Evanston · Chicagoland · Since 1998
Fine double basses, set up and played by a bassist.
Hand-picked basses for sale, student and professional rentals, and setup and repair from a luthier who plays every instrument that leaves the shop.
i. Buy
Instruments for sale
Fine and student basses — our own and consigned — each set up in our shop and documented in full.
The collection →ii. Rent
Rentals, 1/10 to 4/4
Good strings, proper setup and a real case — for students, and for professionals passing through Chicago.
Rentals →iii. Repair
Repair & restoration
Trusted by the Chicago Symphony and Northwestern. Send us photos and we'll tell you honestly what it needs.
Repairs →About the shop
Keeping Chicagoland in tempo since 1998
SMR Double Basses is a specialty shop for the double bass — string bass, upright bass, contrabass, bull fiddle — and nothing else. We rent, sell, consign, appraise and repair basses, and we teach. You'll find one of the largest inventories of double basses in the Midwest, plus strings, bows, rosin, amplifiers, pickups and accessories at very competitive prices.
Steve Reinfranck has performed and taught on the double bass for more than thirty years — classical, jazz, folk and world music — principally in the Chicago area but as far away as New Zealand, Japan, Kenya and Germany. He holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and won the Illinois ASTA (American String Teachers Association) Private Studio Teacher of the Year award.
From the bench
Rescuing a high school bass with a collapsed tailblock
As many of us know, high school basses live a rough life! I had worked on this instrument before, and told the orchestra director that the tailblock seemed precarious. That was before some kid tried to use the bass for a pogo stick!
In the shop · on every bow
050 Rosin — the rosin we use in the shop
Hand-made in Groningen, the Netherlands, and developed with players from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Grip without grit, a big dark sound, and no dust storm on your top. Available in the U.S. from 050 Rosin USA.
Looking for something specific?
Be first to know
Fine basses rarely stay long, and we often hear about instruments before they're listed. Tell us what you're after.