Drunk Beaver's Bloom V2 Expanded Custom take on the Expandora adds Clipping, Volume, Warmth and Richness for an Ultimate evolution of that format

So I’ve only just recently covered my friend Guillem’s Decibelics 4 year mission to produce an exacting mini clone of the Expandora - The Reverend. It seemed only fitting that I also featured my friend Vitalii’s latest incarnation of his custom Expandora take Bloom pedal.

The V2 circuit is fairly significantly changed - in particular the main opamp is now a MC1458N Dual Opamp variety - in essence 2 x LM741 - versus the LM308N of the V1. Vitalli tried a vast number of different opamps before settling on this one - which amazingly delivers warmer, more open, richer, thicker / fatter and more consistent tones than the LM308. I did a head-to-head with the V1 LM308 vs this V2 MC1458, and the predecessor is quite a bit more darker, denser and compressed. And while the LM308 is often associated with a soft gooey warmth - the MC1458 is even more so - as if the Q-bandwidth is significantly wider.

Controls - Volume, Tone, Gain, Mode : Overdrive / Crunch / Distortion / Fuzz, Voice : Ge / LED / Si, Fat : Fat / Tight / Classic.

Of course you can get the V2 to sound fairly similar to the V1 - with the Fat switch set to ’Tight’ - generally though the LM308 is still very slightly tighter, darker and denser - and obviously quite chocked out on the Fuzz mode.

By contrast the Bloom V2 sounds amazing on every mode - just incredibly potent wherever you set those dials. I make use of all the different Fat Modes - while I mostly stick to ’Classic’ and I personally don’t get too much mileage out of the Ge and Si Voice Clipping. It’s the LED option which is killer here - really extending the range of the pedal - with more sustain and further accentuation of its beautiful output texture.

I currently have 7 Expandora type pedals in the collection - 3 of those being LM308 - where I really prefer the use of the more modern opamps - MC1458, OP07 and TL072. The JHS V2 Kilt uses NE5534’s though - which in that circuit render slightly cooler and darker - which is probably my least favourite take on that genre - while you can kind of dial it in to compensate to a degree.

Pedal builders often get wrapped up in the ’authenticity’ hype of a classic vintage pedal - and cam feel obligated to reproduce it with all the inherent flaws of the original.

The LM308 variety has some positive outputs - particularly for the 2 lower gain modes - where its added compression adds to the texture of those options. While the pedal isn’t great at the Distortion and Fuzz voicings - with the Fuzz voicing in particular sounding very choked.

The OP07, TL072 and MC1458 opamps are more even and open in their output - and sound great on all 4 modes. For a while I thought the OP07 was possibly the ultimate opamp for this type - but I think the MC1458 renders even better. Both those circuits use all the other rare parts of the original in their makeup - optocoupler etc. - with just the opamps in the main being different.

The Drunk Beaver Bloom further solves the output issue for me - where I always felt that the classic / original format of Expandora / Clones did not deliver quite sufficient output volume. The Bloom’s LED option definitely solves that.

I really love the Decibelics The Reverend Mini Expandora Clone - while the compact format Drunk Beaver Bloom V2 delivers even more. Both are superb - where the Bloom is of course more versatile with its extended range - and also somewhat richer sounding!

Like I said - I tend to have the Bloom set to LED and Classic switch options, with Volume @ circa 3 o’c, Tone between 3 o’c and Max, and Gain anywhere from 9 o’c to Max. Pretty much every setting sounds superb on each of the 4 playback modes - even with everything maxed out.

The Bloom V2 is available right now from the Drunk Beaver Reverb.com Store for $175. If you love the Expandora format - you really need this one! In fact get this and the Decibelics Reverend!

Note that both of the existing demos of the Bloom are of the V1 variety - and even so they don’t really do that version of the pedal full justice. The V2 for me is significantly superior in every way! New demo should be out in about a month or so - will add that here when it materialises!

I would assume that many of you are fans of the Expandora format - which is your own current favourite of that type?

Finally - note that I will be doing my Billy Gibbons soundalike and inspired pedals rundown next week!