Guild Bass Advice Needed

For a long time (and I mean long time) I've wanted a fretless bass. Until recently that meant fretless Precision Bass, but I've become pretty Guild-centric since joining up here. I came across this one today using my eBay CL mash-up search engine, and I really like the way it looks, and the fact that it's a five string. Problem is that I don't really know much about Guild basses. It seems as though this one has had a fair amount of mods, and I don't know how that affects value and desirability. The starting price sure seems reasonable, but I have no idea of the value of this bass, or what to bid if I did.

Any advice that you all could send my way would be greatly appreciated!

My first question to you is do you already play bass?

If so, this bass could be right for you at the right price. The mods don't void the collectability because really, how collectable is a Pilot to start with? I would think the max you should pay for it around $800. It looks to be in pretty nice condition. The solid flamed maple bodies can get a little heavy though at the end of an hour set. The mods may scare bidders away and you might get it for the $500 starting bid.

If you don't play bass, why would you want to start out with a fretless? And a 5-string no less. If you want to learn bass I would start with a standard Pilot 4-string that can be had for $300 to $500.

The whole 5-string thing is kind of interesting. I personally have no need for one since I play bass in a classic rock cover band. All the music we cover was recorded with 4-string basses so why deal with the extra weight and an extra string you never use. Now if I played free-form jazz...

I have dabbled with a fretless, but once again, for the music we play I don't need the famous fretless "mawh" sound. Also, since I sing 25% of the songs, frets keep me on track. Besides, on the songs I'm not singing I'm usually jumping around and then the frets are my friends!


Well you asked, so there's my $.02

What Grot said except his comment about Pilots not being collectable :wink:

I would just add that I personally need frets because on a bad day I watch my hand on the neck. I also find the extra width of a five string neck makes for a sore hand. So I would advise against fretless and five string unless you have enough bass experience to know what those choices will mean to you.

The Guilds of Grot said:

My first question to you is do you already play bass?

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Indeed I do. My Fender P-Bass used to be in my sig until I got so darn many Guilds.

The Guilds of Grot said:

If so, this bass could be right for you at the right price. The mods don't void the collectability because really, how collectable is a Pilot to start with? I would think the max you should pay for it around $800. It looks to be in pretty nice condition. The solid flamed maple bodies can get a little heavy though at the end of an hour set. The mods may scare bidders away and you might get it for the $500 starting bid.

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Any heavier than a P-Bass? Mine (with a Maple neck) is already pretty heavy. Hard to imagine a bass weighing much more than that!

The Guilds of Grot said:

The whole 5-string thing is kind of interesting. I personally have no need for one since I play bass in a classic rock cover band. All the music we cover was recorded with 4-string basses so why deal with the extra weight and an extra string you never use. Now if I played free-form jazz...

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I play mostly rock too, but have some bass playing friends that really like five strings. I've never played one, but I'm sure there's one I can try at the GC near the office. I've always wanted a fretless ever since playing a friend's fretless P-Bass years ago. There's a lot of fun things you can do with them.

I'll keep an eye on this auction, and see what happens. Thanks Grot, I'll probably see you tomorrow!

Hi sandy,
my 5-string maple pilot is very lightweight. much lighter than most p-bassed I tried.
for fingerstyle the not so wide stringspacing on the regular 5-string pilot is perfect. don't know about the mods though. good point about the bass is the probably later mounted ebony fretboard. on the negative side the ebony fretboard and maple body will probably have a nice attack but might lack a bit low-end.
I have the stacked basslines on my 4-string ESP-JB custom and they are a great for rock, but I don't know how they sound in this combination. I have seen the ad before and I would not pay more than 500 US$ unplayed. but it is a nice looking bass,

my 2cts.

krysh said:

Hi sandy,
my 5-string maple pilot is very lightweight. much lighter than most p-bassed I tried.
for fingerstyle the not so wide stringspacing on the regular 5-string pilot is perfect. don't know about the mods though. good point about the bass is the probably later mounted ebony fretboard. on the negative side the ebony fretboard and maple body will probably have a nice attack but might lack a bit low-end.
I have the stacked basslines on my 4-string ESP-JB custom and they are a great for rock, but I don't know how they sound in this combination. I have seen the ad before and I would not pay more than 500 US$ unplayed. but it is a nice looking bass,

my 2cts.

