Help with Pilot I bought

chetmz

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Two years ago I bought a Pilot on ebay. Have always been a Fender guy and have a '61 Precision to prove it!! However, I don't like taking the P bass out on 'questionable' outings so I wanted another bass. I've long admired the Pilot and Guild in genereral. ( I recently got back into playing acoutsic guitar and picked up a DV52 that feels like 'home'.)

At any rate, I'm looking for some clearer information on the instrument I bought.

-Serial Number is BE101894- Can anyone tell me the year? It has the 'rounded' headstock.

-It has passive, non-descript P-J pickups. I thougth they all came with active EMG pickups. (By the way it does have the cavity in the back for the battery)

-Also, are exact repacments for the active pick-ups that were in basses of this vintage still available.?

-Most Pilot's I've seen have "GUILD" stamped on the base of the bridge. This has nothing on it.

The bass is in great shape with nary a scratch on its white finish. Just curious about current value.

Thanks
 

chetmz

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Two years ago I bought a Pilot on ebay. Have always been a Fender guy and have a '61 Precision to prove it!! However, I don't like taking the P bass out on 'questionable' outings so I wanted another bass. I've long admired the Pilot and Guild in genereral. ( I recently got back into playing acoutsic guitar and picked up a DV52 that feels like 'home'.)

At any rate, I'm looking for some clearer information on the instrument I bought.

-Serial Number is BE101894- Can anyone tell me the year? It has the 'rounded' headstock.

-It has passive, non-descript P-J pickups. I thougth they all came with active EMG pickups. (By the way it does have the cavity in the back for the battery)

-Also, are exact repacments for the active pick-ups that were in basses of this vintage still available.?

-Most Pilot's I've seen have "GUILD" stamped on the base of the bridge. This has nothing on it.

The bass is in great shape with nary a scratch on its white finish. Just curious about current value.

Thanks
 

hansmoust

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chetmz said:
At any rate, I'm looking for some clearer information on the instrument I bought.

-Serial Number is BE101894- Can anyone tell me the year? It has the 'rounded' headstock.

-It has passive, non-descript P-J pickups. I thougth they all came with active EMG pickups. (By the way it does have the cavity in the back for the battery)

-Also, are exact repacments for the active pick-ups that were in basses of this vintage still available.?

-Most Pilot's I've seen have "GUILD" stamped on the base of the bridge. This has nothing on it.

Hello chetmz,

Your Pilot is from 1987. Without seeing the guitar I'm not sure about the originality of the electronics but most of them came with active EMGs indeed. This one probably did as well, since it has the battery cavity. If they changed to passive pickups they had to change the pots as well, so look at those and see if there are American made pots in there with a source/date code. That will tell you a bit more about what might have happened.

I believe those original EMGpickups are still available. If not, it shouldn't be too hard to get them. Actually I believe there were some original sets in the boxes of parts I got from Guild after they closed the factory.

There were several different bridges used on the Pilot basses and I believe only the ABM-made one had the Guild name on it. The one you have is probably a Schaller bridge. Show us a picture and I'll tell you.

Hope this helps!

Hans Moust
 

hansmoust

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chetmz said:
At any rate, I'm looking for some clearer information on the instrument I bought.

-Serial Number is BE101894- Can anyone tell me the year? It has the 'rounded' headstock.

-It has passive, non-descript P-J pickups. I thougth they all came with active EMG pickups. (By the way it does have the cavity in the back for the battery)

-Also, are exact repacments for the active pick-ups that were in basses of this vintage still available.?

-Most Pilot's I've seen have "GUILD" stamped on the base of the bridge. This has nothing on it.

Hello chetmz,

Your Pilot is from 1987. Without seeing the guitar I'm not sure about the originality of the electronics but most of them came with active EMGs indeed. This one probably did as well, since it has the battery cavity. If they changed to passive pickups they had to change the pots as well, so look at those and see if there are American made pots in there with a source/date code. That will tell you a bit more about what might have happened.

I believe those original EMGpickups are still available. If not, it shouldn't be too hard to get them. Actually I believe there were some original sets in the boxes of parts I got from Guild after they closed the factory.

There were several different bridges used on the Pilot basses and I believe only the ABM-made one had the Guild name on it. The one you have is probably a Schaller bridge. Show us a picture and I'll tell you.

Hope this helps!

Hans Moust
 

chetmz

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As always, Hans, thanks for the quick response. I will send some pictures over the weekend.

By the way, I noticed from your website that you collect old catalogs. I have 2 old Fender brochures; one from about 1966 (all the amps are 'blackface') and a 1970 with the full price list book. I'm not looking to sell them, but you have been so helpful to me and so many other Guild fans, I would just like to send them to you if you want them.
 

chetmz

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As always, Hans, thanks for the quick response. I will send some pictures over the weekend.

By the way, I noticed from your website that you collect old catalogs. I have 2 old Fender brochures; one from about 1966 (all the amps are 'blackface') and a 1970 with the full price list book. I'm not looking to sell them, but you have been so helpful to me and so many other Guild fans, I would just like to send them to you if you want them.
 

jte

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Pilots at that time were available with passive PUPs (they used DiMarzio for a while and then I believe they went to a generic P/J set up). It's just that very very few dealers bothered to order them because the price difference wasn't that great, and the EMGs were a great selling point.

jte
 
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