Love my Sire P8. One of my fave basses. People need to understand more money does NOT mean better. Most i've spent was was 3000 on a guitar and regretted it instantly.
For the people asking about the shape of the lower horn, this bass model was presented in winter namm 24, all the prototypes had a rounder lower horns (which looked bad IMO) and the 4 string versions came with 3+1 headstocks. From the prototypes to the production versions they changed the bottom horn on both 4s and 5s Z3s and Z7s, and the 4 strings now come with a 4 in line headstock because the 3+1 design is a trademark from EBMM. You will see a lot of the pictures on the internet with the rounder lower horn because those pictures are the promo material sire marketed when the basses were announced and most retailers that only advertise brand supplied promo material havent updated their web pages. All retailers that use their own pictures of the material have updated catalogs.
@@CheapMessiah thanks for that! Good to know because that round lower horn was actually a deal-breaker for me... Too stubby looking. I knew they were late coming out because of the headstock issue that makes more sense with the bodies as well! ✌️😎
@@bassclefconnoisseur I liked the Z3 idea but hated the lower horn so much I just disregarded this bass. I was gladly surprised as people started uploading videos 2 weeks ago and the lower horn was revised, Im buying a Z3 in black sparkle now.
I was wondering if they had tweaked the design of the lower horn. I wasn't digging the early prototypes and press photos, but in the more recent demos like this one and Anderton's, the bass looks way better. I'm really glad they fixed it!
I've got a Sire P7 and pre-ordered the Z3. Also already had a church gig with the Z3 just last Sunday on a PA. Sounds really nice 😁. It seems the Z7 has the same pre-amp installed as the P7 (same name according to Sire's webpage). To be honest, I kind of dislike the sound of the P7 pre-amp, so I've played the P7 99,5% of the time in passive mode. This whole "experience" made me buy the Z3 over the Z7. Really, the Z3's pre-amp gives you all the power you need to get a really good sound out of the instrument. I even prefer it to the P7's sound with high quality strings and amp simulation. These 4 nobs are enough. Especially this bass boost... Delicious 😄 Only gripe I have for now is that the P7 total build quality seems a few notches above the Z3's. Probably the P7 and the Z7 are quite similar here. But as mentioned, Z7's pre-amp was a deal breaker for me, Z3's pre-amp and price point made me say "shut up and take my money".
On mine there wasn’t a noticeable gain difference between active and passive, which is great when your battery dies mid-gig. I like it that Sire has these trim pots to adjust the active gain to match the passive gain.
I had a beautiful Ray34 CA. I bought the Z3 to test it because i know Sire makes wonderful basses for the price. I receivedthe bass, the next day my Sterling Ray34CA was for sale. Everything is better on the Sire.
@@acidjazzsoulfunkrock I agree! The rolled edges make the Z3 so much better. As a former Sterling Ray owner, I never kept them for long, but the Z3 is a keeper. I doubt these will show up much on the used market compared to Sterling
I ordered one and agree with everything, so much bass for the money it's insane. Passive mode is surprisingly good, but boost the treble, add a smidge of bass and wow what a beastly sound! My only complaint is the lower horn isn't the most comfortable on my leg when seated but that might be just how I sit. Great video, Z7 next??👌
Not a fan of the body (lower horn) but I might just cop one and see about making a Ray 4 into a 5 bolt and using the sire neck. Could also swap out the electronics 🤔
They nailed this. Sounds far better (and more authentically MM) than any of the SBMM basses. Shame they didn't use the 3+1 headstock though. Other thoughts? A plain gloss black (no sparkles) or natural finish would be great. And a spokewheel truss road adjustment. And, maybe bridge mutes, a la classic MM?
@@mdp303 So did a lot of people if that makes you less embarrassed 😅 but congrats on your Z3! I’m loving mines so much! I kinda want another one in White 👀
@@AllAboutBasses I originally was looking into that but 9v vs 18v preamp from the Z3 felt like an unfair match. The Z series are a league of their own and can keep up with the Sterling (and more) no problem.
It has a lot of features for the money. Good value proposition. Sounds like you just change the tuners to lighter weight ones and you are done. A reasonable thing for this price point.
