I play bass like a guitar player

Given the unknowns of the typical Sunday morning small church service I've found myself playing bass more often than I would like of my talent deserves. Thought about at least having one of my own with which to embarass myself. I once heard that the pilot bass' were good: both Guild and DeArmond. So what's the poop from my Guild bass playing friends?

buy a guild. used they are even cheaper than a dearmond new. I had a top of theline dearmond pilot 6-string with neck through, was ok but very cheap hardware. a pilot 605m is my everyday bass. great instruments and a bang for the buck.

When the topic comes up the recommendation seems to be a Pilot if you don't want to go vintage. (Of course, in a few more years, Pilots will be vintage). There are differences between Pilots that are too subtle for me so I am not a good source of specific advice, but there are several on ebay now for $400. If I were actually going to buy a Pilot I would pump grot or krysh for advice since they seem to have the most practical experience with Pilots.

There are guitarists who prefer a short scale bass. In that case if you can find a reasonably priced JS you will have that vintage vibe as well as the genuine Guild. I'd budget $800 for a JS although I suspect you could get one for as low as $500 with patience. I am rediscovering my JS which has a sound I would describe as muddy and indistinct. However I am finding ways to get "crisper" sounds out of it and I suspect using a pick (like most guitarists) would also help. Also, depending upon various factors related to your church, you may actually prefer a bottom presence that rumbles and can shake the house to something brighter that cuts through the mix. After all, anyone who notices the bass player is probably distracted from worship

Yeah, short scale .
But I would go with a Starfire, with hagstrom or dark star PUPS.
Or, an M-85 with the same PUPS.

Strictly from a "what would I want" point of view I've always liked the Starfire bass. But, cost is a major factor. There's a nice looking Pilot on danger bay now with a BIN of 450. It's fretless, but, suppose even I could work an alternating 1/5 on that. As expected good advice and info from this group. Much, much obliged.

I guess you are talking about this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0347249598
if I wasn't broke I would have aready bid on it, so go for it, even the bin is a steal.

...and if you don't like, well, you know who to give it then... :wink:

guitarslinger said:

It's fretless, but, suppose even I could work an alternating 1/5 on that.

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The first time I played a fretless, I was very surprised at how quickly I was able to find the notes accurately (or at least fairrrrrly accurately :lol: )

Sounds like a good deal

guitarslinger said:

There's a nice looking Pilot on danger bay now with a BIN of 450.

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Gone!


To my house! Couldn't pass up that deal!

I would highly recomend a Pilot for a beginner bassist. I would go with the solid colors as they are a poplar body and weigh quite a bit less then the flamed maple ones. Might not want to start out on a fretless unless you have a real god ear.

As per the above example, they can be had for under $500!

I'm actually looking for a fretless 4 string bass and selling my Ibanez. That B301 A-F last week was OK, but it got too high for my liking. This is a seriously awesome grab.

Congratulations on the deal. There's a red one on line too. But, there's also a neck-thru Dearmond and I don't mind changing hardware and pickups. Bartolinis? I think I could handle the fretless, I have a good ear. My problem is I'm always listening for the holes in the song in which to play lead of fil instead of the pocket and bottom end to bring home the groove.

stclrob said:

I'm actually looking for a fretless 4 string bass and selling my Ibanez. That B301 A-F last week was OK, but it got too high for my liking. This is a seriously awesome grab.

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I`m trying to hold out, but I may have to move a bass or two soon, and my Pilot fretless is likely going to be the first to go. If it has to happen,
you`ll hear it here first...