JohnnyB Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 By best deal was easily a black Guild Pilot Pro bass bought at my local GC in 2011 for $99. As a "Pro" model, it has active EMG pickups in a P/J configuration, on-board preamp with active 2-band EQ, gold-plated hardware (which--except for the knobs--does not fade), quartersawn neck, and massive cast bridge (which, of course, gives you tone to die for and sustain for days). The reason for the low price was cosmetic--a few dings touched up with black gloss paint, which you couldn't tell from 3' away. Neck is arrow-straight, electronics all work flawlessly, plays like buttah, ergonomics are two evolutionary steps beyond a J-bass. And the serial number indicates that this was one of the last half-dozen Guild Pilot basses made at the holy grail Westerly, Rhode Island factory. Thanks to Brooks, I uploaded this from my 'puter. The bright spot on the upper bout is glare from the fill flash, and not a ding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 Mahogany Jap made Ibby S540LTD Saber, Tomato red w/ a dime sized chunk missing in the finish & in pretty bad need of a setup, in a pawn shop at the beach, $75. I added EMGs, Stike put the blue sparkle on it. Neck was too thin even for me and I like Wizard necks. But a real nice shredder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 18 minutes ago, JohnnyB said: I had pictures on my Photobucket account, but I never ante'd up when they went to paid subscriptions. me too; just now I went to the photobucket pic, did a screen grab, saved it on my computer then used HFCs choose file paperclip thingy for my post above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyB Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Brooks said: me too; just now I went to the photobucket pic, did a screen grab, saved it on my computer then used HFCs choose file paperclip thingy for my post above Thanks. I just added a pic of my Pilot to my post, thanks to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrettyMcgee Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 $80 pawnshop pre-ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass Guy Dave Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 In the early 90s I bought an '83 Blitz with a Sustainblock Trem from a pawn shop for $85.00. (Body had a good sized crack in it, so stripped the finish and had a tuneomatic installed.) Still have it and it sounds fantastic. Bought this '64 Bassman head and cab from the same pawn shop about a year later for $40.00 for both. Both transformers were blown and the tolex was spraypainted black, but no argument for that price. At one point I had 2 more silverface Bassman heads and had used those transformers to have it running for a while, but eventually swapped back and sold the other two. This is probably my biggest 'someday' project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerhead Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Got my first 'real' guitar and amp from my brother-in-law for $150. Later sold the Univox 335-type guitar back to him for $100 but still have the '64 Vibrolux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoro Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 I've got an old Ibanez 2350 I bought in the 80s for about $25. The seller painted it wine red and destroyed parts of the binding of the headstock. A few years ago I decided to give it a matte black finish and repair it. It was nearly fretless, so I refretted it with jumbo frets, made a new nut and sanded the neck. Also replaced the electrics and pickups. It plays very comfortable and sounds nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shankyboy Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 On 4/14/2018 at 12:48 PM, JohnnyB said: The first year Baby Boomers turned 21 in 1967; the last year of the Baby Boomers turned 21 in 1985. I haven't found another 19-year period in the 20th century of the US that saw that much inflation. I guess that makes me the last of the Baby Boomers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewey finn Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Bought a B.C. Rich Mocking bird from a guy for $50 bucks. He thought it was a cheap import. Turned out to be an American made 79 all maple Mock. Needed a lot of work to make it playable but I finally got it there. Grew legs and walked out of the studio space we were renting a few months later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 1 hour ago, dewey finn said: Bought a B.C. Rich Mocking bird from a guy for $50 bucks. He thought it was a cheap import. Turned out to be an American made 79 all maple Mock. Needed a lot of work to make it playable but I finally got it there. Grew legs and walked out of the studio space we were renting a few months later. That last part sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbaVO Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 On 4/14/2018 at 2:46 PM, Brooks said: Mahogany Jap made Ibby S540LTD Saber, Tomato red w/ a dime sized chunk missing in the finish & in pretty bad need of a setup, in a pawn shop at the beach, $75. I added EMGs, Stike put the blue sparkle on it. Neck was too thin even for me and I like Wizard necks. But a real nice shredder. You still playing that mini rectum-frier? From the reviews it seems like a very versatile amp and about as user friendly as mesa gets. Or have you gone in a different direction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veatch Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 5 hours ago, dewey finn said: Bought a B.C. Rich Mocking bird from a guy for $50 bucks. He thought it was a cheap import. Turned out to be an American made 79 all maple Mock. Needed a lot of work to make it playable but I finally got it there. Grew legs and walked out of the studio space we were renting a few months later. Agree with Steve. I was going to say, "We have a winner!" until the last line... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 6 hours ago, BubbaVO said: You still playing that mini rectum-frier? From the reviews it seems like a very versatile amp and about as user friendly as mesa gets. Or have you gone in a different direction? different direction, went into it here; http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/topic/82214-cheap-ish-18-30-watt-combos-and-maybe-heads/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-942899 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbaVO Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 3 hours ago, Brooks said: different direction, went into it here; http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/topic/82214-cheap-ish-18-30-watt-combos-and-maybe-heads/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-942899 Ha ! that was my first amp. Didn't know what I had when I had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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