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Thanks Krysh,

I think that I'll just watch this auction and see what happens. I really love my P-Bass, and have owned it since 1973 (I was in 9th grade). Don't plan on parting with it any time soon. I've never played a Guild bass, so I don't really know what to expect. I know I don't like Gibson basses, and I'm not particularly fond of Rickenbackers either. I'd love to be able to go try a Guild, but that just gets back toi that recurring question here; Where do you find one?.

sandy, 4-string pilot basses are regularly found on ebay between 200 and 700 US$.
I only know the 5-string neck which is smooth and fast. sounds similar to what is said about the 4-string necks: smooth and fast like a very comfortable jb-neck. soundwise everybody who played a 4-string pilot likes them a lot.
the only not to cool thing about the 5-string-pilots is that the B-string might be a bit stronger, which I solved with new pickus on mine, and that the maple-body lacks a bit of low-end, but there ale also poplar bodies -the ones with non transparent finish. for now I am on the hunt for an early maple-neck non red 602, if I have some money left again. :wink:

be patient and the right one will come.

twocorgis said:

I've never played a Guild bass, so I don't really know what to expect.

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Unless something changes unexpectedly in the next 18 hours, I'm bringing my B4E to LMG so that should give you a feel for the short scale Guild necks. I'm hoping Grot brings at least one bass so that would be a second one for you to try.

fronobulax said:

twocorgis said:

I've never played a Guild bass, so I don't really know what to expect.

Click to expand...

Unless something changes unexpectedly in the next 18 hours, I'm bringing my B4E to LMG so that should give you a feel for the short scale Guild necks. I'm hoping Grot brings at least one bass so that would be a second one for you to try.

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Thanks Frono. Doesn't Guild build some long scale (ala Fender P-Bass) necks? I thought that I've seen some.

The acoustics are "short" scale. (30-1/2")

The Pilots are all "long" scale (34")

Yes Frono, I am bringing a bass.

The Guilds of Grot said:

Yes Frono, I am bringing a bass.

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Looking forward to that :wink:

I've had a few 5 string basses, they all have had too wide of string spacing for me, but I'd love to try a pilot.
What I really ended up liking about 5 strings, is being able to play further up the neck, away from the mile-apart frets near the nut.
Playing in the key of E at the fifth fret is more comfortable, especially with a long scale bass.

zulu said:

...
What I really ended up liking about 5 strings, is being able to play further up the neck, away from the mile-apart frets near the nut.
Playing in the key of E at the fifth fret is more comfortable, especially with a long scale bass.

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true, but it also sounds and feels different expressionwise.

Good point Krysh, and a good reason to have more than one bass!

usually I end up playing the lower frets even on the 5-string, because of the tone.

Guild makes electric basses? I had no idea....

But seriously - what's LMG that Grot & Frono are taking basses to? dbs

SmithfieldFair said:

Guild makes electric basses? I had no idea....

But seriously - what's LMG that Grot & Frono are taking basses to? dbs

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dbs, are you kidding? this was planned and discussed for months:
the visit of the new New Hartford Guild facility in April:
http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=18708

Wow! I had no idea. I just yesterday got back on the forum and read about the trip to New Hartford. Sounds intriguing, but was really cool to actually see pictures of people I only talk to on LTG. Sadly, when we're in certain phases, I don't get back here as much as I would like - playing out, recording, other projects - all distract me from checking in. Thanks for the update, though. (Yes, sometimes I do seem like an ostrich with my head in the sand.) Cheers! dbs