Scoops....?

midnite_man

midnite_man

New member
Okay, I'll bite. What the heck does "scoop" mean in the world of pickups? I read it all the time here, and have a few clues what it pertains to, but I don't think I have it nailed down yet.
Educate me, people!

-Bob
 
Re: Scoops....?

Usually it refers to a way people dial in there eq or probably the pickups natural eq.

Scooped means the mids are rolled way back and the high and lows are the prodominant sound. Common on lots of the newer harder rock. However I find this makes it hard to cut through the mix in a band situation. You sort of just become background noise in my opinion.
 
Re: Scoops....?

Hey Bob, If you're talking about scooping, as I know it, it refers to a reduction in mids. As in " scooping out" the mids in an amps EQ. Seems to be big among Metal enthusiasts. Anyway, that's my take on it.
 
Re: Scoops....?

Okay, that makes it easier to understand. I guess I don't "scoop" very much then as I usually play with the tone-pots rolled back just a small amount to remove just a little brittleness.
 
Re: Scoops....?

proxy said:
Usually it refers to a way people dial in there eq or probably the pickups natural eq.

Scooped means the mids are rolled way back and the high and lows are the prodominant sound. Common on lots of the newer harder rock. However I find this makes it hard to cut through the mix in a band situation. You sort of just become background noise in my opinion.
Click to expand...

That also makes sense to me. thanks, proxy!
 
Re: Scoops....?

midnite_man said:
That also makes sense to me. thanks, proxy!
Click to expand...

Bob...If you want to cut through in Rock N Roll it's all about the mids..You want mids and mids are our friend! :) Just not honky boxey sounding mids..

John
 
Re: Scoops....?

STRATDELUXER97 said:
Bob...If you want to cut through in Rock N Roll it's all about the mids..You want mids and mids are our friend! :) Just not honky boxey sounding mids..

John
Click to expand...

absolutely, bro!!
 
Re: Scoops....?

usually alot of newer guitarist who play metal scoop their mids.
but the "nu" metal bands out there definitely dont scoop their mids.
 
Re: Scoops....?

my mids are SLIGHTY scooped on my GE-7, while the mids are boosted on my amp EQ. it works out great for me.. it cuts through the mix

i agree, mids ARE your friend when used properly
 
Re: Scoops....?

"scooped" or "dipped" mids in a pup can cause it to sound thin/hollow and make the guitar lost in the mix.
on a amp it is a common practice in metal to keep the mids lower than the treb and bass ala metallica, and others in thrash metal
 
Re: Scoops....?

In my opinion, scooped mids help tighten up your sound a bit, particularily when playing fast chord changes and using alot of palm mutes, and as such are are good for metal rhythm.

Personally, I like to leave them in. It gives me that sludgy, unclean, Sabbath like metal sound.
 
Re: Scoops....?

screamingdaisy said:
In my opinion, scooped mids help tighten up your sound a bit, particularily when playing fast chord changes and using alot of palm mutes, and as such are are good for metal rhythm.

Personally, I like to leave them in. It gives me that sludgy, unclean, Sabbath like metal sound.
Click to expand...

i use a three channel amp,in which i have my rhythm tone with less mids than my lead tone so i need a very balanced pup to compensate this.
if a pup is too scooped,it will sound like S**T on my rhythm channel and if the pups has too much mids ala CC or other mid heavy pups,it sounds like S**T on my lead channel :smack: :laugh2:
right now the best i have come across is the peavey wolfgang pups for all three channels of my amp :)
 
Re: Scoops....?

RG 2570 said:
i use a three channel amp,in which i have my rhythm tone with less mids than my lead tone so i need a very balanced pup to compensate this.
if a pup is too scooped,it will sound like S**T on my rhythm channel and if the pups has too much mids ala CC or other mid heavy pups,it sounds like S**T on my lead channel :smack: :laugh2:
right now the best i have come across is the peavey wolfgang pups for all three channels of my amp :)
Click to expand...

So far, I'm happiest with a DiMarzio Super Distortion. It does some wicked lead work, but also takes well to being scooped.

I have a JB that's also good for rhythm, although I find I have to lower the bass a bit to keep my amp from farting. I really like it's tone, but I still haven't found it's "Sweet Spot", so I still prefer my S Distortion. I find my S Distortion has more crunch, but that may be due to the fact that I haven't found that sweet spot I mentioned.

I prefer the JB to the S Distortion for cleans, but both pale in comparison to single coils.

In a couple of months time I plan on experimenting with some EMG 81, 85, SA, & SAVs.
 
Re: Scoops....?

Mids = crunchy distortion

How you can expect to get heads banging without crunchy distortion is waaay beyond me...

Back in the day, Kurt Cobain kept the mids on his Randall head up all the way, no matter what the setting...not that he's a tone genius or anything, i just think that's a cool tidbit.

-X
 
Re: Scoops....?

Empty Pockets said:
Back in the day, Kurt Cobain kept the mids on his Randall head up all the way, no matter what the setting...not that he's a tone genius or anything, i just think that's a cool tidbit.
Click to expand...

Back in the day!!? Man, I must be getting old, it seems like it was only yesterday.

- Mesa Studio Preamp and Crest or Crown solid state PA power amplifiers.

- Mids all the way up, bass and treble turned down.

- He also relied on a pedal for distortion (Boss DS-1/DS-2 and Tech 21 SansAmp), and not his amp. (He also used a Big Muff in the studio on a couple of songs)

- Plus, the Vintage 30's he used to replace his Greenbacks later on are both loud and crunchy as all hell.

Of course, you also have to remember that Cobain was trying to sound like sh*t, which is what made him sound so different "back in the day".
 
Re: Scoops....?

Empty Pockets said:
Mids = crunchy distortion

How you can expect to get heads banging without crunchy distortion is waaay beyond me...

-X
Click to expand...

keep in mind,there are low mids and high mids keep in mid, the crunchy ones are the high mids, i feel that all pup charts should include the low and high mids of the pup
:)
 
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