My last Fender P bass was a highway one but it’s been so long that I’m not going to try to compare it to that one. I currently own a Sire P5 and I will compare it to the Sire. The Sire is a bit longer dimension wise. I haven’t measure it yet but I don’t have a case for either. I’m wondering if a gig bag or case will work for both. The Sire neck is beefier but oh so comfy. The Fender neck surprised me. I expected to see fret sprout but it’s smooth up and down and has rolled frets and satin back. I like the neck better than the Sire (still love my Sire). Acoustically it’s a keeper! That’s the most important part, everything else can be fixed.
I just got it today and haven’t done anything more than adjust the truss rod, saddle height and set the intonation. It’s a player!
Now onto the rest - I suspect that the shielding is lacking. I can run my finger along the surface of the pick guard around the pickup and pots and hear crackling. I’m also hearing some feedback when I hit a note. To make sure it’s not my amp, I plugged in my Sire. The Sire is QUIET with no breakup.
I’ll be ordering some copper tape and shielding my bass properly, hoping that this is the issue. I’ll be putting La bella low tension flats on it as well while I have it apart.
I’m not exactly hating of Fender, I’m a lifelong Fender player but maybe this is an endorsement for Sire - damn they’re putting out some fine instruments and in Marcus Miller I trust.
Wish me luck dialing in my new Fender Precision bass and if you have experience with this, am I on the right track?
ps - the frets on the Sire are larger