DeArmond Pilot Pro

Korean made in 2001. 35" scale. Blue/Green dark stain over Ash or hardwood. 5 ply maple/mahogany laminated neck. 3 band active eq w/2 pickups. Satin chrome finish. Sealed tuners, cast bridge. Jazz profile, long, narrow neck. Small/medium frets w/very high polish, and perfectly manicured ends.

The Pilot Pro really shines here. Excellent sound for the price. The longer 35" scale really helps with low end. Tone is better than the Ibanez SGR-400/600 and on par with the SGR-800 or Schecter Diamond. EQ is very flexible and punchy in low/mid and lower hi bands. Full treble boost yields a noticable hiss (but not unlike emg EXB, or stock ibanez systems who do the same). So i deduct a few points for this. The intonation, sustain, and clarity is superb. I never sounded like a true "bass" player until now.

Neck fit and finish, excellent. The maple (or alder?) 5 ply neck has no wood flaws. Rosewood fretboard finish is flawless as well. I see more crappy neck woods with the low $$ Yamaha RX-170/270, ibanez SGR-200, washburn, etc made in Indonesia/China. This is nothing like them. Neck is perfectly straight and finished and highest quality. On par with my Japanese Fender P-Bass. Nut is cut perfect. Body is glossy and nice. It appears Guild went with little extra Q.C. checks when importing this series.

Dont know how it holds up over time. I have some comments from the former owner who had several Pilots and no issues. Its quality level seems on par with $400 & up competitors. Has quality woods and hardware, but the electronics' active pc board may be the weakest point since it uses cheap op-amp and IC components.

Dearmond was bought by Fender and out of production at the moment. Fender still lists it as supported on the website.

Before purchasing a budget (under $399) bass new from anyone, you absolutely must look for one of these at closeout prices, they are still around. Several other posters here found theirs this way. Its an absolute steal. This import from Guild is a little off the norm in shape, sort of an oblong P/Jazz style, but sweet to play. With serious name recognition in low/mid priced bass arena, DeArmond just got overshadowed. Its equal, in my opinion to Ibanez SGR-400/600 or Schecter Diamond without question. I got mine off ebay and used this forum to research prior to that, thanks. I stole this bass!!

All been said below mine is a beautiful green/blue stain on what i think is an ash body. The hardware is all satin chrome which oozes class. Two BIG humbucker pickups with 3 band eq and balancer control. Rosewood finger board and maple neck, bolt-on. Came with a very solid hard case but i dont know if that was included when my friend bought it. Its a more dramatic looking jazz shape body. Strap buttons are really good and hold the strap tightly. Oh and it has a green painted headstock.

I play in a funk rock band influenced by the chilis and for that sort of music this bass is perfect. It has a nice full and warm woody sound, a little lacking in the treble department but thats what the eqs for, it is really good for slap and gives it a really good twang sound. I like the pickup balancer as it enables you to dial in a wide range of tones. On stage the mid control really enables you to crank up the presence and get yourself heard while on my multi-track it is virtually his free and doesnt pickup the local radio station like my old one! My only dislike is that it has quite a low output level so i am going to use a DI box to boost it for stage use.

I am not sure if the string height was altered but when i recieved it i was very happy with the action and inotation. The pickups were at the right height and spacing. All the frets sounded properly, no loose ones or any buzzes. The finnish is beautiful and really makes the grain of the wood stand out. The knobs have no crackling and are center notched apart from volume. The pin on my treble knob has come out though, but its easy to replace.

I would use it at a gig without a backup and i think it performs well on stage. The strap buttons are brilliant and dont need replacing. The finnish feels like it will last.

N/A But i believe DeArmond have gone bust after being bought over by fender so good luck if it breaks.

I play this through a custom made half stack (1x15) it does the job perfectly. Excellent for funk, enough bass and drive for rock, and mellow and warm enough for jazz and blues. Amazing value and a stunning look.

Manufactured in 2000. Read below for features.
pretty blue/green.

Wonderful! even better when you take into consideration the price!
very versatile for many styles.
Use it with a Fender bassman 200...low priced bass medium price amp...
high class sound...glorious!

easy to play all night without fatique.
This one came set up OK...but
All guitars need adjusted to the owners preferences.
No visible flaws whatsoever.

Gigged with it 8x+ a month for 18 months still like new.
Just change the 9v battery occasionally to keep the actives active.

Dont know

been playing 25+ years
this is my second bass purchase and its a steal at less than $190.00
to my door!
There are nicer basses out there...but not at this price!!!

Ok, we've got a 2001 DeArmond Pilot Pro bass here. Mine was one of the dead last to be made, judging by the serial number. 22 frets, 2 excellent humbucking active pickups. 5 band controls, being bass, mid, treble, volume, and a pickup balancer knob. Some sort of Gotoh-looking tuners that work wonderfully. I got a natural ash bass, and the neck is 5 pieces of walnut and maple. The fretboard is rosewood. The neck is impossibly thin. In fact, too thin for my gigantic hands, I just can't curl around to it. This is just me, however. Everyone else who picks it up and noodles loves the neck. It's also a 35" inch scale.

It's not noisy at all, employing active humbucking pickups. I can dial in nearly any tone I want from this baby, without having to touch any EQ on my amp.

Well, as I said, I got one of the last DeArmonds made here. I suspect that this last batch was rushed through, as some imperfections can be seen. Nothing major, and nothing that affects playability or sound quality. The routs in the back of the body for the plates covering the battery compartment and control compartment appear to have been done quick and dirty, as they're noticeably a few millimeters larger than the covers. The nut isn't the greatest in the world either, but what can you expect of plastic?
I'm no expert on body woods, but this appears to be one piece of ash, or they did a REALLY REALLY good job of bookmatching. Other than that, the bass is in tiptop shape.

