What’s your concept when it comes to using effects?

Bootsy Collins Cause and effect go hand-and-foot: ’Cause I’m feeling like this, here is the effect that I want to produce.

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Given the right opportunity and context, I jump with great enthusiasm out of the arena of typical bass sounds. I often have the desire to create something more in the realm of noise or soundscape. I tend to start with a concept, such as trying to make my bass sound like a dozen slightly dissonant upright basses played arco, with bows infused with shards of glass, out in an enormous rock canyon. So something wild comes to me first, which I’ll edit down to something more practical to play, while hopefully still adding a unique texture.

Tim Lefebvr My approach to using pedals is pretty “analog.” I tend to use older stuff or reissues of older stuff. I’m generally inspired by electronic sounds like the Roland TR-808 [drum machine] and Minimoog [synth]. The guys who taught me the most about the stuff initially were drummers JoJo Mayer and Zach Danziger when we were doing live electronica in [New York’s] East Village in the late ’90s. At the other end of the effect spectrum is using pedals in a funk format, which is another can of (fun) worms. I do that with some of the more experimental groups I’m involved in.

What techniques can you share?

Bootsy Collins Effects are a communication from your brain waves to the air waves between those two holes in your head, so laws and rules do not apply. You can say anything without your ol’ lady taking the remote.

Justin Meldal-Johnsen I think people overlook how effects combine. Just in terms of dynamics, certain pedal combinations create an explosive sound with touch-sensitive dynamics, while other combinations create a very compressed sound with a single dynamic—and there’s the vast range in between. With your pedalboard, turn everything on and tweak the knobs until you get something that resonates with you; then start pulling things out, one by one. Then do the inverse—start with one pedal at a time.

Tim Lefebvre For the electronics and funk stuff, it all begins with my trusty Boss OC-3; it’s got the fattest sine wave I’ve ever heard, and when you combine it with some kind of distortion pedal—my favorite is a D.O.D. Gunkulator Modulator—and, say, the Moogerfooger Lowpass Filter, the sky is the limit. You can shake the rafters of any club you’re playing, and you can also get dirty with some greasy but organic funk. My newest toy is the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man; I’ve been combining that with my ’77 P-Bass to get some really nice Roger Waters-like effects.

Can you offer tips or advice for novice stompers?

Bootsy Collins Look for your own voice and how you would like to sound if that were the only voice you had; in most cases, as a musician, that’s your one real voice.

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Guitar pedals aren’t just for guitarists; I often see bassists with bass-centric pedals only, and that’s far too limiting. Here are a few practical tips: If you have more than, say, six pedals, buy a device that allows your pedals to be on separate effect loops; mine are from Pedal-Racks [www.pedalboards.com]. It cuts down on the negative effect of long cables; plus, if one pedal goes bad, you can isolate it. Secondly, spend money on a good power source, such as a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power. You need to keep the power to your pedals regular and reliable. Third, use good cable! You’re adding so many connections and lots of cable length when you use effects. Planet Waves makes very good cable; or, you can make them yourself.

Tim Lefebvre Most effect pedals that I like sound the best with passive basses. They grab more of the signal and gnarl it up a bit more. Also, using pedals is cool, but you really have to develop your voice with them. We can all buy the same pedals that Bootsy Collins has, but only Bootsy will sound like Bootsy on them!