Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String - Overview and Best Prices

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Review
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  • From Sire's 2023 V series
  • Marcus Miller Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 5 strings
  • 34"'' scale
  • 9.5" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Flame Maple top
  • Swamp Ash body
  • Roasted Flame Hard Maple (Satin Finish) neck
  • Roasted Flame Hard Maple, Edgeless (Rolled Fretboard Edges) fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Marcus Premium-J Revolution (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Marcus Premium-J Revolution (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 2 volume and 4 tone Dome knobs
  • Hipshot Kickass Bass bridge
  • Bass C-Shape Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Hipshot USA Ultralite Bass Tuning Machine tuners
  • Weight between 8.563lbs (3.9kgs) and 9.938lbs (4.5kgs)
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Specifications
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String
General
Brand: Sire
Year: 2023
Configuration: SS
Strings: 5
Made in: Indonesia
Series: V
Colors: Sunburst, Natural
Left-Handed Version: Yes
Body
Top: Solid Flame Maple
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Swamp Ash
Bridge: Hipshot Kickass Bass
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On
Tuners: Hipshot USA Ultralite Bass Tuning Machine
Fretboard: Roasted Flame Hard Maple, Edgeless (Rolled Fretboard Edges)
Neck Material: Roasted Flame Hard Maple (Satin Finish)
Decoration: Abalone Block
Scale Size: 34"
Shape: Bass C-Shape
Frets: 22 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 9.5"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 46mm (1.811'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Marcus Premium-J Revolution (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Marcus Premium-J Revolution (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 0
Knobs: Dome
Volume Controls: 2
Tone Controls: 4
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Gold

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 68
Sound 85
Build quality 75
Value for money 71
Overall Score 76
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Active/Passive Preamp
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Retainer Bar
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $730, which means that the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String costs around 147% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 5 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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Often Compared With

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's construction favors people with relatively big hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this bass—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String meets 4 out of our 6 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good bass to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

Videos

A New Level of Luxury from our Best Selling Brand! - Sire V10dx & P10dx
Marcus Miller Demos His Signature Sire V10dx
Sire V10dx | The New Premium J Bass | Marcus Miller Lineup
Sire V10 - Marcus Miller Jazz
Sire Marcus Miller V10 5 - Sound Demo (no talking)
Marcus Miller testing out the New Sire V10 Pickups
Fender Marcus Miller V Vs SIRE Marcus Miller V10
SIRE MARCUS MILLER v10 Review/LOVE At First Sight!
New Sire Bass: V10 First Look
SIRE MARCUS MILLER V10DX 5 TS TEST

How Lightweight is it?

We found that the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String weighs between 8.563lbs (3.9kgs) and 9.938lbs (4.5kgs). This was recorded from some online retailers that publish the weight of the instruments they sell.

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's 34" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Scale Length Comparison
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is considered a long scale bass, and it's the most popular choice for several reasons. Even though it might be more difficult to play than short scale basses due to their increased string tension, their punchier low-end results in a clear and defined bass tone that can cut through in a mix, making them well-suited for genres like rock, metal, and funk.

Neck Profile

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Neck Profile
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String has a 9.5" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the most common radius for Stratocaster guitars. It's considered curved when compared to most other models. This allows you to play chords very easily without muting strings accidentally and gives you more space between strings for fingerpicking. However, this curve also gives the guitar less allowance for lower action. If you bend too hard at the high frets, some of your notes might get muted because the curve will make the string fret out.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String has the same radius across the board.

Playability compared to main competitors

34'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.811'' Nut Width
9.5'' Fretboard Radius
34'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.811'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
34'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.811'' Nut Width
7.25'' Fretboard Radius
34'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.811'' Nut Width
7.25'' Fretboard Radius
35'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.771'' Nut Width
16'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Nut Width
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Nut Width

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String has a nut width of 46mm (1.811''). This is considered a wide width for a 5-string bass. A wider nut provides more space between the strings, making it easier for players to execute techniques like slap bass and tapping, which require extra room for precision. However, players with smaller hands might find it challenging to comfortably reach across the wider fretboard, as it requires a wider stretch between the fingers.

Frets

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

Fret Size

Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String Fret Size Comparison
Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 60
Playability 68

Tone

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Ash wood pattern used for guitar building
Ash Body
Roasted Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Roasted Maple Neck, Fretboard

Ash Body: The most popular Ash wood for guitars is swamp Ash. It has a really light color with beautiful patterns, which makes it perfect for a natural-looking finish. It's not as lightweight as Alder, but also not as heavy as Mahogany. It's known for producing a bright tone with solid mids and lows.

Roasted Maple Neck and Fretboard: Similar to simple Maple, but even stronger, darker, and more stable to temperature changes. This is thanks to the treatment process that consists in using high temperatures to drain the water, sugar, and resins from the wood.

Pickups

This bass comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Marcus. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

Preamp

The preamp is an electronic circuit that serves as an intermediary between the bass's pickups and the amplifier. Its primary function is to boost and shape the bass's raw signal before it reaches the amplifier. This allows for greater control over the bass's tone, volume, and other sound characteristics. Preamps often include tone controls, equalization settings, and sometimes even onboard effects, enabling bassists to tailor their sound to their preferences and the musical context.

This bass has a Active/Passive preamp. This means it combines both passive and active electronics in one instrument. This versatile setup allows the player to switch between passive and active modes, providing a wide range of tonal options. In passive mode, the bass relies on traditional passive pickups and tone controls for a warm and organic sound. In active mode, the onboard preamp circuit is engaged, offering enhanced EQ shaping capabilities and sometimes a signal boost. This flexibility caters to a broader spectrum of musical styles and playing preferences, as it allows the bassist to switch between the classic, vintage tone of passive operation and the more versatile and finely tuned active mode, all within the same instrument.

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String's configuration is SS. This is the classic Telecaster configuration and it's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.

More with the same pickups

22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Marcus Premium-J Revolution Bridge Pickup
Marcus Premium-J Revolution Neck Pickup
22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Marcus Premium-J Revolution Bridge Pickup
Marcus Premium-J Revolution Neck Pickup

Versatility

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.

What music genre is it good for?

As a 5 strings, Solid Body bass with SS configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Jazz or similar. However, you can use almost any bass for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 100
Sustain 65
Versatility 93
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 85

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Hipshot Kickass Bass: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your bass. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Sire Marcus Miller V10dx 5-String has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the bass meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This bass has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 70
Features 75
Quality Control 80
Build Quality 75