Devon

At bassFREQ, one distinct area of our passion is to feature basses by amazing luthiers who make them singlehandedly. There are no production lines, but every step is painstakingly handcrafted by the same luthier from start to end. Here’s more about Devon Smullen and his passion in making basses

When Devon Smullen was a senior art major at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, his curiosity about building bass guitars first took shape as an independent study through a sculptor professor. With access to the University’s wood shop, Devon continually harassed a local builder until he explained to him how to build his own instrument. The curiosity for building quickly turned into a passion.

Having been bitten by the bass-building bug, Mr. Smullen established Devon Guitars in 1993. Taking inspiration from renowned builders such as Michael Tobias, Ken Smith and Vinny Fodera, Devon set out with the vision of building some of the world’s most beautiful and innovative bass guitars available.

First and foremost, Devon considers himself a fine artist. Consequently, his instruments are equally elegant in both tone and visual appearance. This is why his work is often considered a work of art.

Some of Devon’s customers include Alan Ace Cooper, Aaron Sands (Jars of Clay), Abel Orta, (Jaci Velasquez and Fernando Ortega), Steve Conrad (Rebecca St. James) Roy Montroy (Rez Band) and Mark Harmon (77’s).