As are such simple hardware issues as knobs. My fret ends were ok, but I replaced the knobs with shiny ones from fleaBay and the tuners with some nice Hipshot ultralites (thus shaving a good half pound off the overall weight of the bass). Oh, and I replaced the bar string retainer with some Hipshot string trees.
Twisted necks and duff finishing and dodgy woodwork are all problems, and as far as I know they are absent from Sire instruments. Tuners and knobs are just niggles.