ZON GUITARS was founded in Buffalo, New York, as a custom guitar and repair shop in May 1981 by bassist/luthier Joe Zon. The company grew out of a retail music store called the Buffalo Guitar Outlet, and had a reputation for high-quality repairwork and custom-built guitars.

In pursuit of building the ultimate instrument, Joe considered using graphite neck material as a way to enhance the sound and stability of his basses. This new technology, coupled with years of experience in repairs, culminated in a design that was immune to neck warp and twist, ergonomic, and lightweight, and it produced a rich, full tone.

The original design of this instrument became the prototype for Zon's handcrafted production basses. The prototype bass featured an all-graphite neck molded from a master fashioned by Zon, and custom-designed Bartolini pickups. It also utilized printed circuit board active electronics, designed and manufactured exclusively for Zon by Polyfusion Electronics. Polyfusion was well-known in the world of keyboards for their modular synthesizers.

It's been many years since the inception of that first prototype bass. In that time, Zon has introduced a variety of instruments, including the Legacy Series and Scepter model basses, and for a brief period, the Stiletto guitar.

Zon's partnership with bassist Michael Manring led to the development of the groundbreaking Hyperbass, the world's first bass designed to employ altered tunings. Michael's unique style and mastery of this instrument have opened eyes and ears everywhere to this radical new approach that expands the parameters of bass.

Today, the bass world has come to know the name Zon as an instrument of quality craftsmanship, innovation, and performance. The introduction of the Sonus bass, dubbed the Jazz bass of the '90s , sets the pace for a new direction and continued innovation for the future.

In November of 1995, Zon Guitars expanded its operations to a larger facility in Redwood City, California, to meet the growing demand worldwide