tauzero Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 I regularly see descriptions of pickups as being "dark sounding". I have absolutely no idea what that means. I can understand "thin" (lacking in bass) and "muddy" or "woolly" (attack not very distinct) but "dark sounding" makes as much sense as "plays like butter" (you finish up with a slimey mess all over your hands?). Is this another mystery to go along with dark matter and dark energy? Can anybody guilty of using the term describe exactly what they mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow_22 Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Ive had pickups before i my P's where i feel like i needed another quarter of a turn to be available on my tone pot despite it being fully open. i guess one mans 'dark' is another mans 'muddy'? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Dark, to me, is a lack of top end clarity and sparkle. Not necessarily muddy, but more mid and bottom than top. I had a 60s fender jazz that wasn’t as bright as my 70s jazz, mostly because the bridge pickup placement is different. I used to describe that bass as sounding darker than the other. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petebassist Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 49 minutes ago, tauzero said: I regularly see descriptions of pickups as being "dark sounding". I have absolutely no idea what that means. I can understand "thin" (lacking in bass) and "muddy" or "woolly" (attack not very distinct) but "dark sounding" makes as much sense as "plays like butter" (you finish up with a slimey mess all over your hands?). Is this another mystery to go along with dark matter and dark energy? Can anybody guilty of using the term describe exactly what they mean? Great question - I've heard the same term used to describe double bass strings, and never knew what it meant either. I'd say there are only four sounds/tones - trebly, bassy, and muddy... and Jean Jacques Burnel. 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 49 minutes ago, Rayman said: Dark, to me, is a lack of top end clarity and sparkle. Not necessarily muddy, but more mid and bottom than top. I had a 60s fender jazz that wasn’t as bright as my 70s jazz, mostly because the bridge pickup placement is different. I used to describe that bass as sounding darker than the other. So dull, in other words, which would appear more descriptive to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 I think dull insinuates a negative thing, whereas dark is more descriptive? Dark is good, I definitely lean in a darker direction now, tonally, compared to the bright tone I used to prefer years ago. To me, dull means meh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 15 minutes ago, tauzero said: So dull, in other words, which would appear more descriptive to me. No, I wouldn't say dull. It's different to dull. Dull to me is negative, dark isn't necessarily a bad thing. One of the guitarists in my band has several SGs, a Les Paul and a Heritage H170. The SGs are a little scooped sounding, the Les Paul has a lot more mids. I would describe the Heritage as darker. It is almost more focused and has an extended bass response. It has a clarity that the others don't have by sacrificing a bit of the high end. I know that's skinny stringers, but hopefully that's helpful... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd56hawk Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Very little treble / high mids. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 I'd use dark to describe a tone that was full and powerful in the low end; treble present but light and not dominant at all. For me it's not just about not much treble, it's about the quality of the low end - muscular and authoritative. If anything is absent it would maybe be the upper end of the middle. My double bass was what I'd call dark when I bought it; a couple of modifications have opened up the mid range a bit and made it more rounded, although still with a solid low end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Dark is definitely different to dull to my ears. I think of a lot of grungey stuff when talking about a dark bass tone. These are a couple of my favourites..... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 OK, so not "dull" but "bassy" then. "Dark" conveys absolutely nothing in sonic terms to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) Well, nothing new about the nuances of language being lost to some people, or the lack of ability to think abstract. And I am not even a native English speaker. Edited October 20, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 As you can see here, it is descriptive, but means nothing. We do not have words that have been standardized, and have certain, detailed descriptions. Here we only have opinions. Exactly like wines that taste round and fruity. Say what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 when I think of dark it brings to mind a tone with a slight bump in the low mids with naturally slightly rolled off (as opposed to the low pass filter effect of rolling off a tone control)sounding treble and low treble frequencies but without a loss of definition in the tone which for me is what makes it different to a muddy tone which has rolled off treble and no definition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 The opposite of a bright sound, obviously 😬 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 5 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said: Well, nothing new about the nuances of language being lost to some people, or the lack of ability to think abstract. And I am not even a native English speaker. I'm not sure who that is a dig at/ What would you describe a "dark" sound as, as you appear to consider yourself an expert in the nuances of language and abstract thinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddycall Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Do you understand what a bright sound is? It’s the opposite of that 🙂. hope that helps 👍 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 It is like a lot of HIFI terms. Ill-defined, and not too helpful. A bit like heft! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 IMO dark is an emphasis on the lows and low-mids, with less top end and high-mids. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) 14 hours ago, Waddycall said: Do you understand what a bright sound is? It’s the opposite of that 🙂. hope that helps 👍 This is partly correct. Edited October 21, 2023 by hooky_lowdown 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 9 hours ago, Waddycall said: Do you understand what a bright sound is? It’s the opposite of that 🙂. hope that helps 👍 https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-opposite-of/bright.html dim, faint, unbright, unbrilliant, dull, lacklustre So faint, dull, and lacklustre. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Again, I wouldn't say dull is like dark. Dull, to me, is a hofner with tape wound strings, tone rolled off. Dark is more like a P bass with rounds and the tone down a bit. There is a bit more harmonic content in a dark sound than a dull one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 I think of a dark sound being something like a Gibson Thunderbird without much treble on the amp. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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