Guild Pilot bass club?

[58kites]

After you finally got my Pilot from the folks at customs, I decided to sell a few others.
Sold my Musicman SUB, a mahogany Peavey Patriot, and a Peavey Fury, which leaves me with three Peaveys, two Yamaha Attitudes, and a Squier CV 50's Precision.

I think I've got a two piece all maple body that I bought recently, looks like maple to me but you can never be sure with Peavey, they tried a lot of different oddball woods.
It's a 1986/87 Peavey Foundation S body that was in the pallet loads of liquidation sale leftovers.
I'm currently sanding the way too thick/hazy/with some drips clear coat.
After I get it evened out, I will buff it until smooth and put a 1985 Peavey Patriot neck on it.
Bought a used Fralin overwound PJ set to put in it.

 

[EWH]

That sure looks like maple wood to me, but I'm no expert...

 

[58kites]

I bought the maple body because I've grown to really like this ash bodied Peavey Fury.
For a change, it's nice to handle a bass that doesn't have a thick coat of automotive paint on it.
When I was a teen, I always thought the old Fender Precision basses, that owners had stripped the paint off the body, looked cool...what I call hippie basses.
This new build will fit into that category but more fancy because it isn't the typical Fender alder wood.
I also really like this body shape better than a Fender P shape, the Precision looks kind of tubby to me these days.
Maybe having a bunch of Peaveys, and the Pilot and my two Attitude basses has made me prefer a little smaller and less rounded shape.

 

[magnaton]

These things are such well kept secrets. Love how they play and I just couldn't resist this finish!!

 

[EWH]

These things are such well kept secrets. Love how they play and I just couldn't resist this finish!!


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Dear Lord @magnaton - YOU are the guy who got that Pilot instead of me...!!! Two years ago, I posted that bass up in here (post nr. 1056) I wanted it/want it SO bad but it was not meant to be...

If you ever want to sell it, please let me know...

It has a brother, you know - I think the pair of them were originally ordered by/done up for the same original owner - I've got a few fotos of it, an SB608 Flying Star bass...

 

[InkCow]

These things are such well kept secrets. Love how they play and I just couldn't resist this finish!!


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I must admit I love this, but the 80’s were a truly silly time.

 

[magnaton]

Dear Lord @magnaton - YOU are the guy who got that Pilot instead of me...!!! Two years ago, I posted that bass up in here (post nr. 1056) I wanted it/want it SO bad but it was not meant to be...

If you ever want to sell it, please let me know...

Ah man this is why I love talkbass! Thanks so much for replying! I missed your original post but was so excited to own it when I spotted on Reverb!

If memory serves, it's sibling come up a little after the one I got and I was *very* tempted. The first one was an emotional indulgence and I somehow managed to restrain myself from getting the other haha.

Will be sure to let you know when I'm ready to pass it on. It sounds like you might be the rightful owner anyway. If you had any doubts this thing plays like a dreammm. Promise to keep you in mind

 

[EWH]

...the Precision looks kind of tubby to me these days.

Maybe having a bunch of Peaveys, and the Pilot and my two Attitude basses has made me prefer a little smaller and less rounded shape.

@58kites - EXACTLY.

Fender (and it's copies) Precision bass (J's too) bodies are "thick and fat" and, to me, visually unattractive...

It's one of the chief reasons I fell in love with the Pilot bass at first sight - the thinner, sleeker and slightly stretched bodies were precisely what I was looking for on a bass...And, the "cakeknife" headstocks sealed the deal - STUNNING, and very Heavy Metal in my eyes...

 

[58kites]

I was never a fan of all the really pointy bodies (lightning bolt, the real pointy V shape, etc) and hockey stick headstocks during the 80's hair metal and heavy metal days.
I prefer some kind of reshaped P or J bass like the Pilots and better Peaveys and a good number of other companies have had.
As always, Leo Fender did tons of stuff right, so I like the adjusted versions of his first two masterpieces.
I think Yamaha and Billy Sheehan did a good job tweaking the Precision with their Attitude body shape.
After all the years Billy played the Wife Precision, he didn't tweak the Attitude real far from what he was used to.
I like the Attitude bass necks, they feel fantastic for me.

 

[EWH]

I was never a fan of all the really pointy bodies (lightning bolt, the real pointy V shape, etc) and hockey stick headstocks during the 80's hair metal and heavy metal days.

View attachment 5026736

I was - and still am...
B.C. Rich, Jackson and pointy Matsumokos all day long...

 

[58kites]

I was - and still am...
B.C. Rich, Jackson and pointy Matsumokos all day long...

I'm 64 and guessing you are about ten years younger than me.

 

[EWH]

I'm 64 and guessing you are about ten years younger than me.

I'll be 56 in August...

I started playing bass when I was 12 or 13 (first bass was a baby blue "El Degas" P-bass with white pickguard)...Started playing in bar bands at 16 before I was legal and spent the last half of the 80's and the first half of the 90's playing Heavy Metal on Pilots and other pointies in a thousand or so different bars/crapholes & other venues all over the place...

Then came wives & kids...

 

[58kites]

I'll be 56 in August...

