8 Famous Session Musicians and Their Gear

When you listen to your favorite band, it’s hard to imagine anyone else but them playing their songs. But you may be surprised that many of the most popular songs in music history — especially from the ’50s through the early 2000s — had professional session musicians play some of, if not all, the instruments in their songs.

Often, session musicians provided backing tracks for some of the industry’s most prominent artists and bands. These musicians became staples in recording studios across the country with some becoming immortalized for their contributions. A handful of recording studios even had studio bands like the Swampers, the Wrecking Crew, and the Funk Brothers, who all had a hand in shaping pop, rock, and R&B music as we know it today.

But who are these behind-the-scenes musicians, and what were their contributions to some of music history’s best songs? To celebrate these unsung studio musicians, we’re featuring a handful of the most famous session musicians and the gear they used.

Carol KayeSteve LukatherHal BlaineTim PierceBrent MasonLeland SklarSteve GaddJames Jamerson

Carol Kaye

Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees

To start this list, we focus on none other than one of the most prolific and famous session musicians ever, Carol Kaye. Originally a guitarist, Carol became one of the most sought-after bassists after a now-notorious recording session at Capitol Records where the bass player didn’t show up. Carol was asked to fill in for the bass player. After that session, Carol found that she preferred the bass over the guitar and quickly became the go-to bass player for record companies, TV, and movies. She appeared on sessions with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Supremes, and many more. She is credited with being a part of over 10,000 recording sessions.

Her success led to her being a part of the world-famous Wrecking Crew, where she was known for playing a Fender Precision bass with Fender flatwound bass strings into a Fender Super Reverb open-back 4×10 amp. Her unique tone came from plucking the strings with a pick, which she adopted from her guitar-playing days. Because of her work with the Wrecking Crew, Brian Wilson recruited Carol for the Beach Boys’ groundbreaking album Pet Sounds, where she laid down some of the most beloved bass lines in music.

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Steve Lukather

Michael Jackson; Aretha Franklin; Earth, Wind & Fire

Although well known for his guitar virtuosity with the band Toto, Steve Lukather is also one of the most accomplished session musicians in history, having played on over 1,500 records. His work with industry heavyweights including Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Richard Marx, and many more solidified him as a top session musician; Gibson Guitar Corporation has named him one of the top 10 session guitarists of all time. Steve was heavily involved with Michael Jackson’s Thriller album (which sold 34-times platinum) alongside Eddie Van Halen — creating one of music’s most iconic guitar parts in the song “Beat It.”

Steve has never been synonymous with any gear but played a Gibson Les Paul while touring with Toto in the ’70s. Steve has a signature guitar with Music Man, the Sterling by Music Man Steve Lukather LK100 electric guitar, which gives modern players a chance to sound like the legend himself.

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Hal Blaine

Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond

Cited as one of the most in-demand drummers in rock ‘n’ roll history, Hal Blaine’s drumming style and tight grooves led him to play on over 35,000 recordings, including 40 singles that reached no. 1. Hal, with the other members of the Wrecking Crew, was featured on quintessential songs and records from the ’60s and ’70s. These included iconic songs such as the Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” and the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Although Hal is famous for his contributions to rock, jazz, and big band, he also deserves credit for popularizing the jazz-inspired sound of opening and closing the hi-hat in a rhythmic fashion, coined the “disco beat” in pop music.

It’s shocking to know how prolific Hal was when you realize that, in the studio, he sat behind what some called the “monster kit,” which was a 12-piece drum kit with a combination of Ludwigs and custom Blaemire spun-fiberglass drums. For cymbals, Hal exclusively used Zildjians, including a 14-inch Mastersound hi-hat, an 18-inch medium-thin crash, and a 20-inch medium ride.

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Tim Pierce

Goo Goo Dolls, Crowded House, Phil Collins

Session musicians are known for being low-key and out of the spotlight, but that’s not the case for Tim Pierce, who has become one of the most recognizable session musicians, thanks to his memorable guitar parts and his successful YouTube channel. Industry legends including Elton John, Bon Jovi, and Bruce Springsteen have had Tim play guitar on their records.

