Hello, my name is Vince Jesse. I'm the proprietor of the Double Bass Workshop, a business focused on serving the needs of bassists in Southern Wisconsin and beyond. We perform all manner of repairs, restoration work and adjustments. We also maintain an inventory of basses and bows for sale. From small jobs to large restoration projects, our shop stays busy performing repairs of all sorts.
The approach we use involves time honored techniques and traditional glue for best results. Established in Madison, WI in 1996, our shop specializes in the sales, repair and restoration of the upright bass.
The approach we use involves time honored techniques and traditional glue for best results. Established in Madison, WI in 1996, our shop specializes in the sales, repair and restoration of the upright bass.
Services
From small jobs to large restoration projects, our shop stays busy performing repairs of all sorts. The approach we use involves time honored techniques and traditional glue for best results. We also pride ourselves on our playing setup work. The form, fit and shape of the fingerboard, bridge, nut and soundpost need special attention for an instrument to play and sound it's best, according to the needs of the individual player. Have a lot of time on your hands? Of course not, and neither do we. But sometimes it's fun to go nuts.
We have a early version of what became the Shen Mirecourt model bass. This instrument features some great looking flame in the maple, and uses Shen's discontinued deluxe tuners. From the Rubner workshop in Saxony we have another Michael Glass design. Finished with maroon brown spirit varnish. This bass from Eastman has an interesting design that has a carved top and back with laminated ribs.
Glue First though, a few words about the sticky subject of glue. The traditional glue that is used to glue basses (and all other violin family instruments) together is called granular hide glue. It is derived from the hides, hoofs and sinews. Number one is your budget! But there are a lot of other considerations too.
Reviews (6)
Sam B.
Mar 24, 2022
Music without Bass, Is Music without Life. Spoke with Vince for awhile on the phone, obviously he is the Bass person in the State of Wisconsin. I'm currently selling 2 of my Bass guitars and will be picking up a Bass I can feel again, nothing is like a double Bass! Hopefully my hunt for my future bass will be short.
Laurel Franklin
Jun 17, 2021
Sarah Zawadiwsky
May 25, 2021
Lee Rettmann
Jun 02, 2019
J. P.
Jan 01, 2019
Highly recommend this shop. Vince not only knows what he's doing, he cares about what he's doing. I was new to the area and nervous about taking my bass to a new shop. It's pretty much the only material thing I really care about, and on top of that it was given to me by my grand father who used to play professionally so it has tremendous sentimental value.so I was nervous.
But Vince is great! He has a very laid back approach and takes the time to explain everything (before and after the repair), and isn't trying to sell or recommend items/repairs you don't need or want. I took the bass in because the neck had separated from the body and he gave me a very reasonable quote. Unbeknownst to either of us, the bass had been repaired with some less than quality techniques previously (hence the neck separating) which ended up complicating the original repair quote and process.
Since neither of us had planned on this happening, Vince gave me a few options on how to deal with the problem. I sadly ended up having to go with the cheapest solution with plans on having it repaired more properly in the future due to the unplanned increase in cost. As Vince continued to work on the bass, he called me and told me that he just couldn't put his name on my bass without repairing it properly the first time and that he realized normally this would increase my quote SUBSTANTIALLY, but that if I could be flexible with him on time, that he would repair my bass (with many additional repair items) at the originally quoted price.
Besides the fact that something like this would have easily cost me THOUSANDS of dollars more at any other similar professional shop, it gave me a great deal of comfort to know that the person working on my bass is a professional, and really cares about his work. He even offered to lend me a loaner bass in the mean time. And if it adds any extra, please know that I very rarely take the time to write reviews, but Vince and The Double Bass Workshop definitely deserve this one. Customer for life. Thanks! -jP
But Vince is great! He has a very laid back approach and takes the time to explain everything (before and after the repair), and isn't trying to sell or recommend items/repairs you don't need or want. I took the bass in because the neck had separated from the body and he gave me a very reasonable quote. Unbeknownst to either of us, the bass had been repaired with some less than quality techniques previously (hence the neck separating) which ended up complicating the original repair quote and process.
Since neither of us had planned on this happening, Vince gave me a few options on how to deal with the problem. I sadly ended up having to go with the cheapest solution with plans on having it repaired more properly in the future due to the unplanned increase in cost. As Vince continued to work on the bass, he called me and told me that he just couldn't put his name on my bass without repairing it properly the first time and that he realized normally this would increase my quote SUBSTANTIALLY, but that if I could be flexible with him on time, that he would repair my bass (with many additional repair items) at the originally quoted price.
Besides the fact that something like this would have easily cost me THOUSANDS of dollars more at any other similar professional shop, it gave me a great deal of comfort to know that the person working on my bass is a professional, and really cares about his work. He even offered to lend me a loaner bass in the mean time. And if it adds any extra, please know that I very rarely take the time to write reviews, but Vince and The Double Bass Workshop definitely deserve this one. Customer for life. Thanks! -jP
Greg Ginter
Feb 25, 2016