@@thagrtcornholi0588 Has more tonal variety between active and passive than a straight active Sterling bass. Is cheaper outside of the states compared to a Sterling
I just returned two of them in beautiful blue. They were pretty heavy: the lighter one slightly under 10 lbs, the other almost 10.6 lbs. Also on both the pickups weren’t properly centered. On the lighter one it was especially bad with the G-String. It almost completely missed the pole pieces and was significantly quieter than the other strings. It’s a pity, I otherwise liked the basses and they look amazing.
"Egg shell Tort Guard", I don't believe it was the tortoises eggs they used to get the shells originally. Seems this rose colour is only Z3 with a Tortoise Shell coloured pickguard. It looks nice, but I'm tempted to get this and if I can't live with the colour do a rattle can job on it. Not that fussed with the other colour options and I have 2 white Sires already (PJ and a Strat). Although from pics and review it is starting o grow on me.
"Sire Z3: A Bass We Waited Too Long For!" Thomann just confirmed 15-19 from now until it's in stock+ Plus another month getting through my country's customs. I'll wait.
Much as I like the look of this Stingray emulation (and the sound), my personal preference if I were to look for one would be the equal of the original Stingray headstock dating back to the birthday of the model (lower G tuner and no string retainers).
Glad they revised the lower horn. Bass looks much less hideous now. Hopefully Sire will make a fretless version, since EBMM has all but refused to have fretless Stingrays available for years now. The only two routes are BFR or very recently the custom design.
Good and fair review! I'd had mine on order from Anderton's weeks ago, the due date kept slipping and slipping ultimately to the same date everyone else had been saying on their sites.......hmmmm??? First impressions, very heavy, lower cut-a-away...WTF....far too small, sitting down it falls off your thigh! The bass knob is almost unusable (like all their basses) as it is so powerful, I'm playing it through two Ampeg rigs - one rig a V4B and 212AV and V7 into a 410HE and a slight bass boost on the bass almost blows the cabs up! and I'm only talking 10-11 o'clock on the master volume....why?? Tuners are shite. Plus points great neck, looks good, nice bridge, paint finish good, love the tinted neck. No information on what the centre frequencies of the tone knobs are set to, but that Bass frequency?
Is this bass can be set on Active and Passive bass or only active bass? Because I just only know this bass is active. And how about the push pull knobs?
Nice my only concern is those tuners I'd like to see someone change them out before I commit to it otherwise I'm definitely interested in taking one for a test drive
The stock tuners on sires are fine. I have 4. Not hip shots but good enough for hard gigging. And the price is good enough that adding premium tuners still keeps these basses in a a happy place financially
This preamp seems a lot more usable than the other preamp... Nice passive option 🤘 Edit: Why does the 5-string lower horn look different than the 4 string?!?! It looks better on the 4 imo🤔
It's in the Ray 24 price range with Ray 34 features and it's about 9 - 9.5 lbs and it has a active/passive switch which those don't have and in my case the pickup Is always the first thing to get changed anyway
@@revtox6001 The Z7 Cost around 700 bucks and compared to the Ray 34 ( closest in price ) I'd say yes Bully the Kid just unboxed a Z7 on his channel and first impressions out the box no set up liked it compared to his Ray 35 ( 5 string Ray 34 ) check his unboxing review
I'd say it's leagues better in the electronics department as mentioned in the comments. You'll definitely get more mileage on a Z3 than a Sterling Ray24 and Ray34. Also Sterling 9v preamp vs Sire Z3 18v preamp for half the cost of a Sterling is a screaming good deal ⚡
I’ve used both straps but the one I used for demo was a generic strap from Guitar Center www.guitarcenter.com/Perris/Jacquard-Guitar-Strap-Pink-and-Blue-Flower-2-in-1500000299507.gc and the padded strap from Amazon a.co/d/gS7e8St
@@tekglitch6596 Yes, they're officially available to purchase directly from the Fender website. I think you can still get a 10% discount upon checkout using "welcome10"
Sire had this opportunity to scrap that headstock for something better but instead they insisted on it. I know of at least two people (myself and a buddy of mine) who won't buy a Sire because of the hideous headstock alone.
They were gonna do the 3x1 headstock and it looked pretty alright but musicman threatened to sue. Apparently musicman owns the 3x1 tuner design. This caused the delay for the z bass, they even had playable basses with those headstocks during namm.
