Marcus Miller's bass strings: the jazz-fusion + Miles Davis session canon, sourced

Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings Marcus Miller uses across his solo + Miles Davis + Luther Vandross + David Sanborn + session catalog. DR Strings signature relationship, Fender Jazz Bass primary instrument, defining slap-bass + jazz-fusion tradition. With citations.

Solo / Session · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team · 2026-07-17

William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959, Brooklyn, New York) is a jazz-fusion + R&B + soul + smooth-jazz bassist, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Defining slap-bass voice in modern jazz-fusion + R&B contexts. Documented Dunlop signature artist (Marcus Miller Super Bright Bass Strings). Played + produced + composed Miles Davis's Tutu (1986) + Amandla (1989). Long collaboration with Luther Vandross + David Sanborn produced multiple Grammy-winning records. Solo career since 1983 (M² won Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, 2001). Plays a Fender Jazz Bass + signature Sire Guitars Marcus Miller models. The defining modern slap-bass figure + one of the most-recorded jazz-fusion + R&B bassists of his generation.

Jazz fusion Jazz R&B Soul Smooth jazzE Standard (4-string)

At a glance

Role

Bassist

Active

1977–present

Based

New York City + New Jersey

Genres

Affiliations

Notable credits

Miles Davis, Tutu (1986, Miller produced + composed most of the record + played most of the instruments)
Miles Davis, Amandla (1989, similar role)
Marcus Miller, The Sun Don't Lie (1993, solo)
Marcus Miller, M² (2001, solo, won the Grammy)
Marcus Miller, Renaissance (2012, solo)
Luther Vandross, Never Too Much (1981) + many subsequent Vandross records
David Sanborn, Voyeur (1981) + many subsequent Sanborn records

Sourcing5 citations · reviewed 2026-07-17· by Change Your Strings editorial team

Who Marcus Miller is

William Henry Marcus Miller Jr., born June 14, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York, is a jazz-fusion + R&B + soul + smooth-jazz bassist, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His career spans four decades + multiple distinct contexts: producing + composing for Miles Davis (Tutu, 1986; Amandla, 1989), partnering extensively with Luther Vandross + David Sanborn, anchoring Saturday Night Live's house band (1980-1981), and building a solo + leadership catalog (1983-present, including M², 2001, which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album).

Documented Dunlop signature artist (Marcus Miller Super Bright Bass Strings, DBMMS45105). Fender Jazz Bass primary instrument; signature Sire Guitars Marcus Miller models in current production.

Two Grammy Awards. The defining modern slap-bass figure + one of the most-recorded jazz-fusion + R&B bassists of his generation.

Style signatures

Three things across Miller's catalog you can identify as his:

Defining modern slap-bass vocabulary. The modified Jazz Bass + active electronics produce the canonical Marcus Miller slap voice; the technique has been imitated by countless modern bassists.
Counter-melodic + chord-playing bass lines. Miller's bass parts often function as compositional voices, with extensive double-stops + chord work that's rare for primary bassists.
Multi-instrumental versatility. Bass + bass clarinet + soprano sax + keyboards + drum programming across solo + production work; the breadth is unusual for a primary-bassist career.

Documented strings. Dunlop Marcus Miller Super Bright Bass Strings (.045–.105), his current signature set. An earlier DR Strings Fat-Beam signature line carried his name around 2001; DR's own site no longer credits him.

Cited as an influence. Thundercat has named Miller, alongside Stanley Clarke, as a formative influence he listened to when he started on bass.

Bassist hub. All bassists on CYS. Tier A jazz-fusion + virtuoso bass canon parallel: Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report, fretless canon), profiles for Stanley Clarke + Victor Wooten pending.

Related locations. New York City (Miller's birthplace + early-career base).

Frequently asked questions

What strings does Marcus Miller play?

Documented Dunlop signature artist with the Marcus Miller Super Bright Bass Strings (DBMMS45105, .045-.105 stainless steel roundwound). Dunlop's own artist page calls it "our first collaboration" with Miller, and its lifestyle site carries a full interview with him about the switch. An earlier DR Strings Fat-Beam signature set carried his name around 2001, but DR's own current product page no longer credits him; the Dunlop relationship is the current, actively-documented one.

What basses does Miller play?

Fender Jazz Bass primarily; his canonical instrument is a 1977 Fender Jazz Bass that he had modified with a Bartolini preamp + various other electronics. The bass is one of the most-photographed jazz-fusion instruments + has been featured in countless Bass Player magazine features. Modern: signature Sire Guitars Marcus Miller models extend the Jazz-Bass-style design across multiple price points + configurations. The Sire Marcus Miller line is one of the most-popular signature-artist bass series in current production.

What was Miller's role on Miles Davis's Tutu?

Producer + composer + bassist + multi-instrumentalist. Miller composed most of Tutu (1986), played most of the instruments (bass, keyboards, drum programming, soprano sax + other woodwinds), and produced the record. Davis added trumpet + final touches but the album is unusually composer-driven for a Miles Davis record. Tutu won Davis the Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance + is widely cited as one of his late-period high points. Miller continued in the same role on Amandla (1989).

What's Miller's playing style?

Defining modern slap-bass vocabulary inside jazz-fusion + R&B contexts. Three identifiable signatures: (1) Slap-bass technique + thumb-on-the-fretboard percussive attack that defined modern slap-bass tone (the modified Jazz Bass with active electronics produces the canonical Marcus Miller slap voice). (2) Counter-melodic bass lines with extensive chord-playing + double-stops; Miller's bass parts often function as compositional voices. (3) Multi-instrumental versatility; Miller plays bass + bass clarinet + soprano sax + keyboards + drum programming across his solo + production work, which is unusually broad for a primary-bassist career.

What's Miller's solo career?

Active since 1983; ten+ studio records under his own name including The Sun Don't Lie (1993), M² (2001, Grammy winner), Silver Rain (2005), Free (2007), Renaissance (2012), Afrodeezia (2015), and Laid Black (2018). The solo records combine jazz-fusion + R&B + soul + Latin + African music; Miller's eclecticism is part of why he's so consistently recorded across multiple genres.

What's the Luther Vandross connection?

Marcus Miller was Luther Vandross's primary bassist + producer + co-songwriter from Vandross's 1981 debut Never Too Much through most of Vandross's catalog until Vandross's 2005 death. Miller composed many of Vandross's hits + produced extensive portions of his records; the partnership is one of the most-documented bassist-vocalist + producer-artist relationships in modern R&B. Miller's Saturday Night Live band membership in 1980-1981 was the period when he + Vandross were establishing the partnership.