I started playing bass when I was 12 or 13 (first bass was a baby blue "El Degas" P-bass with white pickguard)...Started playing in bar bands at 16 before I was legal and spent the last half of the 80's and the first half of the 90's playing Heavy Metal on Pilots and other pointies in a thousand or so different bars/crapholes & other venues all over the place...

Then came wives & kids...

So eight/nine years younger, which would explain the favoring pointy guitars/basses.
Everybody had Precision, Jazz, Thunderbird, Ric, Hofner, Gibson EB when I first started playing guitar.
By the time things got real pointy I was already indoctrinated into the older stuff.
We got married at 19 years old in 1978 and kids arrived in 1981 and 1984 so when the 80's were happening we were raising babies.

 

[deepender]

Geez, I WISH I had so little money into so few basses...

I'm currently at 21 basses, including the two showing up next week and end-of-the-month'ish, 10 of which are Pilots...

I'll likely be selling off 4-6 non-Pilots over the next few months, I think...I need to make some room around here...

You’re close to being able to open a Pilot museum.

 

[EWH]

You’re close to being able to open a Pilot museum.

That's an interesting thought, but I don't think my collection is "diverse" enough at this time as I've kindof stuck to certain types of Pilots, ignoring others...
There's another guy here somewhere, Flashback Bass, who presently owns as many Pilots as I have, however his collection encompasses a couple of early and "obscure" models with a couple of options that I do not have at this time, and RyanOh has an equally impressive collection as well, although I *think* I've passed him in number by now, I'm not sure...
For instance, "pickguard" Pilots do not interest me at all (well, there was this one really nice one that did, but I was ignored by the seller), yet a "museum-type" collection should have at least one of them I think...
Then there are the Pilots with factory-mounted bass Kahlers or painted necks that I would love to be able to add to my collection someday, but rarely appear over here in Europe - and getting them shipped over from the US is a costly, nerve-wracking affair that, these days, usually always comes at the expense of the original case...
Perhaps in a few years I will have a collection impressive enough, we will see...
I'm telling myself that I will own 15 Pilots only - which probably means an absolute maximum of 20 Pilots, so a "Pilot Museum" is a possibility one day...
But the drawback is that for every new Pilot I gain, I must sacrifice a vintage BCR or Matsumoku to make physical room for it...*sigh*

 

[jdcraignh]

I was - and still am...
B.C. Rich, Jackson and pointy Matsumokos all day long...

I'm 55, and only started playing bass 6-7 years ago after a lifetime on drums. One of the first basses I bought was a BC Rich Mockingbird, with the most beautiful flamed koa you could ever ask for. probably one of the most awkward, uncomfortable basses I have ever played, but damn, it sure is nice to look at. Everything old is new again at some point. When the 80's come back, I will be ready!

 

[EWH]

"Bluey" arrived safe and sound from Finland yesterday...

A few issues only:

- A previous owner changed out the original 4 neckplate screws with 4 PANHEAD screws with a larger, better thread - right idea, wrong screws...
- A large chip (about the size and shape of a standard guitar pick) of the poly clearcoat has "flaked off" of the headstock - from the very tip backwards towards the nut and there are a few "unnoticeable" paint chips here and there...
- A previous owner was probably a smoker who, judging by the noticeable layer of gunk found on all of the tuners, never washed his hands before playing/tuning this bass and never thought to clean it...

Other than the above, which I can quickly and easily fix, this 30-something year old Pilot and it's original hardcase are in wonderful condition and will shine up real nice this weekend - a fantastic addition to "the family" and Pilot Nr. 10 in my collection...

Have a great weekend everyone...

 

[deepender]

"Bluey" arrived safe and sound from Finland yesterday...

A few issues only:

- A previous owner changed out the original 4 neckplate screws with 4 PANHEAD screws with a larger, better thread - right idea, wrong screws...
- A large chip (about the size and shape of a standard guitar pick) of the poly clearcoat has "flaked off" of the headstock - from the very tip backwards towards the nut and there are a few "unnoticeable" paint chips here and there...
- A previous owner was probably a smoker who, judging by the noticeable layer of gunk found on all of the tuners, never washed his hands before playing/tuning this bass and never thought to clean it...

Other than the above, which I can quickly and easily fix, this 30-something year old Pilot and it's original hardcase are in wonderful condition and will shine up real nice this weekend - a fantastic addition to "the family" and Pilot Nr. 10 in my collection...

Have a great weekend everyone...

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Nice

 

[RyanOh]

A 1991 SB-602 has "Guild" logo on the pickups. Are they EMG's? I've never seen this before and Bowdren's article doesn't mention it unless I missed a comment.

Also, I bought a blue Pilot hahaha.

 

[EWH]

A 1991 SB-602 has "Guild" logo on the pickups. Are they EMG's? I've never seen this before and Bowdren's article doesn't mention it unless I missed a comment.

Also, I bought a blue Pilot hahaha.

View attachment 5037048

Wauw, I have *never* seen Guild-branded pups before either - and if I ever did, I would kindof expect to see them on an early Pilot, maybe the 1st generation after they dropped those hideous pickguards and not on a '91 as you've described yours...

Are they active...? Could be EMGs in disguise, sure - or maybe something else entirely...Hmmm...

Congratulations with YOUR Bluey, RyanOh - please post more fotos and tell me what your total is now...