if i had to make a quick assessment of everything i've ever learned i'd say dynamics are likely the most difficult technique i've ever tried to get under control. they're maddeningly difficult when you've spent literally your entire musical career not giving them any thought and that muscle memory runs deep on this one.
for years i really worked hard to get my playing as consistent as possible. i thought (and still do to a large extent) that a steady bassline is a good thing and likely the desirable thing. i mean, bass is almost always compressed at some point and that's just squashing the dynamics for a more consistent foundation. hell, i even hear interviews with various engineers and producers that say compression is essential for inconsistent bass players. roger that, i'll focus on being consistent then.
however, when i'd learn a bassline and playing back in a vacuum, as in with only a metronome, i always sound flat and lifeless. that's super frustrating when i've put some much effort into getting the rhythm exact. there was always something missing. it took a while but i've come to the realization that rhythm and pitch are just part of the puzzle, dynamics seems to be the next logical piece.
i dabbled with them earlier this year but it didn't quite catch and it soon got worked out of my practice routine. i've been working on it daily for the past 6 weeks or so and it's coming along. slowly. this is one of those things that is 100% programming and my fingers will not do what i want them to do. that's what 25 years of unchecked shit technique will do. the first several weeks was rough to say the least. i'd play loud when i wanted to play soft and i'd play louder when i wanted to just play normally. so... yeah.
a few things have happened though since focusing on dynamics. i've brought the level of my playing down quite a bit so my accents are just a bit over my normal velocity and i've actually started incorporating quiet notes. yes, notes that are very lightly played... which is an absolute first for me.
i've had to adjust my preamps to account for my lighter playing and i've almost completely stopped using a compressor. i have the threshold set now so that only the most errant of notes get caught and use the LED as a visual indication if i'm playing too hard. too many LEDs means i need to chill out. i've also been able to drop the action on my basses by a decent amount as well. i always liked a low action but i always ran into the too-much-buzz limit and had to dial it higher than i'd prefer just out of necessity. with a lighter touch i can drop it to a nice low level and get it a little extra gas if i want to get a little throaty buzz out of the frets, which can be super cool.
dynamics are here to stay for me. they can add a ton of life to a bass line without adding any more notes. so i can play as mediocrely as i want but toss a little pepper on there with some dynamics and it almost sounds like i know what i'm doing. trying to learn how to apply a dynamic rhythm to a plucked rhythm is bananas hard but i'm having a ton of fun trying to get it worked into my fingers.
