"bloom"

Hi All,

New Fractal FM3 user - three weeks in and I'm loving the endless discovery process!

I'm wondering if anyone has specific amp model/adjustments they recommend as a demonstration of "bloom". I've read much and messed with many settings, compression, sag, different amps and so on and, frankly, I'm not sure what I'm experiencing. It a sense it doesn't really matter, because I can find setups I love playing, and that's the end goal, but for my own understanding I'd like to try to grasp the concept of "bloom" and see how that correlates to what I'm feeling in my playing.

Thanks much!
 
Not too loud, through HiFi system, or through an old solid state power amp and 12 inch cabinet. I also play with headphones often.
 
Not too loud, through HiFi system, or through an old solid state power amp and 12 inch cabinet. I also play with headphones often.
I don’t think you’ll get bloom with headphones or low volume. Guitar sounds special when it’s loud and there is subtle feedback happening. Not sure about bloom specifically, but recordings and stories from major artists with crazy tone usually have it incredibly loud. That’s when magic happens with guitar.
 
I don’t think you’ll get bloom with headphones or low volume. Guitar sounds special when it’s loud and there is subtle feedback happening. Not sure about bloom specifically, but recordings and stories from major artists with crazy tone usually have it incredibly loud. That’s when magic happens with guitar.
That makes sense, thanks. From most usages of "bloom", folks seems to be referring to the slight feedback you mention. I've also heard people talk about bloom as it relates to compression or power amp sag, though that seems not quite applicable since those sorts of effects are generally in the milliseconds range, whereas bloom seems to imply a much longer time - maybe like compression with a really, really long recovery time.
 
Master volume and the actual volume coming out of your speakers, hitting the guitar, will give you that magic. Make sure your MV is dialed in to the amp's sweetspot and let it hit your guitar with some volume. You'll get all that magical organic feedback/harmonics/overtones just like a real amp.
 
i understand bloom as a change in vowel sound. an example of this is allan holdsworth's tone. it's very obvious in this track (just the third note is example enough)



i've been on a constant quest to nail this kind of bloom for many years. some amps do it and some don't. it helps to set the amp with more gain than you need and then back off your guitar's volume a touch. don't use too much gain, because the amp will be too compressed. it can also help to roll off your guitar's tone control a little. hammering from nowhere can also help, as it gets the string moving in a different way than picking - the micro vibrations caused by the pick near the bridge aren't present. you can try increasing sag, or bias excursion, but it is possible to get it without rooting around in the advanced parameters. try the mesa amps, especially the usa pre lead yellow, or the recto 1 orange normal. turn the fat switch on. other amps will do it too, you've just got to experiment.
 
i understand bloom as a change in vowel sound. an example of this is allan holdsworth's tone. it's very obvious in this track (just the third note is example enough)



i've been on a constant quest to nail this kind of bloom for many years. some amps do it and some don't. it helps to set the amp with more gain than you need and then back off your guitar's volume a touch. don't use too much gain, because the amp will be too compressed. it can also help to roll off your guitar's tone control a little. hammering from nowhere can also help, as it gets the string moving in a different way than picking - the micro vibrations caused by the pick near the bridge aren't present. you can try increasing sag, or bias excursion, but it is possible to get it without rooting around in the advanced parameters. try the mesa amps, especially the usa pre lead yellow, or the recto 1 orange normal. turn the fat switch on. other amps will do it too, you've just got to experiment.

Thanks so much for all the detail! I'll be experimenting with the setups you describe. The Holdsworth example is great too. It's so satisfying to learn new music and guitar things, and everyone here on the forum is so helpful with that - from tweaking knobs to what to listen for - all great stuff and much appreciated!
 
i understand bloom as a change in vowel sound. an example of this is allan holdsworth's tone. it's very obvious in this track (just the third note is example enough)



i've been on a constant quest to nail this kind of bloom for many years. some amps do it and some don't. it helps to set the amp with more gain than you need and then back off your guitar's volume a touch. don't use too much gain, because the amp will be too compressed. it can also help to roll off your guitar's tone control a little. hammering from nowhere can also help, as it gets the string moving in a different way than picking - the micro vibrations caused by the pick near the bridge aren't present. you can try increasing sag, or bias excursion, but it is possible to get it without rooting around in the advanced parameters. try the mesa amps, especially the usa pre lead yellow, or the recto 1 orange normal. turn the fat switch on. other amps will do it too, you've just got to experiment.

Very cool, Track takes me back to UK - Mental Medication and the two albums they did... :)
 
i understand bloom as a change in vowel sound. an example of this is allan holdsworth's tone. it's very obvious in this track (just the third note is example enough)



i've been on a constant quest to nail this kind of bloom for many years. some amps do it and some don't. it helps to set the amp with more gain than you need and then back off your guitar's volume a touch. don't use too much gain, because the amp will be too compressed. it can also help to roll off your guitar's tone control a little. hammering from nowhere can also help, as it gets the string moving in a different way than picking - the micro vibrations caused by the pick near the bridge aren't present. you can try increasing sag, or bias excursion, but it is possible to get it without rooting around in the advanced parameters. try the mesa amps, especially the usa pre lead yellow, or the recto 1 orange normal. turn the fat switch on. other amps will do it too, you've just got to experiment.

My favorite Holdsworth album... Maybe because it was my first, but it's so good!
 
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