The SatinKrome finish is killer.

Well, I wouldn't use any active bass on a gig without a backup, just because having to stop a show to change a battery you thought would last you through can be annoying. But, this baby appears to be built to last. As a nice touch, the strap buttons are insulated.

N/A

I got this bass as a counterpoint to my Fenders, for situations when I need a more modern sound. And it works beautifully. My only sticking point is that damn skinny neck. I'll probably end up selling it because of the neck. It's skinnier than my Jazz bass, and nowhere near as wide. I can get used to a 35" scale, but there's no beating simple physics when it comes to the fact that this bass is physically not made for me. But, other than that, it's BEAUTIFUL.

Pilot Plus
2001 Tiwan
5 string, 21 fret
Volume, tone, trebile, bass, balence knobs
h/h configuration
p and j style pick up
body and neck maple, with a metallic black finish (with cool sparkles)
drop tuners
some picks, tools, and other stuff needed to fix and repair it

Great, can combined almost any type of sound you want

action needed a little ajusting, but that was just me.
pickups we good
loose turning peg

will withstand live playing
hardware is good to go (but fret nut will have to be replaced)
strap buttons solid
dependinlbe, with the truss rod adjusted once
would use it with a gig without backup

n/a, DeArmond with out of bussissness, hehehe, got mine for 169 instead for 500, Yay Me!

Been playing for a while
wish i had a better amp
would buy it again, or get a musicman string ray
love its sound, hate its alinement with string
compared it to a few, cause i wanted it, and DeArmond went oob, so cheap
This bass is a great product wheater you are a beginner or a pro, you should be able to still get them from Musican Friend, or get a used one for pretty decent.......

Made in 2001. Korea. Really nice natural ash body. 5-piece laminated neck ( maple, walnut ). 2 soapbar pickups, one master volume, one blend control - active bass, mid, treble. Satin chrome hardware - a very nice touch. 35 inch scale - medium jumbo frets. Came with a set of three allen wrenches for adjustments and a cable.

You can dial in a lot of different sounds using the active circuitry. Good slap/pop tones, excellent raggea or blues by rolling off the mid and treble and dialing up the bass to max. It can get a bit noisy if you dial up the treble to the max, but it stops if you just roll it off a smidge and roll up the mid a hair. You can get anything from dark and warm to bright sounds. Like the punchieness.

Everything was pretty much perfect right out of the box. I was really surprised by this because it came from Musicians Friend in a cardboard box ( I didn't get a case for it ). I went over it with a screwdriver and all the screws for tuners, neck plate, bridge were fully tightened. The truss rod was set perfect and the action was even a bit low. I have a strong attack so I raised it just a hair. I was totally blown away - the best bass for $169 I've ever seen. The only problem is that DeArmond is being discontinued by Fender. I'm glad I got this one before they were all gone.

I've only had it a month and havn't played it out but I think it's strong enough to hold up to live gigs. I'de change the strap buttons if I could find some in brushed chrome. The finish is a thick, clear poly that looks like it will take some abuse. I think I can depend on it.

I don't know if I'll be able to get any support. I know that DeArmond was owned by Fender. Maybe Fender will take over the CS on this. Since I really havn't had any need to use it I'll just leave it with no opinion.

I've been playing for about 4 years. I also own a Fender P-bass (blackie) and an Epiphone Viola bass. I use an SWR Working Man's 4004 head and a 4x10 cab, and a Peavy TKO100 amp. Before buying this bass from the catalog I wish I'de known DeArmond was going out of business. If it were stolen I'm out-a-luck cuz they aint no way to get another one unless it's used. What I really love about it is the totally different sounds you can dial in and the punchiness of the pickups. What I hate is that I may not be able to get replacement parts that match if something goes wrong. Maybe Fender might have a stock-pile of old parts or something - I doubt it. Compared to other basses - nothing touches it in this price category. Believe me - for less than $200 you don't get this quality. This is probably a fluke because they are being sold cheap since DeArmond is OOB. Probably, you would have paid something like $400 a year or two ago. OK - I lucked out. Lucky me.

Active electronics, 2 humbuckers, ash body-natural wood finish (glossy, and really nice), bolt on neck, 5 pc. neck, 3 band eq, "satin chrome" hardware- just what it sounds like: the color of chrome- only in a flat, non-glossy finish.

Sounds very nice to me. A clear upgrade in sound from my Pilot Pro. It seems like it can create just about any sound you want with the eq and the pickup selector.

After purchasing 2 DeArmond guitars, I can tell you that their factory set up really sucks. BUT, you do get a really nice guitar... just shitty labor. You have to sit down for a hour or 2 and tighten just about everything, adjust the bridge saddles, etc.. I had never done it before, and I find it to be very easy. I do not understand why this is really a problem to people- most like to se up their guitar to their own likes anyways. I hear about people paying for a "professional setup"-- I really don't understand why you would do this... it is easy. The finish is spectacular... no flaws at all. The materials are sweet.. no problems at all. The frets are really nice. As far as the set up flaws- things just need to be tweaked and tightned, not like a misaligned neck or anything like that. They get a 10 for the parts and materials, but a 6 for final assembly, so I'll give them an 8 here.

I have had the Pilot Plus for a few months, no problems at all. I have only had the Pro for a few days, but I do not see any weak parts that seem like they will fail.

Going out of business... Does not look good here.

I like it a lot. It is clearly as nice as other basses that cost 4 or 5 times what I paid for this. I like DeArmonds a lot, I wish they would still make them!