Two Rock Bloomfield Drive - The Most Thorough Review and Demo! Is it the right amp for you?
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- I recently bought a Two Rock Bloomfield Drive, but when I was trying to find reviews and demos, they were hard to come by. I wanted to create a thorough demo, so anyone else looking to buy one could get a good idea of how the different settings sound.
Is it any good for the home or bedroom player?
Which size should you get - 100 watt, 50 watt or 40 watt?
Please watch the video through to get the best idea of what it is really like, but you can use the timestamps below to help you find the chapters again:
0:00 - Playing with Tremolo and Compressor Pedal
0.20 - Intro
01:46 - Bloomfield Drive vs Classic Reverb Signature
03:28 - Main Review Starts
03:56 - Back of the Amp
05:05 - The Front of the Amp
05:11 - Is it good for home use? Which Size?
09:37 - EQ1 vs EQ2 Demo
17:54 - Reverb Demo - Best Reverb Ever?
21:51 - The Lead Channel Demo
27:47 - Bypass the Tone Stack! Love it!
28:29 - Presence Control Demo
29:40 - 100 watt vs 50 watt Clean Channel
33:17 - 100 watt vs 50 watt Lead Channel
36:10 - My favourite tone from the amp!
37:05 Final Thoughts - Розваги
I think a mix of both video formats is great! Long format videos like this are really good for the reasons you pointed out in the beginning of your demo, and it’s much appreciated!
Thank you for the feedback 👍🏼
Thanks, this was great review. Answered a lot of questions for me!
You’re welcome - glad it helped!
Thanks. Looked for the Bloomfield review and found yours, great information. Subscribed. Cheers mate.
Cheers 🤟🏼
WOW! Thank you!!! This IS the most in-depth video of the Bloomfield and you put a metric ton of work and time into planning organizing, filming and editing it. Well done as I know it was no easy task. I hope I can find your follow up video. My #1 Tip for others is to listen with a good pair of headphones to hear the subtleties of all these adjustments.
I bought a used 40/20 this summer and have barely cracked the surface of what it can do. Your rundown will help me be more methodic in getting more out of my Bloomfield. Admitedly, I''ve been tempted to sell this and buy a Classic Reverb for the simplicity but they are two different personalities for sure.
That's THE video I was waiting for! I watched it like I drink a cup of coffee: readily.
😁
Glad you explained the flexibility offered by the master volume. Very helpful.
That reverb is to die for. Gorgeous. So is the bypassed lead sound. Makes you want to show off your best SRV licks!
Cool review man. Well done. All I can say is that I definitely want this amp. One day maybe.
Cheers!
🤣 i need to get better jokes! Glad you liked it! Yeah it is an awesome thing that amp 🤟🏼 that bypassed sound is so good! cheers!
Love the long format, especially for an amp that's hard to test in real life! Interested in other amps you have access to!
Thanks! Yeah when i was looking to buy i really wanted this sort of thing. Cheers 👍🏼
Always enjoy the deep thoughtful analysis vids. This one cracked me up as reviewing a £5,000 amp and the line ‘if you’ve never used an FX loop before’… ‘fork-candles’ comes to mind. Cheers mate 👍
Love the video and the channel. Thanks and Cheers.
Thank you! 👍🏼
Even with all the technical talk, we really enjoyed your playing 😎
Thanks 🤟🏼
This amp sounds amazing!! I've always wanted to get my hands on a . This is really a monster of an amplifier. Great demo and review! Not to mention sweet playing. Too bad the price point of the amps are really high. Maybe one day I'll get one! Cheers man :)
Yeah, they are very pricey 👀 (don’t tell my wife)
Great video! Would love to see the same for the CLRS and your other amps. Love your playing as well, keep up the great work!
Thanks 👍🏼 yup, planning to work on a few of these in the new year!
@@JamesOnGuitar I'll second that on the CLRS! I just wish you had a Traditional Clean as well to compare! 🤣
Awesome video. Really appreciate the in depth demo. I have been debating the 100 watt vs the 40/20 as I will only be using for home use.
Cheers 🤟🏼 which way are you leaning now?
Leaning towards 100 watt with matching cab but might depend on availability... Plenty of 40/20 available right now. Just didn't want to "settle" if you can say that about a $5K amp.
Wait for the 100! It is definitely better imho 🤟🏼
Omg i listened this through an iphone without headphones and still one of the best sounds i’ve listened from an amp!
🤟🏼 thanks man - this amp really does sound incredible!
Try a Park 75. Or a Park 45 100
Great video man, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Have my eye on a Bloomfield and was wondering if it was the right fit, and this video seems to be answering all the questions I had!
Cheers man - that’s great. This is by far my favourite amp 🤟🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar how do you think it stacks up against the CRS? I know you briefly touched on it at the beginning of the vid but if you have any more insight on the Bloomfield compared to other Two-Rock’s that would be awesome! Again, great video, all the info I’ve been trying to find online is here!
