New Member - Pilot Question

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Hi Everyone,

New member here. Been playing guitar, bass, banjo and other species of stringed instruments for going on 40 years now. Always admired Guild products, but have primarily been a Fender/Gibson/Martin player. But, that is about to change. I went to my local guitar shop the other day and saw a used Guild Pilot they recently took in on trade. I gave it a spin and was completely impressed. Great build quality, incredibly comfortable neck and strong, authoritative pickups. Every bit as good as my Fender and Lakland basses. So, I got curious about it and started a little research.

By its serial number, it was made in 1991. The pickups look like EMG's but without the logo. I found some information here on line that it could be an SB-600 with Dimarizio passive pickups. But, all the on line sources say the SB-600 basses were only offered between 1983 and 1988. So, I am wondering, did Guild make SB-600 basses as late as 1991, or have the EMG logos simply worn off these pickup covers? I did not have a chance to pull the control cavity cover and see if these were active (9v) or not.

Also, as comfortable as it was to play, I had some concerns about how close the G string was to the edge of the fretboard up above the 12th fret on the treble side. The neck is straight and does not appear to have shifted in the pocket and the bridge does not appear to have been reset. The E string is appropriately set about 1/4 inch away from the bass side of the fretboard and tracks the edge perfectly from nut to bridge saddle. But that is not the case on the treble side of the neck. The string begins appropriately set about 1/4 inch away from the edge of the neck at the nut. But, up at the 22nd fret, the G string is less than 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the fretboard. Is this a common feature on Pilot basses? I made a few bends and some quick runs up high and did not pull the sting off the fret. So, is not really a problem from a playability standpoint. Normally, I would simply adjust where the string crosses the bridge saddle, but the design of the well-made bridge on this bass makes that impossible. So, I thought maybe it was designed this way? Can any pilot owners weigh in on this? Were the G strings meant to sit closer to the edge of the fretboard up above the 12th fret for playability reasons?

Overall, I would say the bass is in 8.9/10 condition. Solid black with all black hardware. Maple neck with Rosewood Board. Cake Knife headstock, Price was a VERY reasonable $249 with non-original hardshell case. So, I put my deposit down on it and will pick it up in 45 days, as soon as the hold is lifted. If I need to reset the bridge, I can do that. But, first I want to put it on a scope and see how it intonates. Of course, I would be very happy to hear that it was designed this way. Any comments or information would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 

krysh

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welcome funkytoe,
on the pilot basses up to 1994/95 (I'm not sure about the later 94/95 pilot pro basses though) there have only been schaller-3d, muller (ABM) and kahler with trem bridges as stock. shaller and muller have roller saddles and can be adjusted to the side just by rolling them into the wanted position, so you can put on your favourite string spacing withinin the possible range. so your problem should be easily solved. but pictures might help to clear this question. just put a link from a picture host into the post with the picture option.

stock pickups have mostly been emg's, more rarely DiMarzios and some also hade some korean no name pickups.
 
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Thank you Krysh. The bridge is not a Schaller. It looks more like a Muller (ABM). I was not aware that these have roller saddles. If so, I am a happy man. Thank you for the welcome and the quick response.

Anyone have a favorite roundwound string they want to suggest for my initial set up?
 

krysh

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Thank you Krysh. The bridge is not a Schaller. It looks more like a Muller (ABM). I was not aware that these have roller saddles. If so, I am a happy man. Thank you for the welcome and the quick response.

Anyone have a favorite roundwound string they want to suggest for my initial set up?
well, this so is a matter of taste. I play fender 9050 flats on my fretted pilot, but love the R.Cocco steels for my fivers.
 
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