what's up with scooped guitar/bass???

[J. Milton]

So I played this show a couple of weeks ago. I don't play in a metal band, but the other bands on the bill were metal.. I noticed that a couple of the bands, but one in particular, had the mids almost completely scooped out of their guitars and basses. This one band (which was the headliner btw) sounded like ass. You could barely hear the guitars (just a bunch of noise), and you couldn't hear the bass at all except for the occasional thud or clank. I'm not saying they didn't play alright, but their sound was ****. My question is: why would anyone do this?? Surely they can't think it sounds good...?? Sure you might want to tone down the mids for playing slap or whatever, but scooping out all mids and then proceeding to play with a pick???? ***?? The bass and guitars had no balls whatsoever, but I'm under the impression that a band like this would want to sound ballsy.. There are plenty more "heavy metal" bands that have this exact same sound. What gives?

[stedtale]

Living Room Tone and Stage Tone are different thing. I think no knowing that is what makes some people do this.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Read this post that I sent to another thread. I'm sure it explains the other bands' approach to tone.

[J. Milton]

I think you're right. But these guys have been playing out for years, so I assume they think it sounds good.

Originally Posted by stedtale

Living Room Tone and Stage Tone are different thing. I think no knowing that is what makes some people do this.

[WalterBush]

Metallica did it on ...And Justice For All, and everyone started doing it. Metallica couldn't make it work live, but this was less publicized in guitar magazines than were the various techniques for scooping tone.

Somehow, the myth that scooping sounds good live has lived on. Bands who do it in the studio, where it can be made to work by turning down everything but the kick drum and guitars (listen, again, to and justice for all) are only encouraged to do it in their favorite club, where they become a wall of unintelligible noise.

I can only assume they don't know what they sound like out front. Yet another argument for every band member but the drummer to go wireless and do a little crowd-surfing.

[invader3k]

I think what it is, is that the raised bass and treble frequencies sound exciting to the human ear at first, especially when the instrument is played solo (ie. at home)...but what's lost is that this doesn't translate to a live performance. The mids are what makes each instrument "cut" through the mix. At least that's my understanding.