Remember scooping your mids for the first time???
- Thread starter RaceU4her
- Start date
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I did this as a kid too . I thought it was so cool . I ran a digitech preamp into a peavy bass amp with 1 15
MetalThrasher
Well-known member
Scooped mids rule!
Bash_Man
Well-known member
I remember doing that as well.. going to jam session thinking I sound so heavy I could Chug for hours on the same 3 chords
.. but no one could hear me cause my mids were not only scooped on the metal zone, but also on the amp it was being plugged into.. LOL
romanianreaper
Well-known member
Back in the day I could play "Sweet Home Alabama" and my mid cut would make it sound like something off "....and Justice for All" 
Nothing wrong with the scoop, most tones are far more scooped than people realize. And people use too much fucking midrange these days anyways. Bloat city. Boxy, dark, gross, because “ MIDZ GUYZ!”… total horseshit. You need an ample scoop around 350hz or so more often than not, it’s About scooping the right frequencies.
Most all the tones I love are mid heavy, so I’m in the minority here.
Schenker
Holdsworth
Uli………all pretty strong on mids.
I’m not as much a metal guy as most here though…
Bram576
Well-known member
Yep, people have no concept of what sounding good in a band setting is like vs playing alone either.
Most all the tones I love are mid heavy, so I’m in the minority here.
Schenker
Holdsworth
Uli………all pretty strong on mids.
I’m not as much a metal guy as most here though…
Those are all great tones, of course! Yea I mean, I was mostly referring to heavier tones because that’s what this board gravitate toward, I apologize!
No…I totally knew what you meant.
I sometimes feel like the nerd over in the corner of the classroom on this forum. I’m just old and stuck in my ways.
I love extra heavy guitar tones and players. I can’t play like that though.
I think there is a middle ground (no pun intended) between the scoopers and the MIDZ fanatics.
It's highly amp dependent and not a blanket fix to add MIDZ and more mIDZ and demonise those the scoop.
Guitar sits in the mids area of the band mix anyway, so there will always be that aspect. Many times people (usually the TGP boomers) will proclaim "boost the mids, can't have too much mids..", well yeah I can see that from a Fender or old Marshall view which the inherent eq is naturally scooped somewhat and needs mids added to stick out in the mix, but modern style amps like Mesa's are mid's heavy on their own and benefit from scooping them out a bit.
My Jubilee combo sounds like absolute boxy ass with its V30 open back cab, but plug it into a 4X12 and its amazing, it now has lows and highs and its pushing the air).
It all depends on where you're playing also. Playing alone it sounds great to bump the bass and highs, to scoop it a bit, to fill out the sound in the room. Playing with too much mids in the same setting sounds boxy and honky. In the band mix its the opposite, the highs and lows of the scoop disappear and the level of the ads that are left drop out easier. That mid heavy amp now excels in that situation.
There is no absolute good or bad of either, just situational context.
I'm not accusing anyone or teaching anyone to suck eggs though. Just chatting in general terms.
It's highly amp dependent and not a blanket fix to add MIDZ and more mIDZ and demonise those the scoop.
Guitar sits in the mids area of the band mix anyway, so there will always be that aspect. Many times people (usually the TGP boomers) will proclaim "boost the mids, can't have too much mids..", well yeah I can see that from a Fender or old Marshall view which the inherent eq is naturally scooped somewhat and needs mids added to stick out in the mix, but modern style amps like Mesa's are mid's heavy on their own and benefit from scooping them out a bit.
My Jubilee combo sounds like absolute boxy ass with its V30 open back cab, but plug it into a 4X12 and its amazing, it now has lows and highs and its pushing the air).
It all depends on where you're playing also. Playing alone it sounds great to bump the bass and highs, to scoop it a bit, to fill out the sound in the room. Playing with too much mids in the same setting sounds boxy and honky. In the band mix its the opposite, the highs and lows of the scoop disappear and the level of the ads that are left drop out easier. That mid heavy amp now excels in that situation.
There is no absolute good or bad of either, just situational context.
I'm not accusing anyone or teaching anyone to suck eggs though. Just chatting in general terms.
Ventura
Well-known member
I was an absolute rock GOD the moment I did this.
INFAMY.
Then? A serious reality check as I went to my regular (hey, I was, like, 10??) jam with my buddy Howie who just laughed at me as he slaughtered me with his Marshall combo.
Mids mmmm'portant mmmmm'kay??
(But as far as Madison Square Bedroom was concerned?? I was *still* a god)
Devin
Well-known member
For me the coolest fucking thing in the world was when I got my second amp from a Service Merchandise (Epi 15 watt combo - and yes, it literally had an "Epi" badge, not "Epiphone") - it had a "Gain" knob and I was like holy shit. Thing had a pissload of gain too; easily death metal territory
My first amp was a 5 watt Harmony piece of shit with a 6 inch speaker and a "cabinet" made entirely out of plastic. Only had 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Only distortion you could get was if you turned it up loud enough the entire thing would rattle
My first amp was a 5 watt Harmony piece of shit with a 6 inch speaker and a "cabinet" made entirely out of plastic. Only had 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Only distortion you could get was if you turned it up loud enough the entire thing would rattle