German Pilsner - Is Pilsner Malt Necessary?

I know that most people will tell you that you don't start brewing beer to save money because with all the equipment and ingredients and such you won't end up saving much, but it doesn't hurt to try. Especially with Canadian beer prices, and especially when you're the typical broke-ass university student, every little bit helps. I try to buy all my hops and grain in bulk, and with my lab equipment I can keep culturing yeasts as long as possible - these things help to save $10 here and there. In buying base grain, To have to buy Marris Otter or other darker base malts, Pilsner malt for especially light malt, and 2-row for neutral american bases gives me 300% the spending that I would have if I were to just buy one type of base malt at a time.

So the question remains: Is it completely necessary to buy Pilsner malt to make a Pilsner?

This is my Solera - There are many like it, but this one is mine.

When I first started this solera, I was under the impression that I was special and unique for undertaking this project, but since then I've seen more and more soleras across the internet. Especially for sours, soleras offer an interesting project to undertake.

Apricot Chamomile pLambic Tasting

Appearance: Very slightly hazy, mostly bright yellow colour. Spritzy soda like head that dies quickly after pouring.

Aroma: Lemon zest, citrus, musty, hay, herbal-floral aroma.

Flavor: medium-light sourness, some musty fruit funk followed by the chamomile. Sort of a bubblegum- apricot mixed flavor, somewhat reminiscent of bergamot. Some cheerios flavor present.

Mouthfeel: Very spritzy carbonation, dry as a bone, but has a weird slick mouthfeel near the end.

Overall: The cheerios (THP) flavor should fade with some time in the bottle, but overall I'm happy. Some bottles still seem to have a hint of the rubber flavor, but hopefully that will fade in time as well. The sourness could be a bit more assertive, but at this stage it is very refreshing and pleasantly sour. I probably used a bit too much chamomile but that also should fade in time. The apricot was not super aggressive, but that's not surprising considering this beer is about 7-8 months past the initial fruiting.