Amps That 'Bloom' - Which To Buy ?

Lodious · December 2016

As an alternative approach, why not find a player based in the uk who has the tone which you like and exhibits 'bloom', pay for a couple of hours of his time, pack some of the lovely amps you already own into your car and get him to see how close he can get with your gear. He can also look at your technique to see if you can make some adjustments to help get the tone you are after.

Honestly, i think it will be cheaper and give far more significant results than buying new amp.

rossyamaha · December 2016

Mesa Lonestar does it. Or if you can find one an old Fender Prosonic.

Wazmeister · December 2016

Lodious said:

As an alternative approach, why not find a player based in the uk who has the tone which you like and exhibits 'bloom', pay for a couple of hours of his time, pack some of the lovely amps you already own into your car and get him to see how close he can get with your gear. He can also look at your technique to see if you can make some adjustments to help get the tone you are after.

Honestly, i think it will be cheaper and give far more significant results than buying new amp.

Or, alternatively...

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/Warren3333/IMG_0012_1.jpg

hotpickups · December 2016

Nice @Wazmeister . Did you or are you getting one?

Lodious · December 2016

That could work too ;-) Nice!

dindude · December 2016

@Nerine I was actually right with you up until you tried to get me to listen to Nickelback (you little tinker you).

hotpickups · December 2016

dindude said:

@Nerine I was actually right with you up until you tried to get me to listen to Nickelback (you little tinker you).

I went to see Nickleback recently. £120 a ticket and felt a little duped. Just not my thing really I guess. The things we do for our kids – my son liked them at one stage but changed his mind after I bought the tickets

Anyway didn't mean to derail the thread but just wanted to share

Wazmeister · December 2016

hotpickups said:

Nice @Wazmeister . Did you or are you getting one?

There may be one on the way...

Nerine · December 2016

I'm a Nickelback fan, to be fair. Being an engineer I use a lot of their records to reference from.
I also went to see them at the Nottingham Motorpoint in November. They were immensely good. £38 per ticket.

Back to bloom...

Most recognise it as the sag in a power section. According to TGP anyway. And we all know that that is the authoritative tome of tone.

So yeah. Compression.

The stunted note attack of a cooking amp, where the power supply has to "catch up".
Cathode biased amps tend to be most prone to it. Apparently.

The Schofield/Two Rock clip where feedback is being coaxed quite easily; that's volume, a hollowbody guitar and close proximity to the amp. Very easy to achieve.

Having said that, I know that on my Diezel, the preamp can also sound as if it's sagging a little bit even if you haven't got the master wound up. But that has evil levels of gain.

Catthan · December 2016

As per @Nerine's definition, I also perceive this as a compression effect, fast attack slow release so that the note "builds".
The problem with the term of compression in this case, and particularly when gain is involved (valves clipping - compressing) is that sound artifacts can be squashed.
Whereas what I think we refer to here implies that at a given compression (gain) set point, good notes are enriched and "blossom" further during their duration; no squashing or unpleasant artifacts.
Unless builders managed to build a stripped down compressor in the signal chain and make amps "bloom"..

I've witnessed this live in other people's playing and I always concluded it was a matter of:
-tone in the hands-picking how and where etc (corny I know)
-Guitar set-up and overall quality of the gtr
-Player's ability & experience in dialing their gear in

I remember a teacher of mine who used to amaze me with his tone because he always manage to sound "bloomy"
He picked near the board and somehow fretted in a certain fashion which I couldn't understand..

So, op, maybe it's not so much the amp (tho a good one helps) but everything before it too.

richardhomer · December 2016

rossyamaha said:

Mesa Lonestar does it.

The Classic might - I pretty sure my Special doesn't....

Cacofonix · December 2016

Carr Impala?

20 seconds in -ish and onwards?

Otherwise Two Rock Studio Pro 35, with the rear master turned up some.

musteatbrain · December 2016

There is something in this that differentiates amps. My Fuchs would go in to feedback with a lot less gain and volume then any of my other amps, even when using the same guitar and cab.
I'd be interested in finding out why as it was great fun

hywelg · December 2016

musteatbrain said:

There is something in this that differentiates amps. My Fuchs would go in to feedback with a lot less gain and volume then any of my other amps, even when using the same guitar and cab.
I'd be interested in finding out why as it was great fun

Cos even though it was a pcb amp it was basically a Dumble. Don't know which Dumble Andy Fuchs copied but I think he had been inside more than one. He knows a heck of a lot about them.