Answered the phone, answered my questions, I was able to refer my student there to window shop upgrade bows.

Steve is the go-to bass guy, with lots of great advice, interesting lore to share, and a beautiful selection of appropriately priced instruments. We got our kid's 3/4 bass here a year ago, and bring it in every 6 months for a quick tuneup (free). Before we made the purchase, Steve let our kid try the instruments on the floor--from new laminated Shens to gorgeous vintage instruments--and then let him borrow his chosen bass for a week to try out, no charge. Such a great experience. read more

Davidslegoroom Blogspotdotcom Local Guide·46 reviews 7 minutes ago New I have paraplegia and was crushed to not be able to play my upright ever again. I called Steve and talked to him thinking a cello with bass strings was my only option. He told me he had an allegro upright electric bass that could likely be an option to play seated. I had it shipped to Ohio. It came well packed and plays awesome. I was sad getting rid of my upright but now I won't regret it. He is a busy man but gave me a great price and restored a hobby I loved back. It plays great sitting. Thank you Steve! read more

Steve is a nice guy and though I did not end up buying a double/upright bass from his shop, I would recommend him to anyone shopping for one. read more

Steve Swan is my go to guy for anything to do with upright bass. He is extremely knowledgeable and has lots of working experience from his time playing with various bands. Since purchasing my upright bass from an old friend he has helped me select a bow, quiver, and new bass case and I haven't had any issues with anything he has recommended. read more

I was treated with kindness, competence, a generous spirit, and great knowledge of the instrument by Steve Swan who repaired/ and adjusted numerous things my bass needed. A rare experience I appreciated greatly. read more

Steve has an amazing selection of upright basses from beginner to very professional. Steve is incredibly nice and very knowledgeable not only about upright but also the bay area upright scene. Highly recommend making an appointment and checking out his shop. read more

Steve is a wonderful human being who really cares about the work he does. He only collects and sells top of the line, premium instruments. He has beautiful upright basses of all different price ranges to suit any customer willing to start on the beautiful journey of all about that bass (no treble). He really cares about the community he serves (supporting local musicians/venues and touring musicians), and the history around each instrument he sells. I would highly recommend this store to anyone looking to buy an upright bass. Although this ship does have other stuff too (electric basses, guitars, banjos, etc.). This store is one of a kind, and is a gem among the historic music shops of the Bay Area. Thank you Steve for all you do! read more

Steve set up about a dozen basses ordered by price and let me take my time with them. He listened to me play but wasn't pushy or trying to send me home with something I wasn't happy with. His selection is really remarkable, everything is in great condition, and his prices are fair. Steve even offered to let me take a bass home for a longer trial. Although I wound up buying from a private seller (this was a very close call btw), I would absolutely recommend anyone beginner to professional come here when shopping for a new double bass. I made an appointment through email and we were outside his shop easily able to socially distance. Bring a notebook so you can remember all of the different basses your tried. read more

BEST BASS SHOP IN THE BAY AREA!!! Lots of really great double basses at all different price ranges! Steve is incredibly helpful and nice. I would recommend him for anyone in the bay (or beyond) who's looking for a nice variety of basses to choose from and wants really amazing service! Thanks again, Steve! read more

As parents we have been very nervous about shopping for a bass for our son. Steve made this process very easy and enjoyable, and we are very thankful for that. I spoke with Steve a couple of times on the phone and knew immediately he was a very nice and helpful guy. When we walked in the store, it was a bit overwhelming but really quite a sight to see!! Steve guided all of us along the wAy giving the perfect amount of information and guidance the whole time. He never was overbearing or bombarding with too much. He was very relaxed and encouraged our son to take his time and play as many basses as he wanted. We left feeling very confident and happy with our purchase. Truly what began as a very intimidating experience Steve made it a pleasure. read more

Steve Swan String Bass - Quite a sight to see. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Burlingame, California

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I showed up looking for a guitar, and to my total surprise (& delight), walked into a veritable forest of upright basses. After my initial surprise, and quite a bit of bass-ogling, I figured I wouldn't find much on his guitar wall (mostly because there were so many basses in the rooms, the guitars seemed a minor interest. Wrong! Steve took full interest i my search, hand-picked some absolutely fabulous instruments for me to play. He's knowledgeable, focused, and really engaged in the work. read more

Steve sold me two guitars in the last 15 years. I still have the last one. It has increased in price nearly 150%. He has the eye for the best instruments and without arm twisting, gets you the one that best suits you. He is like a brother to me now. read more

I have worked with Steve on basses for my students for several years now. Several of my private students have purchased basses from him and are very happy with them. In addition, Steve provides loaner basses and bows to the RiverTunes Music Camp as well, at no charge. The basses he stocks are good quality, no cheap unplayable ones. I am very happy with the hybrid and plywood Shen basses he supplies. I tell my students, "Steve does not sell junk - you will get a quality instrument." Before Steve opened his studio, there was no way to buy a new bass on approval in the Bay Area. I bought my first bass by paying up front and being committed to it with no way to return it. Now, there is a huge selection at all price points, thanks to Steve. read more