@@bz6398 Thank you. My gripe isn't against the configuration per se, it's mostly against the shape, which looks like a foot run over by a truck. But yeah, a 3 +1 configuration on a MM clone is definitely nice to have.
So It was brought to my attention that I messed up on my measurements of the string spacing. The correct spacing is 19mm. Thank you and apologies!
We are in the era of budget basses and good amps
@@ugu80 😤💪💯
Love my Sire P8. One of my fave basses. People need to understand more money does NOT mean better. Most i've spent was was 3000 on a guitar and regretted it instantly.
For the people asking about the shape of the lower horn, this bass model was presented in winter namm 24, all the prototypes had a rounder lower horns (which looked bad IMO) and the 4 string versions came with 3+1 headstocks. From the prototypes to the production versions they changed the bottom horn on both 4s and 5s Z3s and Z7s, and the 4 strings now come with a 4 in line headstock because the 3+1 design is a trademark from EBMM.
You will see a lot of the pictures on the internet with the rounder lower horn because those pictures are the promo material sire marketed when the basses were announced and most retailers that only advertise brand supplied promo material havent updated their web pages. All retailers that use their own pictures of the material have updated catalogs.
@@CheapMessiah Thank you for this detailed rundown 🙌🏽
@@CheapMessiah thanks for that! Good to know because that round lower horn was actually a deal-breaker for me... Too stubby looking. I knew they were late coming out because of the headstock issue that makes more sense with the bodies as well! ✌️😎
@@bassclefconnoisseur I liked the Z3 idea but hated the lower horn so much I just disregarded this bass.
I was gladly surprised as people started uploading videos 2 weeks ago and the lower horn was revised, Im buying a Z3 in black sparkle now.
I was wondering if they had tweaked the design of the lower horn. I wasn't digging the early prototypes and press photos, but in the more recent demos like this one and Anderton's, the bass looks way better. I'm really glad they fixed it!
Got mine in white and black last week and looooove it so much 😍
NICCCEEEE! Really hoping to grab one soon!
@@patrickhunter Get it! 🤙🏾
Review the HS version!
Are you getting the one with the jazz pick up in the neck and the mid sweepable preamp?
@patrickhunter, but I know and you know that you will attack it pick and drive and all.
Right? Pretty please :)
Thank you very very much for a great review particularly including neck dimensions specs!
Sonojono - Great review, great playing and a comprehensive presentation. It's good to have someone who can really "play" bass. I mean, seriously . . .
@@foxbat2549 Thank you! I appreciate the feedback 🥹🥰
Brilliant. Sounds great! I love the funky colours of them too. Great video.
Glad you like it!
Incredible overview! Think this convinced me to want to check out the 3 over the 7!
Z3 definitely piqued my interest more than the 7 due to it's simplicity and straight forwardness. We definitely need to see more Z3 coverage on here!
@@sonojon0 I wish they'd do them with ebony boards too
@@phipschi4255Hard yes 😢
I've got a Sire P7 and pre-ordered the Z3. Also already had a church gig with the Z3 just last Sunday on a PA. Sounds really nice 😁.
It seems the Z7 has the same pre-amp installed as the P7 (same name according to Sire's webpage). To be honest, I kind of dislike the sound of the P7 pre-amp, so I've played the P7 99,5% of the time in passive mode.
This whole "experience" made me buy the Z3 over the Z7. Really, the Z3's pre-amp gives you all the power you need to get a really good sound out of the instrument. I even prefer it to the P7's sound with high quality strings and amp simulation.
These 4 nobs are enough. Especially this bass boost... Delicious 😄
Only gripe I have for now is that the P7 total build quality seems a few notches above the Z3's. Probably the P7 and the Z7 are quite similar here. But as mentioned, Z7's pre-amp was a deal breaker for me, Z3's pre-amp and price point made me say "shut up and take my money".
On mine there wasn’t a noticeable gain difference between active and passive, which is great when your battery dies mid-gig. I like it that Sire has these trim pots to adjust the active gain to match the passive gain.
@@basstelkeller I agree! A feature that’s worth tinkering to players taste!
Killer demo, now I want one!
@@chrisAclaes Honestly worth the purchase!
I had a beautiful Ray34 CA. I bought the Z3 to test it because i know Sire makes wonderful basses for the price. I receivedthe bass, the next day my Sterling Ray34CA was for sale. Everything is better on the Sire.
