How to make scooped mids work

SMILEYSIXX · #1 01-12-2011, 04:28 PM

I'm sure most of you hear "scooped mids" and gag, but I'm curious. I play Korn songs with my EQ set like Fieldy. Bass and treble all the way up and mids nonexistent. Personally, I kinda dig the sound (please don't crucify me) but I have no idea how he makes it stand out so well in Korn recordings. I know at least a few of you aren't big Fieldy fans, but you have to admit, you can hear his bass cut through the sound like a knife. Any ideas on how he makes it work?

funkybassinator · #2 01-12-2011, 04:36 PM

Well i just listened to 3 korn youtube vids through some nice IEMs, and I could honestly only hear the bass on 1 of them. So when you say it stands out so well in the recordings I honestly don't know what your talking about.

Kael · #3 01-12-2011, 04:39 PM

You have to...

A) use an oversize/overpowered amp as the midscooped sound requires a ridiculous amount of watts and speaker area

and

B) play with an act willing to EQ their instruments out of the freq's you are in. Since guitar does the high freq's better than bass and kick drum does the subterranean lows thing better, it is kinda rare to get an act to go along with this.

Even after you've done this, you still won't have as much authority in your tone as a non-scooped bassist. On the other hand scooping can lend a degree of clarity to a bass line.

PS: IME, many heavier acts have scooped bass lines and kick drums that are all attack with the resonance of a cardboard box because the guitardist insists on diming his low EQ knob forcing the instruments that would normally sit in those frequencies to look for other sonic real estate.

Kromwarp · #4 01-12-2011, 04:39 PM

I scoop most of my mids out as well, and in addition to using a pick (and my Hartke Bass Attack preamp) is a large part of how I get my tone. I think part of it is how your band's guitars are EQ'd and how it sits in the mix. It works for me, seems to cut through just fine

SMILEYSIXX · #5 01-12-2011, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkybassinator

Well i just listened to 3 korn youtube vids through some nice IEMs, and I could honestly only hear the bass on 1 of them. So when you say it stands out so well in the recordings I honestly don't know what your talking about.

Really? As we speak, I'm sitting at my computer listening to korn and I hear the bass crystal clear in every song.

Cannabass · #6 01-12-2011, 04:51 PM

well you probly have mp3s and he's litsening to low quality youtube vids..

SMILEYSIXX · #7 01-12-2011, 05:01 PM

Touche. Youtube vids never sound great.

Skitch it! · #8 01-12-2011, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kael

You have to...

A) use an oversize/overpowered amp as the midscooped sound requires a ridiculous amount of watts and speaker area

and

B) play with an act willing to EQ their instruments out of the freq's you are in. Since guitar does the high freq's better than bass and kick drum does the subterranean lows thing better, it is kinda rare to get an act to go along with this.

Even after you've done this, you still won't have as much authority in your tone as a non-scooped bassist. On the other hand scooping can lend a degree of clarity to a bass line.

PS: IME, many heavier acts have scooped bass lines and kick drums that are all attack with the resonance of a cardboard box because the guitardist insists on diming his low EQ knob forcing the instruments that would normally sit in those frequencies to look for other sonic real estate.

+1 You nailed it, in every respect ; )

MistaMarko · #9 01-12-2011, 06:40 PM

I'm a scooped player too and I tried doing the whole solo'd bridge thing for awhile in my metal band and have grown to like it. I just hate how the lows are sucked out though and it sounds honky. I have never been able to find a metal, sort of scooped resembling-sound but still having healthy mids to classify it as a "non-scooped" sound.

However...I find that having low mids in the EQ doesn't make it sound "middy", it just sounds like a higher bass. I normally roll off the lows and add a lot of low-mids and it still has that characteristic "scooped" sound. I cut a lot of high-mids though.

Chris K · #10 01-13-2011, 03:58 AM

On my 5-band EQ, I do bass 50 low mids 100 mid mids 0 high mids 100 treble 50.

Scooped sound, lots of punch, no muddy lows, no harshness.

SMILEYSIXX · #11 01-14-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris K

On my 5-band EQ, I do bass 50 low mids 100 mid mids 0 high mids 100 treble 50.

Scooped sound, lots of punch, no muddy lows, no harshness.

I have a 7band EQ I would set up very similar to that. It's a great sound, I may go back to something like that.