Buy one of each
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I recall many threads here a year or two ago on faltering Sire quality. Has this been resolved or are they still hit or miss? No clue.
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Sire quality is top-notch now and for all of 2022. Canāt speak to older comments/experiences of others, though.
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Absolutely doing this. Iām within driving distance of Chicago Music Exchange and their āBASSmentā. They have Aerodynes, most Sires (although not the P8 or P10DX yet), Charvel, etc. Itās a 2.5 hour drive, so Iām going to make a weekend of it - come down early and try things out for a few hours - mull it over dinner and a show (maybe Buddy Guyās Legends) come back Sunday to double check and make a decision. Theyāll take trade-ins as well - so Iāll bring 2 along to contribute to the cause.
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Sounds like a fun time! Wish I could join you.
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No issues on mine, a small sample though
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Oh thatās a must go. Great place and people.
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Just a heads up: Thomann has Sire P7 2nd Gen basses in stock. Alder, $479. Swamp Ash, $579.
Shipping is 3-4 days, approximately $60. No tax. No duty.
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Thanks - great prices. Ugh - I was planning on this being a 60-90 day kinda thing; itās hard to fight the urge to grab something from Thomann immediately. And it occurs to me that someone could almost import that from Thomann and resell it on Reverb for a profit right now based on prices Iām seeing there.
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Thatās what I was thinking, too. The prices are crazy good.
I was planning on buying a new P5 from Thomann for only $384. Stupid low price for an Alder/Roasted Maple neck P.
Vendors everywhere were waiting for Sire to do a production shipment, and mine was backordered for weeks.
The point is: Sires are bargains for the crazy value they offer, and theyāre snapped up fast. Theyāre an easy way to expand the stable.
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I really need to keep my foot on the brakes! U5 will be here early next week. After playing, if Iām immediately in love I might jump on the Thomann deal for a P7. There are enough similarities to risk getting it without playing it, and if Iām wrong, at that price I can resell without a loss. Heck, I can probably even trade it in at Chicago Music Exchange toward an Aero if it turns out I like that more.
Itās funny to think back about all the stuff you donāt know when you first start out - things that now define what I want in a bass. Things I was dead wrong about: Turns out I love P tone more than J, and PJ is a very good compromise (in my mind); I highly prefer satin to gloss neck (I used to think it looked āunfinishedā in a bad way); my addled brain really prefers the giant visual cues of block inlays over dots (something that is a huge negative for the Aero BTW), and I can play a full scale just fine despite small hands (although I still really like short scales). Wish I could bottle up hindsight and sell it.
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I had the same experience. The other thing I have learned is not to try to grow into a bass. Itās should either work for me (or not) in the beginning.
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I felt the same way about inlays too, loved the big blocks. Then I tried an aero, and found I didnāt need them at all.
Turns out it wasnāt a thing for me
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Yep, if you donāt love it, ditch it. Itās worked for me.
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This is true. Sire rolled edge are really nice. Though they also occasionally suffer from the same fret sprout as fender but not as common. The good news is you only have to deal with it once.
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Yes my previous home was extremely dry and the fret tangs created tiny cracks on the edge of the fretboard on my M7. Not a huge deal, it was still comfortable to play. The tangs on my fender just go to the edge of the fretboard anyway. Like you said, if you get fret sprout you just fix it one when itās at itās worst and you usually never have to worry about it again.
The rolled edges are nice but I donāt miss them at all on my pbass. My Ibanez fretless. bass though has a very pronounced edge on itās ebanol fingerboard; maybe Iāll fix that some day 
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One of the nicest necks is on the Charvel. Itās a thin U neck, super thin like an Ibanez or ESP, so itās very easy to navigate. The rear of the neck has a satin finish, itās the smoothest neck I have played. Itās roasted maple so you have that, rolled frets, compound radius 12"-16" so it is superfast to play. It has a wheel at the body to adjust the truss, and two graphite rods for stability. Itās a heck of a neck.
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Holy shit this is creepy. 
Like the bass tho!
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Thatās what he gets for playing death metal.
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