Marcus Miller Z7-4 Antique White

I'm ordering this bass the 2nd time first one had some issues, the 2nd one is much worse. Both boxes were pretty beaten, the allen keys were just thrown into the box so that the chassis could easily be damaged and one of allen keys is missing to begin with. Quite a lot of dirt on the body, sticking frets here and there, and of course the knobs. Infinite spinning and the bottom parts of the knobs are picking up the top parts (classic) making them spin together. The setup is not there of course, the strings are super high and the intonation is way off. I'm seriously considering going down the price and pick a Harley Benton, quality wise, no issues with them whatsoever.

Reçue cinq jours après la commande. Un service efficace. L'instrument est magnifique, les frettes en bordure très douces et les touches en ébène extraordinaires. Le manche en érable est également velouté à la perfection. Le passage du mode actif au mode passif se fait sans souci et simplement. Par contre la qualité des boutons laisse à désirer. Celui du volume et du ton doivent être séparés régulièrement en tirant vers le haut celui du volume, sinon ils tournent ensemble. Il faut également noter que le bouton de tonalité n'est réellement utilisable qu'en sélectionnant uniquement le micro single coil et de préférence en passif. De toute manière en mode actif les boutons aigus et middle permettent mieux d'obtenir le son désiré. Enfin, le logement pour les batteries 9V est légèrement trop long pour les piles du commerce style Duracell. Il a fallu ajouter à leur culot un fin morceau de plastique pour qu'il y ait contact et qu'elles fonctionnent. Etonnamment les piles fournies sont un bon millimètre plus longues... Pour le rapport qualité/prix je suis absolument satisfait.

As always, perfect service from Thomann.

Regarding the bass, here are the positives:
1. Ebony neck, pleasant to the touch and appearance
2. Comfortable and premium frets
3. Perfect dynamics and articulate attack
4. Comfortable and easy to fix bridge.
5. Superb sounding, quiet (obviously noiseless) neck pickup. Sounds better than an expensive Fender P-bass. This is the biggest plus of this bass, as incredible as it may sound.
6.1. Perfectly balanced in terms of sound compared to the MM pickup.
6.2. A year ago, many complained about the imbalance between the two pickups. This has now been overcome. I think that after waiting 9-10 months after it sold out, Sire has obviously solved this problem once and for all.
6.3. The neck pickup (loaded in passive mode) has an impedance of 7.46 kΩ (Unloaded is 7.90 kΩ).
6.4. It is IN-LINE-HUMBUCKER (one coil for E+A and another coil for D +G).
7.1. The MM pickup has an extremely crisp and clear sound, indistinguishable from the original Sting Ray. It has nothing in common with the compromise Sterling models, even at a higher price. Sire wins the competition.
7.2. The MM pickup (loaded in passive mode) has an impedance of 1.76 kΩ (Unloaded 1.71 kΩ).

7.3 IMPORTANT DETAIL:
The MM pickup is initially set to parallel mode.
However, its cable has 4 terminals and can be switched between parallel, single, and series modes using a 3-position switch.

8. The two pickups together sound very rich in fingerstyle. It is difficult for me to judge whether they are suitable for slap technique. Personally, I would not use them together. Separately, they sound distinct in timbre, emphasized, and with individually distinguishable character.
9. The tuning mechanism is convenient and flawless.

Neutral:
1. Weight 4.230 kg. (for the "4-string, white body and ebony fret board" model)
2.1. The lower horn of the body is shorter than necessary. If you play sitting down with the bass resting on your right thigh, forget it, it slips. You have to use a strap.
2.2. If you hold it like an acoustic guitar, between your knees (I use it this way), then there is no problem.
3. The last frets are difficult to reach.
4. In passive mode, the tone control is welcome, albeit with narrow attenuation. In active mode, the treble "cut" works much better.
5. Slight neck dive if played without a strap. Super light tuners can help to a certain extent.

Negatives:
1. The active electronics are below par.
2. The pods, which are duplicated (amplification and passive tone control, as well as mids with parametric), rotate together, making them unusable.
3. Spectrally unsuitable for work – the bass is boomy, the mids are not particularly well defined, the trebles are so-so.
4. Plastic (or whatever) knobs – complete junk.

After reading the reviews, I bought the bass anyway, solely as a platform for modification.
The replacements are as follows:
1. Neck pickup: Bassculture (made in Germany): "Dual blades" in J-enclosure, in series, 9.57 kOhm
2.1. MM pickup: Bassculture: "Quadruplebucker" with 4 blades.
2.2. Switches:
A. 1st, (neck side blade, single coil): 4.58 kOhm
B. 4th, (bridge side blade, single coil): 4.62 kOhm
C. Inner blades (2nd + 3rd) in series: 9.2 kOhm
D. Outer blades (1st + 4th blade) in parallel: 2.30 kOhm
E. All 4 blades: 1.84 kOhm
(The pickups were purchased directly from the manufacturer, and the measurement data is in “unloaded mode”).
3. Glockenklang 3 band electronics (from Thomann)
4. Warwick – 5 chrome knobs (from Thomann)