Musical Instrument Store Near Me for Cellos and Basses: Miami String Haus

Miami String Haus sells, rents and repairs violins, violas, cellos and double basses out of a 1930 cottage at 377 NE 85th Street, El Portal, FL 33138, and the doors are open 11 am to 8 pm Thursday through Monday. Bassist Charles Winters founded it in 2009. Anyone searching musical instrument store near me with a cracked cello seam, a child outgrowing a quarter-size violin or a touring gig that needs an upright bass will find all three handled under one gabled roof.

The house sits in the Sherwood Forest section of El Portal, a tiny village just north of the Miami city line, on a bend of the Little River. A Miami Herald feature from October 2026 describes the scene well: rows of cellos, violas, violins and bulky double basses, some rare and antique, standing in what used to be the living room. Charles and Katrina Winters bought and restored the cottage about a decade ago, and the family lives upstairs.

Winters is a Miami native, music teacher and double bassist who plays a dozen other instruments, and he is also a first-term El Portal councilman. He started the business on a shoestring, and it has since grown into one of the largest full-service string shops in Florida. Across the narrow street sits a preserved Tequesta burial mound, roughly 1,400 years old, which the village owns and which Winters has worked to protect.

The online catalog shows the range you can expect to try in person. A student-friendly Archangel Cupid Series cello was listed at $1,595 in October 2026, and the Revelle 600 violin at $1,175. Bassists get the deepest selection: an Eastman 85 double bass sells for $2,599, a 1959 Ernst Heinrich Roth three-quarter bass for $8,500 and an E. Wilfer Nr 11 bass for $18,000.

Bows are a strong suit. German Doerfler bass bows climb to $3,475 for the NR 22, with carbon fiber and Brazilwood options for students. String sets cover orchestral and jazz players, from Pirastro Evah Pirazzi bass strings at $275 to Thomastik Spirocore strings at $236. Families starting a young violinist can choose a one-year violin rental at $210, which covers a full school year without committing to a purchase while the child is still changing sizes.

The workshop sits beside the showroom, and its anchor is master luthier Dale Cockrum, who has worked at the craft for nearly 45 years and can build a cello from scratch. Most days go to repairs and restorations instead: open seams, warped bridges, soundpost moves and rehairs. When the Herald visited, the bench held a customer's violin dating to the 1880s or 1890s, and the shop also handles research and written appraisals.

Humidity is the local specialty. Winters explains that instruments living in South Florida, or on cruise ships, need a different setup from ones in drier northern climates, because the wood swells even indoors with air conditioning. That knowledge is the main reason to bring a newly bought instrument here for adjustment. The team also runs a mobile workshop in a trailer that tours festivals and conventions across Florida, which Winters likens to a food truck for fixing violins.

The customer mix is wider than the cottage suggests. On the day the Herald visited, a Miami violist studying at the Peabody Institute came in with a broken bow, and Taiwanese jazz bassist Vincent Hsu rented a $39,000 bass for weekend sets at the WDNA Jazz Gallery and The Burrow in Coral Gables. Touring jazz players often rent here because upright basses are miserable to fly with.

Daniel Andai, principal violinist of the Miami Symphony and dean of the New World School of the Arts, told the paper that teachers send their students to Winters because he keeps the inventory to match their needs. The shop also supplies players at the Arsht Center, public and private school programs and New World students. A rental beginner and a professional with an antique get the same setup work.

This is a small house, so book through the appointment page before driving in to try several instruments. A fitting takes time, so ask to compare two or three cellos or basses side by side, and bring your own bow if you have one, since a familiar bow makes the comparison fairer. Tell them your budget at the start, because the floor runs from rental instruments to basses worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Do not lean basses against the furniture or lift a fine violin without asking first. Parents fitting a child should bring the student along, because string instruments are sized to the player's arm. For a quick bow repair or new strings, a weekday afternoon is calmer than a Saturday. Payment plans through Affirm and Afterpay are offered at checkout, and the trade-in program credits an old instrument toward an upgrade.

Step outside and look across the street at the Tequesta mound, a grassy rise that is easy to miss if nobody points it out. El Portal itself is a quiet grid of older houses under heavy tree cover, so a slow ten-minute circuit of the surrounding blocks shows why Winters calls the setting part of the appeal. The Little River winds just behind this pocket of the village.

For food or coffee after a fitting, head east toward Biscayne Boulevard, about half a mile away, where the Little River stretch of the boulevard has a run of cafes and small shops. Miami Shores Country Club is a little over a mile north if you want a longer walk, or a green detour on the drive home.

Address: 377 NE 85th Street, El Portal, FL 33138. Hours: 11 am to 8 pm Thursday through Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Email music@miamistring.com for rentals, consignments or appraisal questions. This is a residential block, so keep neighbors' driveways clear when you pull up with a bass case.

Bring the instrument's case when dropping off a repair so it travels home protected, and photograph any existing cracks before handing it over. If a Tuesday or Wednesday is your only free day, use the contact form to set something up in advance instead of driving over unannounced. Ask the Karpo APP for a nearby lunch spot on Biscayne Boulevard to pair with your fitting.