@@acidjazzsoulfunkrock I agree! The rolled edges make the Z3 so much better. As a former Sterling Ray owner, I never kept them for long, but the Z3 is a keeper. I doubt these will show up much on the used market compared to Sterling
Sonojono to the rescue! Now I know everything I need to know. And BEST of all, Sono is truly a trusted source!
@@davejones7475 I appreciate that, thank you 🙌🏽
I ordered one and agree with everything, so much bass for the money it's insane. Passive mode is surprisingly good, but boost the treble, add a smidge of bass and wow what a beastly sound!
My only complaint is the lower horn isn't the most comfortable on my leg when seated but that might be just how I sit.
Great video, Z7 next??👌
@@Buckers2202 That’s awesome! The Z7 is next in line!
I will own this bass next year!!
👀 that mystic seafoam green Squier J. Cannot wait to hear you play it!!!!!
Nice!! I was planning to get the white one but rose gold finish looks stellar! Thanks for the review
No problem!! Glad you enjoyed it. I’d like the white one too if they ever stock them from Sweetwater
Thank you Sono 😍
@@frankkiethebassplayer You’re the best! 🤙🏾
This with a nordstrand PUP and gotoh tuners will be a badass bass
I have the Black Sparkle 4 string and it is the Truth!
Looks amazing ❤
Thank you 😋
Thank you for this early review. @okayestbassist will be happy about the active/passive option.
@@maikfohnan1415 💯💯💯
Not a fan of the body (lower horn) but I might just cop one and see about making a Ray 4 into a 5 bolt and using the sire neck. Could also swap out the electronics 🤔
Awesome dude!
@@qasimansari7540 You’re welcome 🤙🏾
They nailed this. Sounds far better (and more authentically MM) than any of the SBMM basses. Shame they didn't use the 3+1 headstock though.
Other thoughts? A plain gloss black (no sparkles) or natural finish would be great. And a spokewheel truss road adjustment. And, maybe bridge mutes, a la classic MM?
All the cosmetic suggestions illustrate that the product is pretty much A-okay as is.
New Sub Bro ! Good review
Got one, love it❤. Kind of embarrassing though, I didn’t know about the passive pull switch so thanks for that🫢
@@mdp303 So did a lot of people if that makes you less embarrassed 😅 but congrats on your Z3! I’m loving mines so much! I kinda want another one in White 👀
Love the Z series. How would you compare it to a Sterling Stingray? Finally a nice battery box! :D
@@AllAboutBasses I originally was looking into that but 9v vs 18v preamp from the Z3 felt like an unfair match. The Z series are a league of their own and can keep up with the Sterling (and more) no problem.
Honestly that pickup sounds pretty decent. Would be cool to be able to run the pickup in series or parallel.
@@robjgolde3221 Agreed!
When ever I boost the bass Controll just a bit, my compressor is compleatly overwealmed. If I cut it, it sounds thin right aeay, so O never touch it
would you recommend the neotech regular strap for someone who has the bass quite high up?
@@sssyruppp absolutely!
I think I see the Squire affinity active bass in the background. So when is that review coming? Hinit, hint. 👍🏼
@@TampaBlues Should be out this week. Keep an eye out! 🤙🏾
Is there a notch or something to feel the mid on the knobs?
I'm used to jazz bass knobs
@@H0kram Yes there is a notch. More like a click that is noticeable from the turn of the knob.
@@sonojon0 Thank you man! Good news
Do you have passive tone control?
@@Based.Mercado No
It has a lot of features for the money. Good value proposition. Sounds like you just change the tuners to lighter weight ones and you are done. A reasonable thing for this price point.
Advantage over Sterling?
@@thagrtcornholi0588 Has more tonal variety between active and passive than a straight active Sterling bass. Is cheaper outside of the states compared to a Sterling
I just returned two of them in beautiful blue. They were pretty heavy: the lighter one slightly under 10 lbs, the other almost 10.6 lbs. Also on both the pickups weren’t properly centered. On the lighter one it was especially bad with the G-String. It almost completely missed the pole pieces and was significantly quieter than the other strings. It’s a pity, I otherwise liked the basses and they look amazing.
