The Rex Brown Pantera Gear Collection

When talking about Pantera, you'll often see the words Groove Metal mentioned at some point. This refers to the particular mid-tempo, driving sub-genre perfected by the band with albums such as Cowboys from Hell and Vulgar Display of Power. Lots has been written about the squelching guitar work of Dimebag Darrell and how it defined the band's tone, but if you're really looking for the underlying pulse that gave Groove Metal its Groove, you should consider the work of Pantera bassist, Rex Brown.

As it happens, Rex is currently selling some of his road-tested gear right here on Reverb with a portion of the proceeds going to his charitable foundation. We recently caught up to chat about what you can find on his official shop and his gear choices in general.

Turns out Rex is already an avid Reverber and has used the site to acquire some choice pieces. "I'm a huge Reverb fan," he explained. "In fact, I bought a '67 [ES]-335 12-string off your site. I check it all the time. For me and the millions of other nuts out there, this is by far the coolest thing to come around."

You might think that a 12-string hollowbody is an odd choice for a metal bass icon, but Rex has always embraced a wide array of gear through his recording and studio career. He was eager to tell me about the Ron Wood signature Gibson he recently picked up, and clearly struck me as the kind of player who's constantly exploring new sounds and trying out new tools.

It makes sense then that parting with a few choice items from his Pantera and Down days was an easy call to make. For Rex, it's all about putting things into the fans' hands. Here's a look at just some of the gear Rex has for sale on Reverb.

Rex's Gear on Reverb

Ampeg Touring Cabinets

When you go on as many high-profile tours as Rex has over the years with Pantera as well as Down and, more recently, Kill Devil Hill, you're going to rack up your share of cabs and touring rigs. This particular group of Ampegs were used when touring as part of Down.

"I used these cabinets that Ampeg only made in a limited run. They've never made a cabinet that sounded like these before. These are the cabinets and heads that I used during that tour and of course, I kept a little back for myself. I've got duplicates and duplicates, but I just need one for recording, another one at the house to jam on and then the rest of them we're gonna see what we could do. Put them in the fans' hands."

Rex's Prototype Spector Bass

Long time Pantera fans will no doubt recognize this instrument. Similar Spector basses can be seen lying low near Rex's knees in most of the live video of Patera through the '90s.

"We designed this thing back in '96, and this is one of the prototypes that I was given. Probably one of the best ones in its shape that survived. It's in mint condition. This is one of the prototypes that we went back and forth over a period of about two years until it came under full production in '99, I believe. This is another one of those kind of things where it's not just a super, super nice clean bass. It's just part of history."

Jazz Bass Played on Rebel Meets Rebel

One of the bassess Rex is selling was used on an collaboration between the guys from Pantera and legendary country outlaw, David Allen Coe. I was curious to ask Rex about that particular project and how that came about.

"That was Dime's little baby. He was sitting on that for about five years, and then it was just horrible. It didn't come out until after his passing. We were in shock for about three to five years, and then tried to put it together after that. The way that thing started was that he had met David Allan Coe at Billy Bob's, which was a big country place in Fort Worth. And he got to meet him. It's so uncanny. David Allan Coe was at least in his late-60s and just a crazy son of a bitch outlaw just like Dime was.

"I had a Fender Jazz sitting down at the studio and I've never picked it up since. I have so many of these guitars that have so many stories in 'em. Well, who am I gonna tell them to? I'd rather put them in the hands of somebody that can actually maybe feel that. It is part of the history and that was Dime's big thing."

A huge thanks to Rex for taking the time to talk to us and give us a little more info about his gear, old and new. Make sure to check out his shop for current and future gear offerings from this particular cowboy from hell.

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