Thank you so much, Im currently debating which one I want to get. Wish there was a sire version with the Flame Bengal Burst. Nice to have such an elaborate comparison
I have a Fusion T and the frets on mine are great not scratchy at all. If mine was as bad as yours I would have returned it to Thomann but I can see how that could be a problem for you guys on the other side of the pond. I'm very happy with it 😊
Yeah, shipping for a return would really hurt the value proposition since I'm in the USA. If the frets aren't normally scratchy, it's much easier to recommend!
Haven't tried the sire yet. My Fusion 3 is great though - no prob with frets or anything else. I certainly will replace electronics, but that's what I do with most budget guitars. And compared to my 1000 Euro Charvel (first one was sent back because frets were not same height, second one was extremely badly set up: one block of the trem was not height adjusted, trem springs fell out and I couldn't plug the guitar in without unscrewing and turning the input jack). Obviously the Charvel is a better guitar, but the state it shipped in...the Harley Benton was better. My takeaway: unless you try 7 guitars of one brand, you might get one that is by chance better than it's supposed to be or much worse than it's supposed to be. If you aren't good at setting up a guitar, buy one you tried in a music store. You never know, what gets sent to you if you order online.
Exactly the comparison I had in my head this morning. Thanks! Also I am considering at the Fender Vintera Tele Deluxe…much costlier. I will say I didn’t care for the brightness of the Sire (I heard on another YT video) - I play some soul/R&B and think I would have the tone rolled down all the time. But I think that is easier than trying to get a brighter sound out of inherently muddy pickups. Anyway, thanks again.
Swapping pickups isn't too difficult so I tend to buy a guitar for the things I can't easily change (body/neck shape, fret types, etc). In this case, though, the Sire's pickups are much brighter than most humbuckers I've used, so I can see why it could be a dealbreaker for people less used to working with guitar electronics. But yes; when it comes to tone, subtracting what you don't want is much easier than trying to add back what doesn't exist! In the hand the Sire feels like a much better guitar than any of my Fenders. Fender makes good guitars, but the $1000 models feel like the $500 models from other brands. The Road Worn Fenders are the only ones that I'd take over a Sire, but that's comparing apples to oranges. At the end of the day, the best purchase is the one that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. If you buy a Sire thinking "I really wish I had a Fender..." you're better off just buying a Fender even if it doesn't check all the boxes. Also, remember that you can find used Fenders in like-new condition for basically half price! In the USA, I can usually can find exactly the model I want for way cheaper with 1-2 months of waiting. Keep an eye on Guitar Center's used inventory!!! Might make the decision a little easier. ;)
i have a regular fusion 2 (strat one) and it also had scratchy frets out of the box although i wouldn't call that "absolutely terrible frets", as fret ends are perfect and there's no fret buzz at all, i've seen much, MUCH worse used polishing kit with a bunch of sandpaper on some foam (called micromesh or smth) and some painter tape for fretboard protection went from 1500 sandpaper to 12000 and now frets are shining like little mirrors but yeah, that was a bit tedious, used the whole evening, next time i'll just use dremel with some polishing paste
Yeah; if it's something you're comfortable with fixing the guitar presents a pretty good value. Many beginners are afraid of that though, and there's a lot of guitars that play just as well without needing work out-of-the-box. More importantly.... I know Harley Benton can do better--some of their models ARE better!
I have polished my fusion frets with my dramel and automotive cutting paste. Glass shine and it took me 10 minutes. Just remember to use fret protectors.
I'll have to try that, I've been using the MusicNomad kit and it doesn't seem to cut it for stainless steel frets. Works well for regular frets though!
Very good review. I am not opposed to changing pickups to achieve a different sound. The Sire does sound brighter than the other pickup demos you provided. Instead of brighter, would you call it hotter or higher output? Thanks
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Thank you so much, Im currently debating which one I want to get. Wish there was a sire version with the Flame Bengal Burst.
