Jojobaplant wrote:

synchro wrote:

The ultimate setup would be two Blossom Points, after the Stereo Maker.

Ok, perhaps more seriously, there are a couple of things that seem germane. Virtually all pedals are buffered, when in use. “True Bypass” pedals mean that the pedal is not buffered when switched into bypass, but with rare exception, every pedal acts as a buffer when engaged. Basically every step of the way, in your signal path results in a copy of your signal being made, and that copy goes onto the next stage. So the Blossom Point, when it is engaged, does its Blossom Point thing, has a high impedance input and a low impedance output, which is to say that it makes for a dandy buffer. So this signal goes to the Stereo Maker which has a 1 megohm input impedance and outputs to two 600 ohm outputs. If you aren’t making any major gain changes in the Stereo Maker, it should be pretty much transparent. Just my two bits, but if you are employing any boost, I’d do it ahead of the Blossom Point, or at least use the 6 dB boost of the Blossom Point.

Or they'd make a stereo Blossom Point in the future A booster step would indeed be an idea and they're not that expensive and not that big, so if I leave the set up as it is right now, this might be a consideration indeed. Or I might just turn up the Quilter, which could also act as a booster. I will think about it, try out the two different setups and see what I think sounds better.

I have three of the things, so I can accommodate stereo, should the need ever arise. As SpSkins said, and he’d be in a position to know, the Blossom Point isn’t an effect.

This morning, I did some work on a test recording. It’s a simple little Surf tune that I wrote so that I can post it online without violating copyright. I do reserve all rights, however. Anyhow, this morning, I recorded the bass part, and I used the Blossom Point, in-line with the recorder, with no effects, whatsoever. The recorder is a Zoom R8, with a high impedance instrument input. The only “amp” is the preamp in the Zoom, but the sound is to my liking; clean, but not harsh. I used the Blossom Point at the end of the effects chain for the guitars as well, and the sound came out perfectly. I need to quit posting, and make some progress on that recording.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

AndrewTesta wrote:

After chatting with you on the “surf tracks on a twin reverb” forum I ordered one immediately. Hope it’s here early this week! I’m not sure how it’ll operate through a twin reverb but from what I’m reading it’s exactly what I need, thanks again synchro!

I’ve never tried it with my Twin, but I have used it with my Winfield Elizabeth, which is essentially the same tone stack, preamp and power amp as a Pro Reverb. I thought that it changed the character of the amp, and made it much more like a Brownface Fender would sound.

The usual response to using a Blossom Point is to turn it on an off about fifty times, comparing the sounds. I would suggest starting with the Input and Output controls almost all the way down, and the Presence about 3/4 of the way up. If you use that as a starting point, you can then dial in the point on the Presence control that gives you what you want. If you want maximum drip, the Presence should be set fairly high.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

I'm just going to note here that I already loved the Blossom Point with my Quilter Steelaire, but on my new Winfield Tremor, it is a much more interesting pedal! It really can make the amp a bit more "rowdy". It seems to me it makes the amp feel more dynamic - at mellow picking velocities, it adds some color, but plucking hard, it almost growls. I might consider it an "amp magnifier", in that if you have the amp set to a volume where it is just on the edge of breaking up a tiny bit, the pedal will not move you up that point into more distorting, but it will make that change more pronounced and interesting. Like it widens the spectrum. I love this!

I recently bought one and added it to my line up. It worked great with my Deluxe at the live gig we played a week ago. Smaller room, regular ceiling height. I had to play around with the settings as noted above at home for a few days, but it was worth it.

I'm usually a Twin Reverb guy, but haven't tried it out with that one yet. Something to look forward to.

Surfcat

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Samurai wrote:

I have played with it a couple of months as always on and then accidentally switched it off. It was like loosing all the sound juice at once, so painful.

I know what you mean, Vitaly. I’ve used mine pretty much 100% of the time, since first buying the pedal. I use it for every kind of music I play, and it provides a nice texture, without getting too rambunctious. On occasion, I’ll roll the tone back a bit, select the neck pickup and play some old school Jazz guitar. I might want to roll the Presence back a bit for that, but it makes for a very nice Jazz sound, with excellent dynamics and responsiveness.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I just wanted to let you guys hear a little sample of how good my Brownfacer pedal is. I was playing to a packed bar the other night, and had my little Princeton sounding like a 1961 Fender Showman. My gear was a Fender CS DD Strat .16-.60 > Surfy Compact reverb > Brownfacer > 1976 Silverface Princeton. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/YfdGlD2_zAs?feature=shared

Great sound.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Hey guys

Is there much use for this pedal at house friendly levels?

dontrunfrombears wrote:

Hey guys

Is there much use for this pedal at house friendly levels?

Was thinking the same thing. I would guess that it would help if you have a "house friendly" power / volume amp (something 5-15 watts).

I use it with Quilter Superblock and with 1 watt tube head and it totally changes the sound even on a bedroom volume

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dontrunfrombears wrote:

synchro wrote:

dontrunfrombears wrote:

Hey guys

Is there much use for this pedal at house friendly levels?

Perfect, IMHO. I use mine with a 5 watt amp, at living room friendly
volumes and I feel that it adds a lot.

Well at home I have a Vibro Champ Reverb so that’s encouraging, been on the fence for a while about a Blossom Point but my mind may have been made up

Let me tell you what will happen next …

You’ll plug it in and play, then you’ll click it off, and then back on, and then off again. After 20-30 of these cycles, you’ll never turn it off again. That’s what I did, and when Ryan at 60 Cycle Hum tested one, he kept Turing it off and on, finally exclaiming to the camera; “is this going to be my next favorite thing?”

It strange, because you don’t hear a stupendous difference, but you notice its absence. It should be the last thing before your amp. I’ve heard it described as an overdrive, but it doesn’t sound like it’s clipping, to me. My own take is that it’s a limiter, and in fact there’s a trim pot internally labeled Limiter; but there’s also a Presence control, which suggests to me that there’s a negative feedback loop with a variable treble bleed, much like the presence circuit on a Showman. The presence control is the only setting I ever change.

If you turn the presence up most of the way, it gives you a brilliant top end. Basically, the farther you turn it clockwise, the less the highs are damped in the internal op-amp. It’s not really a treble boost, but just a matter of letting the op-amp do its thing without the highs being damped.

I don’t use the input attenuator or the output boost, although the output can be used if you want to make sure that there’s no volume difference when the pedal is engaged, versus disengaged. The output control gives you up to 6 dB boost, if you crank it, but I don’t really think of the Blossom Point as a clean boost.

As best I recall, Surfy Industries refers to this, not as an effects pedal, but as an amp enhancement. It’s clean, but the signal responds in such a way that it sounds like an amp that is working for its keep, but not breaking up. It’s very much as Dick Dale put it, an amp at its “blossom point”. We’ve all heard it, and it’s sought after in many ways, but I see it as the point where an amp really starts to breathe and the response is somewhat elastic. Most amps have a point where this happens, but usually that is a relatively narrow range, and usually at a fairly high volume. With the blossom point pedal, you are able to achieve this at much lower volumes.

The first generation of the pedal didn’t have a bypass switch, and I can see why. My Blossom Points are never off. I use them for Surf, Country, Rock, Jazz and even when I play classical on an electric. (You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Classical Gas, played on a Jaguar.)

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.