For publishers of sheet music, see 'Music' section.

UK

• London:
  • M & J Healey, 12 Rosehill, Sutton SM1 3EU   Tel/fax 0181 644 4700
    Make, sell and repair double basses, rehair bows.
  • Footes, 10 Golden Square, Piccadilly. W1R 3AF Tel. (0171) 437 1811 Fax. (0171) 734 3095
    Have a large number of basses in stock at reasonable prices.
  • AM Houska & P von Wielligh-Houska, 2 Bridgehouse Court, 109-115 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HW.  Tel 0171 401 2847, fax 3007.  Email 106232.2160@compuserve.com.
    Supply basses, bows, covers and strings.
• Bristol:
  • Hamilton Caswell, 9-11 Perry Road (Park Row), Bristol. BS1 5BG Tel. 0117 929 4642
    Hamilton is an ex bass teacher and has an impressive collection of basses on display, typically about 20. He also does mail order and will send a catalogue on request. The down side is that he  does not accept credit cards.
• South East England:
  • Peter Tyler, 1 Oak Stubbs Lane, Dorney Reach, Maidenhead, Berkshire. Tel and fax: 01628 21560. Peter offers a selection of reasonably priced basses and he will take basses in part exchange. Basses can be bought on one month's approval.
    He has produced a useful guide to buying a bass, available free if you send him a stamped addressed envelope.
  • Thwaites, 33 Chalk Hill, Oxhey, Herts WD1 4BL  Tel/fax 01923 232412
    Dealers and restorers of basses and bows.  SEll strings and accessories.  
  • David Newton, Merstham, Surrey, (tel. 0737 645065) repairs bows.
  • John Bedingfield, 406 Westbourne Grove, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. SS0 0PY Tel 01702 334157  Makes handcrafted basses, heads and brasswork (including 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 sizes)
  • Gallery Strings, North Rise, Marineau Lane, Hastings, East Sussex.  TN35 5DS.  Tel 01424 814105/fax 813180 Buy and sell basses and accessories.
• Lincolnshire:
  • Pete Barnaby, High Holme Road, Louth, Lincolnshire has been recommended. He may collect.
• Nottingham:
  • S & EM Turner Violins, 1-5 Lily Grove, Beeston, Nottingham.  NG9 1QL
    Tel 0115 943 0333  Fax 0115 943 0444  Email: turnerviolins@compuserve.com
    "We hold one of the biggest selections of double basses in Europe and also carry out repairs and rehairs.  We will send out our stock list and colour brochure to anyone interested."

US:

• Alabama:
  • Homewood Music, Birmingham, run by Bob Tedrow
• California:
  • Lemur Music supply Double Basses, strings, bows and accessories, repair instruments, and stock books, sheet music and recordings.
    Lemur Music, P.O. Box 1137, San Juan Capistrano, California 92693-1137
    FAX: 714-493-8565 Phone: 714-493-8323 Freephone: 1-800-246-2277 / 1-800-246-BASS
  • Knutson Luthiery, P.O. Box 945, Forestville, CA 95436 U.S.A. Tel (707) 887-2709. Email: mssngr@sonic.net John Knutson carries out acoustic bass repairs and restorations.
  • String Bass Shop, 2280 Palou Avenue, San Francisco, USA 94124.  Tel 415 285 8541
  • Stevens Violin Shop, 1202 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA. Tel. 408-275-0717 Open Tue-Sat, 10-5:30.
• Chicago:
  • "The Well-Tempered Contrabass", 1721 Thorndale, Chicago, IL 60660 (312) 561-8184. Scott Henrie is the Luthier there and is recommended for repairs.
  • Kagaan and Gaines, 228 (216?) South Wabash (4th floor), Chicago, IL 60604. Tel. 312 939 4083 Also at 7655 W. Roosevelt Road, Forest Park IL, (708) 771 2152.
• Cincinnati:
  • Bass Viol Shop, 1400 Elm St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45210. Tel (513) 621-6165 or (800) 622-1855
    This pioneering shop was started by the late David Horine in 1953 and is now the home of the composer, Frank Proto and his publishing company, Liben Music.
• Connecticut:
  • David Mix, Double Bass Repair, 2 Woodlawn Ave., Branford, CT 06405 Phone: (203) 488-7368
• Illinois
  • Classic Contrabass, Des Plaines  Tel (847) 296-2681
    Double Bass Setup, Repair and Rental.
• Iowa:
  • 1668 354th Ave Weaver, Ia, 52658. Tel. 1-800-257-4876. You can check out the ads in the ISB and Double Bassist magazines.
• Kansas City:
  • K.C. Strings, Tel. (913) 677-0400
• New York:
  • Merchant Vertical, 307 7th Ave, NY. 10001. Tel. 212-989-2517.
  • Constantin Popescu, 25 Davenport Avenue, Westport, CT 06880. Tel (203) 227-9577
    Constantine subs with the New York Phil, studied with Levinson and apprentised with Lew Dileone.

