Well I’ve ordered one now, can’t wait to try it out

So I’ve had a little time with the Blossom Point, and it was definitely a worthwhile buy

I had to experiment to get the ‘right’ sound, but it was so worth it. My Jazzmaster Vintera has hotter pickups and when I first tried it clipped a little but the Blossom Point attenuated the signal with the input control. The presence control dials in the sound perfectly and when it’s about 3 quarters up the drip is amazing.

And as I was told it’s somewhat of subtle effect that you really notice when it’s turned off your tone sounds a little weak in comparison. For me it’s a leave on all the time kinda pedal

Last edited: Jan 27, 2024 07:54:59

I switch mine off only when I use Saturn VI booster, it feels like too much of overload and compression together. But I like them both, Blossom Point for a clean classic surf sound and Saturn for more grit.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

I have mine always on with my Fender gear, not so much with other stuff (Gibson guitars, other misc. amps). I've found that bassier guitars can get a little unbalanced and overblown in the low mids. I do love it to death on my offset Fenders and DiPinto Galaxie IV, though!

AgentClaret wrote:

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but would this pedal help a solid state amp get a more brownface tone? I only have a Fender Ultimate Chorus (kind of a JC120 copy) and a little Spark Go that I usually use with a blackface amp setting...

Is it just for pushing tube output or what?

It works great with solid state as well, I use it with Quilter.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

AgentClaret wrote:

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but would this pedal help a solid state amp get a more brownface tone? I only have a Fender Ultimate Chorus (kind of a JC120 copy) and a little Spark Go that I usually use with a blackface amp setting...

Is it just for pushing tube output or what?

While it can give 6dB of gain, it’s not, in any sense, an overdrive, or designed to push a tube amp into overdrive.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Here is what it says on surfyindustries.com (yes! we have a website!)
It's not a spin on anything. It IS the Presence knob found on the Fender Showman brownface amplifiers 1960-63. We always aim to keep things pure and simple.

As big fans of the so-called "brownface" Fender® amplifiers of the early 60s (1960-1963), we have long been thinking of producing an enhancing device to re-create the key features that make those legendary amps so unique. We also wanted to be able to capture that sound with the minimum amount of controls. And so, the BLOSSOM POINT was born!

The Blossom Point emulates the special "fat effect" that is obtained by pushing the tubes and the volume of a brownface Fender® Showman® just before distortion. It finds that "sweet spot" (that Dick Dale was calling the "blossom point") of maximum tube compression that changes the entire sound - from its power to the sustain of the guitar and the reverb. The Blossom Point is perfect for the gigging artist who appreciates that sound or is used to playing through one of those old amplifiers. As we know, for live shows and touring, you can be presented with different backline amps and traveling lighter and avoiding bringing a brownface amplifier on the road is always a plus. It saves you money and your back! With the Blossom Point you are secure in knowing you can get the sound you need from any amplifier, even the coldest ones, with affordable ease and portability.

INPUT (signal level attenuator)
Some guitars have very hot pickups and the signal level can bring to distortion the compression stage of the circuit. Use this control to lower the input volume just enough to suit the sound.

OUTPUT (boost)
Use this control to increase the signal level from zero to +6db. The "unity gain" is around middle position, so you can also use the pedal as a little boost. The reason why we included a boost is because the effect is TRUE BYPASS, so this control would help in case there is a difference in volume with the effect on or off.

PRESENCE
One of the ways that brownface amps are unique is the adjustable "presence" control, which later became the "bright" switch when the blackface series came out in 1964. This control gently increases the high and mid-range frequencies allowing the sound to be wider, fuller and crispier, while shaping the tone in a very particular way.

The Blossom Point works at 9V (also with internal optional battery).

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

I’ve used the Blossom Point with an amp that is based on the Deluxe Reverb circuit, and it immediately changed the character of the amp, giving a sound much more like I would associate with a ‘62 Showman. It does exactly what spskins describes.

AgentClaret wrote:

Interesting!

My Ultimate Chorus has a Presence knob and I never really figured out what it does!

Presence, as it was implemented on a Showman, worked with the negative feedback loop of the amp, where some of the output signal was actually fed back into the power amp as a damper. The Presence control allows you to shunt some of the highest frequencies to ground, which means that the highs are not damped as much as the lows and midrange. It’s a gradual taper, so mids are less damped that lows, but the higher end, think upper harmonics, are damped even less than mids.

It is, in some effects, much like the Bright Switch, but works completely differently. The Bright Switch uses a capacitor to allow upper frequencies to bypass the volume control, which means that there is a different mix of upper harmonics to fundamentals. The Bright Switch has its greatest effect at lower volumes, and as the volume control is turned higher, the difference between highs and fundamentals decreases. Both the Presence Control and the Bright Switch add a lot of sparkle, but they do it much differently, and this is one contributing factor to why a first generation Showman doesn’t sound much like some of the amps that replaced it in 1964.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

AgentClaret wrote:

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but would this pedal help a solid state amp get a more brownface tone? I only have a Fender Ultimate Chorus (kind of a JC120 copy) and a little Spark Go that I usually use with a blackface amp setting...

Is it just for pushing tube output or what?

This is the reason why we did it making a JC120 sound like a brownface showman.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

I would start with the Surfy Bear first. It’s more essential to the overall traditional surf sound. But I agree that the blossom point is incredibly useful in getting even closer to that classic sound with the feel, width, presence, drip, etc on whatever your gear setup might be.