In 1997, Tim got the call to play mandolin on a little-known song called “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Not wanting to miss out on the possibility of contributing more to the song, Tim brought an arsenal of guitars and other instruments to the session. This worked in Tim’s favor, and he is credited as playing the instantly recognizable opening mandolin riff on “Iris” and that soaring guitar solo right before the outro. The success of this record led to Tim being one of the most in-demand session guitarists of the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Like other session musicians on this list, Tim isn’t known for any specific gear. In fact, if you watch his YouTube channel, then you’ll see that he plays an array of guitars, amps, and pedals. Some of the notable gear he uses on his channel includes a custom-built PRS McCarty 594 electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Standard Goldtop, and an assortment of pedals like the Strymon Lex rotary speaker simulator pedal, and the BOSS GE-7 7-band EQ pedal.

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Brent Mason

George Strait, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain

For the next session musician on this list, we head down to Nashville, where you’ll no doubt find guitarist Brent Mason featured on at least one of your favorite country records. Brent is one of the most accomplished session musicians in Nashville with accolades including being featured on over 1,000 records, being a 14-time winner of the Academy of Country Music’s Guitarist of the Year, and being a two-time winner of the Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year Award. The long list of artists he’s worked with includes Zac Brown Band, Blake Shelton, and Alan Jackson.

In 2020, Brent Mason and Fender teamed up to create the Fender Brent Mason Telecaster electric guitar, dubbed the ultimate Nashville-style guitar. When Brent is searching for something a little more mellow, he reaches for a Gretsch G6120DE Duane Eddy signature hollowbody. No country-twang sound is complete without a good compressor, and Brent’s go-to compressor is the Wampler Ego Compressor pedal.

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Leland Sklar

James Taylor, Reba McEntire, Jackson Browne

As the bass player for Asylum Records’ house band, the Section, Leland Sklar helped define the soft-rock sound prevalent throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Leland started playing bass on James Taylor’s second album, Sweet Baby James, which reached no. 3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart in 1970. Due to the success of that record, Leland soon became a sought-after bass player and featured on Phil Collins’s albums No Jacket Required and... But Seriously. Leland is also one of the few musicians on this list that toured heavily with other artists and bands, including James Taylor, Phil Collins, Toto, Tracy Chapman, and many more.

Throughout his career, Leland has used a ’62 Fender Jazz Bass that can be heard on records like Sweet Baby James, Spectrum by Billy Cobham, and Doctor My Eyes by Jackson Browne, to name a few. He also plays a heavily modified P Bass that he admits “has been on 85% of everything I’ve done.”

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Steve Gadd

Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Kate Bush

One cannot mention session drummers without mentioning Steve Gadd, whose notorious drum solo at the end of Steely Dan’s song “Aja” is one of the most popular drum solos in music history. Steve has played on some notable records, including the signature drum part on Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” the Bee Gees’ album Living Eyes, and Chet Baker’s album She Was Too Good to Me. As a successful session musician, Steve was the longtime touring drummer for Eric Clapton, touring with him on and off for 10 years, including 11 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in 2009.

Steve has been a longtime user of Zildjian, Remo, Yamaha, and Vic Firth and has an assortment of signature gear. Some of those include the Vic Firth SSGN Signature Series drumsticks, the Latin Percussion LP229SG Steve Gadd signature cowbell, and the Yamaha Steve Gadd signature snare drum.

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James Jamerson

The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder

Playing bass for the Funk Brothers, the renowned Motown Records house band, James Jamerson was the mastermind behind several iconic bass lines for singers like Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and many more. James is undoubtedly one of the most significant and recognized bassists of all time with the likes of Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Mike Watt, and Sting crediting him as an inspiration.

Like many other musicians in the Funk Brothers, James began his career as a jazz musician and brought those sensibilities to pop music, creating intricate countermelodies and rhythms that contributed to the instantly recognizable Motown sound.

James played his ear-catching licks on a 1961 Fender Precision Bass that he affectionately termed the “Funk Machine” and used heavy-gauge La Bella flatwounds to string the Funk Machine. James is said to have never replaced the strings or cared for or cleaned his instrument because the “gunk produces the funk.” To complete his rig, James used an Ampeg B-15 bass amp with all the knobs at 10 except the treble, which he set halfway. If you’re looking to re-create James’s licks, then the Ampeg PF-350 can get you all the thumpy, smooth bass sounds you need.

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Who Did We Miss?

We know we only included some session musicians, and we want to know what other famous session musicians are your favorites and why they should be on this list! If you want to learn more about the gear listed or are looking for something similar, then give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700, and they’ll be happy to help!
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