Who here feels like drive slows down their playing?

[SC Bassboy]

I'm old enought to see how overdrives, fuzzs and distortions have gotten more popular in the last 25 years.

I honestly feel that I'm playing progressivly busy parts that with drive can feel way to blurried and not defined.
It feels sluggish to me.

This is not a knock to this effects, I mean I use slight overdrive on occasion, but not on buys parts.

This is just a discussion...
Cheers

There is always some "drive" in my signal chain, usually from the preamp stage. The only effect that actually slows me down is an octave pedal, so any parts I use that on are typically slower and more methodical. It's actually been a good thing. I didn't need to play more notes, I just needed to play the right notes.

 

[GregT]

Funny, drive never seems to slow me down, but maybe because in the 55+ years I've been playing bass, I've never used it!

 

[bassbrad]

When using a lot of effects I have to be aware of attack, release and cut off of notes to keep them distinct. Octave, synth and drive effects especially fall into this category, Those effects do make me want to love on or sustain those notes longer but that is also the purpose of those sounds anyway. IMHO - not that it's a bad thing to have that awareness overall as it seems to keep me tight and precise.

 

[bassbrad]

Funny, drive never seems to slow me down, but maybe because in the 55+ years I've been playing bass, I've never used it!

Perhaps but i would bet that you use an amp that has at least a bit of "crunch" as part of the character.

 

[Solipsistik]

I was using the SansAmp to get some drive with the Mark Bass. Now I have the Bergantino and it has a great drive circuit (and a vintage voicing that is less bass-forward), but to be consistent I'm using the SansAmp as a preamp (for now at least). It feels a bit wrong to get a SVT sound out of something more modern and clean, but on the other hand, my Warwick is the guitar that sounds the best through that amp au naturelle.

I like a little bit of drive, and as someone has already pointed out, the challenge is to just get a bit to accentuate some harmonics without getting a lot of string noise etc. brought to the fore by the drive circuit. I can't see me using a lot of drive except perhaps for something like The Black Keys covers.

 

[evanrunyon]

I think overdrive used to just sorta happen. Modern amps can get louder while maintaining a clean tone, so now we get the privilege of dirtying things up to our tastes. Of course there’s some real extreme stuff out there but I reckon the mean recorded “bass tone” in the year 2026 isn’t all that much more distorted than that of the year 1976.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Like most questions on Talkbass, the answer is a simple “it depends”

 

[_Some Dude]

I started off on guitar, so I like the sag and bloom of a tube amp. I'm generally not into the immediacy of solid state cleans and steer away from it where possible.

I don't consider the slowing down of the note to be detrimental, in fact, it's something to lean into as a dynamic I can control with my fingers, and I can regain some of the immediacy/clarity with a clean blend.

 

[coyote1]

This is why I ALWAYS, always, have a good solid clean underneath any effected tone I utilize. I always want that solid bottom and clear midrange underpinning things.

It is BASS after all.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I agree; drive usually muddies the attack which can make it feel sluggish. Especially the drives that emulate tube drive, where there's more of a cush or give to the attack of the note. Sometimes it's good. Other times, not so much. Most of the time I go for a good clean attack.

 

[Topkat13]

Precisely why I've been using a 3 wood off the tee.

 

[Mazrak]

I play extremely fast music and have some level of drive on probably 95% of the time.

 

[Bruiser Stone]

I’m in an Elvis tribute band. Jerry Scheff used a significant amount of drive, so it kinda needs to be there as we attempt to emulate the overall sound. I think I understand what the OP means, but if I’m saturating the tone enough that it sounds sluggish, I think that’s a sign to back off of it a bit, at least for what I do.

 

[TonyP-]

This thread is clearly for just open discussion…

There are some responses on here that clearly not understanding my initial post and borderline on adolescent in response.

Let me just clarify things a bit…

- I never said you cannot play progressively with OD….OK

- I give a s what Geddy or Billy, or Ron Jeremy does with OD on their own perspective sounds…I really don’t,
however it works for them does not affect what I’m trying to do. (Even if I’m a Geddy fan, and what Gen X kid isn’t’a fan of him)

- I’m literally just speaking from my own perspective. Me personally (and I’m not speaking for anyone else) can play significantly more complex material easier clean than with OD.

 

[tleebassist11]

Absolutely agree, it feels like it takes so much more work to get things going. However, the Big booty Judy seems to be the one pedal in this category that doesn’t impart that stuck in the mud feel.

 

[logdrum]

How much slower exactly. Is it the rounding of the attack that gives this feeling or does it prevent you from doing 16th notes at 100 bpm. Or maybe the envelope of the note, the release portion in particular and the attack changes with overdrive. I think compression can do that too. It's interesting what a few milliseconds can do

Great topic

 

[White Beard]

I actually turn the tone knob on my bass down to zero when I play with overdrive. I don't try to fight the attack degrade, I lean into it. That being said, I also tend to play long notes when overdriven. Think "Fight Test" by the Flaming Lips; overdriven bass playing the melody in the middle to upper range of the instrument.

 

[TonyP-]

I started off on guitar, so I like the sag and bloom of a tube amp. I'm generally not into the immediacy of solid state cleans and steer away from it where possible.

I don't consider the slowing down of the note to be detrimental, in fact, it's something to lean into as a dynamic I can control with my fingers, and I can regain some of the immediacy/clarity with a clean blend.

I can see why that would work for you.

I come from the exact opposite environment…When I was doing Blue Man, you are cutting through 4 sets of percussion a night. I need to be precise and forward.

 

[TonyP-]

How much slower exactly. Is it the rounding of the attack that gives this feeling or does it prevent you from doing 16th notes at 100 bpm. Or maybe the envelope of the note, the release portion in particular and the attack changes with overdrive. I think compression can do that too. It's interesting what a few milliseconds can do

Great topic

Quite possibly over 100 bpm, but yes.

 

[TonyP-]

Beer, wine, shots of whatever, not enough practice, and not enough rest do a pretty good job of slowing me down. Drive? Never affected me.

I might suggest that songs with drive seem to have a lot of notes in them and probably played at more note per minutes. Maybe this might be a fatigue issue.

It’s pretty safe to say there is no booze involved when I’m about to play or play.

However, I cannot say the same for caffeine, burrito , flan , or a shot of testosterone cypionate to the right delt.