Are Guild Pilot cases unobtainium?

MacGuild

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Been looking for one for a few years now but keep drawing blanks. Did Guild even ship the Pilots with an original hard shell case?
Right now I have my Pilot in a "Datt Cases" hard shell case. It is nice, there is precious little info about that brand out there, made in Vancouver, Canada, sometime between 1970-1990, although the case has a quite a few kilometers on it. The Pilot fits into this case with barely a quarter-inch to spare length-wise, if that, and is way too close to the top edge for my comfort. At the head-stock tip, the Pilot squeezes the furry padding against the frame. Needs upgrading.
Or is there a standard (or common) alternative case for Pilots? I was once told that a Gibson Thunderbird case might fit a Pilot but I have never been in the same room as one of those either.
This is like trying to find size-19 golf shoes.
Anyone know or have suggestions?
Thank you.
 

Bernie

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I suspect that Ibanez got some inspiration from such Guild designs for their guitars like the ones Steve Vai has been using for some time now. So maybe you should take a look towards that direction. Maybe you'd find something that could fit, though it seems like it could come rather close but still not enough though...Btw, I don't even know if they have basses like the Pilot anyhow... 🧐 🤔
 

SFIV1967

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The SB-600, SB-602, SB-604 and SB-605 used the Guild 4529B case. Here just one example from the January 1987 price list and right from the 1983 list. Same case as used earlier for the SB-201, SB-202, SB-203 and SB-502E basses.

1642026733182.png 1642026982447.png

Ralf
 

MacGuild

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I suspect that Ibanez got some inspiration from such Guild designs for their guitars like the ones Steve Vai has been using for some time now. So maybe you should take a look towards that direction. Maybe you'd find something that could fit, though it seems like it could come rather close but still not enough though...Btw, I don't even know if they have basses like the Pilot anyhow... 🧐 🤔

Thank you, Bernie. I never thought of looking at Ibanez offerings. That's a good idea. Now that you mention it, Asian manufacturers in general might be the place to look.

The SB-600, SB-602, SB-604 and SB-605 used the Guild 4529B case. Here just one example from the January 1987 price list and right from the 1983 list. Same case as used earlier for the SB-201, SB-202, SB-203 and SB-502E basses.

1642026733182.png 1642026982447.png

Ralf

Ah, brilliant. Thank you, Ralf. You are a true wonder, sir. I did not know what model number to hunt for. Hopefully that will better my odds of finding one.

Photos of the bass here. Frono and EWH have the same Pilot.

Guessing that this is the 4598B case (below)? I can find cases that look like this but inevitably every one is an inch short. From a Reverb ad, nice looking blue Pilot at Chicago Music Exchange, very experienced case:


pilot_case_01.jpg
pilot_case_02.jpg
 

fronobulax

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Case looks like mine. I bought mine with the case so no suggestions beyond what have been mentioned.
 

Km1110

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Although the cases may look the same there are differences-I think I have 4 of them and the cake knife headed one only fits in the case it came in…they also came with different accessory compartments and interior colors. I’ll try and snap some pics tomorrow
 

The Guilds of Grot

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I believe the Foot and Cake Knife Pilots had two different length cases.

Here is the bass section of "The Vault": (Vertical cases in the back with four stacked on top.)

Vault-Basses-002.jpg

I think the four brown cases on the left are Cake Knife Pilots. The painted Black case (sixth from the left), and the brown one to the right of it are Foot Pilots.

Here's a closer view:

Vault-Basses-001.jpg


The black plastic case with the round corners and blue text label is an aftermarket case that also has some sort of Pilot in it!

(Of course all of this should be taken with a grain of salt after I was so wrong about the X-100 and SB-666 case sizes. They are the two black angled cases on the lower right.)
 
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Guildedagain

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$150 in 1987 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $367.01 today, an increase of $217.01 over 35 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.59% per year between 1987 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 144.67%.
 

MacGuild

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I believe the Foot and Cake Knife Pilots had two different length cases.

Here is the bass section of "The Vault": (Vertical cases in the back with four stacked on top.)

Vault-Basses-002.jpg

I think the four brown cases on the left are Cake Knife Pilots. The painted Black case (sixth from the left), and the brown one to the right of it are Foot Pilots.

