Guild Pilot bass club?

[nalapit13]

I have a skill-testing question for the most knowledgeable of the Guild Pilot geeks...

I just recently fell over a foto of what looks to be a mutation of a Pilot body...In my eyes, I can see the Pilot's basic form within the mutant's body, including the Pilot's forearm contour. And, isn't that "Guild" script across the bridge...?

I also have a foto of what I must assume is the mutant's headstock - very extreme indeed but again, you can see the Pilot's truss rod cover and D & G string guide.

Something somewhere in the back of my mind is whispering "Jaco mutant Pilot model prototype" to me, but I really don't know anything - except that I wish I owned it... *drool*

Does anyone here know anything about this unique, obviously Guild Pilot-inspired alien...? Are there more fotos of it and/or information about it...?

Have a great weekend...

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I remember seeing this for sale somewhere. Maybe eBay? It was labeled as a guild pilot. The head looks like a cut up 604 head. The body i can’t speak for. It could be a cut up guild body.

 

[Chewi Manilli]

Well, I promised that I'd report back after I'd put the BTC system into my Pilot, and a couple of members had echoed that I should do that. Done...and now done! My Pilot has EMG-X pickups which I added a few years ago before I sold the bass, and now recently bought it back (glad I did). The pickups are beautifully clear and a bit more open or natural sounding than the stock EMGs *and* are running on 18V. That said, I found the bass rather light in the bottom end and perhaps too mid-focussed.

The BTC was easy to install, just adding onto the existing circuitry with no-solder connections. The Pilot now has volume, active blend, and stacked bass/treble rather than a tone control. I also bought (from elsewhere) new black knurled metal knobs rather than using the supplied plastic ones. I should mention here that there's a set of two internal dip switches on the BTC control which enable the user to set the character and effective frequencies of the treble control (see below). I set mine to 1 OFF / 2 ON so that it acts over a slightly wider frequency range, down into the mids, as a kind of super tone control.

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Where did you get the knobs for it? My treble control knob doesn't stay on its peg anymore, and I'd like to find a replacement for it. I bought one from Musicians Friend, but it doesn't sit quite right on the peg, and it kind of bothers me.

 

[jmlee]

Where did you get the knobs for it? My treble control knob doesn't stay on its peg anymore, and I'd like to find a replacement for it. I bought one from Musicians Friend, but it doesn't sit quite right on the peg, and it kind of bothers me.

Guitar Electronics. Mini stacked black metal dome knobs that are to explicitly work with EMG controls. Got two other domed knobs to match.

Mini Stacked Metal Dome Knob Set for Guitar & Bass-Black

 

[gearHed289]

Well, I promised that I'd report back after I'd put the BTC system into my Pilot, and a couple of members had echoed that I should do that. Done...and now done! My Pilot has EMG-X pickups which I added a few years ago before I sold the bass, and now recently bought it back (glad I did). The pickups are beautifully clear and a bit more open or natural sounding than the stock EMGs *and* are running on 18V. That said, I found the bass rather light in the bottom end and perhaps too mid-focussed.

The BTC was easy to install, just adding onto the existing circuitry with no-solder connections. The Pilot now has volume, active blend, and stacked bass/treble rather than a tone control. I also bought (from elsewhere) new black knurled metal knobs rather than using the supplied plastic ones. I should mention here that there's a set of two internal dip switches on the BTC control which enable the user to set the character and effective frequencies of the treble control (see below). I set mine to 1 OFF / 2 ON so that it acts over a slightly wider frequency range, down into the mids, as a kind of super tone control.

Impressions? The control completely alleviated my principal objection: the lack of bottom. With the bass control cranked to about 80%, the bottom fattened up really nicely without any hint of boominess. The lovely clarity down to the low E is still all there, but with more authority now. The treble control is also significantly better than the pre-existing tone, both in degree of effect and of course its ability to boost as well as cut. I'm very happy with the dip switch setting choice.

This BTC control, with the EMG-X pickups at 18V has now given me the Pilot bass that I really wanted, without compromises.

I'm glad you got the results you were looking for. Your description sounds very much like the situation I found myself in when looking for more bottom.

 

[nalapit13]

Here’s my newly fretboarded ‘86 pilot 5.

A fresh new pink ivory board!! Next up, a string thru body hipshot bridge.

Enjoy!

 

[EWH]

Whut...? You got some 'splainin to do...

