Funky custom Js and punchy Ps help this low-end maven earn gigs and nail tones from Motown to Miley and all points in between.
The Musician’s Institute grad—who’s backed up the likes of Miley Cyrus, Fat Joe, Ty Dollar Sign, Dallas Austin, Remy Ma, Aussie Troye Sivan, and (normally) touring with Panic at the Disco—bassist Nicole Row carved out some time just before releasing her debut solo single “Headspace,” to virtually welcome PG’s Chris Kies into her Cali tone retreat. In this Rig Rundown, she goes through her stable of Ps, Js, and custom basses, details how the neck profile dictated her connection to the Jazz model, and details her powerful pedalboard that amps up the snarl, bite, and oomph.
Possibly Nicole’s freshest bass is this custom Marco Bass Guitars TFL 4 model that she scored during quarantine and has yet to gig with it. While luthier Marco Cortes does have base models he builds off, he doesn’t produce the same instrument twice so some notable highlights on this model are the handwound single-coils, 34.5" scale, maple neck and fretboard with large block inlays, and its relic’d forest green finish. She plays exclusively with her fingers and uses Thomastik-Infeld strings in 4- or 5-string sets.
“If it’s my choice and my sound, it’s this bass.” Nicole’s sweet baby is this 1990s Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass outfitted with an onboard Sadowsky preamp that “bumps and is really funky and bright” (probably why she only plays it in active mode). She’s owned this one the longest so she feels most comfortable playing when it’s in her hands making it her fly bass, her session bass, and her show bass.
“This bass would sit well with Vulfpeck because it’s bright and excels at staccato funky parts,” says Row about the above Fender American Performer Jazz Bass in the popping satin surf green.
Here is Nicole’s contemporary Fender P that’s been upgraded with a set of passive Bartolini P-bass pickups.
If you’ve seen Nicole Row onstage supporting Brandon Urie and the rest of Panic at the Disco, you’ve seen her thumping on this Fender American Elite Jazz 5-string. “I’ve started to really rely on it with Panic because it cut through (the mix) and has more high range than most of my basses.”
Nicole met luthier L. Ellis Hahn at NAMM while she was still apprenticing under bass-building legend Roger Sadowsky. She’s since navigated her own career and started designing under the L.E.H. Guitars banner. So far she has one model (available in 4- or 5-string) called the Offset and features a 34" scale, 21 frets, a weight-reduced body with chambers towards the neck for improved balance, a Nordstrand 3-band preamp custom wired to “boost only” with graphic fader EQ, and Nordstrand BigRig5 (bridge) and NP5 (neck) pickups.
Typically, on tour with Panic, Nicole would be rocking the 1000-watt Eich T-1000, but for at-home (and most non-arena gigs) she’s happy playing the above T-500.
Again, on tour she cranks her Eich heads through cabs stacked with 10" and 15" speakers, but for home jams like this Rundown, she’s been bonding with their 112XS cab outfitted with a ceramic speaker.
By bass standards, this is a massive board! However, these half-dozen pedals allow Nicole to cover all her bases (pun intended) for any gig, session, or audition. For her Panic days, two of her most-kicked pedals are the Aguilar Fuzzistor and Darkglass Vintage Microtubes for band’s nasty, snarling indie-rock anthems. She uses the EBS OctaBass for its lower-voiced grumbles and when stacked with other pedals can mimic a vintage synth. For silkier, underwater tones, she’ll engage the EBS DPhaser and when it’s popping off in funkytown she’ll hit the MXR Bass Envelope Filter. And at the behest of her bass-playing homies, she recently acquired the Noble Dual Vacuum Tube Preamp/DI Box.
[Updated 1/20/22]
These purveyors of punishing ’90s-style hardcore chisel their heavy sound with downtuned 7-strings and lighter hues of delay and modulation.
In celebration of their sophomore release A Different Shade of Blue, the Kentuckian hardcore youngbloods nearly crumbled Grimey’s with their breakneck ways during a full-band, in-store performance. (Watch the full performance here—shockingly no records or employees were harmed.) The next night the quintet took over Nashville’s The End for a proper record-release show. And before that sold-out performance, PG’s Perry Bean stopped by for a post-soundcheck hang to cover all the Ibanez instruments, blaring tube heads, and select effects they use to create sweaty, chaotic pits.
Lead guitarist Isaac Hale slays audiences every night with this Ibanez RGDIX7MPB. The 24-fret, 26.5"-scale instrument has an ash body with a poplar burl top, DiMarzio Fusion Edge humbuckers, and Gotoh MG-T locking tuners. The band previously tuned their 7-strings to G–D–G–C–F–A–D, but have since moved to drop-A tuning: A–E–A–D–G–B–E.
Isaac Hale plugs his mighty 7-string into this EVH 5150 III Limited Edition that fires through a Mesa/Boogie 4x12 straight cab.
The stomp station for Isaac Hale is where he can deviate from the heavy and add to it. Currently, he’s rolling with a Way Huge Swollen Pickle, Maxon ST9 Pro Plus Super Tube, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, Electro-Harmonix Freeze, Boss RC-3 Loop Station, and ISP Technologies Decimator II G-String. Everything operates thanks to the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus and is in tune thanks to the Boss TU-3.
