Mike Bloomfield at Newport '65

Click on the below link (Official Mike Bloomfield Web Site) for some cool photos of Bloomfield onstage with the Butterfield Blues Band and a "63 Guild Thunderbird Amp.

Several sources indicate that this is the amp that Bloomfield used to record the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album on Electra Records.

Bill

http://www.mikebloomfield.com/photogallery.htm

You know, I own a '60's Thunderbird amp and really, really dig it, but I don't think that his signature sound is/was with a 'Bird, mon'. I tried tracking that stuff down, a few years ago, kind think he was a Twin Reverb on 10 kind of guy, back in his hey day. Really enjoyed the pics, though! Lotta' heroes!

Yeah. I agree that Bloomfield's signature sound is a '59 Les Paul Standard thru a Fender Twin Reverb. But he was playing the Tele and a '54 Gold Top Les Paul (w/ P-90's) during his days with the PBBB. The Telecaster showed up recently, and is featured in the October 2015 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine. There is cool story, in the article, of how he acquired the '59 'burst in the Spring of 1966 in a trade... the Gold Top plus $125!

The line up of Paul Butterfield, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield (w/ Sam Lay on drums) is classic!

Bill

If you click on the link in the OP and scroll down to the bottom of the page in the photo gallery, there is a rare photo of Mike Bloomfield playing a Guild Starfire III, with a striped mahogany top. The photo was taken in the Fall of 1976.

Bill

Looks like he's also playing a Fender Duosonic in some of the earlier photos......great shots.

gilded said:

You know, I own a '60's Thunderbird amp and really, really dig it, but I don't think that his signature sound is/was with a 'Bird, mon'. I tried tracking that stuff down, a few years ago, kind think he was a Twin Reverb on 10 kind of guy, back in his hey day.

Click to expand...

East/West, baby.
Whadda ya think?
Thunderbird or twin Reverb?

While searching the internet for information about the Guitars and Amps that Mike Bloomfield used early on in his career, I came across the following quote:


The moment many in the vast crowd have been waiting for has arrived. Only a few insiders backstage know what the moment portends. The lights on stage go down and Peter Yarrow steps into the center spotlight.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the person who's coming up now ... has a limited amount of time ... his name is Bob Dylan!"
The audience roars as Dylan and the band emerge onstage. There are a few moments of confusion as Dylan plugs into Bloomfield's backup amp, a Guild Thunderbird. "Put that up, man, give Bob a little more volume!" says Michael to Yarrow. "I will, I will," the emcee promises. Kooper tests out the organ with a bracing chord, and Barry Goldberg plays a few bluesy runs on the piano. Then Bob is ready.

This appears to be from a reliable source and refers to the night at the Newport Folk Festival that several members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band joined Bob Dylan on stage for a set of amplified Rock & Roll.

Posted below is a link to the complete article:

http://www.mikebloomfieldamericanmusic.com/newport.htm

Check out this link, and scroll down, for another photo of the little Guild Amp that "shook up the world".

http://nepr.net/music/2015/07/27/paul-butterfield-plugs-in-and-dylan-follows-suit/