Steve is one of the hidden gems of the Bay Area. He sells wonderful guitars and basses from with no publicity. I bought my bass from him. I tried out lots of basses from other sources around the area. Steve really seemed to work to get me just the bass I wanted, generously offering to let me take home a couple of instruments at a time, just so I could really get familiar with them. He also has great resources for setting up and maintaining your instrument. I won't trust my bass to anyone else now. Outstanding service each time I got to him. read more

I've patronized Steve Swan String Bass for many years and always been satisfied with my purchases and advice about string choice, bridges, cases, stands, microphones and repairs. Steve really is a bass expert! He steered me towards an American Standard many years ago and I was never sorry! I continue to love it's playability and sound for Bluegrass and Old Time music. read more

Steve Swan, Absolutely the best place to go for quality upright basses and accessories. My experience with Steve has been excellent. I encourage everyone looking for an upright or vintage guitars to make this your first stop. read more

I have bought and traded a fairly large number of vintage guitars, mostly acoustic, mostly Martins, not because i was collecting but because i was looking for the holy grail, great action, great sound. Steve brought three guitars to my house when he was in LA where i live some years ago, two Martins and a Gibson. i had owned a couple of early 50s LG-1s which i had traded away, they were from eBay. But it was from Steve that i met and fell in love with my 1931 L-1, the first Gibson of that vintage and model i'd ever touched. It happened to be the least expensive of the three guitars and i had a mid 30s Martin 0-17 i wanted to trade so i ended up making some money on the trade, the L-1 was priced lower because of some repairs and internal structural problems it had, which Steve disclosed and discussed. I considered the deal to be fair to me. The match between me and the guitar i got could not be more perfect. Again, after going through so many guitars that were not what i really wanted, it was a glorious thing to be brought together with this guitar. After i'd had the guitar a couple of years, it developed still unresolved issues making it unplayable, but in spite of that and unless i find someone who can fix it, i would buy it again in a heartbeat, just to have those two years or however long it was that i had playing that guitar. It made me a better player, i was able to do things on it i hadn't been able to do before, because of the responsiveness, and the action was low with a light touch and my hand seemed to fly over the fretboard, like being set free from barriers i had always come up against before. It permanently improved my playing, to have that guitar playable for a while. Later, i bought an 1932 L-00 from Steve which is a keeper, and while not the holy grail that the L-1 was, i love the guitar it's one of my two or three favorite acoustics. It was a very fair price and also involved the trade of a couple of other guitars i wanted to part company with. As others have said, working with Steve is a real pleasure, he's a really enjoyable person to spend time with, not just about guitars but a really neat genuine sensitive guy and a caring person. I experienced him as honest, fair and trustworthy. I can see Steve loves musical instruments and loves people and loves what he does, and that money is not the main priority, although of course he needs to make a living, and i think he does that successfully because of the way he does business and the way he is. And how many people actually ever find the holy grail, even if only temporarily? Lord knows i had gone through a lot of pretty nice guitars without finding it, and then i met Steve and it happened. Steve brought the three guitars to my house from his large selection because he got to know me and what i was looking for, and all three were wonderful. Because of the repair issues the Gibson had, he encouraged me to think about the others. But when you find the holy grail, you are not going to just walk away from it. Update: I found a repair guy who got the holy grail playing again, just like it was before, and i was so happy, words can't describe. i wanted to play the guitar constantly after it was restored. I played it pretty hard sometimes, and the problem it had internally, a cracked X brace, broke again after being regaled. My repair guy, Norik Renson in Studio City who i have reviewed on Yelp, glued the brace again and put a graphite support next to it, to try to give it more support. So now it's playable again. As Norik said, the action is more low than before (and it was already quite low) and there is some buzz when capo-ed. He said to try it out and if i wanted he could raise the action by raising the bridge, so i'm doing that now, but the main thing this guitar does for me is the playability, which is so far into a class by itself compared to any other guitar i've ever played, i am less worried by the buzzes. I am just glad to have a guy who will work with the guitar and keep it playable. Norik said it i might want to think about replacing the (modified by a previous owner) overly thinned braces at some point because of the fragility they cause. So it may come to that. Again, Steve Swan is someone i have gotten two well loved guitars from, one which is a magical being of unique character and miraculous qualities, and i would not hesitate to buy or trade another guitar from him if i found one that i want and if i have the bread, which i might not since i'm retired now. When i want to look at guitars, i look to Steve first. read more

Steve is a first rate seller of vintage/used guitars and basses ... one of the must sees if you're in the bay area. I have purchased several guitars from Steve, and find him to be honest, fair and his prices are most reasonable. Just call him and make an appointment, and he will sit with you and talk about your guitar needs and let you sample as long as you need. After awhile, he keeps his eye out for things you might be interested in. Most of all, Steve is trustworthy, which is never a given in this business. read more