@@ParkerDeBaryshe so the crs is much more specifically that pushed fender sound - srv etc. Less of a neutral platform. The bloomfield is more neutral, less identifiable and less raunchy but so classy and massive sounding. Am planning a full comparison vid but will be august or september by then
@@JamesOnGuitar that’s what I had sort of figured, seemed like the crs is like more fender-esque, I’ve heard Matt Schofield live use it to great effect! The Bloomfield (to my ear) has felt a bit more dumble ODS, flatter and more neutral, plus that drive! Looking forward to your comparison! Looking for something a bit different from the 1968 Fender Bandmaster and Ceriatone JM100 that I have, plus I love Joey Landreth so the Bloomfield seemed perfect! Your video definitely is confirming my suspicions for sure
Thanks for a great review - the amp sounds flat out amazing. I really like the bypass mode.
The explanation of wattage Vs volume was very helpful also.
Are such extended amp reviews useful? For an amp like this I’d say yes 👍
Thank you, i’m glad you enjoyed it 🤟🏼 yeah - you are right, no need on a little princeton then 🤣
@@JamesOnGuitar lol 😂 touché
I own this amp and absolutely love it! Great in-depth demo, best I've seen so far. Thanks for a great video and keep up the great work brother!
Dude isn’t it crazy how much better these amps are!?
Hi James thanks for this - I've been looking at this and didn't really find any apart from on Peach Guitars website either so this is great.
Cheers - glad it helped 👍🏼
Hey all, I hope you enjoy this one! Let me know if it is just too much - as in the amount of demos etc. Hope you find it interesting :) Put your headphones on!
I too am trying to get better at this, your videos look awesome man
@@TreyAlexander it’s harder than it looks, isn’t it!
@@JamesOnGuitar and the price of admission is big too!! Trying to get to my first 1000 subs, hard to do with so many other things on my plate in my career but I am trying my darndest
Really appreciate the 100/50 vs 40/20 discussion, thank you.
@@adamheying1812 cheers - yeah it was my biggest sticking point before buying the amps!
Congratulations on the videos!!! Do you use Blomfield's effects loop? if yes how it behaves, is there any loss of signal?
What are your favorite pedals to use with this amp and why? Thank you
I am currently obsessing about which amp to buy and there is a complete lack of information about Two Rock unless you want to watch a ‘sales’ video from Peach or similar. So on that basis - well done!
Cheers 👍🏼 yeah, that’s why I ended up with both amps 🤣 i bought from Peach btw
Thanks for sharing I have the combo works well for about anything but hard rock.
cheers!
Awesome, great job. I might make a couple posts on this video so bear with me, lol. Here's Joey Landreth's settings from a rig rundown he did right after he got his:
Clean Gain about 11:30
Treble and Middle about 12:00
Bass about 11:00-11:30
Lead Gain about 12:30-1:00
Lead Master 12:00
Master looked like about 8:00 or less. He said in the video he puts the volume on "the equivalent of 2" and likes the volume really low so he can hear himself sing.
The presence looked about 8:00 as well, but that is the harder knob to see, it might be a reflection. So either almost off or way up (last 1/3 of the knobs are not visible), your guess is better than mine, lol.
All switches appeared to be in the down position. He also said he uses the gain channel pretty much exclusively live, and just uses clean in studio.
Also keep in mind that Goldtop is actually a custom guitar (not a real Gibson) with Throwbak p90s, and he's using 13s tuned to open C.
I also went full nerd and compared the tone demos he did in the rig rundown to the Two Rock demo and think he's legit using no pedals in the Two Rock demo. I think his board changes a lot, but he's fuzz crazy and said he has a compressor but doesn't really use it, and both of those sounds were a LOT different when he kicked them on in the rundown.
Great detective work! I will have to try out those settings! But yeah i guess the other variables would also make a difference. We’ll get to the bottom of it 🧐 again, that old chesnut - tone is in the fingers, springs to mind. Joey sounds like joey!
Just tried this out! Definitely shows me the lead master is important here and i hadn’t fully explored that.. more to look at now 👍🏼 thanks
@@JamesOnGuitar So how do the Lead Master and Master interact? Is the volume in the room still manageable with the Lead Master at noon and the Master turned down? Does the lead channel end up significantly louder than the clean or are they similar?
