Sire S7, L7 or T7: Which One for Country-Pop and Rock?

If you are recording country-pop or rock at home and can only buy one Sire, buy the T7. The Telecaster shape and single coils give you the twang, the chicken-pickin' leads, and a rhythm sound that sits in a mix without any work. The S7 FM is the better all-rounder if your songs lean pop. The L7 is the one you want when the chorus needs a wall of humbuckers. I own all three, and I reach for them in that order.

Here is how they split up on an actual record.

What each guitar is

• Sire T7: Telecaster style. Two single coils, bolt-on neck, bridge pickup with a lot of bite.
• Sire S7 FM: Stratocaster style with a flame maple top. HSS or SSS depending on the version, five-way switch, tremolo bridge. I wrote a long-term review of the S7 FM after six months with it.
• Sire L7: Les Paul style. Two humbuckers, set neck, heavier body, fixed bridge.

All three come in at a mid-range price with features normally found a tier or two up, which is the whole reason Sire gets talked about.

Where each one lands on a record

Clean and crunch rhythm: S7 FM

Position two and four on the five-way switch are the sound of about half my rhythm tracks. The in-between positions are glassy without being thin, and they leave room in the low mids for bass and acoustic. When I want one guitar to carry a verse, this is it.

Twang, leads, and anything "country": T7

The bridge pickup on the T7 cuts through everything. Double stops, bends, pedal-steel-style licks, and the kind of rhythm part that sits under a vocal in a country-pop chorus. The neck pickup is warmer than people expect from a Tele and works for clean arpeggios.

Heavy rhythm and thick choruses: L7

Humbuckers into a high-gain amp model on the Headrush Core, doubled left and right. Nothing else in the collection does this. It is also the guitar with the most sustain for single-note melodic parts.

Playability differences you will notice

• The L7 is noticeably heavier. If you track standing up for hours, that matters.
• The S7 FM's tremolo needs a setup if you want it to stay in tune after a dive. Get it set up or block it.
• The T7's neck felt the most "ready out of the box" of the three for me.

Which one to buy first

1. Mostly country or roots: T7.
2. Pop, singer-songwriter, a bit of everything: S7 FM.
3. Rock, heavier choruses, long sustained leads: L7.

If you can afford two, T7 plus S7 FM covers almost every part I have ever needed, and the L7 becomes the special-occasion guitar.

FAQ

Is the Sire T7 good for country?

Yes. The bridge single coil has the Telecaster bite that country rhythm and lead sounds are built on, and the neck pickup handles clean parts. It is the guitar I use for most country-flavoured parts.

Does the Sire L7 sound like a Les Paul?

Close enough for a mix. Humbuckers, set neck, and a heavy body give it the thickness and sustain people buy a Les Paul for. Side by side with a Gibson there are differences, but once it is doubled and sitting under a vocal, nobody hears them.

Which Sire guitar is the most versatile?

The S7 FM. Five pickup positions and a tremolo cover clean, crunch, and lead sounds, and the HSS versions add a humbucker at the bridge for heavier parts.

Bottom line

T7 for country, S7 FM for everything in between, L7 for the heavy stuff. Every electric guitar on Small Town Wanderer is one of these three through the Headrush Core, and the full list of what they plug into is on the rig page.