James Jamerson's bass strings: the Motown Funk Brothers session rig, sourced
Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings James Jamerson used with the Motown Funk Brothers. La Bella Deep Talkin' flatwound family, the lineage to the modern 760FL stainless flat (.043–.104). With citations.
The Funk Brothers (Motown house band) · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
James Jamerson played La Bella flatwound bass strings on his 1962 Fender Precision Bass across the Motown Funk Brothers session catalog from 1959 to 1973. Jamerson rarely changed strings, the worked-in tone of long-set La Bella flats was his recorded sound. The modern lineage product is the La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin' Flats (.043 to .104), a stainless-steel polished flatwound that descends directly from the strings on Motown sessions. Bass Player Magazine cites La Bella as the lineage flatwound for Jamerson and the broader Funk Brothers session pool.
Strings James Jamerson played
Historical use · documented by the Change Your Strings editorial team · Affiliate links
760FL Deep Talkin' Stainless Flatwound (.043–.104, light)
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At a glance
Active
Affiliations
- The Funk Brothers (Motown Records house band, 1959–1972)
- La Bella Strings (lineage)
- Fender (1962 Precision Bass, 'The Funk Machine')
Notable credits
- Marvin Gaye, What's Going On (1971)
- Stevie Wonder, Where I'm Coming From (1971)
- The Four Tops, Reach Out (1967)
- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Tracks of My Tears (1965)
- The Supremes, You Can't Hurry Love (1966)
- Stevie Wonder, For Once in My Life (1968)
Who James Jamerson was
James Lee Jamerson (1936 to 1983) was the principal bassist for the Motown Records house band, the Funk Brothers, from 1959 through 1972. His bass appears on more recorded popular music than any other instrumentalist's: the Motown catalog of the 1960s and early 1970s is largely Jamerson's bass voice, including Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Stevie Wonder's Where I'm Coming From, The Four Tops' Reach Out, and dozens of #1 records by The Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas, and Junior Walker. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman in 2000.
What he played
A 1962 Fender Precision Bass, nicknamed "The Funk Machine," strung with La Bella flatwound bass strings. Jamerson rarely changed strings, the worked-in tone of long-set La Bella flats was his recorded sound. Bass Player Magazine documents La Bella flatwounds as the go-to string for the Funk Brothers session pool, and the modern La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin' Flats (.043 to .104) is the contemporary lineage product, the stainless-steel polished flatwound that descends directly from the strings on Motown sessions.
Why this fits the lane
The Motown bass voice sits below vocal-forward production without fighting for spectral content. Jamerson's hand-of-god fingerstyle technique uses a single-finger plucking pattern (his right index finger only, the legendary "Hook" technique) with the bass played thumb-on-pickup, a setup that emphasizes the dark mid-range Motown is famous for. La Bella flatwound on the Precision Bass split-coil pickup, through a closed-back tube amp, is the canonical Motown bass tone. Roundwound strings would push too much top-end harmonic content into the mix; flatwound at light gauge gives the dark, compressed, fundamental-forward voice the records need.
The 760FL is the lineage product because La Bella has manufactured this string family continuously since the era. The current 760FL is the .043 to .104 light flat in the Deep Talkin' family, descended from the same wind technique and same hand-polished stainless wrap Jamerson played on Motown sessions.
If you want this rig
760FL Deep Talkin' Stainless Flatwound (.043–.104)
Why this one: The lineage product to Jamerson's session strings. Hand-polished stainless flatwound, light gauge, the contemporary descendant of the strings on Motown's 1960s and early-1970s catalog.