DeArmond Pilot Pro 5

Mine is a 2001 model, made in Korea if I am not mistaken, for DeArmond, a now defunct Fender subsidiary. It is fretted, 22 to be exact. It is a five string. It has a master volume, pickup pan and 3-band eq. Dual passive DeArmond humbuckers running through a 9v active eq. The body is ash (with some nice figuring and excellent grain) and it has a five piece maple/walnut laminated neck and a rosewood fingerboard. The body has a natural, high gloss finish and the neck has more of a satin feel. The body style is an exact replica of the excellent Guild Pilot of the '80s and early '90s, which features an offset waist ala Jazz Bass, but more pronouced and modern looking. The hardware (bridge, knobs and tuners) are a satin finish, and the is top strung. The scale is 35" and it has a very wide fretboard, with P-bass style spacing for the five strings. This will take some getting used to for a four string player. It was shipped sans case (I bought an SKB for it) and it did come with one small wrench for adjusting saddle pieces on bridge.

Overall, it had the features that I was looking for at the time, especially the 35" scale, the active eq and the nice looking ash body wood and SatinKrome hardware. I had owned a DeArmond Pilot V for two years prior to this purchase and the Pro V was definitely a step up in features.

I play everything from Salsa, Jazz and Standards to Hard Rock and Funk in a variety of different call situations and groups. The Pro V is comfortable to play all night and has a wide variety of tonal variation for different musical needs. I have a Peavey Basic 60 practice/small gig box that I use 75% of the time and a Hartke 3500 rack mount head running into either an Eden 4x10 or an SWR Son of Bertha for larger venues and rock gigs. It really shines through the rack rig and Eden, but is more than adequate in the smaller venues with the old P-V as well. It is a little noisy when recording in the studio, but I have only laid down tracks in one place, so who knows, it might be the lights in that one room or something! It realy can reproduce a number of great, classic bass tones and I am very happy with the sound overall, although I think the mid control on the eq could have been set at a more musical point in the spectrum. It can get pretty honky if it is much beyond flat.

The bass arrived surprisingly well set up. I did have to adjust the intonation on the low end, but that was minor and some tweaking was expected. String hieght was set at a good tradeoff point so that there were no rattles to be heard, yet the action was easy on the hands. The B string is tight and responsive due in part to the 35" scale length of the neck. The body weight balances well on the strap. Seated position is good, but not as balanced, so leave the strap on for comfort's sake. The wiring was a bit funky for two reasons; 1) when you take off the cover, it looks like a bird's nest in the cavity ... not the neatest wiring I've ever seen. 2) the bass comes with a helpful removable control overlay that listed the middle knob of the 3 band eq as the mid, when actually the mid and bass controls were reversed. Not really a problem once you figure that out, but goofy none-the-less. The finsh was very good and the fit of most all the parts was excellent. I would have liked to have seen a larger neck bolt patern and bigger neck plate for such a large pocket and heel, but it has held up well over three years.

I have plyed hundreds of gigs with this bass over the past few years and it is a frigging wonder how well it has held up! I took it out of the gig bag at a recent show and when I went to tune it for the first time in days it was dead-on. The hardware is still solid, though the finish on the bridge is starting to have some reaction to my sweaty hands (even though I clean the bass after each use). It has been my only bass for over two years now (since I sold my fretless Mexican Jazz and dissasembled my Power Jazz to "fix it") and I have only had to adjust the truss rod once in that time. It truly is rock-solid.

I have no opinion on this as I have never had a claim, but I never heard back from Fender about the messed-up wiring when I first bought it and contacted them. Oh well, they don't make these anymore so I guess I am DOOMED if anything goes wrong! Whaaaaa!

I have been playing for 22 years, and I have gone through dozens of different makes and models of basses and amps over that time. It took me ten years or so to get out of the "equipment whore" mindset and settle down. The fact is that a great player on a so-so instrument can get it done. Buy something that you has the features you want, something you like the looks of, and set it up as well as possible. Than spend the time you would be lusting after other instruments on practice. I bought this bass from a mail-order/online retailer, so it was basically sight unseen. I was not dissapointed. If it was stolen, I would be bummed, and would go on eBay looking for another that same day most likely. I saw a new-old-stock Pro V online a while back for $299, and at that price you simply can't beat it. I love the look and feel (as I was a big fan of the original Guild models in the '80s) and the tone is great. It compares very favorably to other 5 strings in the under $750 price range--better than most in my opinion. I do wish it had a beefier neck joint with 6 bolts on a larger plate instead of the same arrangement used in the narrower 4 string, but that will never happen, because, hey, they don't make them anymore! And that is too bad, as the Pilot Pro V was a great value in the 5 string bass arena. Buy one if you find one, you won't be dissapointed.

