Comprehensive Dynamic and Tonal Control for Your Guitar
Jackson Audio’s Bloom has become a contemporary pedalboard classic, empowering guitarists with studio-grade dynamic and tonal control in a stompbox format. Equipped with an optical compressor, Bloom enhances your sound by subtly reining in transients and dialing up the sustain, and it gives you the option of six different compressor modes to match your playing style. Bloom’s EQ section features a 3-band Baxandall-inspired EQ, with a midrange bell filter and high and low shelving filters that guitarists at Sweetwater found to remain musical no matter how far they took them. The third piece in the Bloom signal chain is the titular “Bloom” control, a clean boost with a hold function that gradually ramps up for dramatic sustaining effects. To top it all off, Bloom allows MIDI control over all of its parameters via TRS input. Put the final polish on your guitar sound with Jackson Audio’s Bloom!
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Transparent, studio-grade optical compression
One of the secrets of a great recorded guitar sound is the use of a studio-grade compressor, and, over time, many engineers have settled on optical compressors for guitars. Why is that? Optical compressors use light to control the amount of gain reduction. The higher the input, the brighter the light, which is detected by a sensor and translated into greater levels of compression. Optical compressors have a naturally smooth attack and release, which makes for musical-sounding compression that is particularly well suited to dynamic guitar playing. While you can use the Bloom to smash your signal, it really excels at subtle, transparent compression that adds a hi-fi polish to your tone, increasing sustaining and bringing out top-end detail.
Six selectable compression modes
Bloom has four compression modes tailored to specific styles — Country Mode, R&B Mode, Ballad Mode, and Slide Mode — as well as a Limit Mode and access to an auxiliary compressor. For Slide Mode, Jackson Audio consulted with slide master Joey Landreth to come up with a dual-compressor design that produces limitless sustain while preserving attack and articulation. Finally, the Blend knob lets you dial in the perfect balance of compressed and uncompressed signal to achieve a sound that is felt more than heard.
Sweet-sounding Baxandall-style EQ
Sometimes overlooked by guitarists, an equalizer can be the difference between a good guitar tone and a stellar guitar tone, and Bloom contains a 3-band Baxandall-style EQ section for sweetening your sound. Baxandall-style EQ features gently sloping curves that provide natural and flattering tone shaping, which is why it’s one of the most popular EQ types for studio recording, mixing, and mastering applications. With Bloom’s EQ section you can subtly enhance your tone or completely restructure it. Additionally, Bloom’s EQ can be a lifesaver when you’re playing through a bad amp, allowing you to compensate for a less than satisfactory sound.
“Bloom” control boosts and sustains
Completing this awesome guitar channel strip, the titular Bloom functions in two ways. First, it can be used as a level booster to push your amp into breakup or help leads jump to the front of a mix. Second, by pressing and holding the footswitch, it acts as a ramp-up boost, perfect for adding sustain to the tails of notes or gradually moving between dynamically different sections of a song.
Jackson Audio Bloom Compressor, EQ, and Boost Pedal Features:
- 3-in-1 dynamic and tonal control pedal
- Studio-grade optical compressor with 6 preset modes
- Baxandall-style 3-band EQ section with ±12dB boost/cut per band
- Transparent boost with press-and-hold ramp-up feature
- MIDI input for selecting presets and controlling parameters
- Responsive LED indicator lights change intensity according to gain reduction level
- Programmable true bypass or buffered bypass operation
