Today’s ‘bass lesson’ is a little bit different… I’m going to be reviewing the Sire P7 2nd Generation.. Here is a handy downloadable checklist to share my thoughts on all the most important elements of this bass guitar. We’ll also give you the tech specs too.
I bought this bass for 3 reasons:
I needed a ‘second bass’ which (within reason) is similar to my Sadowsky PJ that I’ve used to 7 or 8 years now.
I loved the fact that Marcus Miller had put his name to the whole brand.
Lastly, so many of my eBassGuitar students have been asking about these basses over the past few months in the Bass Lab Facebook Group … it was time to get knowledgeable!
At eBassGuitar we specialise helping beginner to intermediate bass players. Often they have bought a budget beginner bass and have started getting great results from the Bass Lab PLUS program and are looking for that next instrument to inspire them and help take their playing to the next level. When I ask how much they want to spend they often say around the $600 mark - which is exactly what the Sire P7 generation 2 4 string bass costs.
So I want to ask the question, is this the most awesome second bass you can get?
Live Demonstration Video
Make sure you download the 20 minute ‘Live demonstration’ video where you can hear me playing this bass live on a gig. The audio is taken directly from my in-ear monitor (or headphone) mix so you can exactly how this bass sounds and what I’m listening too.
Andertons Music Store
Huge thank you to Andertons Music in Guildford (near London, UK) for supplying me with this bass. Here’s a link to the Sire P7 on the Andertons website
They gave me fantastic customer service and their team are very, very knowledgeable on the whole Sire Bass Series. Please go and try these basses out in their store if you are in their neck of the woods!
Sire P7 Body
- The body is is based on a Fender Precision Style shape with the electronics built into a red tortoise shell scratch plate.
- The combined weight of this instrument is about 9 pounds which is a very comfortable ‘gigging’ weight. I’ve had no shoulder ache playing 2 hours gigs with this bass which is always an important consideration for me.
- The body is made out of Alder. (There is also an option for Ash wood too.)
- I love the easy access to the truss rod via the cut out in the scratch plate for quick adjustments on a gig.
- There is also the option to feed the strings through the back of the body which some players prefer.
Neck
- The neck is slim ‘Jazz Bass’ style with a ‘C Shape’ which is fast and really comfortable play.
- On the Alder Bass bodies the fingerboard is made out of ebony.
- It’s a 20 fret fingerboard with great access to the upper frets.
- A feature of the 2nd Generation necks is the natural feel (Personally I do not like the feel of lacquered necks) and the binding is beautiful.
Hardware
- The hardware on this bass feels brilliantly well engineered and the bridge responds well to intonation and height adjustments. Once set, it’s rock solid.
- The tuning gears are Sire’s own brand and feel very well made. The gearing is smooth and consistent.
- Overall I’m hugely impressed with how consistent and stable the set up of this instrument has been with all the temperature changes we’ve had in the UK over the past few months.
Electronics & Sound
- The P7 has the classic ‘P/J’ pickup configuration with a ‘Precision Style’ pick up in the neck position and a ‘Jazz Bass Style’ pick up in the bridge position.
- Overall this whole bass is Fender inspired and sound of the pickups blended are fat and punchy.
- The Active Electronics or Circuit is where this bass really comes into its own. The Circuit alone could cost $300-$400 if bought separately!
- The 7 controls on this circuit are powered by two 9 volt batteries. There’s plenty of headroom which makes the EQ very flexible and powerful.
- All EQ controls are centre notching which makes it simple to use this circuit ‘flat’ as a starting point. (The controls are listed in the tech specs below)
- I love the ‘get out of jail’ Active/Passive switch and that there’s minimal volume difference between passive mode and active mode (with all controls set to flat). This makes it possible to have two completely different sounds set up on the bass - maybe the finger style in passive mode and a slap sound in active mode.
Tech Specs
Here are the instrument tech specs:
Body Material : Swamp Ash / North American Alder
Body Shape : Sire Precision Bass Type
Body Color : Alder Body – TS, AWH, BK | Ash Body – NT, TS, WB
Neck Material : 1 Piece Hard Maple(Satin Finish)
Neck Shape : C-Shape
Scale : 34”
Neck Joint : 4 Bolt Steel Square Plate
Fingerboard (Rolled Edges) : Hard Maple(Swamp Ash) / Ebony(Alder)
Fingerboard Radius : 9.5″
Frets : 2.4 medium
String Nut : 4 String – Natural Bone 38mm width / 5 String – Natural Bone 46mm width
Binding : 1 ply Ivory
Inlay : WH Pearloid Block
Pickups : Marcus Super-PJ Revolution Set
Electronics : Marcus Heritage-3 with Middle Frequency Control
Controls : Volume / Tone(Dual Pot) | Pickup Blender | Treble | Middle / Middle Frequency (Dual Pot) | Bass, Mini Toggle(Active / Passive)
Knobs : Modern Black Plastic
Bridge : Marcus Miller Heavy Mass Standard
Tuning Gear : Sire Premium Open-Gear
Hardware Finish : Chrome
Pick guard : Ivory Pearl(Swamp Ash) / Tortoise(Alder)
Wrap Up - Best Second Bass?
I bought this as a second bass to ensure I always had equipment in the right places and a spare instrument I was comfortable to put on an aeroplane.
The moment I got this bass I was blown away by the quality, sound and flexibility of the Sire P7 and I’m by no means surprised Marcus Miller has put his name to the whole brand!
At around $600 this is clearly a mid range price point but this bass is definitely not mid range. It’s phenomenally good… especially with the crazy active electronics that come as standard.
I’ve now played this bass on every eBassGuitar video for the past three months and all the gigs I’ve worked. It’s that good.
It’s no wonder I know at least 3 top professional bass players in the UK which now use Sire Basses regularly.
This bass is perfectly good enough to be number one axe for beginner, intermediate and professional bass players alike.
I recommend trying the Sire P7 in your local music store… preferably Anderton’s if you’re nearby!
Over and out…
James
