Re: +Mids .vs. Scooped mids?
I think you need to differentiate between what people refer to as "scooped" mids in an amp, versus the EQ curves that Duncan and other companies refer to in their pickups.
Amp-wise, extreme scooped EQ is a classic metal thing, a big chugga bottom and sparkly top with not much in between. Notably, this often sounds better in the bedroom than live; onstage it can be messy because you can step on the bass player. As an aside, much classic Metallica was done on Mesa mark series amps with the "smiley face" EQ setting, but mesa mark series amps are extremely mid-heavy (especially turned up). So even with that five-band EQ scooped, that sound was not as "scooped" as you might think. There were still a lot of mids there, especially in the leads.
As has been noted ad nauseum, mids tend to cut thru better for solos. Mesa even have a blurb in their literature about one guitarist (read: rhythm) using a recto and the other (read: lead) using a stiletto, specifically because the stiletto is more mid-heavy for lead work.
Having said that, the EQ band of a pickup is a little more narrow and a little more subtle, and with pickups you have to take into consideration the guitar they are going into. In general hotter pickups have more mids, and vintage pickups are a little more scooped. That's an oversimplification, but if you have a guitar with brighter tendancies you want a warmer pickup and a darker guitar needs a more sparkly pickup. So it's not just about the sound you want, it's also about the guitar you are putting it in. Some pickups sound great in certain guitars and nasty in others. There is a tremendous amount of discussion on this forum and others about what sorts of pickups work better in specific types of guitars to get certain types of tones. There's quite a bit of mojo to it.
The JB is a classic example. It was originally designed for Jeff Beck's tele, so it was voiced for that type of guitar. In the 80's people loved them in basswood guitars with bolt-on necks and floyds. But there is quite a bit of controversy over slapping them into a les paul or an SG, and many just hate that pickup in those guitars.
Also, as noted before, "mids" means different things to different people. Super-fat is usually lower mids; semi-fat half-cocked wah is more of a mid-mid; biting is upper mid. Highs (in pickup talk) is more about sparkle and glass at the top.
Personally, I like a balanced pickup that's not super hot, since I have all the gain I need on tap in my rig. Super-hot pickups became popular in the 70's when amps didn't have the kind of gain they have now and people needed them to push their amps. But nowadays, if you are playing thru an Uberschall or ENGL or some other super high gain amp, your pickups can settle into being something that just compliment the guitar. Sometimes hot pickups still sound really cool even in high-gain amps, but the downside to pickpus like that is they usually sound lousy when you play clean.
I realize that didn't answer the question, but it's just not an easy question to answer.
