New Pilot YAY!!!!!

[firestarter]

Hi, it's been awhile since I've posted.... been busily enjoying my Guilds though.
Got a new one, a minty Amberburst Pilot SB604 Fretless, with EMG's, Flame maple body & Ebony neck, # BH100346. The guild dating chart says 1984 but my pot codes (original wiring) say 8626 (1986).
Is the chart wrong?
Did the fretless necks get made first and added to later bodies?
Could the EMG's have been a factory retrofit?
Kinda curious about the accuracy of the chart. I know they did one-offs and custom orders. I haven't seen another 604 with the ebony board, but then again I haven't been looking for very long!

LOVE THIS BASS!!!!!!

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome back. PM Hans if he doesn't respond. Basically if the other evidence contradicts the dating chart then the dating chart is probably what is wrong since accurate charts have never been published. Even when the charts are right there are some hiccups. There is a recent thread, that I am too lazy to search for, where Hans pretty much demonstrates that a Starfire guitar with a 1974 serial did not leave the factory until two years later.

 

[hansmoust]

Got a new one, a minty Amberburst Pilot SB604 Fretless, with EMG's, Flame maple body & Ebony neck, # BH100346. The guild dating chart says 1984 but my pot codes (original wiring) say 8626 (1986).
Is the chart wrong?

Hello firestarter,

Don't worry! The chart is wrong. Ser. # BH100346 indicates that the neck was stamped in 1986.

Did the fretless necks get made first and added to later bodies?

Not just the fretless necks but bolt-on necks in general were serial-numbered before they were actual guitars.

Could the EMG's have been a factory retrofit?

Actually, they were the standard pickups.

I know they did one-offs and custom orders. I haven't seen another 604 with the ebony board, but then again I haven't been looking for very long!

An ebony board was an option on all bolt-on instruments; guitars as well as basses.

Hope this answers your questions!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[firestarter]

Thanks Hans!
Good to hear from the Master - I take back what I said about the experts being the factory guys.

I'm really liking my new fretless, I'm really a guitar player but have dabbled for years with bass. The marking-free neck is providing a whole new challenge for me!

65 degrees here in New England today - Spring at last! I'm taking my amp outside.......

Cheers,
Ero