“My favorite bass needs to be retired, but it plays so good and has this unmistakable sound. So I gave it to Spector and said, ‘Let’s get close to that’”: How Rex Brown’s new signature bass channels his punchiest Pantera era

Spector basses were not part of Rex Brown’s arsenal during the recording of Pantera’s groove metal classics Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power – but that changed.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell’s massive sounds left Brown searching for tonal space. With a Spector in hand he found a home in the mid-range, leading to the genre-defining sound heard on Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill and Reinventing the Steel.

“I fell in love with them,” says Brown, who’s stuck with the brand aside from brief flirtations with Gibson. “Spector, for me, is the standard. They’re tried and true. You really can’t fuck with that sound. Other than an old P-Bass, which is how my new signature model got its origins, they have a sound all of their own.”

He says of the Euro 4 Rex Brown: “I was in the studio, and we put on a couple of tracks from Far Beyond Driven, and it sounded just like those days. It’s a labor of love – it was really about, once you dig in, just making sure this thing is right.”

What drew you to Spector basses in the early ‘90s?

As Pantera’s sound evolved, I was looking for something a little bit more mid-focused. We’d gone on tour with Skid Row and I’d become good friends with Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo and Rachel Bolan. Rachel went, “You can borrow a couple of basses.” He sent down three basses when we were tracking Far Beyond in Nashville, and we found exactly what we were missing.

Can you describe what that is?

Vinnie had a really huge kick drum and Dime’s guitar sound was so goddamn huge, but there was plenty of room in the mids where we could stick a bass in. We found these Spectors could cut through a lot better than what we were doing in the past.

Why did you move away from Spector for a bit to work with Gibson in recent years?

When Gibson comes by and says, “Hey, would you like your own Thunderbird?” of course you’re gonna take it! I’m just a Thunderbird freak.

While working on your latest Spector signature model, what influenced your design and sound choices?

We started this about a year and a half ago. It was about coming up with the tonewoods, the pickups and the preamps we wanted. I’m a collector of all kinds and I’ve got a ’63 Fender P-Bass, and I love the way it plays.

What tonewood did you go with?

They sent me a couple of versions in this darker color, and we were trying to get it without putting too much weight relief, and trying to find another wood that was gonna work underneath it.

And I’ll be damned if we didn’t find some empress wood for the back. It’s a maple top with empress wood and a straight piece of maple all the way through the middle.

What went into finding the right electronics?

I have a bass that’s had three or four different paint jobs – the black and gold one that I play all the time – it’s my favorite. It needs to be retired, but it plays so good and has this unmistakable sound. So I gave it to Spector and said, “Let’s get close to that sound.” There’s something about that bass that just crunches through any fucking mix.

So we’re using the old tone pump because they still have a bunch. They have gains on the actual pumps themselves, so you can change the level if you need it to be hotter or cooler.

We put on a color-coordinated backplate with a hole in it where you can stick a tiny screwdriver if you wanna crank up the preamp a bit, or take it down, depending on your playing style.

I still play the bass extremely hard after all these years. My pick attack and the way I hit those strings is still extremely hard; but at the same time, it’s controlled. We wanted to give something to players so they can turn the gain up or down. It gives you the option – and it also looks cool as fuck!

Pantera - I'm Broken (Official Music Video) [4K Remaster] - YouTube

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For someone who hasn’t listened to much Pantera, can you name a classic track that demonstrates your classic mid-range sound?

I would say I’m Broken. What we found was that by putting the empress wood on the back – because it’s not so heavy, like with full maple – we got a lot more mid-character. It also takes down the weight a little without losing sound.

What’s the methodology behind the fit and finish?

I didn’t want this thing to have a bunch of gloss on it! A lot of the Spectors, in my opinion, are oversprayed. That lends toward getting too much high-end; so I said, “Let’s just put a semi-gloss on it and let it fly.”

When the sun sets out here in the West there’s a certain glow, so I decided to call this color “Desert Glow.” It kind of takes on that character. The sunsets out here are just amazing. I wanted to have something I could live with, instead of just going with black, blue or whatever.

They’re making pink and daisy blue basses these days. I’m just not into it. It’s just not for what I’m doing. You ain’t gonna find me with a blue or a pink fucking bass – sorry!

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Would you say this is your ultimate bass?

You never say never, man. It’s where I’m at now, and boy, does it sound fucking great. Spectors are always making unbelievable shit. This is just what we’ve been working on for the last year and a half.

It’s true to Spector and true to form. Spector basses are a huge part of my history and sound. I’m really proud of it. In certain ways, if you play it with your fingers, it has the character of an old P-Bass. It’s very important to get the first one right – and that’s what we did with this one.

• The Spector Euro 4 Rex Brown Signature bass is available now for $3,599.99. For more information, head to Spector