So, that’s what i learned - the master is so good on this. The lead master pushed the gain into much more of a lead tone, and i had generally been avoiding the lead master. But the main master keeps the volume low enough and the lead master does boost it - but more importantly, it seems to open the tubes up and get some real character out! 🤟🏼 it was louder than the clean, but not crazily. It would work well as a lead boost with the foot switch
Interesting you find the Bloomfield harder work to find good settings I have the 40 watt BD and find every setting sounds so good, it's hard to make it sound bad a bit like you experienced with your CLRS. I like the mid switch up on Gibson guitars but the deep up on fenders on the clean channel and doing SRV with a tubescreamer type tones and have the bright up mid and deep down as my standard do everything with every guitar at gigs setting. Also found the amp sounded much better after playing it for a year or two and messing around with different preamp tubes.
Thanks 🙏 sounds like you definitely know your way around it! I think one thing is - i know how i want the clrs to sound! I wouldn’t say the BD ever sounds bad though!
Great demo maybe a bit out my price range haha
Sssshh (you’re giving my wife evidence!), but thanks
Hi james
This a great video. How did you like the bloomfield drive compared with your bartel roseland. Did u prefer one over the other.
Kind regards
Hi Carl
They are very different amps - the Bartel is very characterful and an homage to the greatest rock/blues sounds imo - the tweed, marshall and the mid 60's fender. The bloomfield is a more clarity driven amp, huge sounding and a platform to build your own sound from. The bloomfield like other two rocks is very quick and also revealing. The Bartel is more saggy, but still holds an edge that will stand up well in a band. So, I'd say bloomfield for pedal platform and more of a modern joey landreth style amp, Bartel if you love all the vintage stuff... hope that helps
@@JamesOnGuitar
Thank you james appreciate you taking the time to reply. I own a starwood and love my friends roseland they are quite similar but not the same i find them very warm and organic but sometimes not that articulate rather soft feeling still amazing but I think i will try the bloomfield. I have to say that was a great review and your channel has some great content. Thank you so much
Really wish I could get the same kind of review for the SSS. Awesome job!
Thank you! And i really wish it would be me
making it! Watch this space though, it isn’t impossible 🤟🏼😊
If you got an sss would it be 150/75 version? That’s what i am thinking of...
@@JamesOnGuitar I was thinking about the 50/100W at first glance as I am exclusively playing at home and 6L6 seems to really work for me but, then, if you listen to people and especially the two rock builders themselves, they consider the go to to be the 75/150w version. It seems that, despite of having a strong power output, it is really useable and great at bedroom volumes... So I am not really sure which one I am going to get and the lack of deep reviews and comparisons do not really help!
I have been so close to putting my order in for a few months. I have no doubt it will be incredible. I think I will go for the 150/75, as it will be somewhat different and i then cover the range in my 3 two rocks (can you imagine!) from 20-150 watts! Hopefully i can get it by christmas! I guess i have to be the guy to make the in depth review 🤓🤟🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar you definitely want to be that guy ;). I will probably be as well but for the moment I am at my second home with my Bloomfield and SP35 and I am more focused on working on improving my monster pedalboard that I already said I was not touching anymore (oups I did it again...) the G3 from theGigRig just released and my GAS is asking me to update my G2... also looking at the automatons, I need to have that thing...
apples and oranges. The Classic Reverb is a one channel amp. The Bloomfield is a two channel cascading gain Dumble style amp. I have custom made Bloomfield 50 Watt with NOS old iron. Simply the best two channel Dumble style amp that I've ever played. The lead channel sounds very plexi like to me.
good idea for a review, especially for this amp. There is a video with josh smith setting up the amp - can you try it this way?
Thank you 👍🏼 i think with Josh Smith it is either the classic reverb signature or the TS1 he has done videos with - the ones with Matt Schofield?
@@JamesOnGuitar yes it's not the Bloomfield drive - but as I understand it, the idea is the same. Because even in the Bloomfield the first gain switch plays its role even in the lead channel.
Hi James, I just bought this amp and was wondering if you also have a massive diffenrence in volume when switching from EQ1 to EQ2 ?
Yeah - eq2 has much higher output and is the one i use myself 👍🏼
@@JamesOnGuitar Ah good to know, I thought something was wrong. Got mine yesterday (Combo 40/20). Still stying to figure my way around. You video is a godsend. HAHA
Do you still use EQ2 with your DGT, or Humbucker guitars, or do you use EQ1, the lower output EQ, for the humbucker guitars, DGT etc.
Always EQ2 for me :)
I have a bloomfield and struggled with the lead channel for some time. Little bright, dare I say harsh out of the box. I’ll share a few factors that really made a difference for me. This is the best amp I’ve played or heard, and I’m glad I figured it out.
1) It’s difficult to exaggerate the effect that speaker break in has, particularly on the lead channel. I played loud music using a SS amp straight through the speakers for many many hours and the amp changed profoundly for the better (harsh upper frequencies on lead channel disappeared)
2) I like the input gain set high. Like 3:00 ish. I find that it’s a fuller effect than the lead gain, which can get a little fizzy and harsh if unsupported by input gain, and the lead master. It’s nice character for the clean channel without sacrificing the pristine clean that this amp does so well. If anything that extra squish is super nice.
