Must-have Stompbox Compressor for Tone Aficionados
Serious tone chasers will attest that having a high-quality compressor on your pedalboard is a must. Hardware compressors were an essential ingredient to many of the most famous recorded guitar tones, spanning classic country, rock ‘n’ roll, funk, and more. The Jackson Audio Blossom compressor pedal gives you studio-quality dynamics control in a stompbox format. Based on the Green channel found on Jackson Audio’s Bloom pedal, Blossom is an optical compressor with a smooth, natural sound that fattens up your tone without destroying your dynamics — even at its heaviest settings. As an added bonus, Blossom includes a 1-knob tilt EQ. Turning the knob clockwise boosts the treble and cuts the lows. Turn it counterclockwise, and you beef up the bass while shaving off the highs. Guitarists at Sweetwater were pleased to find a blend control, which allows you to fold the uncompressed signal back in to reap the benefits of compression while keeping transients intact. And housed in a gorgeous and rugged brushed stainless-steel enclosure, the Blossom compressor looks every bit as good as it sounds!
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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. Blossom excels at subtle, transparent compression that adds a hi-fi polish to your tone, increasing sustain and bringing out top-end detail.
Jackson Audio Blossom Compressor Pedal Features:
- Based on the Green channel from Jackson Audio’s Bloom pedal
- Smooth and transparent optical compressor
- Increases sustain and fattens tone without sacrificing dynamics
- Simple and effective tone shaping with 1-knob tilt EQ
- Blend control for adjustable parallel compression
- Housed in a rugged brushed stainless-steel enclosure
- Power via 9- or 18-volt adapter; 18-volt adapter provides higher headroom (adapter not included)
