A Bass Place
& String Shop
(504) 367-2212
(504) 258-4777
549 Vallette St
New Orleans, LA 70114
view map
ouidouxjazz1@juno.com
About a Bass Place
A Bass Place came to be right after the turn of the century in January 2000. I had been playing around New Orleans for almost five years, living in various parts of the city and getting to know a lot of the musicians. What I found out when I asked the bass players where they shopped for a bass was maybe in Houston,or Atlanta, or St. Louis, or Chicago,or New York. For sure, no place near here. So, in the fall of 1999 I began the process of starting a string shop. I spent a week in Kansas City, Kansas at K.C. Strings learning some of the things I was going to need to know to get this adventure off the ground. One of the things I had been looking for was someone who could do the repairs on the instruments. There was a luthier(repair shop) here in town with whom I did not want to compete and I tried to have him come in with me. But after talking we agreed I could send work to his shop.
We started out slowly and gradually built up the inventory in spite of set backs like hurricanes and recessions that felt like depressions. We have come to the conclusion we have our hands full trying to keep up with all the changes that are happening in the bass world and we cannot keep up with the changes in the violin, viola and the cello worlds as well. So, we have taken those strings out of our line up. Besides, there are others here in town who are attending to those needs.
As we look into the future, we hope to be helping the young bass players in the various programs in the area by supplying them with the basses they will be needing, either through our rental program or by selling them basses. We hope to be helping the local jazz and classical bassists fulfill their bass needs, and we hope to be reaching out to the bluegrass players around the country to find the perfect bass for their needs.