Here's a closer view:

Vault-Basses-001.jpg


The black plastic case with the round corners and blue text label is an aftermarket case that also has some sort of Pilot in it!

(Of course all of this should be taken with a grain of salt after I was so wrong about the X-100 and SB-666 case sizes. They are the two black angled cases on the lower right.)

Oh, my. Thank you so much, Grot. Those photos are teaching me a lot. Very much appreciate you taking the time to post them.
This is a big help. I had been pretty much poking around in the dark and getting nowhere; this is a much better starting point. Your Guild Museum bass page is a good comparison companion, too.
The painted black case housing one of your Foot Pilots is very similar to the case I now have but it wasn't built specifically for a Pilot and that shows.
Those taller Cake Knife cases are handsome looking, too, like a leather bound book from the 19th Century.

Love "The Vault"! Jaw-dropping impressive. You could charge admission. I like your hang tag identifiers, too, nice and neat. Good idea.
 

mavuser

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ive seen a couple of those Pilot cases pop up from time to time. not un-obtainium. they are, however, un-believeably heavy. whatever u are imaginging, add about 75 pounds
 
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Been looking for one for a few years now but keep drawing blanks. Did Guild even ship the Pilots with an original hard shell case?
Right now I have my Pilot in a "Datt Cases" hard shell case. It is nice, there is precious little info about that brand out there, made in Vancouver, Canada, sometime between 1970-1990, although the case has a quite a few kilometers on it. The Pilot fits into this case with barely a quarter-inch to spare length-wise, if that, and is way too close to the top edge for my comfort. At the head-stock tip, the Pilot squeezes the furry padding against the frame. Needs upgrading.
Or is there a standard (or common) alternative case for Pilots? I was once told that a Gibson Thunderbird case might fit a Pilot but I have never been in the same room as one of those either.
This is like trying to find size-19 golf shoes.
Anyone know or have suggestions?
Thank you.
A few days ago Jammin' Jersey Music in southern California had two brown Guild Pilot hardshell cases for sale on their website-- $300 apiece.
 

SFIV1967

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A few days ago Jammin' Jersey Music in southern California had two brown Guild Pilot hardshell cases for sale on their website-- $300 apiece.
New Old Stock, $200 each:

Ralf
 

nmiller

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My Pilot came with its original hard case. No heavier than your average P or J bass case. Nothing special, either, in terms of construction or dimensions. I was never able to get the smell of cat out of mine, so my Pilot rests in a conventional aftermarket case.
 

MacGuild

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Finally got through to this shop. Very unfriendly person, pointedly rude right from the instant he picked up the phone. Refuses to ship to Canada (the site says Worldwide). "Just curious, any reason why?" "Because I said I don't." How cute. He could not possibly have made a worse impression. About as unpleasant a one-minute experience as possible. There is quite a number of web reviews about this guy saying much the same, often worse.
Oh, well. Unlucky. He says he still has the Pilot cases if anyone wants to endure dealing with him.
 

jte

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Every Pilot we got came with a case, because we ordered them with the case, as we did with most higher-end instruments. Best case story ever was the guy who bought a new F412 but refused to spend the $100 for the case. I tried for a rather long time to talk him into that investment, but he was sure he had a case at home that would fit it. This happened in front of several regular customers, two of whom made rather pointed suggestions that he spend the extra $100. As he walked out the front door vestibule and turnd to the sidewalk there was a rather loud "thud" as his brand new F412 hit the brick flower bed fixture out front. That loud thud was followed by several customers gasping and two breaking out in unkink laughter...

Anyway, the factory case was an extremely well-made case with deep plush lining. I wish I had one for my Pilot.
 
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Finally got through to this shop. Very unfriendly person, pointedly rude right from the instant he picked up the phone. Refuses to ship to Canada (the site says Worldwide). "Just curious, any reason why?" "Because I said I don't." How cute. He could not possibly have made a worse impression. About as unpleasant a one-minute experience as possible. There is quite a number of web reviews about this guy saying much the same, often worse.
Oh, well. Unlucky. He says he still has the Pilot cases if anyone wants to endure dealing with him.

I've never dealt with them. Sorry you had a bad experience. People in LA are usually so nice and polite!
 
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