Amazing looking...Has anyone ever played or owned Devon Smullen (Devon Guitars) bass guitars?

[Bassworship1]

I'm curious about the tone, build, and playability of his basses compared to others in their price range. Who all has played or owned one of their basses. They look amazing and what little feedbasck I've seen and videos I've found they sound great. Who has played these basses?

 

[malthumb]

I am usually not the "do a search" kinda guy, but in this case, it would get you to a lot of exactly the info you are asking for, so I'm providing you a few of the links that came up when I did a quick search.

Additionally, I will add that I had a Devon Diamond J5 that I got from Mr. Majestic. He is a very knowledgeable source when it comes to Devon basses. I really liked the bass and only sold it because I had more 5-string basses than I could play in active rotation. Excellent build quality, nice preamp and pickups, excellent tone. What's not to like?

Devon J5
Devon J5 fretless bass
Bass Mods vs. Marusczyck vs. Bacchus vs. Devon J-style bass
Custom build recommendation for new 5er -- my new DEVON bass!

The Devon I used to own is pictured in this group shot from 2011. Given that my other 5-ers were an Alembic, Roscoe, and a one-of-a-kind custom, it wound up being odd man out.

Malthumb's Bass Collection circo 2011

• malthumb
• Aug 17, 2014

2006 Roscoe LG-3005, 1987 Alembic Series I, 2000 Alembic Mark King Dlx Series II, Marchlewski...

 

[Bassworship1]

I am usually not the "do a search" kinda guy, but in this case, it would get you to a lot of exactly the info you are asking for, so I'm providing you a few of the links that came up when I did a quick search.

Additionally, I will add that I had a Devon Diamond J5 that I got from Mr. Majestic. He is a very knowledgeable source when it comes to Devon basses. I really liked the bass and only sold it because I had more 5-string basses than I could play in active rotation. Excellent build quality, nice preamp and pickups, excellent tone. What's not to like?

Devon J5
Devon J5 fretless bass
Bass Mods vs. Marusczyck vs. Bacchus vs. Devon J-style bass
Custom build recommendation for new 5er -- my new DEVON bass!

The Devon I used to own is pictured in this group.

Malthumb's Bass Collection circo 2011

• malthumb
• Aug 17, 2014

2006 Roscoe LG-3005, 1987 Alembic Series I, 2000 Alembic Mark King Dlx Series II, Marchlewski...

I see you've had Roscoe basses to? How would you compare them to Roscoe's in Playability, build, and tone?

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Looks like even other boutique bass that looks more like high end furniture and too many jobs for my taste.

 

[malthumb]

I see you've had Roscoe basses to? How would you compare them to Roscoe's in Playability, build, and tone?

Can't realistically compare the two. It's like comparing cake to ice cream. Both are very good, but you have to decide if you want one, the other, or both.

The Roscoe I had was an unlined fretless. The Devon was a jazz bass on steroids. Both very well built. Both 35" scale. The Roscoe was ever so slightly easier to play from that perspective, because it didn't feel like a 35" bass. Of the four 5-strings in my picture, the Alembic is head and shoulders above the others, not just because it is by far the biggest. Then the Roscoe and the Devon were both excellent at what they did (I no longer have either the Roscoe or the Devon) but they did different things. The Roscoe was the only one that did what it did. The Alembic, the Devon, and the Marchlewski all covered the same set of needs. I'd rate the Devon better than the Marchlewski, but since the Marchlewski was a custom order and is a very unique bass, when it came down to selling one, the Devon was the easier one to sell and recoup my investment.

 

[Clecoguy]

I have nothing but praise for my cocobolo Devon.

 

[Adam Wright]

Had a fretless from him many years ago. Very cool bass and probably one of the easiest guys to deal with. Devon’s been in the game a long time but hasn’t been a full time builder(still don’t know that he is). His stuff is super nice.

 

[Bassworship1]

I purchased this new Custom Devon J5 and having him order a custom set of Nordstrand DC5 pickups and Nordstrand 3 band preamp. He is going to have coil split select and Series Parallel installed on the preamp also. I'm excited to get this bass after hearing some sound clips on these basses and hearing from owners who have these basses and compared them to other high end boutique basses. Devon is very nice guy to talk to and you can tell he genuinely cares about making sure every step of the process is good for the customer. On a side note, his wiring is the best I've seen from anyone.

Specifications

• Body:
• Chambered Swamp Ash

• Top:
• Eucalyptus Lip Gum Burl with matching pickups, headplate and knobs

• Neck:
• 3-piece maple

• Fretboard:
• 22-fret Ebony, zero fret and rare Paua Abalone oval inlays

• Scale:
• 35 inch

• Pickups:
• Eucalyptus Lip Gum Burl covered Nordstrand DC5 pickups with Coil select options and Series/Parallel.

• Preamp:
• Nordstrand 18-volt 3-b Preamp (Stacked volume/tone, blend, treble, mid with push/pull midpoint shift, bass and active/passive mini switch)

• Hardware:
• Hipshot, Black

• Finish:
• Gloss body and headplate, satin on back of neck

• Cover:
• Magnetically-fastened

 

[cbdriver]

I traded for this used Devon J5 just a few weeks ago. I’m finding the neck to be very comfy despite the fact that I generally prefer 34” scale. With it’s 35” scale length, the B string sounds great. The rolled edges on the fretboard is a big plus! This bass has a maple neck & a swamp ash body under the quilt maple top. I love the true bolt on neck (no wood screws) bolts into brass threads.
She has a great tone pallet w/ the Bartolini pickups & preamp.

 

[cbdriver]

I traded for this used Devon J5 just a few weeks ago. I’m finding the neck to be very comfy despite the fact that I generally prefer 34” scale. With it’s 35” scale length, the B string sounds great. The rolled edges on the fretboard is a big plus! This bass has a maple neck & a swamp ash body under the quilt maple top. I love the true bolt on neck (no wood screws) bolts into brass threads.
She has a great tone pallet w/ the Bartolini pickups & preamp.View attachment 2888900

I traded this fantastic Devon 5 bass a while back. Last I saw, it is owned by Allen Music in Paducah, KY. I believe they can be found on Reverb.com.

 

[Dan Knowlton]

I bought a used Devon J5 a while back and LOVE it - so much so that I recently ordered another Devon

The next bass will be - The pic is the top I selected for the new Devon - the piece of wood will be bookmatched. Swamp ash, maple neck, ebony board, black hardware, Nordie P/MM and electronics and a clear gloss finish.