 

[nalapit13]

Whut...? You got some 'splainin to do...

Hahahaha!!! I saved this pilot a few years back from a sam ash. Fretboard was lifted badly and out of whack. Had a friend put a cocobolo board on it. Should have replaced the truss rod then. Fast forward to now the truss rod which is really just a really long bolt that does not much of anything broke. So i had another friend replace it with a proper truss rod. I’m also a sucker for pink ivory so it was an easy choice!!

 

[Bagelish]

Just got an '87 for $120, beat up but it's a good back up bass

 

[gearHed289]

Good score! What's with the top mounted output jack?

 

[Bagelish]

Good score! What's with the top mounted output jack?

Not sure, depending on how it sounds at rehearsal tomorrow night I might put in new pickups and preamp and just move it back to the side where it was originally. But so far it's sounding pretty good just going through a mixer here at home.

 

[nalapit13]

Anyone in here in the market for a fretless 5 pilot? The one i posted a few replies ago. I’m thinking about moving it and wanted to see if anyone here was looking for one.

 

[RyanOh]

'86 Guild Pilot SB-602 -- what wood is this?

Got this Pilot last week, pretty well beat up and I think the red is a refin? I can't decide if this is poplar or alder, I know poplar was common for these.

Weighs exactly 8lbs on a postal scale. The good news is that truss rod and neck is great and setup went fine. Original EMG PJ's sound great. Thinking whether I should leave as-is or sand it bare and stain it.


My first Pilot bass!

 

[wvbass]

'86 Guild Pilot SB-602 -- what wood is this?

Got this Pilot last week, pretty well beat up and I think the red is a refin? I can't decide if this is poplar or alder, I know poplar was common for these.

Weighs exactly 8lbs on a postal scale. The good news is that truss rod and neck is great and setup went fine. Original EMG PJ's sound great. Thinking whether I should leave as-is or sand it bare and stain it.
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My first Pilot bass!

I think that bask is beautiful; I wouldn't mess with it. It isn't my bass, though.

 

[EWH]

Congratulations with your first Pilot...!!!

If I was you, I would refinish it - make it new again...!!!

 

[nalapit13]

'86 Guild Pilot SB-602 -- what wood is this?

Got this Pilot last week, pretty well beat up and I think the red is a refin? I can't decide if this is poplar or alder, I know poplar was common for these.

Weighs exactly 8lbs on a postal scale. The good news is that truss rod and neck is great and setup went fine. Original EMG PJ's sound great. Thinking whether I should leave as-is or sand it bare and stain it.
View attachment 3248585 View attachment 3248586

My first Pilot bass!

Congrats!! The painted ones were generally made of poplar which this one looks like. Enjoy it!!

 

[58kites]

People pay big money to Fender for "Roadworn" basses...this one is genuine road worn.
Play it for a year and then decide if you want to refinish it.

 

[RyanOh]

Thanks everyone. There's also something on the front that translates 'lindsay'. It's a great player that I can leave as-is, and since it's poplar I won't strip and stain it. I may stripe over the Japanese since it doesn't mean anything to me, but no rush.

I definitely didn't pay extra for the 'roadworn' condition. I made an offer and the seller accepted. Since it's a Westerly, RI Guild, I was fairly confident it'd turn out ok and after a basic setup I can tell it's a keeper. I'm getting some knobs and will clean up the body/hardware a bit more. Very comfortable and well balanced.

I'll probably get a nicer condition one too, I tried one in the 80's but it had a terrible setup (brand new hanging at a shop too) and never tried one again. Now I'm a Pilot fan.

 

[58kites]

i think the Pilot neck shape feels/plays fantastic.

 

[Katthestar]

I’d like to join the club. I got my Pilot back in September. It’s been refinished, not sure of the original color. I sold my Fender PJ once I got this. So much lighter and sounds great with new strings. I could see myself taking this with me to any gig. I love that there are still a lot of Pilots around and that they aren’t crazy expensive.

 

[b0rn2w0rsh1p]

Wow, this Club? started on my 50th birthday. I saw a DeArmond post, so I hope I am excepted. I have several Guild guitars (7 of them, I started in the early '70s on rhythm guitar), but I only have "by Guild" basses, 2 Madeiras, a Burnside, and 5 DeArmonds - 3 of which are Pilot Vs. Glad to see this thread still going!