bass player

Pantera Rig Rundown with Rex Brown and Zakk Wylde
Rig Rundown: Pantera's Rex Brown & Zakk Wylde

The original Cowboys from Hell bassist reclaims his spine-rattling position as the band's charging piston, while his guitar brother brings his fleet of Wylde Audio gear and a few tone sweeteners from Dimebag Darrell's private stash.

Read MoreShow less

Using his Akai MPC 3000, J Dilla created an off-the-grid rhythmic feel that influenced a generation of bassists and drummers.

From James Brown to J Dilla, understanding note placement is a key to rhythmic mastery.

There’s so much to discuss when it comes to bass playing. One of the most basic and valuable skills to be explored on bass—or any instrument for that matter—is placement, or where exactly to play relative to the beat. To a certain extent, this can be a cultural question, decided by where one was raised or what one was raised upon. However, some musicians are more intentional about their choice of placement, and thus choose to study feel and the multitude of possibilities within.

Read MoreShow less

Although he’s playing a Fender Mustang bass in this photo, Crumbly’s current main instrument is a well-worn 2012 Fender American Special Precision he got off the wall at Chicago Music Exchange.

Photo by Justin de Nooijer

On his new album ForEver, the songwriter, player, and conceptualist shows he knows no stylistic bounds.

Joshua Crumbly says that a lot of his musical ideas start out reflectively, like a mantra or meditation, often repeated over and over as he develops them. It’s a Zen-like practice that allows him to access a deeper, more intuitive headspace. “All of the songs that made ForEver, they kind of took my mind and heart somewhere as I played them,” he says of his new album. “And there was so much going on in the world during the pandemic, I just feel like the storylines came to fruition.”

Read MoreShow less