SIRE Z3 BASS REVIEW:
My Sire Z3 arrived at the beginning of this week after a long and winding path to get that EBMM Stingray tone without having to sell my kidney. I had 2 very disappointing experiences with Sterling Ray34s in early 2024. Initially, I was elated with both of these basses. The fit and finish on both were generally excellent, but then the problems started to show themselves; pickups that were wired in series instead of parallel (on purpose), a couple of frozen truss rods, at least 1 bad tuner, and a twisted neck, it was just one thing after another so I returned them & got my money back. It was particularly disappointing because both of these instruments were around $1,050. Also, one of them didn't even come with tools to adjust the truss rod/bridge.
I preordered the Sire Z3 sight unseen, based on my desire to still get a Stingray-esque tone, its aesthetics, & the reputation that Sire's built for themselves in the bass world. I have to say, I am extremely impressed. I can hardly imagine a better built & sounding bass for under $500. The neck is divine, fretwork is terrific, the rolled neck edges are very comfortable & unique among my instruments, the nut is cut well, the truss rod turns smoothly, the finish is phenomenal, the pickups are wired in PARALLEL (unlike the Sterling by Musicman basses), the active/passive switching is great, the 3 band eq is flexible powerful, active/passive switching is smooth, it has a string-through body option, the neck joint is very comfortable, it rests balanced on a strap, and the weight is solid without being a boat anchor like the basses this thing replaces. On a personal level, I also like what they've done with the headstock design relative to most other sire models. The bridge also fits the instrument and the knobs feel good to turn. I have no mods or fixes planned for this bass, which is rare for me. It came, out of the box, just as I'd hoped.
My bass is from the second run of these things, & I believe I've noticed a couple of changes they've made since since all the reviews I've read of this thing have been from the first batch of manufacture. One change it looks like they've made, probably based off customer feedback, is adjusting the trim pot of the active EQ at the factor to be essentially level with the volume of the passive setting, which is nice. Many people were mentioning that active mode was a lot louder than passive mode, so it's nice that I don't have to adjust that myself. They may have also changed the way they cast their tuners, since mine have been better from what I heard from one prominent reviewer (LowEndLobster).
The only 2 very slight criticisms I'd say about this bass are the bass eq & tuners. The bass eq is almost TOO powerful, haha. It can get real boomy if you crank it, but maybe that's what some people want. I can imagine some applications for it, but it's more bass heavy than the Ray34 when you give this knob the onion. I suppose my criticism here is more of a matter of personal taste because this feature is not necessarily a con. Set flat or slightly boosted though it sounds terrific to my ears & definitely not overboard. The tuners, while serviceable and stable, aren't quite as quality as the rest of the bass. They're a bit on the stiff side but don't really bother me & they're not rough. A review I watched by LowEndLobster criticized the tuners of this bass quite a bit, but mine have been fine. I think their model was probably from a first production run or perhaps just fluke in terms of tuner quality. The tuners on mine work as advertised, don't really impact enjoyability of the instrument, and while not as amazing as other aspects of this bass I don't intend on replacing them.
All in all, you get a HECK of a lot of value with this instrument. It plays just as good or better than many other basses I've played which are a lot more expensive. I would say the overall build/feel quality of the Sire Z3 is on par with the Sterling Ray34, which is significantly more expensive and unfortunately plagued with QC issues as of late. The Sire Z3 gives you noticeably more extra features, flexibility, & keeps more of your money in your pocket. I expect these to do really well and take a bite out of Sterling's market share. If you've been on the fence about getting one of these, or wanted to capture the tone of a Musicman Stingray at a fraction of the price while still achieving excellent playability & aesthetics, look no further. This bass is tremendous.
My Sire Z3 arrived at the beginning of this week after a long and winding path to get that EBMM Stingray tone without having to sell my kidney. I had 2 very disappointing experiences with Sterling Ray34s in early 2024. Initially, I was elated with both of these basses. The fit and finish on both were generally excellent, but then the problems started to show themselves; pickups that were wired in series instead of parallel (on purpose), a couple of frozen truss rods, at least 1 bad tuner, and a twisted neck, it was just one thing after another so I returned them & got my money back. It was particularly disappointing because both of these instruments were around $1,050. Also, one of them didn't even come with tools to adjust the truss rod/bridge.
I preordered the Sire Z3 sight unseen, based on my desire to still get a Stingray-esque tone, its aesthetics, & the reputation that Sire's built for themselves in the bass world. I have to say, I am extremely impressed. I can hardly imagine a better built & sounding bass for under $500. The neck is divine, fretwork is terrific, the rolled neck edges are very comfortable & unique among my instruments, the nut is cut well, the truss rod turns smoothly, the finish is phenomenal, the pickups are wired in PARALLEL (unlike the Sterling by Musicman basses), the active/passive switching is great, the 3 band eq is flexible powerful, active/passive switching is smooth, it has a string-through body option, the neck joint is very comfortable, it rests balanced on a strap, and the weight is solid without being a boat anchor like the basses this thing replaces. On a personal level, I also like what they've done with the headstock design relative to most other sire models. The bridge also fits the instrument and the knobs feel good to turn. I have no mods or fixes planned for this bass, which is rare for me. It came, out of the box, just as I'd hoped.
My bass is from the second run of these things, & I believe I've noticed a couple of changes they've made since since all the reviews I've read of this thing have been from the first batch of manufacture. One change it looks like they've made, probably based off customer feedback, is adjusting the trim pot of the active EQ at the factor to be essentially level with the volume of the passive setting, which is nice. Many people were mentioning that active mode was a lot louder than passive mode, so it's nice that I don't have to adjust that myself. They may have also changed the way they cast their tuners, since mine have been better from what I heard from one prominent reviewer (LowEndLobster).
The only 2 very slight criticisms I'd say about this bass are the bass eq & tuners. The bass eq is almost TOO powerful, haha. It can get real boomy if you crank it, but maybe that's what some people want. I can imagine some applications for it, but it's more bass heavy than the Ray34 when you give this knob the onion. I suppose my criticism here is more of a matter of personal taste because this feature is not necessarily a con. Set flat or slightly boosted though it sounds terrific to my ears & definitely not overboard. The tuners, while serviceable and stable, aren't quite as quality as the rest of the bass. They're a bit on the stiff side but don't really bother me & they're not rough. A review I watched by LowEndLobster criticized the tuners of this bass quite a bit, but mine have been fine. I think their model was probably from a first production run or perhaps just fluke in terms of tuner quality. The tuners on mine work as advertised, don't really impact enjoyability of the instrument, and while not as amazing as other aspects of this bass I don't intend on replacing them.
All in all, you get a HECK of a lot of value with this instrument. It plays just as good or better than many other basses I've played which are a lot more expensive. I would say the overall build/feel quality of the Sire Z3 is on par with the Sterling Ray34, which is significantly more expensive and unfortunately plagued with QC issues as of late. The Sire Z3 gives you noticeably more extra features, flexibility, & keeps more of your money in your pocket. I expect these to do really well and take a bite out of Sterling's market share. If you've been on the fence about getting one of these, or wanted to capture the tone of a Musicman Stingray at a fraction of the price while still achieving excellent playability & aesthetics, look no further. This bass is tremendous.
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