1. Quality
I was impressed by the build quality. The finish is perfect, the tuners are very smooth, the bridge looks very solid. Very good frets, absolutely no sharp edges, I did't find any leveling issues.
Overall this Sire feels better built than my Fender Player Precision Bass (MIM).
Also the setup was almost perfect out of the box. Tune and play.
2. Sound
I'm happy with the sound of this bass. I saw people complaining about poor low end response in P5 basses. It seems those issues are resolved in P5R model. I think the pickups are different, the rosewood fingerboard may also help with this. This P5R has loads of low end. Much more than my Fender bass. I turned down the bass knob of my amp after the first test notes.
The sustain is insane, almost endless.
My only complaint is the definition of the B string. It is not bad, but not great either. In fact I expected worse from 34 inch scale and a single P pickup. It is a pretty OK B but keeps me from giving the full 5 stars in the sound department.
3. Conclusion
A premium instrument for a very reasonable price. Hard to beat value.
For a 4 string I will still go for MIM Fender. I just like how it sounds, more mids and bite.
If you need a 5 string P, Fender gives us only MIA options which are priced too high IMO. This Sire is quarter the price and probably 90% of the quality.
Go for it!