@@basstelkeller Bummer! Sounds like you got the rotten batch 😩
they really need to do something about tuner weight
"Egg shell Tort Guard", I don't believe it was the tortoises eggs they used to get the shells originally. Seems this rose colour is only Z3 with a Tortoise Shell coloured pickguard. It looks nice, but I'm tempted to get this and if I can't live with the colour do a rattle can job on it. Not that fussed with the other colour options and I have 2 white Sires already (PJ and a Strat). Although from pics and review it is starting o grow on me.
"Sire Z3: A Bass We Waited Too Long For!" Thomann just confirmed 15-19 from now until it's in stock+ Plus another month getting through my country's customs. I'll wait.
Killer!
Much as I like the look of this Stingray emulation (and the sound), my personal preference if I were to look for one would be the equal of the original Stingray headstock dating back to the birthday of the model (lower G tuner and no string retainers).
@@Shred_The_Weapon I honestly wish they kept with the original headstock they had during the prototype but it’s a Music Man copyright 🤷🏻♀️
Glad they revised the lower horn. Bass looks much less hideous now. Hopefully Sire will make a fretless version, since EBMM has all but refused to have fretless Stingrays available for years now. The only two routes are BFR or very recently the custom design.
@@57precision they do have a Fretless version of the Z3 and Z7 only on Andertons website. Unfortunately those are back ordered to hell 😩😩
Good and fair review! I'd had mine on order from Anderton's weeks ago, the due date kept slipping and slipping ultimately to the same date everyone else had been saying on their sites.......hmmmm???
First impressions, very heavy, lower cut-a-away...WTF....far too small, sitting down it falls off your thigh! The bass knob is almost unusable (like all their basses) as it is so powerful, I'm playing it through two Ampeg rigs - one rig a V4B and 212AV and V7 into a 410HE and a slight bass boost on the bass almost blows the cabs up! and I'm only talking 10-11 o'clock on the master volume....why?? Tuners are shite.
Plus points great neck, looks good, nice bridge, paint finish good, love the tinted neck.
No information on what the centre frequencies of the tone knobs are set to, but that Bass frequency?
Is this bass can be set on Active and Passive bass or only active bass? Because I just only know this bass is active.
And how about the push pull knobs?
@@dhanisagustyan Yes, it can go both ways
@@sonojon0 how to switch between passive and active modes? There is no toggle switch. Is it just use push and pull the knobs?
@@sonojon0can you control the tone in passive mode?
@@dhanisagustyanPush/Pull on the bass knob is what controls the active passive mode
@@cramit1No tone control when in passive mode unlike the Z7
Nice my only concern is those tuners I'd like to see someone change them out before I commit to it otherwise I'm definitely interested in taking one for a test drive
The stock tuners on sires are fine. I have 4. Not hip shots but good enough for hard gigging. And the price is good enough that adding premium tuners still keeps these basses in a a happy place financially
@@johnschoettler1661 Saw a popular UA-camr upgrade tuners on a Sire Marcus Miller V7 and it wasn't a simple drop in replacement
Can you remove the pick guard and just leave the single color body?
Yeah pictures online with the guard removed have looked pretty solid
How long did it take to receive it? I’ve been waiting for sweetwater to have them available, I don’t want to wait months to get it
About a week. Most finishes were available to purchase on the spot from Sweetwater. I believe Rose Gold and Black were the only colors in stock
How well can it handle distortion tho😭🥵
This preamp seems a lot more usable than the other preamp...
Nice passive option 🤘
Edit: Why does the 5-string lower horn look different than the 4 string?!?! It looks better on the 4 imo🤔
Why everyone still talking about a sharp ends?
Might have to put this on my wishlist for a BEAD bass.
Venom shirt and rockin' a fancy colored bass? Love it! 🩷
@@progpaule5123 Hell yeah 😅🤘🏽🎸🖤
Is this better than a Sterling for the price and sound?
It's in the Ray 24 price range with Ray 34 features and it's about 9 - 9.5 lbs and it has a active/passive switch which those don't have and in my case the pickup Is always the first thing to get changed anyway
@@MarcG7424 is it better than the z7?
