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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leland Bruce Sklar |
| Born | May 28, 1947 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Origin | Southern California, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) | Session musician |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1962–Present |
| Associated acts
Notable instruments: |
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Leland Bruce “Lee” Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American musician. A prominent electric bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to over 2,000 albums as a session musician. He has collaborated with a number of well-known performers and recorded soundtracks to films and television shows.
Highlights from the bearded bass master’s incredible L.A. session reign from the late-’60s to still-going-strong: His melody-first, singer/songwriter-template bass lines with James Taylor. His remarkable first-take creativity and extreme versatility, heard on major road and record runs with Phil Collins, Toto, Lyle Lovett, Billy Cobham [Spectrum], and Carole King’s recent reunion with Taylor.
Sklar’s favorite instrument is a bass put together from various parts and consists of a Precision-bass body, a Jazz-bass neck with mandolin frets and two sets of Precision-bass pickups. It has been used on 90% of his recordings and he refers to it as the “Frankenstein bass”.
In 2004, Sklar began playing a signature model 5 string bass made by Dingwall Guitars of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This was his main bass on tour and he used them in various recordings. The bass uses fanned-frets which result in longer low strings and shorter high strings.
In 2010, Sklar began playing the Warwick Star Bass II which has since become his main bass in the studio.
In 2013, after years of having been a Warwick Star Bass II user, he became an endorser of that instrument.
At Winter NAMM 2016 Warwick announced their Lee Sklar signature bass based on the Star Bass but with an offset body shape and a forearm contour
Bass Stuff 