Guild Pilot

1985? OR 87? With a light ash (maybe poplar) body...seem to remember it being touted as ash from the salesguy...which means nothing! has the three controls tone, vol and mix of pickups...one is pbass other is jazz...both active emg pickups. body is light, neck is and is incredible...1/4 sawn maple with nice rosewood...very nice frets, excellent grover tuners and one of the best if not THE best bridge ever...it offers a lot of different positions...really havent seen anything like this on any popular basses.

neck shape is what got my to buy this and it is truly one of a kind in the bass world. The closest i can get to describe it is like a thicker version of an aria pro II cardinal bass I owned for a while, or maybe fender jazz-like but...different.
Not super thin like ibanez majority, not super thick like my old tele bass.
you just have to play it...i think its perfect for those that play mainly guitar (like me)

But real bass players love it too...after all, its the olny bass jaco pastoras endorsed and played other than his fender jazz.

I dont know what other features you could ask for , this has everything

wow
after owning and selling (try to warm up to them right?) about 50 basses, this is my only keeper other than a dano longhorn.

lots of variety in sounds...or rather either jazz or pbass or mix inbetween depending on where you roll the knob to.

i dont slap, but have seen players killin it with the slap....i like the old plunk plunk and it does that perfect.
mainly for recording....nice and very very quiet bass for the studio.

use it with old tube amp or direct, very rich full sounding bass, and not noticeably better for stage or studio though now they are getting hard to come by so it stays at home.

second hand so no knowledge of setup
though I GIVE IT A 10 for having the funky bridge...you can adjust it almost infinitely to get your desired playability

this bass is solid....not solid like a gibson ripper that weighs a ton...solid like a nice old precision bass, stays in tune forever, it has dings chips large chunks missing (really!) and the pickups are semi-melted from being in a house fire....plays like a dream still.

solid as they get
finish weaRs off the black bridge and exposes brass but i guess thats 20 years of wear which aint so bad...never replaced a thing! that in itself is rare. another amazing thing is the frets and bone nut...both factory originals...some wear but have lasted like crazy...my peavey and ibanez both needed re-dos...not this

neck and truss rod do need adjustment every few years, and back of grover tuners have fallen off...but thats not really guilds fault

i dont know, they dont makem anymore, and the dearmond copies are just poo when compared to the orig. guilds...i know itried one cause the body shape is so comfy i wanted a backup....nope

playing for 30 years...i would definitely buy another off ebay instead of any new bass under a grand i have seen, i dont care if its completely worn out, as long as it has orig. pickups.
holy smoke...cant list all i have owned but lets say close to everything under a grand...american pbass, jazzbass, tokai copies, ibanezs, warmouth, gibsons, peaveys, esp's, and too many others to list or remember.
i do not wish for anything else though i do really like the rickenbacker sound...those often are too heavy for long use.

just a damn good bass, unbeleivable they stopped making them...prob. due to their crazy paint schemes or problems at guild...it really is an amazing bass. I know harmonycentral doesnt like gushing reviews but this is from real experience over 30 years of real playing, i would give EVERY category a 10 but afraid they would pull it....but if you can find one under $500 get it....and enjoy....i would even go higher as the mexican fenders are good but still dont get to this ones level.

mid/late 80's, made in usa, p/j pickups active (active tone control), rosewood fingerboard, body is...poplar???? not sure, very light for a bass. orig. finish was graphite-clear i think....when i bought it used it had some awful camo-paintjob with the pickups almost melted off it! Have done nothing to it in 12 years but replace battery and refinish body. Bridge is AWESOME...best bridge i have ever seen on a bass, neck is excellent too...thin but roundish...kind of a c-shape. tuners are???? but work well and sturdy...have dropped this thing too many times on tuners and lost cap on one and bent 2 of them but they keep on working excellently. I would give this a 10 but am not sure what "features" means as to what a bass should be...jaco used a "featureless" bass but to excellent effect. he also used this bass for a while.

wellbo, the sound is why i have kept this bass and gone through 20 others...even a fender tele-bass, various peaveys, other guilds, carvin custom, tokai, blah blah....this bass has it's place in my heart. No noise, period. its great as is or mod it to accept 18 volts (2 batteries) and it plays with the best of them. Great sounds from jazz to precision but with deeper and higher tones...yes, it's true, better than fender boohoo. i like the shape, and if you can work a jigsaw you can make your own stand for it...duhhhhh.

this bass has unfortunately been through 6 tours of the u.s., storage in a damp basement for 4 years, various drops and abuse with chips and dings galore....i mean complete abuse. You know what? this thing has NEVER even had a neck adjustment/bridge adjustment or nut replaced...the nut is orig.? when i got it...seems to be bone as its all yellowed...sweet.

best bass ever for price...so surprised they dont makem (like this) anymore?

huh?

only bass i have kept after the others came and went...A+++++++

good luck finding one, you will miss it if you sell it.

