Review: Sire Marcus Miller P7 Bass Guitar (1st Generation)
Edit (1/23/2021): Sire has released the 2nd generation of the P7 model since this post was originally published. I will do my best to note any differences throughout this post where necessary.
Ah, #NBD. Whether you’re waiting for the FedEx guy to arrive or driving to your local music store, New Bass Day is an exciting time – no matter how long you’ve been playing.
I experienced NBD a few years ago. I had my eye on this particular line of bass guitars for about a year before purchasing. Then, when Scott Devine posted his own review I knew I had to get my hands on one. Not too long after I saw Scott’s review, a local music store (which I now teach at) announced that they are an official dealer of this brand. However, they sold all of them fast – really fast. I was put on a waiting list, and a few months later they received another shipment. They called me and I arrived at the music store within the hour.
Fast forward to now, I have used this bass for church worship services, home recording, and other gigs. This thing hasn’t disappointed and I can’t imagine ever parting ways with it.
This bass is none other than the 1st generation Sire Marcus Miller P7. Let’s take a closer look!
Design/Quality
This is the most beautiful instrument I’ve ever owned. The swamp ash body, maple neck, pearl pickguard and pearl inlays are a perfect combination. Seriously amazing design and quality.
However, my only small complaint about this instrument is the neck – it has a glossy finish. Sweaty hands, beware! A few years ago I played my first outdoor gig in years. Keep in mind this was mid-July in Missouri, so you can imagine the intensity. This was the hottest, sweatiest gig I’d ever played, and I could feel my fretting handing sticking to the neck as I danced around the fretboard. It didn’t have a major impact on my playing, but it was still very noticeable and something I will keep in mind for future outdoor performances.
Personally, I only play outside once in a blue moon – not a big deal for me, but if you play outside frequently then this may be something to consider. A friend of mine also owns a Sire, and to my knowledge this has been his only complaint as well.
There are a few solutions to make your glossy neck faster, including the use of steel wool or Scotch-Brite to roughen the surface a bit. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself, consider taking it to a local guitar tech or luthier.
Controls, Electronics, & Tone
I will say that this is the first bass I’ve owned that has a P/J configuration, and I absolutely love it. I like the variety – I can have the nice full sound of a precision bass but still have the option to dial in that growly bright tone from the jazz pickup. Also, the pickups aren’t too noisy. I feel like I often have trouble with jazz pickups humming or buzzing. Bonus points for that!
Now let’s talk about my favorite part about this instrument – the preamp. You can switch from passive to active with the flip of a switch. In passive mode, you have your basic controls: volume, tone, pickup balancer – similar to what you’d see on a standard jazz or P/J bass.
When the active mode is engaged you’ll have a 3-band EQ with a midrange sweep. For me, this is a game changer. I feel like I can literally dial in any tone I want!
Not only is this great for the player – this also makes it easy from a recording/live sound perspective. The sound engineer at my church told me that from his end my Sire sits perfect in the mix and is one of the easiest basses to dial in with the rest of the band.
Price
Edit (1/23/2021): I paid $599 for my particular model. The 2nd generation version of my P7 is now $698, while the 2nd generation alder body version is now $569.
I’ve gotten more bang for my buck with this bass than any other within this price range. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that I’ve been more impressed by the P7 than several high end basses I’ve played in the $1K-$3K end of the spectrum.
I’ll be interested to see where this company is five years from now… will they be able to maintain their reasonable prices and still be able to keep up with the demand?
The Verdict
Looks beautiful, sounds amazing, plays great – all at a reasonable price. What more can you ask for?
In my opinion the P7 would be a great fit for any bass player, especially those who’ve been playing for a few years and are ready to graduate from that cheap starter bass.
Sire is absolutely crushing the game. Keep your eyes on this company!
6 Replies to “Review: Sire Marcus Miller P7 Bass Guitar (1st Generation)”
Price and availability of the 5 string models?
Hey Nathan! For the 5-string models: $599 for the Alder body, $699 for the Ash body. As for availability, it depends. If you plan on ordering directly from Sire, they list the ETA for each bass. I don’t believe retailers like Sweetwater and Musician’s Friend carry them yet, although I just checked and Reverb.com does have some. You can also check Sire’s website for a list of dealers in the U.S. Maybe there’s one near you? Hope this helps!
Does it have the grimy thunk of a Fender P?
It does! Although I’d say the tone of the P7 is a little more aggressive (I own a MIM Fender P-bass as well). Of course, strings play a big factor too – I have Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Brights on the P7 currently. I’m sure if I swapped those for a set of flatwounds it would sound even more like a classic P-bass.
I have the MM V7 4 string for well over a year now and I must say that’s a great bass for the money. I intend to get myself the P7 at some time in the future, but two things that annoy me about the V7 is, the G string saddle is easy moved because IMO, the spring is not either long or strong enough to keep pressure on the saddle.
I had to put a longer/stronger spring in to stop the intonation moving.
Please take this as constructive criticism to make what is a wonderful bass better.
PS Looking forward to my new P7.
Hey Alec! Glad you’re enjoying the V7. Sorry to hear about the saddle issue, but glad you got it resolved.