I have been looking into getting a P-bass but also something a little bit more weird, so I've been on the fence about this one for a good bit. Thomann had one in stock, I decided that I wanted to have a go. Spoilers: it was was a good choice.
Fit and finish came perfect in my case, whole thing is excellently put together, no flaws, nothing loose, crooked, or dinged. The body is lovely, made from two pieces on my example, with the seam running along at the level of the control plate. The body contour is comfortable. The bass is not lightweight (4,3 kg) and is a bit neck heavy, but it's not a boat anchor and sits well. I was never a big sunburst fan, but this one has me hooked, the reddish color is sweet.
Oh, the neck. The fretboard has gorgeous grain, the satin rear finish glides just right, and it does not feel too large at all. The fretwork is fine along the entire length. I think the telly-style thinner Sire headstock looks good on this one, and the roasted maple color helps with that too. Roasting is very even, inlays look good.
The hardware is okay, the tuners have some play and the bridge could have used a little longer intonation screws; they are stable enough, and I do like the control plate and the metal knobs.
The pickup! The electronics in this have been maligned in early reviews, described as anemic or weak - none of that in my y22w28 example. Sire clearly has changed the pickup somewhere along the way, and it is well-shielded and grounded, has a little single coil buzz, and yes, it's a bona fide two-wire single coil with good sound, unlike the early four-wire split coil examples you see on youtube. It took me a little bit to get used to the right hand position, as the pickup is vintage shaped with no real housing, just a wrap around the winding, so you can't rest your thumb on it. A pickguard screw became my guide point instead.
The neck relief was set okay, but string height was way too high, so the bass wasn't really playable out of the box, and needed a little bit of wrangling to bring the strings down. Not a tragedy, but it needs an allen key, a ruler, half an hour, and willingness to fiddle with your new toy before playing.
The D5 brings the sound, from a hollow clank to a full thump, and it's very responsive to hand position and tone pot. It's so bright, it works best at 80% tone for most cases, at least as long as the strings are somewhat fresh. Even acoustically the whole instrument is shrill and resonant, I cannot get enough of it, the wood feels very much alive.
Overall, I'd say you get a superbly playable neck, and quality assembly everywhere else, making up a bass that really, really wants to just go at it! Don't shell out a ton of money for a replacement pickup either just because you heard the stock one used to be bad - you might not need one after all.
