Mike Bloomfield Pedalboard
Full effects breakdown — core pedals, signal chain order, and budget alternatives
Mike Bloomfield's signal chain is built around a single essential effect: Overdrive. The resulting sound: Gibson Les Paul into a clean-to-slightly-dirty Fender amp. The overdrive functions as a signal booster and light overdrive rather than a heavy distortion source — it pushes the amp's input harder, causing the amp's own tubes to clip. The pedal adds focus and sustain while the amp provides the tonal character. The overdrive is typically set with gain near zero and level above unity — it pushes the amp's input stage rather than adding its own distortion. The result is an amp-driven tone rather than a pedal-driven one.
Essential Pedals
These effects are non-negotiable for Mike Bloomfield's tone. Skip any one and the signature sound is lost.
Optional / Contextual Effects
Mike Bloomfield uses these situationally — great to have but not required for the core sound.
£1,000 Pedalboard Breakdown
Specific gear recommendations at the £1,000 budget tier.
Also used by: Gary Moore
Pedalboard at Every Budget
The effects chain scales with budget — budget tiers keep the essential categories intact with less expensive alternatives.
- OverdriveBoss BD-2 Blues Driver
- DelayMXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
- ReverbStrymon Flint
Signal Chain Order
For Mike Bloomfield's signal chain, the order keeps the tone responsive at each stage — each effect receives the right input impedance and signal character from the preceding stage.
- Guitar
- Drive pedals (Overdrive)
- Amp
Related Gear
Similar Guitarists
FAQ
Mike Bloomfield Pedalboard — Common Questions
Mike Bloomfield's pedalboard includes: Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. The core effects in Mike Bloomfield's sound are Overdrive.
The standard signal chain for Mike Bloomfield's pedalboard follows the professional convention: guitar → tuner → wah (if used) → compression → overdrive/distortion → amp → modulation (chorus/flanger) → delay → reverb. For Mike Bloomfield's signal chain, the order keeps the tone responsive at each stage — each effect receives the right input impedance and signal character from the preceding stage.
Mike Bloomfield uses the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver as the main overdrive pedal. This pedal is placed before the amp input in the signal chain.
Building a Mike Bloomfield-style pedalboard depends on budget. At £200 you can cover the essentials (~£228 for the full rig). At £500 the pedalboard includes Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. At £1,000 (full rig: ~£1,097) all the key pedals are covered.
Mike Bloomfield's delay is handled by a dedicated delay pedal placed at the end of the signal chain (or in the amp's effects loop). Common choices include the Boss DD series, TC Electronic Flashback, or MXR Carbon Copy.