This is also a 2001 model with the natural ash body with gloss finish, active electronics, 35 inch scale, satin bridge tuners and knobs. Bolt on neck with 22 medium low frets. Rosewood fretboard and like another reviewer stated an exagerated jazz bass body style. Soap bar type pickups which I guess are humbuckers.

I will be using this for a wide range of styles, Rock, fusion, blues and whatever else. It will only be used for recording and will not be gigged. I am a guitar player and need this for my recordings. I am running it first through a Yamaha NE1 and then either going straight into a Boss BR1180cd recorder ( using the internal COSM bass amp presets) or running it through a Sans Amp DI and then into the BR 1180. I do not plan to mic an amp, I like to go direct. I really like the sounds I am getting with this bass. The active electronics have a wide range of tones and combined with the NE1 it is all I am going to need for serious sonic destruction. No complaints here.

This was a mail order item and it arrived with GREAT ACTION. Nice flat wide (but thin) neck. Action was nice and low with minmal buzz. The fret ends are SMOOTH and perfect, it feels real nice. The natural ash body with gloss finish is PERFECT and the wood grain is unique. All the hardware has a satin silver/gold finish and looks excellent. Nothing was odd or not working on this bass, it was even in tune! All the screws were tight( first thing I checked. ) Nut is cut good, neck relief is just right and the pickups seem to be at just the right height. Neck pocket is plenty tight.

As I have already stated this bass will not be gigged so I am not going to be hard on it. All the hardware looks real solid and the finish seems durable both on the body and the hardware. I do not need a backup, for that matter I dont need the strap buttons either.

This bass is no longer being produced so I do not know how Fender will deal with warranty issues.

This is my second bass. I have been a guitar player for more than 30 years. I played a ton of basses before I came across a used 4 string Pilot at a local music store. It played and sounded better than any of the other basses I had played. I was generally looking in the 3 to 4 hundred dollar range and they wanted 285.00 for the used Pilot knicks, scratches and all although I almost did buy it. I found this 5 string Pilot (NEW) on Ebay for 280.00 so I jumped on it. This bass has all the features I was looking for but thought I could not afford. 35 inch scale, 5 string, active electronics, outstanding neck and decent hardware. I think I would have had to get upwards of 600 or 700 bills to find another comparable bass. I like everything about this bass. If I could change anything I would just give it a tilt head stock, thats all. I feel lucky that I stumbled into this bass. 280.00 might seem a little steep compaired to what some of the other people paid but, it is no longer being produced and I feel it was an outstanding deal. I LIKE THIS BASS!

Bolt-on neck, dual passive humbuckers, 35" scale, 3-band active e.q., volume and blend, 5 piece maple and walnut neck, satin-chrome hardware, Gotoh style tuners in 4+1 arrangement, heavy cast bridge, 2 piece ash body (I got the greenish-blue transparent finish), exagerated Jazz bass body style, 2001 model. Giving it a 9 only because it lacks a tilt back headstock and a pop-out battery compartment. Features are great, especially considering I got it for $200. I actually ordered the 4 string model on close out from SamAsh, but after 5 weeks they sent me the 5 string with no explanation or anything. I'm not complaining!

I play mainly classic rock, hard rock/metal, and praise and worship. I play thru a Hartke B60 at home and go thru the board at church. This is a very versatile bass that would be suitable for just about any musical style. Can be dialed from boomy to a trebly punch and anywhere in between. As far as complaints, the treble can be a little noisy if dialed all the way up, but I've found most basses to be this way. The blend pot was a little scratchy when I got it but it seems to have cleared up with use. For a five string it works great for slap although my abilities are pretty limited in that department. The 3/4 inch string spacing is a nice for this.

Set-up was playable as shipped, but I tweaked the action a little lower to suit my tastes. Constuction is solid and the neck fit is very tight. Only finish complaint was the screw for the neck pickup pulled out of the wood to easily when I tried to raise the pickup. Had to do the old toothpick and glue trick.

I have used this several times playing live and practice daily with it for over 6 months now with no problems. I added straplocks when I first got it, but the stock buttons were solid although not especially large. I have complete confidence in this bass when playing live.

Haven't dealt with DeArmond/Fender and hope I don't have to!

This is my second bass, and has basically replaced my old 4 string Yamaha. I am very pleased with this bass and would highly recommend it. Unfortunatly, Fender seems to have closed out the DeArmond line. If someone stole it, LOOK OUT!

I have had a few 5 strings and use a pre-CBS Fender P-Bass as my main guitar.
The Pilot Pro % string at $239 is an outstanding buy.
The finish is second to none and the action and sound is great for the price.
There are neat little things like the strap knobs being insulated from the body and the frets are smooth.
The neck is perfect.
The neck feels a lot like my old P-bass. flat and very playable.
This is the best 5 string you will ever get for this price.
Even though the Company may no longer make this series get one a.s.a.p.