• Kolstein supply rosin, strings, bridges, cases, strollers, straps, bibs and bow quivers and cases as well as horsehair, a seam repair kit and wooden stands.
  Tel 1 800 886 VIOL, fax 516 546 9309)
• The Musical Instrument E.xchange, a site for stringed musicians and artists interested in exchanging information about the purchase or sale of fine stringed instruments (including basses) and bows, dealers, events, employment and educational opportunities.
• Hans Johannsson has a site dedicated to violin making, including entries on care and maintenance of stringed instruments, sound, construction and pictures.
• Jerry Fuller lists period instrument makers.
• Bass Makers
  • Paul Bryant
  • Piergiuseppe Esposti
  • Stefan Radke
  • Stephen Reiley makes basses and bows.
  • Hammond Ashley Bass Violins, Seattle, USA.
  • Alamo Violins make basses.
  • Hans Johannsson
  • Hofner, Schonbacherstrasse 56, D-91088 Bubenreuth, Germany. Tel. +49-9131 23044 Fax +49-9131 24935. Hofner make plywood basses.
  • Animato sell double basses in Australia.
  • Ray Ramirez (rramirez@coqui.net) makes Electric Upright Basses.
  • The Eminence Bass, the only fully acoustic portable upright bass. It is designed for the bassist that plays in an amplified situation and wants a real acoustic tone. Recent reviews are available on the 2x bass list, and the TBL list.
  • The Messenger Upright Electric Bass
• Build your own Bass.
  • Kits are supplied by International Luthiers Supply Inc., P.O.Box 580397, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74158 USA.
  • Musikits in Minnesota sells a Renaissance Bass Violin kit for $650 (as well as kits for many other instruments).
  • It may be better to order your wood individually rather than as a kit. Try Sovereign, 2612 St. Georges Avenue, North Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V7N 1T7 Tel: 604-984-8338 Fax: 604-990-5133
• Bows
  • Zdzislaw (Mike) Prochownik hand-makes bows for stringed instruments, including double basses, at his workshop in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • Graphite bows by Alain Le Gouic
• Strings
  • La Bella Double Bass Strings.
  • D'Addario Strings
  • Spirocore strings at Thomastik-Infeld.
  • Quinn Violins supply strings and rosin.
    Call 612-521-0300 (USA only) or write to Quinn Violins, 3810 Bassett Creek Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55422. Tel 612-521-0300
  • Picato Strings designed for classical and jazz.  Tel (UK) 01443 437928/fax 433624  email: picato stringsandthings.co.uk
  • Gallery Strings, North Rise, Marineau Lane, Hastings, East Sussex.  TN35 5DS.  Tel 01424 814105/fax 813180 email: info@gallerystrings.com  Buy and sell basses and accessories.
• Covers: padded, lightweight and shower proof.
  Ronald, Brenda and Steve Prentice, The Mill, Ash Priors, Taunton, Somerset. TA4 3NQ Tel 0823 432734. They also supply extensions with fitting instructions and do repairs and bow rehairing.
• Cases:
  • Roberto Occhipinti (bobbyo@interlog.com) has been working with a boat builder to design a trunk similar to the Stevenson or David Gage Case. The Saga case is $2,000.00 U.S.
    His address is: 16 Milverton Blvd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Phone: 416-465-8713 Fax: 416-532-9797
  • Padded fibre glass double bass cases. £310 (collected), £365 (delivered). Tel. 0161 440 0490
  • SBS flight case $1700, String Bass Shop, 2280 Palou Avenue, San Fransisco, USA 94124.  Tel 415 285 8541
• Stools
  • Wenger make a whole suite of orchestral furniture.
  • Versatile stools: Denis Chabot of Quebec makes great stools. Fax: 514-272-8201 Phone: 514-272-1503. Email: versatil@afm.org
  • Concert Design Performance Chairs
• Rustic supply bass bibs, to prevent belt buckle scratches. They also have accessories for other stringed instruments.
• Microphones:
  Les Silver, Applied Microphone Technology, tel. 908-665-2727 Email mictalkins@aol.com.  Their mic clamps on to the side of the instrument, and has a flexible gooseneck, so you can find your sweet spot. It works with a pre-amp which uses a computer chip which contours the mic to the instrument to produce the natural sound of the bass.
• LowNote sells sheet music for double bass and will find specialist pieces.  They also sell bass related items such as books, recordings, videos and postcards.
• Bassmetals, jewellery designed by bassplayers for bassplayers.
  

• Largo Records have Double Bass recordings.
• Incus Records have recordings by Barry Guy, who plays the double bass and violone.
• London Records have information on Cecilia Bartoli, Sir Georg Solti, Luciano Pavarotti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Christoper Hogwood, Philip Pickett, the Balanescu Quartet and Michael Nyman.
• Polygram make some classical recordings. Check out their featured artists with audio samples.
• In the USA, the National Public Radio Music Source (Tel. 1-800-756-8742) is a good source for hard-to-find recordings, or even not hard-to-find, for that matter. It's very convenient: you order by phone and the discs are delivered to your door in a couple of weeks.
• Netradio distributes a number of classical and jazz recordings.

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