Regarding selling instruments; I contacted the owner of this shop and had corresponded via email a few times after briefly speaking with him on the phone due to his being out of town frequently. Over the course of approximately a month, I was unable to set up an appointment due to his being away often so I attempted to get information from him regarding his consignment process and selling guitars at his store including contract information. Although he seemed polite in his emails, the first attempt at gathering info was a quick response from him with the basics about selling instruments at his store on consignment. I tried again to initiate more detailed information via another email with specific questions so as to avoid potentially wasting my time (or his) prior to setting up an appointment to meet. One of the important questions included whether or not his consignment contract includes insurance coverage in the event an instrument is damaged, stolen or destroyed while in his possession. After Mr. Swan had received my follow-up email asking for more details, he responded in a way so as to dissuade and avoid further correspondence about his consignment process. He did this by trying to downgrade the value and interest of my instruments even though on his website he has listed several guitars like mine and their condition isn't as good. Although I appreciated that he took the time to respond, I was disappointed in his lack of transparency regarding business practices, in particular his consignment process and that he didn't at least look at the instruments I have. read more

Steve's shop is a wonderland of basses. I'm getting back into orchestral play after a 20-year hiatus, so I wasn't looking forward to the idea of testing out basses in front of a bunch of people, but I had set my mind to do what I had to do. I took the advice of others online and set an appointment with Steve and told him in advance what I was looking for. He responded quickly with questions about my previous instruments and sting lengths, etc. and selected a few that he felt I should try. Direction is helpful when there are so many options! When I arrived, I found that he was there for me! It was basically a private shopping experience. I don't know if that is always the case, but it was very comforting for me. I tried about 10 basses on my own timeline, with Steve giving information about each and pointing out differences to consider for each. He did it in a way that conveyed his knowledge without getting so "slangy" that he made me feel stupid. I was never rushed...and the process took a little over 2 hours. I had narrowed it down rather quickly to 3, a brand-new Sun 120, a 2009 New Standard Hybrid Cleveland, and a 1961 Saumer "Migma". After having him play so I could listen to each to the tones, it was clear that it was between the Cleveland and the Migma. I played them both some more and then commented about the Cleveland's strings being a little too bright on the D and G for my taste. Without skipping a beat, he swapped stings and she sang beautifully. I knew I had found my bass. Steve took care of the wolftone and even meticulously selected a case to accommodate the taller bridge. He even made sure I knew where my local Sacramento bass resources were in case I need anything in the future. I really feel he set me up for success, getting me the best I can get in my price range and never once trying to upsell me. Buying basses is not something I plan to do often, but if I ever need another instrument Steve is going to get my call. read more

Steve is amazing! I needed a new bass for my 16 year old daughter. She is a wonderful young bass player who needed to make the jump from a student instrument to a professional-grade instrument. Because we live in Boise Idaho we didn't have any local options. Steve was recommended to us by our bass teacher. We came down to Burlingame, Steve was incredibly accommodating. He opened up his shop, took us step by step through his inventory (unbelievably comprehensive) and found a bass that will take her through college. He was very knowledgeable, did not pressure us and worked it out so that we could meet the following week in Portland to drop off the bass. The bass is just wonderful. It is a 2004 all-solid wood Paesold that sounds phenomenal. My daughter has made a huge jump in playing ability this year because of this instrument. If you are looking for a great instrument, Steve Swan Basses is the place to go! read more

I'm a non-expert (more specifically I'm pretty clueless about upright bass), but Steve is incredibly nice, friendly, and excited about what he does. Incredible selection of double basses. Wonderful old-school music shop experience. read more

Steve is a local treasure. His name came up everywhere I turned when I needed a standup bass. He went out of his way to be helpful to me as a beginner. At first, I rented, and when the right bass came along, I purchased one from him. I chose Steve after speaking with and visiting many other music stores. Save yourself some time and start here. It's worth the drive. He also provided helpful referrals when I needed a luthier and a teacher. read more

I was looking to buy a bass and Steve Swan came highly recommended. I made an appointment to visit his shop and I was impressed by the sheer number of basses he had. I was looking for something very specific and I had a budget in mind going into his shop. Not only did he have multiple basses that fit my criteria but he allowed me to really play and test everything I might be interested in. By the end of my appointment I had narrowed my choices down to two basses. Buying a bass is a pretty big purchase and Steve is not a high pressure salesperson so I felt good about thanking him for his time and giving it more thought before I made any decisions. Out of the two basses, the one I really wanted had a slight rattle and had strings on it which were not to my I liking. I called Steve to discuss this and within 24 hours he was able to take it to a good repair shop and sort out the rattle. He also put different strings on it so I could get a better feel for it when I tried it again. With the new strings and the rattle fixed I could tell that this bass was the right choice for me. The asking price was very fair and I felt good about purchasing the bass on the spot. Much like a good tailor will fit a person in a suit, Steve really took his time with my purchase and helped me find the right bass to fit my specific playing style and needs as a performer. I've been playing my bass for several weeks now and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I would highly recommend Steve and his shop to anyone in need of a new bass. read more