Boosted mids, or mid-scoop??

[lawrencedesigns]

I have spent so much time chasing "my sound" that I have painted myself into a corner. So I am wondering what you all prefer.
Because the guitar is a "mid-heavy" instrument, I have been scooping the mids on my Blues Jr. almost to zero. I play mostly blues/classic rock, almost always a little dirty (Bad Monkey), with a Big Muff for solos...
My LP loves the Muff, my Strat, no so much.
In a recent reprint of an interview with Gary Moore, he indicated you MUST have boosted mids to get a true high-gain, distorted sound.
So I have been bouncing back and forth, and have just confused myself.
What are you all doing?????

[chronowarp]

Need to boost them to cut or have presence.

[magicaxeman]

There is no such thing as "must have", you set the controls to get the sound you want, not based on someones opinion.

Having said that I vary them usually between 4-7 depending on the amp I'm using and the sound I want.

[RSRD]

what are your amp settings and where are your guitar tone knobs set at?

[tiktok]

I find scooped mids work well behind vocals, and boosted mids for when you need to be more upfront, or the musical focus. Often the best tone for a given situation is not the tone that sounds best when you're playing by yourself at home or in the practice room.

[lawrencedesigns]

Blues Jr. with Billm mods. Cannabis Rex. Parallel 12" cabinet with Eminence Govner
Volume 7 Treble 6 Bass 5 Master 5 Reverb 3
Mids...used to be 1, now experimenting with 7

LP tones full clockwise..

[guitfiddle]

I boost mine. When you roll off the volume knob, most guitars tend to lose a bit of highs and mids anyway, so it's easy to sit down further in the mix for a vocal part.

[lawrencedesigns]

Tiktoc....that sounds like what I am looking for. I am mostly a bedroom player. But I was jamming last week with a full band and had to hit my "fat switch" to be heard at all. (The Blues Jr. fat switch boosts bass and mids).
So I need to do some experimentingl....

[RSRD]

Originally Posted by lawrencedesigns

Blues Jr. with Billm mods. Cannabis Rex. Parallel 12" cabinet with Eminence Govner
Volume 7 Treble 6 Bass 5 Master 5 Reverb 3
Mids...used to be 1, now experimenting with 7

LP tones full clockwise..

Now I play prog rock with some heavy gain at times so where Im coming from might be different. I love a heavy gain where you can still here string/notes independently. Not a big mush where notes get lost within the gain, if that makes sense.

I always turn the mids up 2 notches higher then the treble. It just cuts thru better for me. Thats what works for me anyways 8)

[Darkburst]

I dime the mids, dial in enough treble to cut through and roll the bass back to 3 or 4.

[VaughnC]

I believe in what my ears tell me and not some arbitrary number on my amps knobs. Tune the amp for the room, then play my heart out. I play guitar, not amp.

[CharlyG]

I happen to like my tone knobs at 12:00 on the clean channel. My guitar tone ctls are set once and left alone. So my mids are neither scooped nor boosted, just there. Everything else is done with the amps boost or dirt, and that channel is dialed for good dirt tone, not set to 12 like the clean channel.

[oldtelefart]

Midrange is the guitar's natural voice. Use your ears, and remember that what sounds good playing alone is not going to sound right with a band.

[CharlyG]

well midrange really is a little nebulous to me. The guitars mid range is not the audio midrange, it is actually in the lower spectrum

The frequency range from approximately 300–5000 hertz is known as audio mid-range.

Most tone circuits are centered around a midrange frequency at
300hz to 500hz. The Fender controls' center frequency (approx 300Hz)
is close to the fundamental pitch of a guitar's open high E string.

By contrast, hifi amp tone circuits are usually centered around
1KHz--well over an octave higher. For guitar, the 1KHz tone circuit
would provide a more effective control of bass frequencies, but
at the expense of the rich, hard-hitting spectrum under the
control of the treble knob. A 1KHz treble control would affect
only harmonics of guitar frequencies.

[SteveO]

Originally Posted by tiktok

Often the best tone for a given situation is not the tone that sounds best when you're playing by yourself at home or in the practice room.

This has been my experience as well. Less mids/more gain when playing alone, more mids/less gain when playing with others. If another guitarist is involved, there is the additional issue of finding their spots in the mix without stepping on each other.