“Inside the Mystery: Why Leland Sklar Installed a Useless Switch on His Bass”

Have you ever wondered what happens when a legendary session bassist faces the existential dread of a producer’s whims? Enter Leland Sklar, the man who took creative stress and flipped it on its head with a switch that does… absolutely nothing. Yep, you heard that right! This self-proclaimed “producer switch” has become his secret weapon, allowing him to give the impression of flexibility while playing the same notes—how genius is that? Imagine getting through your day by flipping an invisible “I’ve got this!” switch. Intrigued? Stick around, because Sklar’s quirky solution to keeping peace in the studio may just redefine how we think about creativity under pressure! LEARN MORE.

Legendary session bassist Leland Sklar put a switch on his bass that does nothing. He refers to it as the “producer switch.” Whenever a producer asks for a different sound, he flips the switch (ensuring the producer can see him do it) and continues playing. He says this placebo has saved him a lot of grief. [source]