Nice to have such an elaborate comparison
Same! I can only imagine how beautiful a Sire would look in that color.
Thank you !! Super review
I have a Fusion T and the frets on mine are great not scratchy at all. If mine was as bad as yours I would have returned it to Thomann but I can see how that could be a problem for you guys on the other side of the pond. I'm very happy with it 😊
Yeah, shipping for a return would really hurt the value proposition since I'm in the USA. If the frets aren't normally scratchy, it's much easier to recommend!
Haven't tried the sire yet. My Fusion 3 is great though - no prob with frets or anything else. I certainly will replace electronics, but that's what I do with most budget guitars. And compared to my 1000 Euro Charvel (first one was sent back because frets were not same height, second one was extremely badly set up: one block of the trem was not height adjusted, trem springs fell out and I couldn't plug the guitar in without unscrewing and turning the input jack). Obviously the Charvel is a better guitar, but the state it shipped in...the Harley Benton was better. My takeaway: unless you try 7 guitars of one brand, you might get one that is by chance better than it's supposed to be or much worse than it's supposed to be. If you aren't good at setting up a guitar, buy one you tried in a music store. You never know, what gets sent to you if you order online.
Exactly the comparison I had in my head this morning. Thanks! Also I am considering at the Fender Vintera Tele Deluxe…much costlier.
I will say I didn’t care for the brightness of the Sire (I heard on another YT video) - I play some soul/R&B and think I would have the tone rolled down all the time. But I think that is easier than trying to get a brighter sound out of inherently muddy pickups.
Anyway, thanks again.
Swapping pickups isn't too difficult so I tend to buy a guitar for the things I can't easily change (body/neck shape, fret types, etc). In this case, though, the Sire's pickups are much brighter than most humbuckers I've used, so I can see why it could be a dealbreaker for people less used to working with guitar electronics. But yes; when it comes to tone, subtracting what you don't want is much easier than trying to add back what doesn't exist!
In the hand the Sire feels like a much better guitar than any of my Fenders. Fender makes good guitars, but the $1000 models feel like the $500 models from other brands. The Road Worn Fenders are the only ones that I'd take over a Sire, but that's comparing apples to oranges. At the end of the day, the best purchase is the one that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. If you buy a Sire thinking "I really wish I had a Fender..." you're better off just buying a Fender even if it doesn't check all the boxes. Also, remember that you can find used Fenders in like-new condition for basically half price! In the USA, I can usually can find exactly the model I want for way cheaper with 1-2 months of waiting. Keep an eye on Guitar Center's used inventory!!! Might make the decision a little easier. ;)
i have a regular fusion 2 (strat one) and it also had scratchy frets out of the box
although i wouldn't call that "absolutely terrible frets", as fret ends are perfect and there's no fret buzz at all, i've seen much, MUCH worse
used polishing kit with a bunch of sandpaper on some foam (called micromesh or smth) and some painter tape for fretboard protection
went from 1500 sandpaper to 12000 and now frets are shining like little mirrors
but yeah, that was a bit tedious, used the whole evening, next time i'll just use dremel with some polishing paste
Yeah; if it's something you're comfortable with fixing the guitar presents a pretty good value. Many beginners are afraid of that though, and there's a lot of guitars that play just as well without needing work out-of-the-box. More importantly.... I know Harley Benton can do better--some of their models ARE better!
I have polished my fusion frets with my dramel and automotive cutting paste. Glass shine and it took me 10 minutes. Just remember to use fret protectors.
I'll have to try that, I've been using the MusicNomad kit and it doesn't seem to cut it for stainless steel frets. Works well for regular frets though!
Very good review. I am not opposed to changing pickups to achieve a different sound. The Sire does sound brighter than the other pickup demos you provided. Instead of brighter, would you call it hotter or higher output? Thanks
They're definitely not high output pickups; they're average for a humbucker.
So, night and day really.
They look like they were made in the same factory
Through a camera, they kind of do! In person they look more dramatically different.