Sire aimed high and hit the bullseye with Marcus. He is an integral part of Sire in a major way, as a primary designer and world-renowned star artist.
That said, Fender’s aggressively seeking out a stable of artists from across the genre spectrum has paid off by offering tons of individual bass signature models. Each of those artists has input about the features of a single model and it in turn is marketed to, as one example, Geddy/Rush fans, etc. It’s a savvy and profitable market strategy. I believe that’s what Wombat was suggesting, although I could be wrong.
I can see not digging the name on the headstock, but Marcus is a vested partner and an invaluable designer for Sire.
I own three Sires and I literally, as in absolutely, never look at their headstocks except when I change strings.
I didn’t care for the cut of their headstock either at first, but these suckers play so damn fine that the headstock design became insignificant. I have since grown to like the design as I associate it with overall experiential quality. But everyone’s different.
It’s so funny because I have always thought Sire headstocks looked significantly better than Fenders.
Fender doesn’t really make a standout good looking headstock IMO. The Aerodynes come closest. The bass headstocks look a bit too large to me. Strats look OK I guess. Teles… not bad but it’s not their strong design point.
Sire headstocks look great to me. Like Fenders, but scaled properly and without the oversized end knob.
A little tweak on the Sire headstock would make it awesome. It’s just a bit boxy now.
I agree, the Fender headstock is nothing to write home about, the smaller version looks great I guess it’s like a silhouette of a C clef. It’s kinda familiar to people.
I agree. K-Mart and Wal-Mart are/were basically in the same business. Yet look at where they both are at today.
Could be mostly management that made the difference - although the marketplace and consumer preferences, in the years that they each were operating in, could have some bearing on the different outcomes.
Marcus Miller plays Sires, both in live performances and in the studio. He used to play his signature Fender model before he teamed up with Sire. His go-to has been a Sire V7, but the Sire V8 is his new, upgraded signature model.