Okay, so I'm a bit obsessed with Guild Pilots-I currently own ten of them; three 5-strings and seven 4-strings. I give them a 7 for features; a 6.5 for the "regular" Pilots and a 7.5 for the "advanced" Pilots. The "regulars", or the model 602, is solid poplar with (usually)active EMG's in the P-J configuration; there are other models that have a single P pickup, and others that have a 2-Jazz p.u. setup. The "Advanced" Pilots are solid flame maple (yes, SOLID, gorgeous flame maple) and usually Bartolinis in the aforementioned P-J config, but with the addition of the ubiquitous Bartolini TBT treble-bass tone boost circuit, which gives them a bit more flexibility sonically. The "advanced" model (the 902) also sports an ebony fingerboard with the fancy Guild MOP-block with Abalone triangle inlays. Kinda like an Artist Award, if one is familiar with the Guild flagship archtop. All have maple necks, but some have rosewood fingerboards, some have maple. A couple of mine are 902's, so they have ebony fingerboards. Having talked to the ex-president of Guild, I found out a bit about how the Pilot came about. It was primarily designed by Kim Walker, an OUTSTANDING luthier who was at the time the head of production for Guild. Do a search for him on one of the search engines-he now has his own company where he makes extraordinary archtop guitars. This is not a plug-but his work is really worth checking out. Apparently, one Jaco Pastorius had a lot of input in the design, too, and played a Pilot for a while, though he went back to his Jazz bass later on. There's actually an old Guild ad that features the great Mr. Pastorius. The word is that Jaco really liked the Pilots. And why not? At the time, US-made Fender stuff was spotty, the vintage thing hadn't taken off to the ridiculous sport it currently enjoys, and the Pilot was a really fine instrument for a reasonable price. The first one I bought (brand new) had a list price of $995 WITHOUT the case (the case was $165msrp more), though I was able to swing an amazing deal on it. It was a 602; electric blue, rosewood board, EMG's, Mueller bridge, and Grover pegs. Solid Poplar. So it played really well off the rack. The renouned Mike Lull set mine up, and he said that he didn't have to do much at all. I've played it a LOT and it still looks like new and sounds great. A very comfortable bass to play either standing or sitting. The only drawback I've found to the
more-trapezoidal-than-a-Jazz-bass shape is that it doesn't like to sit real securely in a lot of stands. The best overall for a Pilot is
a "cheapie" with the swivel bottom, the tripod legs, and the u-shaped hook at the top. The 5-strings, the "605", comes with the 2-jazz setup; One of mine came with Guild's own passive pickups, which sounded fine, but I replaced them with Bartolini stacked humbuckers because I was playing a show where the single coils made too much noise from the lights. A 34" scale 5-string (same as the 4-strings), it feels pretty good and not too flabby on the b-string. The neck is an excellent shape, not too narrow, not too wide. The other 5 strings I have are the solid flame maple version, though still called a 605. All have rosewood fingerboards, but the flame 605's both came with Bartolinis stock, and one of mine has an Alembic pickup setup in it that sounds incredible-totally different than the Bartolinis. There was an "advanced" 5-string made called the 905, but only 9 of them were ever produced. Interestingly, one of my 605's has factory Gotoh pegs, which of course work fine. Oh-one of my 4-string 902's has a factory-installed d-tuner which has been great for certain applications.

Well, I play a bunch of different styles. I never had any issue with the Pilot not being able to come up with an appropriate tone for what I needed, be it rock, r&b, funk, straight-ahead jazz or even bonehead two-beat stuff. In a show I did for eighteen months, I actually had to play the bass line for a few classical and operatic numbers and the Pilot would get dark enough that it didn't stick out in an ugly way. So I think they sound great. They can replace a Fender bass, but they DO NOT sound the same-they have their own thing which IMHO is equally valid. I have Fenders, too-2 P's, 3 Jazzes, one Jazz fretless.
They all have their thing. The active pickup versions are always quiet, but the passive ones can be a bit noisy if there are a lot of lights, like in a theateric setting. In a "normal" situatio the passives are fine, and have a different sound than the actives, obviously. All are very useable. All of them can go from pretty bright to very dark, but with the 902 that has the TBT circuit the range is expanded. Amps I use are an Eden Metro, an Eden WT-550 with a variety of cabs including an Eden 212XLT loaded with Bag End drivers, an Eden CSX112 (the coax single 12 cab, great for fretless and when I use a pick) and an Aguilar 112 cab, good for most all-around apps. Some I have set up with Tomastic flatwounds, some I have set up with Ernie Ball flatwounds (both .045-.105" and .050-.105"), and a couple I have set up with Markley Blue Steel roundwounds, .045-.105". I've used the basses both live and in the studio,. and they are excellent in either situation. Nothing not to like.

