• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bootsy Collins, so many effects

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8qUfMiuvoLc&feature=related
This is heaven, I want to get there. Can You Guys help me. I know Bootsy has multiple inputs into his bass, I don't. I know he uses Mutron (which is expensive), I don't have that kind of money. Can you guys map out his effects in the order they are connected in. Please use alternative effects, because vintage effects are really expensive. I really want this sound please help me out. Can you guys include a total price

Thanks
 
I hear an envelope filter, delay, fuzz, and some sort of octave device. I also hear oodles of awesomeness.

You can spend anywhere from $50 to $5,000 on that stuff, sans awesomeness.
 
Can you guys map out his effects in the order they are connected in... include a total price
That's asking a LOT of the forum, dude.

There doesn't seem to even be any shots of his board in that video. He probably changes his rig quite often. Obtaining prices for all that gear requires a fair amount of research - which you could certainly do for yourself. Google is your friend.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jmac603
haha...you want that sound? it won't come on a budget. i am not sure what bootsy's current FX chain is but i read a guitar player piece from the 80's (i think) that was pretty deep about his rig.
l
ong story short, he was running THREE fx chains simultaneously. he played through 3 rigs (including a ridiculuous amount of speakers), one for his lows, one for his mids, and one for his highs. each rig had it's own dedicated FX loop (not sure about routing) that had up to 10 individual FX each, each one in certain cases having duplicate boxes. as far as for specfics, i read this quite a long time ago but i distinctly remember at least one of the following in each... big muff, mutron, phaser, and chorus i think. in the clip, it sounds like he is using his mutron, and some analog delay unit of some kind. after a bit he definitely kicks in at least one muff, followed by a pitch shifter of some kind.

long story short, you want bootsy's sound...it's going to cost you.

word to the wise...do NOT get the mutron reissue (HAZ labs, mutron III+), it's the same box but totally different design on the inside. it does not live up to it's predecessor in function, and certainly does not live up to it's price. 2 of them sound pretty cool together, but there are easier ways of getting a good envelope filter.

hate to say it, but if you can't afford one mutron, it will be very hard for you to get anything close to that sound. but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try, if you can't quite get his tone you just might find your own. :cool:

good luck!!!
 
Bootsy collins had LOADS of different effects. It's a little difficult to tell you what models he is currently using (or using for that show) because there are no visual shots of his board. What I heard was: envelope filter, delay, fuzz, octave, whammy, phaser, some sort of synth.

There is a list of his effects (studio I think) under the "Pedalboards of the Stars" thread.
 
I read in a Bass Player magazine that his main board is 7 feet wide and his "compact" studio board is 3.5 feet. Have fun figuring out which effects can cover 7 feet! Just buy every bass effect and 23 or 24 guitar effects from MF and call it "The Bootsy Special" lol.
 
Bootsy really knows how to play a solo, I hear a lot of a blues influence and Hendrix in his playing. So unless you got those down you probably shouldn't venture into his FX stuff.

I noticed that the pitch shifter is only shifting the delayed signal and goes an octaver higher with each repetition. Cool Stuff.
 
I noticed that the pitch shifter is only shifting the delayed signal and goes an octaver higher with each repetition. Cool Stuff.

How would you achieve that..? I'm thinking stereo delay with completely separate channels and going from the output of one to an octave up to the input of the other. Or do no stereo delays do have separate channels like that?

EDIT: Can the Boss PS-3 do this and was it around when this recording was made?