3) there are trimpots on the inside and one of them is a low pass (?) for the tonestack bypass. I took that down just a hair to round off the top end and that really helped smooth out my bypassed lead tone. BE CAREFUL WHEN ADJUSTING THESE AND CONSULT TWO ROCK FOR HELP BEFORE ATTEMPTING. If you don’t know what you’re doing you could end up getting seriously electrocuted and possibly dead, even with the amp off and unplugged.
4) probably unnecessary but I’m glad I did it- threw a nice warm NOS tube in v4 (lead gain). This added a smooth, warm, liquid quality to the lead channel that I think was the icing on the cake. Expensive, but worth it for me.
The lead channel is still on the bright side, but at gig volume in the mix, it’s literally the perfect eq. I don’t even use the clean in this band, just at home. I’ve got some sensitive ears in the band and I get lots of comments on how much they love the tone, specifically the warmth and lack of harshness. Lead channel also LOVES my analogman sunface, only pedal I ever use with it. Perfect pairing.
Anyway. I’m rambling. In a nutshell, Try the lead channel with the input gain and the LEAD master at healthy levels (Morrison input gain) and lower the lead gain. And let it break in.
Beautiful amp, thank you two rock for all the joy it’s given me ❤️❤️
Thank you so much for this! So glad you mentioned the harshness out of box - i thought it was just me! This is a lot of good info!
Cool
I am trying to decide on getting the Bloomfield or the TS-1 I currently play a Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature and a Cornford MK50II and I use a Mesa Headtrack to switch between the two but I have to say, once I went rjm I can’t ever go back. The customer service is the best I have ever dealt with!!!
I was wondering the same - i think the TS-1 is so in that dumble camp, maybe it is less versatile, but no doubt it probably sounds amazing at all settings!
@@JamesOnGuitar well I guess the thing to learn from this is you must own all of them, I mean it’s a necessity, right! lol that’s the story I’m sticking too!! Ts-1 next then Bloomfield 😂
Get a Ceriatone ods and save a bunch of money. They use fantastic parts and are a lot cheaper.The Two-Rock TS-1 is pretty much straight dumble ods robben ford clone. Something like a Ceriatone or a Welagen sound better to me... or amplified nation. Tonnes of companies building amazing dumble ods clones for a lot less money that are equally nice. I think the bloomfield or classic reverb are far more worth paying that money for but not so much the TS-1.
I have a crazy Dumble ods clone on my channel if you want to hear an amaaaaazing dumble clone. We made it using 70s bassman transformers. Similar to what Dumble himself would have done with the early Dumbles.
Ok, so you have had these a few months now. Which one do you like better and why vs the Classic Reverb?
If I could only keep one it would be the Bloomfield. The cleans are a bit rounder, the reverb a bit bigger, it is incredible with pedals and I love the character of the lead channel, although I don't use it too much. I would want to try the 100watt crs to make it a fairer comparison. Will be trying a silver sterling at some point this year too...
my man, what is you're fave two rock noise box?
Out of the two I have - the bloomfield. Classic reverb amazing for that real classic srv thpe fender stuff, but the bloomfield is really something massive - although not to everyone’s taste as it is quite hard, doesn’t compress easily…
Have you considered mic’ing up the amps and properly recording? Would make these videos 10x more valuable
If I owned a successful studio you can bet I would have a couple two rock amps partially as a show piece along with stuff like u87 mics and a high end analog console.
Same video with the R9 would be good. Don't hate on me , but I don't like strats.
🤣 don’t do this to me! I ummed and ummed over that 😬 i couldn’t face the editing of doing both 🤯🤯
@@JamesOnGuitar No probs James, I'll hear your Gibsons on other videos
It looks great but it's too expensive.
Nope, no pedals in the Joey demo as he explains. Only some fuzz at the end. (Should have watched it 11 times like me ;-)
Joey is also using a Les Paul in his demo which has much hotter pickups than a strat. Thats most likely why his amp is breaking up so much more (when he's not using the fuzz obviously). Plug a Les Paul into that bad boy and I'll bet it will surprise you how much more it can scream. Thanks for the awesome vid!
Tune up next time
Hi
EQ1 lacks character? I’m gonna go watch Joey again. See ya…
Obviously i’d rather watch Joey play over me any day too, but it looks like he is in eq2 in his videos? If you like eq1 on your bloomfield then more power to you 👌🏽
Hi such a great review thank you. I thought twice about saying this because I didn't want to be rude but the great things about this review are really undermined by the fact the guitar at the beginning is really out of tune. Makes it very difficult to listen to. Sorry mate, great review otherwise.
Should have spent the money on a tuner
Good one. That would be a very good tuner wouldn’t it 🧐
First minutes in... that guitar is out of tune.