I’ve been on here a few times trying to understand how to best eq a bass within a band context, and most commonly the advice is to focus on the mids.
Definitely get that.
BUT… how does this work then as it seems like he’s scooping the mids?
In a band context, would the guitarist need to up his mid levels then?
@gio did a rough setting chart for EQ settings to get different sounds/genres from the bass. I will try and find it after work.
Sweet! Would really appreciate that!
I’m trying to avoid a “set and forget” approach or any hard rules but focusing on mids has for sure been the most consistent message.
Again, it’s not that I don’t agree, it’s that in that video that tone works yet seems to go against the wisdom shared here.
can you expand on why you think this should not work?
Well I mentioned it in the OP.
99% of the advice I’ve seen or read says to boost mids (if anything) in a band max.
Whereas in the video it’s being scooped and it sounds great.
It’s subjective but to my ears I enjoy the sound and it still can be heard in a mix which goes against the conventional wisdom.
yeah Im not sure I can agree with that, so I will just try to answer the title question and maybe that will help
this eqing seems pretty standard for this sound: the lows are boosted to fill the low end a bit more, the mids are scooped to avoid muddy, the highs are boosted so the bass is not lost in the mix
with this sound it is the highs that give the presence not the mids…it is less grunty more trebley sound than mid boosted but with less mud and the the deep bass to retain the power
I get exactly what you mean.
I’ve found boosting the mids sounds kind of “quacky” if that makes sense.
That’s what surprised me by the video because it sounded really good to me. And I think Nirvana did OK as a band lol
Also Butch Vig recorded and then mixed together 3 tracks of bass for the Nevermind album tracks (something like -normal, -played an octave up, and then one played with bass -downtuned very low) so you are trying to copy that with one bass!
Oh wtf lol
I feel like that youtuber got pretty close to the actually tone surprisingly!
Yeah it shows you can emulate the sound quite well with the right style amp and pickups to get you close, then a bit of eq to shape to the right tone 
It also really depends on the bass pick-up, if you play with fingers or a pick (and how you pluck/pick!!), the number of guitars (and relative volume levels), how much distortion and so on…
Yeah, that might not work well, but it also depends on the context.
There are so many factor to account for, the best way to find what works in your own case is to experiment - yes, it takes time - and listen: first of all to the music but also to other people’s feedback 
That depends a lot on the relative volume and the location (or speakers), not only on the bass tone
The chart mentioned in the first reply: How To Adjust Your Bass and Amp Sound - #8 by eric.kiser
But also this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-77UU4ZzG4c (it’s been a while 
)
Here’s something to keep in mind. A bass playing on it’s own is a very different thing than playing in a mix. A scoop will sound very nice on it’s own, but in a mix having those mids will really help cut through the mix and make the bass heard.
This is the advice I most commonly hear/see!
I think i need to understand the p bass better. I actually don’t know if it’s a naturally mid forward bass or if it’s lacking.
Maybe they say to scoop the mids in certain scenarios so that a dominant mid-forward bass doesn’t overpower?
Answering my own curiousity here, and I don’t know why I never thought of this before but apparently P Basses are naturally mid forward in tone.
So by boosting mids I’m probably doing too much of it!
This is why I was probably having a tough time with boosting mids because it always made me sound really quacky. Boosting Lows and Highs probably gets me closer to a “balanced” tone.
So much to learn still!
Hmm… if I read this right, the “rock” setting has the tone rolled off on the bass?
On my p I’d be in dub reggae territory with that lol
Well said
It should be said that the Dark Glass Tone Capsule, which many people like and you see in some models like the Dark Ray, allow you to adjust bass, mid, and high mid but has no treble control. You adjust clarity through the high mids.
I read an interview with Leo Fender that said this is why the Fender bass amp was designed with a mid scoop at 500 Hz.
You’re not alone in the dislike of that quacky sound. I don’t care if someone else does it, it’s not the sound I want to make.
The problem with “rules of thumb” as it relates to EQ in recording or performing live is that for everyone you can present there’s often an exception to it. It’s the reason we all have EQ/voicing controls on our basses and our bass rigs so we can find the best sonic space to fill for that gig or even for a specific song. We need adaptability.