Start with the basic setup that characterized Bloomfield's groundbreaking mid- and late-1960s work with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Electric Flag--namely, a Gibson Les Paul custom guitar routed through a variety of Fender tube amplifiers. At various times through the '60s, Bloomfield alternated between the Fender Bassman and Showman, as well as a Super Reverb and Twin Reverb. During the 1970s, he also experimented with two '60s-era Fender Twins connected to a Tweed Deluxe modified for greater gain and overdrive.
Recognize the varying tonal possibilities depending on the types of guitars used--as Bloomfield did, by regularly using the Les Paul in 1965 with the Butterfield Band, a year before Britain's blues guitar hero, Eric Clapton, incorporated it into his own setup. Following his '60s-era peak of popularity, Bloomfield variously experimented with Fender Telecasters, Gibson SGs and--for blues and jazz work--an archtop Kay guitar. Unlike his peers, Bloomfield remained unmoved by the growing interest in vintage instruments, preferring to use whatever seemed handy. As longtime producer Norman Dayron told this author in 2001, "He said, 'It's all in the hands--bare meat on steel strings.'"
Stick with major and minor pentatonic and blues scales for improvisation, since Bloomfield --being a blues purist--favored a simple, unadorned sound that recalled the styles of heroes like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Magic Sam. Save the departures for extended masterworks like "East-West," the Butterfield Band-era instrumental showpiece that melded avant-garde elements, chromatic guitar passages and East Indian improvisations into a dizzying stew. For another relevant snapshot, see "Another Country"--which incorporates Latin rock and spoken-word passages--on the Electric Flag's "A Long Time Comin'" (1968) album.
Keep your sound as clean and unprocessed as possible. "I like it when someone plugs into a small amplifier and it is very natural," Bloomfield griped to "International Musician" for a feature published in April 1978. "I can't stand excitement created artificially through volume. It's a cheap shot." Avoid effects, which Bloomfield shunned--other than a specially cut piece of bicycle handlebar that he used for slide guitar work.
Make string bending an integral aspect of your style. Typically, Bloomfield adopted a highly individual approach by preferring to push the string that he was bending underneath the others--in keeping with his preference for higher action on his guitars. Plectrum-wise, Bloomfield favored a flatpick, but--as the '70s progressed--increasingly tended toward pure fingerstyle playing in acoustic and electric situations. Again, this desire seemed in keeping with his playing aesthetic, as he informed "International Musician"'s readers: "Regardless of the sound, I'll let the fingers do the work."