of October! There's been a lot going on behind the scenes that you'll see featured in the channel really soon!
Watching the video, eyeing the squire the whole time 😆
I have the z3 and I love it. But I think sire could have left off the silver control plate and mounted the knobs directly to the body more like the U7. That would’ve given them more space for the crowded electronics with a rear cavity entry.
That’s a great idea! I hope Sire takes it into consideration. Their preamp and electronics seem to be their Achilles heel most of the time
I have 2 Sires but not that one. The neck pickup is a jazz pickup. I usually don't have high expectations of jazz pickups. I like mine a lot. I'm glad you are sampling that one for us.
@@VmShpman82 Thanks! I felt the neck pickup needed to be showcased, especially since it's the one most people are eager to hear on the Z7
We've spoken already at some length about the Z7, but for balance and putting it out there, I have not had the issues that you had (which indeed suck and should be highlighted, in a balanced way which I think you have). The only gripes I had with mine were that it's easy to pull/snag the connectors on the pots - I rendered my bass pot non functional when I had a look inside the cavity because I must have snagged the wires and it was on permanent maximum bass cut until I had figured out what I had done. Pushed the connector back on and the bass pot was fully functional again. Also, the knobs suck. I changed mine in the first week of ownership. Apart from that, it's been smooth sailing - flawless fit and finish, tuners are decent IMO (smooth operation and no backlash). Gigged mine the other week and it performed great, very happy with it.
Knobs are definitely the go-to mods from these Sire series. One thing I didn't really dig too much about in the review as I was more pressed about my neck pickup situation. Hopefully the Nordstrand replacement will make it all better!
I see a U7 in the background, I have one just like it. The bridge pickup magnet is off center and the A string doesn’t have equal output. There’s always something with these basses, if it wasn’t for the amazing neck they’d be forgettable.
So my understanding is the mid frequency will dictate what frequency you are cutting or boosting with the other knob.
Beautiful bass and it sounds really good, but I get a little hesitant to spend money on these due to their very known quality control issues, specially with the preamps & wiring. I do have a P8 (and the knobs suck!).
Hopefully once the hype dwindles down on these basses, some QC might be resolved. $600 is a lot to commit for an instruments that could potentially have some issues
Do you think the neck pickup has to do with the tone system ? Did you modify any of the electronics?
Just got mine and its perfect. I'm going to mod it with a fat pole neck pickup and some coil switches
Sounds like a treat! Can’t wait 🎉
The big draw for me with the Z7 over the Z3 is honestly the passive tone knob, I like the range of the preamp but taming those harsh high highs while still retaining a lot of tonal shaping options sounds great to me(or just using the mid shift as a treble)
Can confirm, I play my Ibanez SRSC806 in passive mode most of the time so I can use the treble knob as a passive tone control. I also recently took out the battery so now the active/passive switch is a kill switch :P I already have a Sire V7 5-string but I really do want to get a Z7 if I know I can return it or get it replaced if something goes wrong.
My guess about the neck pickup, it is not got as much wiring wrapped in the pickup. maybe the pickup needs more copper wires?
@@VmShpman82 I’m assuming that’s the case. When I took it apart, it was hard for me to tell cause the back of the pickup is covered in epoxy
I'm beginning to cancel my backorder and order a Lakland or an Ibanez. I have seen quite a few reports of rushing issues.
@@areitomusic Sad to hear. Hope everything works out with either of those basses you’ve mentioned!
I meant Im beginning t consider cancelling the order.
I just ordered one of the 4-strings today from the new shipment that’s on its way to the US. Hopefully they’ve ironed out some issues. I guess I’ll find out!
@@brandonmason388 Let me know and congrats! 👏🏾
Any news?!
@ haven’t gotten it yet. Sweetwater is supposed to receive them next week so I’ll probably get mine the week after
@ im gonna purchase on the 11th too!!!
Sent my Z7 back after having the same control cavity issue. After two bad necked M5's a couple of years ago, I've had enough. Shame it was nice and all but super bad QC is inexcusable
Couldn't agree more. I hope Sire does something with the Z7s...
I’m in between this and the trbx605fm
Wich one should I buy
Youre "freeballing it as we go"?.....i couldve gone all week without that visual 😂......excellent review
Off script moment got me like 👀🤣
Thank you. Meant to say improvising but I got a little tired and goofy at the end
Yeah why the separate bass and treble pots? Stack em and make it a 4 knob layout. And the mid freq is kinda meh. Had that on a stingray and never found it useful. A high mid and a low mid stacked knob would be more useful imo. Nice demo though fun as always
Sounds like a Darkglass Tone Capsule is on your list if you find high and low mids to be useful. Might consider one down the line myself!
@@sonojon0 woa bass mid mid? Never knew, my go to is flexcore
This one or the Z3?
@@D.Leikert-h9l Z3 for me
When we going to hear you DJ? I see that NI Traktor behind you.
@@milk_bath Sometime around New Years Eve lol 🥳🎉
Oh man. I was hoping you were going to sell it out of frustration so I could buy it and add Nordstrands.
I was close! 🤣
My Ibanez bass has Nordstran pickups
Mine too! Love them so much
... for a hundred euros more, I get the Sterling (I have the 24 CA and it's awesome)... and that headstock is... well...🤮
I bought a Yamaha instead of this.couldnt be happier.
I couldn't agree more. I'd do the same! Which Yamaha model did you get?
@@sonojon0 I bought a trb6005 . Needed a. Bass for metal/funk but I also own a bb735 coffee
Love them both. Nearly bought this bass Here the Z butt Ive seen a lot of bad things about their quality.. same with sterling. Sent 3 back. All had issues. Yamaha all the way 👌🏆
Even a Sterling is a piece of crap compared to a real US made Stingray. They carefully pick the wood and all for that solid quality feel you'll only get with a real one, anyways.
2:23 neckdives when sitting = shitty bass
By that logic, most basses are shitty. I own 10 basses and all of them have at least some neck dive without a strap.
@@abouc Yes you're right. They can sound awesome but from the ergonomic standpoint -> they are shitty and unbalanced ;)
I own 7 basses and 5 of them don't neckdive when sitting.
You should try it. Your fingering hand and forearm will be grateful ;)
I'm fine with supporting the bass with my right arm, preventing it from diving. But I don't like it when it sits too far right, so I prefer offset shapes. They dive even more seated, but they still are more comfortable to play seated for me. But I'd always go for lightweight tuners.
@@VeitLehmann good for you :)
I play standing up, ergo none of my basses are shitty ;)
I still have my 1st gen V7 5 and am THRILLED WITH IT!!! I'm impressed with the tonal versatility of the Z7 but the neck pickup issue is disappointing!!!
Here's to hoping the new neck pickup from Nordstrand will be a better upgrade!