Profiles Sound Dark Complaint - I Don't Understand

    I've read multiple times people referring to TAF or MBritt profiles as sounding "Dark"


    What.. the heck.. does that mean?!


    I could use some pickup analogies, or commercial recording analogies, etc. Or some sound clip that shows the difference between dark and not-dark.


    When I do remember someone saying "X profiles are dark, unlike Y profiles" and when I played Y they were thin and just about phased out.
    Since it was one person, I dismissed it. But I've heard the charge now more than a number of times and am truly curious to know the distinction, if it's real, or phantom subjective.

    Only thing I can put it down to?


    Andy from Amp Factory has (I believe) stated a preference for single coil guitars.


    Michael (MBritt) profiles using a P90 equipped monster.


    Were I to guess, I'd say in both cases that they set the amps to their taste for the guitars they use and then profile them. As all the guitars concerned have a decent treble response, you probably dial the treble back a little on the amp to keep it sweet.


    I guess if you then use these profiles with a guitar / pickup that lacks treble output? Then it'd sound dark. For me, I have a Goldtop with P90's, a PRS Stripped 58 with very low OP humbuckers and then it's mainly teles. So pretty much all my guitars have a treble thing going on. Consequently, I like very much Amp Factory and MBritt.


    Just a theory :)

    I guess it would help me if someone could make a clip of a profile they consider perfect, then one they consider too dark that they wish were not dark. Then I'd "get it". I truly don't understand the descriptions, cause we're talking about sounds. So I'd need clips or references to commercial tracks illustrating it.


    If I grab TAF's Bluesbreaker FULL off Pack 6 and play with my 2012 LP Trad w/Classic '57, '57 Plus, it sounds exactly like the recording's tone in single note and chord crunch. Is the Beano album of 1966 considered "Dark"?


    I like Sabbath, I could see anyone saying that is "Dark" cause it's 3 half steps down. No brainer there.


    But I use Andy's Fenders with my Single Coils and get Mark Knofler's Making Movies tones.
    No one can say THAT is dark stuff, right? Strat->Clean or slightly overdriven Fender.


    I wouldn't NOT choose to use my Strat with the Bluesbreaker amp, just my choice, but if I did use a Strat with a Marshall I'd expect it to be "Dark" considering Hendrix was famous for that, but didn't SRV used Fenders for his distortion and Marshall's for his cleans and got similar tones. He's considered Dark, no? (but he was striving for 60's, 70's tones for Rock)


    My theory is maybe if you play HB, SC, P90's through amps that were used for 60's 70's rock, it sounds dark to people who like EVH up through 80's rockers. Maybe its there, the divide in expectation. ?

    Quote from db9091

    My theory is maybe if you play HB, SC, P90's through amps that were used for 60's 70's rock, it sounds dark to people who like EVH up through 80's rockers. Maybe its there, the divide in expectation. ?


    Exactly this, I think.


    Coupled with the fact that different profilers have different tonal preferences themselves - which may not match the expectations of the people who are seeking tones. That's why any profile recommendations should always be accompanied by a description of what they judge it by, and what type of music they play etc. I've seen a lot posts where people ask for profiles suited for say modern hard rock, and getting recommendations that *I* think are just way beside what they seek. It's like people just scroll past the context :)

    I guess it would explain the opposite too. When someone goes "I don't like..." the profiles I think are the best, I go to their recommendations and they are thin and lacking in ballz.


    But if I paired them with EMG's at hi-gian, maybe I'd have something, haha.


    Yes, it WOULD help me and others to say what you like, play, expect and THEN the profiles make sense. How many times has someone waxes about a great profile and when I see it's "Metal" I'm like, ugh, thats not for me. At least not modern metal. I probably don't have the right pickups and its not my preference.

    It has a lot to do with monitoring system and pickups and tonal taste, I guess. I stand in front of my rig and it sounds balanced. I listen in my ear monitors and it's plenty "bright" and not muddy at all, so I'm not going to tweak it to sound brighter. That would hurt. That's the hardest part for me, the tweaking til I get it to sound as good and balanced as possible on as many different speakers as possible, but it's impossible to make a one-size-fits-all profile for everyone. A lot of people are used to hearing amps from above and not right in the speaker cone, which is what the Kemper does, so there's that to contend with as well. I don't personally like sticking my ears right in front of a blasting speaker, so I try to make sure the finished product isn't painful. There's also a thread by Bluesman about hearing loss and frequency dips there, so it's a never-ending supply of variables. And I do think some of my own profiles sound dark and muddy sometimes, especially at low volume, but that's probably precisely why they put those treble and presence knobs so big and on the front. ;)

    Yeah I agree with mike above.
    the end of the day, its the monitoring system that lets _most_ of us down. - I profile to a "reference" that being I use top end ref monitors that are calibrated into the room its in. - I have to shoot for that, but.. even to my own tests some I play on are sounding too dark and muffled, and other systems/monitors are too bright, and then the others are just normal and fine.
    then end of the day though. - we will all have different needs/wants/tastes & gear. - its up to us lot as players to get our tone we want. and sometimes that means dialing up the notches some more.


    :)

    Exactly, and low frequencies can be heard everywhere whereas the highs are directional, "spurting" out like water from the nozzle of a hose.


    As you adjust the nozzle for an ever-wider spread of water, you're achieving an analogous situation to lowering the frequencies coming out of your speaker.