so i needed a replacement for my old jazz bass. hearing the reviews, the sire seemed the logical choice, plus i was having trouble locating a sensibly priced jazz with the correct neck profile. hated the headstock, but it ticked every other box, so i pulled the trigger
out of the box, setup was ok. not sent strung through body (like, who does that if the option is there??) but numerous finish flaws initially created a bad impression. the top coat was utterly smooth and shiny but in the *cough* ice blue metallic finish *cough* you can plainly see sanding scratches - almost as if finishing the metallic paint underneath was missed entirely. a few noticeable dings here an there, nothing major
the fretwork was utterly awful. Rolled edges? just a gimmicky way to get out of finishing frets properly. not a single fret that wasn't sharp. not a single fret end that was polished. rolled edges seems just like they fretted the board first then rounded the edges with a long file and left it at that
the pearl blocks seem to be some kind of sticker embedded in the board and the epoxied over? maybe they are just real thin and glued badly in place? i cant quite decide. pearl it isn't.
too many knobs crammed into a tiny control plate (thanks lobster). my phat fingers cannot grasp these tiny things without altering the gravity of the earth due to the enormous bass boost the EQ provides.
which brings me to the single redeeming feature - it sounds amazing. passive its a great standard issue jazz tone. add the pre amp, and it all just goes a couple of notches better. the pickups and the pre amp are wonderful together. one of the best sounding basses i own. and if i'm being honest, i can kinda forgive the poor finish and quality control because it just sounds so good.
in conclusion the sire isn't all its made out to be. the cheaper ones maybe are great value, but on this 'slightly more expensive' model not so much. The irony is, the headstock shape bothers me the least.
Better than a squier? maybe. but if only Thomann could fix the dumb neck profile they put on their HB jazz basses, they could probably give Sire as well as Fender a spanking