@@revtox6001 The Z7 Cost around 700 bucks and compared to the Ray 34 ( closest in price ) I'd say yes Bully the Kid just unboxed a Z7 on his channel and first impressions out the box no set up liked it compared to his Ray 35 ( 5 string Ray 34 ) check his unboxing review
I'd say it's leagues better in the electronics department as mentioned in the comments. You'll definitely get more mileage on a Z3 than a Sterling Ray24 and Ray34. Also Sterling 9v preamp vs Sire Z3 18v preamp for half the cost of a Sterling is a screaming good deal ⚡
@@revtox6001 Z7 is about 700 bucks I watched a unboxing by Bully the Kid he compared it to his Ray 35 he seemed to like it
Can you please review the Marcus Miller U7-4 ? This review was great BTW!
@@albertmarkethinkpr1325 Thank you! I will try my best to check out the U7-4
@@sonojon0 I'll be expecting some Venom tones out of it ;) Cronos arghhhh
amazing review!
but I would really appreciated knowing his weight, a typical achilles hell of Sire basses...
He said 9 pounds
For a Bass that in my opinion is quite heavy, the neck dive is unacceptable.
Why don't Sire put lightweight tuners on and delete the neck dive?,don't see why I should have to pay more to sort out their bad design.
Production cost maybe?
Thiking of selling my Fender to get this for Christmas 😅
@@paoloalcantara2465 You won’t regret it 😅
Nobody´s gonna mention that they reshaped the lower horn? CLEVER move SIRE.
@@luisborralho4298 Crazy too cause I hardly noticed it 😅
@@sonojon0 Glad they did. That thing looked like an underdeveloped toe before.
Nice bass! Sire is great bang for buck. I’m not very Impressed with the passive low-end. Sounds very thin.
@@BassSubtonic Understandable. Passive mode would need some help with EQ in the mix
What? The passive tone should not be slapped on? Is this why Music Man/Sterling doesn't have this mode?
He said slept on
Should not be slept on
This was a joke of course 😁
@@VeitLehmann You jokester 😅
What strap are you using please? Looks interesting
I’ve used both straps but the one I used for demo was a generic strap from Guitar Center www.guitarcenter.com/Perris/Jacquard-Guitar-Strap-Pink-and-Blue-Flower-2-in-1500000299507.gc and the padded strap from Amazon a.co/d/gS7e8St
How would you compare with stingray and sterling?
Oh fuck, how am I supposed to control the GAS this way
@@LMaia14 My wallet was feeling it these past few weeks 😩
It sounds nice and price is good but it doesn't do THAT MusicMan tone
strings thru body don't give more sustain. they give shitty string break angle for the thick ones ;)
🤣🤣🤣
Very nice. Is that the new squier active jazz I see?
@@deangomes6280 Yea it is. That’ll be the next bass to review for the channel 😏
@@sonojon0 Has it been released yet? I'm looking forward to your review as i've got my sights set of picking one up when they are released!
@@tekglitch6596 Yes, they're officially available to purchase directly from the Fender website. I think you can still get a 10% discount upon checkout using "welcome10"
What's with the wig?
@@PixieintheMainframe Good question 🤔
My only complaint is the bottom horn makes it look a little bit off. wish it was longer.
love it, but too heavy
it may sound better than a Ball's family reserve but it's too ugly for me to buy it
Mahogany is cheap and heavy as hell. Lots of these 4's are 10 pounders, 5's more
@@daviddesmond2143 you’ll be lucky to find one under 10lbs
This is not a MM sound at all….
Sire had this opportunity to scrap that headstock for something better but instead they insisted on it. I know of at least two people (myself and a buddy of mine) who won't buy a Sire because of the hideous headstock alone.
They were gonna do the 3x1 headstock and it looked pretty alright but musicman threatened to sue. Apparently musicman owns the 3x1 tuner design. This caused the delay for the z bass, they even had playable basses with those headstocks during namm.
@@bz6398 Thank you. My gripe isn't against the configuration per se, it's mostly against the shape, which looks like a foot run over by a truck. But yeah, a 3 +1 configuration on a MM clone is definitely nice to have.
Another NON ORIGINAL stupid CLONE, boring as HELL!!!!
And as usual, us lefties get screwed.
They also offer lefty models from Andertons but they’re backordered 💀
I’m a lefty and I play a right handed bass. Keanu Reeves does the same thing.
We? You mean you.
Nah, we a family when it comes to this channel 😅