These basses are really well made. A damn shame they're no longer being produced-the D'Armonds I've seen aren't the same animal by a long way, unfortunately. Maybe they'll get better. The only Pilot I bought new was really well adjusted; like I said before, Mike Lull said he didn't have to do much at all to make it just right. And as far as adjustability goes, a Pilot has a LOT of room to go in different directions beacause of the Mueller bridge, which adjusts in a variety of directions. No flaws on any of them that I could find, that is, from the factory. Being as most of my Pilot collection I acquired used, there were some dings and wear, of course. But Guild used really good material (most of the maple necks have some light flame in them, and most of the 4-string necks are quater-sawn for increased stability.) As I said before, good bridge, good tuners. Well set-up from the factory. A tribute to Kim Walker's direction and expectations. I gave them a 9 because some custom basses I've seen pay a bit more attention to asthetic details, but as a production instrument I'd give them a 10.

These basses are tanks. Like a couple of other reviewers said, they usually stay in tune even when they are knocked over. I bought my first one in 1989, it's now 2004 (almost 2005) and I've never had an issue with it. In other words, except for being in Mike's shoip for a minor setup, it's never had a thing wrong with it. How often do I have to adjust the truss rod? Not often, but like any stringed instrument the relief changes with the weather, string tension, how hard I'm playing, etc. Would I take it to a gig without a backup? Yes, I have many times, but with all the basses I have, why would I not carry a backup? It doesn't make sense. But everything is very solid about these basses.

Never needed it 'way back in '89, and I don't know if Fender supports 'em any more. I've never needed to ask Guild anything.

I've been playing music professionally for about 30 years now. Bass off and on for about 25 of ththose years-I'm also known as a sax-flute-clarinet guy. If someone stole all ten of my Guilds, I'd cry for a long time because I really, really like them. Then I'd get more of them. My favorite things about the bass are #1-sound; #2-balance/feel/playability; #3-quality; #4-they look cool without being ostentatious. My ONLY complaint is that thing about how they sit in a guitar stand, but that's nothing in the big picture. Bottom line is that right now they're an AMAZING value. One can easily pick up an excellent example for around $300. That's Korean low-line Ibanez dough. I'g go so far as to say there's nothing for less than $800+ that is going to come close to a Pilot. I've never played one I didn't like.

1980s model. Purchased 1993. Came with non-original Seymour Duncan active pickups. It's a P/J bass with a quartersawn maple neck that has a thick slab of rosewood on it. It has a Jazz style neck -- narrow and fast, which suits my small hands. The body is contoured under the elbow, which makes for a comfortable fit. It has a volume and two tone controls. Came with a beat-up Guild case.

The range in tone is fairly elastic, but you really can't get extremes of bass or treble. The SD pickups have three little switches on them that don't seem to do much to shape the tone. The pickups eat up 9 volt batteries even when not plugged in. With a dead battery, one gets no sound at all.

The action is pretty good. The neck is the most comfortable I have played outside of a Rickenbacker. The paint is an ugly metallic fuchsia with a satin finish -- (It was the '80s). The body is well-balanced.

The finish has held up well. I would bring a screwdriver and an extra 9 volt battery to a gig.

N/A Don't know if Fender supports original Guild products.

It's very comfortable to play. I would prefer pickups with more versatility that don't devour 9 volt batteries.

1988 US Made 22 Fret, Rosewood
flat mustard yellow
Solid Top, Volume, and Two Tones
EMG Pickups
Passive
Jazz Style
Bolt on Neck

10...beautiful rich sound through an amp, or straight into system using Digitech BNX3 effects pedal.

Sound good in studio, and works wonderfully on the stage.

I play it over a Carvin a buddy of mine offered to let me play

9...seems to have been made very well...has lasted a LONG time with only minor repairs.

Kinda springy on the action...would like a tighter feel, but has not slowed me down yet.

10....has made it this far....guess it will make it for forever.

N/A

10....A wonderful bass.......

1984, US Made, 22 frets 4 strings. Black, black pickguard.
Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard
EMG active P/J pickups
Gotoh tuners, Schaller bridge.
2 volumes, one tone control.
Look is very 80's.
Enough features for me. Gets the job done.