Rhythm guitarist and newest bandmember Cole Crutchfield rocks the same way bandmate Isaac Hale does—with 7-string Ibanez monsters. This Iron Label RGAIX7U-ABS RGA is his main ride. Cole really digs the natural wood finish and the Bare Knuckle Aftermath pickups.
Cole Crutchfield’s only other guitar on this tour is this a brand-new Ibanez Prestige RGR5227MFX, which features the company’s proprietary Wizard-7 neck, Bare Knuckle Brute Force humbuckers, and Gibraltar Standard II-7 bridge.
While recording A Different Shade of Blue, the band leaned heavily on a mix of Mesa/Boogie and 5150 amps, but for this tour Cole Crutchfield left his 50-watt 5150 III at home and ponied up for a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier.
The pedal playground for Cole Crutchfield begins with the Morley Steve Vai Mini Bad Horsie 2 Wah, and from there things get louder with a Mesa/Boogie Grid Slammer and Way Huge Swollen Pickle. After that you get the EHX Freeze, ISP Technologies Decimator II G-String, TC Electronic Hall of Fame, and a pair of Boss modulation pedals—a CH-1 Super Chorus and BF-3 Flanger. Everything is given life thanks to the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus and is in tune thanks to the Boss TU-2.
Bassist Kevin Otten keeps the Ibanez theme rolling with his pair of 5-strings—his No. 1 above is a Premium BTB1805 that’s been upgraded with Bartolini BH2 passive pickups alongside Ibanez’s own 3-band EQ electronics.
Before playing with Slayer at Heavy Montreal Fest, Kevin Otten treated himself to this elusive Ibanez ATK305 bass. He’s been on the hunt for one of these for years because of its body shape, wood pickguard, hot pickups, and back-saving weight.
While it is a lot to lug around and set up, Kevin Otten brings the hefty Ampeg SVT Classic and Mesa/Boogie 8x10 for the tone.
Not one to miss out on the fun pedals can provide, Kevin Otten has a healthy board that includes a trifecta of Darkglass Electronics boxes—a Microtubes B7K Ultra, Microtubes X, and Microtubes X7 that acts a D.I. box for front of house. He uses the DigiTech JamMan Solo XT for 808 bass drops. And like Isaac and Cole, he has a ISP Technologies Decimator II G-String, Boss tuner, EHX Freeze, and Shure GLXD4 Wireless.
Give a P-style bass new life with an old-school sound by swapping in a set of vintage-flavored pickups.
The iconic Precision bass has served as the blueprint for countless manufacturers since it was first introduced by Fender in 1951, and for good reason. But no matter who built your P-style axe, dropping in a new pickup like the 10 we’ve rounded up is a pain-free and effective mod for brewing vintage tones.
SEYMOUR DUNCAN
SPB-1 Vintage
These pickups feature handground alnico 5 rod magnets and a vintage coil wind to aid in producing the smooth tone of a late-’50s Precision.
$75 street
NORDSTRAND AUDIO
NP4V Vintage
Available with alnico 3 or 5 magnets, these vintage-correct versions of the company’s P4 design have a lower magnet load for a softer, smoother, and warmer output.
$123 street
nordstrandaudio.com
BARE KNUCKLE
’58 Split Coil P
Scatter wound by hand with 42AWG plain enamel wire, these alnico 5 pickups offer a tone reminiscent of later-’50s Ps, with strong bass, controlled highs, and slightly scooped mids.
$115 street
bareknucklepickups.co.uk
ARCANE-INC.
P-Bass 57’ Experience
These period-correct pickup clones are handwound using select materials, including tuned, non-staggered alnico magnets and era-correct wire of the right gauge and type.
$130 street
arcaneinc.com
RIO GRANDE
Vintage P Bass
Using alnico 5 magnets, 42-gauge copper wire, and the company’s “tonal enhancement,” these pickups were designed to maintain the output, presence, and deep sound of the originals.
$138 street
riograndepickups.com
LINDY FRALIN
P-Bass Replacements
These alnico 5 pickups are handwound to vintage specifications for fat, round, and punchy classic sound, yet are designed to offer modern power.
$140 street
AGUILAR
AG 4P-60
Using the company president’s personal ’63 and ’64 Precisions as a study guide, these pickups employ all-period-correct parts to deliver the ideal amount of midrange and deep support.
$109 street
WILDE PICKUPS
P-46
Developed by Bill Lawrence, these pickups come standard with four conductor wires and feature his multi-pole-piece system, which will accommodate 4-,5-, and 6-string basses.
$60 street
wildepickups.com
BARTOLINI
8SU
Cast in epoxy to remove unwanted feedback and microphonics, these P-style replacement pickups are voiced to deliver deep tones with plenty of lows and low-mids.
$124 street
EMG
GZR-P
Developed with Geezer Butler to deliver the bassist’s early Black Sabbath tone, these solderless pickups employ alnico 5 pole pieces and custom-wound coils for punch and grit.
$109 street