Primus' Ler Lalonde
Signal Chain: Maxon PH-350
Rotary Phaser, Strymon Ola dBucket Chorus
and Vibrato, MXR Carbon Copy Analog
Delay, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Dunlop
UV1 Uni-Vibe, and Custom Dunlop Wah (half
Slash signature, half Dimebag signature).
Primus guitarist Ler
LaLonde’s creative use of
effects has helped define the
band’s unconventional sound
since the beginning. And while
the effects are called into action
to recreate album tones, a big
part of their duty is to aid the
spacey jams that happen live.
Two of the keys to Primus’
sound include the Maxon Phaser
and EBS OctaBass—both have
been staples of his board for
decades. “Basically, it’s whenever
you want to sound like Gilmour,
that’s the pedal,” says LaLonde
of the Phaser, which is used on
open jams, while the OctaBass is
geared more toward old-school,
Jimmy Page octave tones. Why
a bass pedal? “I didn’t know any
better,” he admits.
Top Board: Empress Tap Tremolo, TC Electronic
Nova Delay, Haz Mu-Tron III+ (replica), and
EBS OctaBass. Bottom Board: Electro-Harmonix
Ring Thing and Radial Bones Twin-City ABY
switcher. Photos by Jeremy HauskinsLaLonde’s board has three
delays—two MXR Carbon
Copy pedals and a TC Electronic
Nova Delay—each set for different
uses. The first Carbon
Copy is set for short delays like
those in “Jilly’s on Smack,” and
the second is set for soloing and
tweaking out into wild, spacey
jams. The Nova Delay is set for
longer, swell-type delays suited to
a cleaner digital sound.
Other song-specific pedals
include the Strymon Ola Chorus
used throughout “Moron TV”
and a custom Dunlop Cry Baby
used for the intro to “Those
Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers.”
LaLonde had chased that tone
live for some time. “I don’t know
what I was using at the time,” he
explained, “so we went through
and tried all these pedals [at
Dunlop] and they put together
a custom one.” The wah is half
Dunlop’s Slash signature model
and half the company’s Dimebag
signature model, and can be
switched between the two.
This board also marks
LaLonde’s first foray into distortion
boxes with the Fulltone
Ultimate Octave, used on
“Hoinfodaman” for Neil Young-style
breakup. The Mu-Tron
III+ is a reproduction—“Sounds
just like Garcia!” he enthused
—and the Electro-Harmonix
Ring Thing is on the board
because, “Everybody has to
have robot sounds.”
It’s not just tone he’s after,
however. Quite the abusive
stomper, LaLonde is always
swapping pedals for more durable
ones. The Ultimate Octave
replaced an Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff, while the Nova Delay
and Electro-Harmonix Ring
Thing are routinely rotated
with a Strymon Brigadier and
Way Huge Ring Worm, respectively.
Another crucial feature
for LaLonde is tap tempo in
time-based effects, due to the
band’s jamming tendencies. “So
many songs where we’re opening
up, we’re jamming, tempos
are changing,” he explains, “so
it’s great to just tap it in and
sort of get The Smiths sort of
tremolo sound but in time.”
But what’s with the arrows?
LaLonde’s approach to marking
his settings is idiot-proof: set the
knobs, then mark with an arrow
that should always point straight
up. However, he adds with a
laugh, “As you can see, everything
is usually pretty much
maxed out and drastic, we’re not
very subtle with the effects.”
Watch the Rig Rundown: