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Guild Pilot bass club?

They . are . hideous.
Don't like 'em on the Guilds or Kramers, Jackson or Charvel.

The other Pilot headstocks are original and good looking, which seems to be very hard to do in bass world.
Lots of guys on Talkbass b1tch and moan about any headstock that hints at a F@nder but isn't a F@nder.
 
They . are . hideous.
Don't like 'em on the Guilds or Kramers, Jackson or Charvel.

The other Pilot headstocks are original and good looking, which seems to be very hard to do in bass world.
Lots of guys on Talkbass b1tch and moan about any headstock that hints at a F@nder but isn't a F@nder.
That, and from a functional standpoint, I prefer a straight pull through the nut to the tuners, no friction if possible.

I'm not a fan of all that tension on the nut a hockey stick, in particular, creates.
 
58kites said:
They . are . hideous.
Don't like 'em on the Guilds or Kramers, Jackson or Charvel.

I will admit that the V1 & V2 604 Pilot "hockey stick type" headstocks are nowhere near as awesome looking as those of the Charvels or the Jacksons - but then again, nothing is...;) I will also admit that the 604 headstock...doesn't...really...suit...the Pilot in general, BUT any 604 Pilot with an '80s "hair metal" paintjob like the Ray or the Zebras can get away with it...

The other Pilot headstocks are original and good looking, which seems to be very hard to do in bass world.

I agree 100%.

Lots of guys on Talkbass b1tch and moan about any headstock that hints at a F@nder but isn't a F@nder.

Bender headstocks are straight up unimaginative and boring.
 
That, and from a functional standpoint, I prefer a straight pull through the nut to the tuners, no friction if possible.

I'm not a fan of all that tension on the nut a hockey stick, in particular, creates.

Also me - and an excellent point...

Still, 604 headstocks were made exclusively for the headbangers who wanted a certain look and never once gave a single thought to tension issues or nut lifetime...:D
 
I'm a decade older, turned 65 on Sunday.
...which puts me squarely in the camp of Geezer Butlers Precision with the body paint stripped off or John Paul Jones ash 51P.
Or any of Jack Casady's or Genn Cornick's cool basses.
To me, a 1962 Precision bass in sunburst, tort guard and rosewood fretboard is the holy grail.
 
I can respect your opinion, my friend - as well as krysh's...I also am aware that people can and will modify their instruments (as you yourself have) in any way they choose to out of want or need...
It's just that in my eyes, it's hard to see as I am quite a "purist" when it comes certain basses, like Pilots for example...I think the main reason for this is simply because they aren't in production any more - there are a finite number of them and as they become damaged or destroyed, there are no replacements for them.
I gotta side with this regarding basses that are no longer in production. I could improve on the tone of my Pilot Pro 5, but I’d feel like I was desecrating it somehow.
 
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Sadly, Myles Goodwyn - founder, chief songwriter, etc , - of the Canadian rock band April Wine passed away 3 days ago...I was a big fan of this band back in the day but haven't really kept up with what they've been up to for many years...It turns out that April Wine's bassist for the past 14 years - Richard Lanthier - is a Pilot player...From what I've seen perusing the official April Wine FB page, he plays it at every gig...

All fotos below were taken by Jake Disman, April Wine's soundman, and copied from their public FB page.

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It's realtively easy to fashion a new control cover out of materials you likely have at home - the sides/bottoms of plastic storage cases, for example...One of the coolest ideas I've seen is people using favorite old vinyl records, keeping the label as a sort of centerpiece...Just trace a new cover using what's left of your old cover, the cavity itself, or a cover from another Pilot...There will be slight size variations and the new covers may require a bit of shape refining, but in general it's a fairly simple task requiring simple tools...

Another really cool idea is to use clear plexiglas, like on this 604 below:

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