I play mostly indie rock, that can get pretty loud.
Great midrange tone. Clear and loud, very punchy. No hiss, no hum. The EMGs are extremely quiet.
the P pickup sounds kinda dark. The J pickup sounds like a Jazz bass on steroids.
I get a warm, deep growl when I hit the strings kinda hard. Perfect for rock. Great slap tone too. A lot of sustain. great for jazz also.

I can set the action extremely low without buzz. The neck is both thin and chunky. A J bass neck with a Precision feel.
Well balanced, very light!

great quality and craftsmanship. I hit the strings real hard w/ both my fingers and a pick. Never have to tune it. Don't need a backup. It is a beast.
Frets show a little wear though

This is one of the early models. More recent versions of the Pilot can be found at a fair price and are a real steal.

U.S.-Made in '88; cherry sunburst(TIGERSTRIPED LIKE HELL- a '59 Les Paul comes 250.000 $ in that suit !!); Seymour Duncan Active P/J-PUs & Electronics; "J-Bass"-control layout.
Features a very small, yet rather fat neck - extremely comfortable to handle ! (... especially when you're used to a '62 Precision with an "A"-Neck like mine !!)
The body shape is ... wellllll, not my style (Cut-off J-Bass, very "80s" !!) but the finish brings it all back home !!

STUART SPECTOR EAT YOUR HEART OUT !!!
This babe's a killer - I checked out a dozen different basses before I finally came over the Guilds strange shape and gave it a try in the shop.
Played it through an old SVT there - grin on my face, new hairdo for the shop owner ! (... on all body parts !!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The Pilot IS a Hi-Fi Bass with Balls both at Low-end & Tops - you have to like this. For my taste it beats each and every other active bass - even 4000 $ Spectors ! The "P/J" PU-configuration gives it a nice "roar" in the mid-range too, if you're not afraid of using your Amp-EQ (... or employing any kinda tube amp !)
Amps used with it: SWR "Readhead" & SWR "Triad" cab; Fender Bassman 135 & 2x15" cab (JBL); Ampeg B-15-T Portaflex; Ampeg SVT 100-T.
My (momentary) favorite bass, no less !

Bought it used from a 2nd-hand Guitarshop; they made a perfect job in the adjustment. Fits me like an Armani suit, even sounds better ;-))
The black anodized hardware is still in good shape after 15 years (no rust) and the frets show very little wear. One of the "Gotoh"-Tuners was changed some owner ago, no problems with that.
Seems like Guild just used good materials on these basses !

3 Years; 30-40 gigs a year; played on 75% of these gigs at least - NO PROBLEMS !
It's solid as a rock !
For example: My Drummer thoughtlessly kicked it out of the stand once ! (Yep, visits ev'ry day from 2 - 4 p.m. !) It fell on the headstock, some laque splintered but the Pilot afterwards was perfectly IN TUNE !!
The only slight nuissance overall: You just have to adjust these small necks once a month, otherwise you'll see the perfect "rollercoaster"-neck !

Nothing ever needed !

My Workhorse for 3 Years - feels good, sounds better and the audience is fond of tigerstripes - not only on pants, even on basses !!
Could look a bit more "rounded", but that's just my taste.
If you're looking for a "Beetle" in a "Ferrari" outfit: get yourself an used "Pilot", you'll never regret it !!

1989, USA made. 22 frets, 4 strings. Not sure on the body wood, neck is maple/rosewood. Grover non-locking tuners, bone nut, non string-thru body bridge. Two EMG pickups, P&J style. Active electronics, EMG bass/treble concentric pot, and volumes for each pickup. Body shape is a Pilot- more streamlined than a P, no pickguard. White finish, very plain. Got with a hardshell case, it's not loaded with features but it does what it does well.

I play experimental rock mainly (Mr.Bungle, Fantomas, Melvins, John Zorn), and I'm also in a punk band. I use it with a Trace Elliott 4100 head and a Genz-Benz GB210T-XB ported cab. No effects whatsoever. It's a little dark sounding, compared to a Fender, but very clear- I really dig the sound, and when I play with a pick in my punk band, it really has a nice 'clang' to it. Fairly versatile sound, I've played jazz with no problems with it, I like the tone a lot. Not sure how much has to do with the EMGs or the bass itself.

Very well put together, it's a tad beatup (bought it used after 11 years of service), and I set it up myself. Medium action, pickups set fairly high. Very good action to my hands.

It takes a licking and keeps on ticking! Holds up very well, huge strap buttons (may be aftermarket), stays in tune very well, neck rarely needs adjusting.

No clue.

I really like this bass, I've been playing about 9 years, I also own a Mexican Fender Jazz and some low-end Ibanez thing. By no means is it my 'dream bass', but it has served me well and I don't think I'll really ever get rid of it.